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CityCentre: Mixed-Use Development At 800 Town And Country Blvd.


Parrothead

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Opened since the last post on this thread...

Yard House

Straits

Bistro Alex

Cafe' Rose'

Under construction...

Cyclone Anaya's

Ruggles Green

Chipotle

Brio Tuscan Grille

CityCenter hosted a NYE party on the plaza and it was full of people - band was playing outside, all restaurants/bars were full and there was a midnight fireworks show.

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CityCenter hosted a NYE party on the plaza and it was full of people - band was playing outside, all restaurants/bars were full and there was a midnight fireworks show.

So THAT is where the fireworks coming from! I was wondering about that.

"Ruggles green?"

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So THAT is where the fireworks coming from! I was wondering about that.

"Ruggles green?"

There's a Ruggles Green on Alabama b/w Greenbriar and Kirby. It's a Ruggles, but 'green.' Not sure what that means.

Green building? Green food? Does it mean the original restaurant is Ruggles Gay? In any case, good for them on expanding.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Once again, more photos from my most recent outing. I'd prefer a bit more authenticity, as well are more colours than three shades of beige, but this is still quite a nice infill project. I just hope that improvements to the connectivity are improved, and some of the surrounding properties are redeveloped into higher density mixed use as well.

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Looks like a glorified strip mall of some sort!

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Hotel Sorella

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The Green

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The base of the Sorella is quite nice!

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Edited by UrbaNerd
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went to studio movie grill last night and let me say that my girlfriend and i came away completely unimpressed... give me alamo draft house ANYDAY. i mean using rolling office chairs was just flat out annoying, and the finishes inside the theater felt so cheap, lit felt like we were sitting inside a class b office building. poor selection of drinks, completely predictable food (and STALE popcorn mad.gif ), and overpriced. didn't help that it was completely DEAD last night either, although we did go to the late showing at 10:20.

dear god, please put an alamo draft house in the old w. alabama bookstore location.

/rant

Edited by swtsig
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  • 2 weeks later...

A person from West Side of Houston was trying to convince me that the City Centre is the natural center of Houston. I just said, you are joking, right?

I said it's basically re-invented mall with residences. they are popping up every where in the country in suburban neighborhoods and cities.

Having said that, it is still better than having old style huge parking lot malls.

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I agree that the food at SMG is awful. How they can make ice cream taste like it's been sitting in the freezer for 2 years in a place that's 6 months old is beyond me.

My wife and I attempted to stop by Yard House Friday night. There was a 45 minute wait. Yard House is OK but not worth 45 minutes.

Every time we've been to Citycentre on a weekend the place is packed. The first two floors of the parking garage we parked in were full.

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I stayed in the Hotel Sorella for a night with my girlfriend on a Thursday night. It really was a nice a hotel and a great area to spend an evening. We walked over to Escalantes for dinner and spent the rest of the evening at Yardhouse, RA, and the MonaLisa (bar in the hotel). It was very packed for a Thursday night and everywhere we went was a good time. I would highly recommend it for a couple for a one night "vacation" or with some friends.

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A person from West Side of Houston was trying to convince me that the City Centre is the natural center of Houston. I just said, you are joking, right?

I said it's basically re-invented mall with residences. they are popping up every where in the country in suburban neighborhoods and cities.

Having said that, it is still better than having old style huge parking lot malls.

Actually, if you look at where the majority of growth has taken place in Houston (Sugarland, Katy, NW Houston), CityCentre is pretty much the population center of Houston. It has been shifting west for quite some time and that's why it was named City Centre.

We went to Yard House last week for lunch - no problem getting in. BUT... we called the previous Friday night and it was a 1 1/2 hour wait. We've also had a chance to check out Cafe' Rose... very nice place for an espresso and a light bite.

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Actually, if you look at where the majority of growth has taken place in Houston (Sugarland, Katy, NW Houston), CityCentre is pretty much the population center of Houston. It has been shifting west for quite some time and that's why it was named City Centre.

We went to Yard House last week for lunch - no problem getting in. BUT... we called the previous Friday night and it was a 1 1/2 hour wait. We've also had a chance to check out Cafe' Rose... very nice place for an espresso and a light bite.

City Center is a reference to this area being the Demographic Center of Houston, it's also conveniently located next to the richest zip code in the state. It's all been discussed in this thread and is posted on the City Center website.

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  • 2 months later...

Brio Tuscan Grill is open now. We tried it tonight. It seemed like a slightly more upscale Maggiano's. The nicest thing about it are the huge patios and windows. I had filet mignon; it was decent and the prices are reasonable. I've been going to CityCentre once a week now and it's usually so crowded that you may have a 45 minute wait to get into Yard House, etc...

Last Thursday they had a mini car show. There were a few old Ferraris, Porsches, a McLaren race car, etc... Here are some shots a buddy of mine took.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Brio Tuscan Grill is open now. We tried it tonight. It seemed like a slightly more upscale Maggiano's. The nicest thing about it are the huge patios and windows. I had filet mignon; it was decent and the prices are reasonable. I've been going to CityCentre once a week now and it's usually so crowded that you may have a 45 minute wait to get into Yard House, etc...

Last Thursday they had a mini car show. There were a few old Ferraris, Porsches, a McLaren race car, etc... Here are some shots a buddy of mine took.

Brio had a wait on Monday night... the place was buzzing.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just passing along some positive feedback, as City Center was well hyped by the overseas contingent during OTC. They said the buzz amongst most Oil and Gas folk from abroad was that City Center is THE place to go.

When I brought the folks I was entertaining from the Netherlands, some of whom lived her for over a year, they said "I never expected something so beautiful and so European in Houston". They also used the words I always rely on "Generational Beauty" saying this district needs to expand to both sides of the freeway and that they thought City Center would still look great 100 years from now.

Also, they mentioned that if the hotels are smart, they'll advertise in next years OTC promotional publications and ride off of this year’s hype.

Now if we could get City Center to make a "Dubai Style" train that at least looped from City Center, Memorial City Mall, Bunker Hill back through Community College Campus and ending in City Center. You could run a shopping tour hitting the hospitals, hotels flats, and apartments along the way.

Edited by SpringShadows
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Just passing along some positive feedback, as City Center was well hyped by the overseas contingent during OTC. They said the buzz amongst most Oil and Gas folk from abroad was that City Center is THE place to go.

When I brought the folks I was entertaining from the Netherlands, some of whom lived her for over a year, they said "I never expected something so beautiful and so European in Houston".

Funny... we had dinner on the sidewalk at Cafe' Rose' on Saturday night... one table was full of German speakers and another was a group of Scandinavians... couldn't pinpoint the exact language.

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When I brought the folks I was entertaining from the Netherlands, some of whom lived her for over a year, they said "I never expected something so beautiful and so European in Houston". They also used the words I always rely on "Generational Beauty" saying this district needs to expand to both sides of the freeway and that they thought City Center would still look great 100 years from now.

I don't understand why people are comforted by seeing things that remind them of home. To me its akin to those annoying american tourists that go to rome and head for the nearest McDonalds.

While it would be difficult to make any urban development NOT resemble something european, I would like to know if it would be possible to make distinctly american.

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I don't understand why people are comforted by seeing things that remind them of home. To me its akin to those annoying american tourists that go to rome and head for the nearest McDonalds.

While it would be difficult to make any urban development NOT resemble something european, I would like to know if it would be possible to make distinctly american.

You make a good point, but context of his comment to me was not in mimicking but more of an "American Slant" on European. I may not have communicated that as well as I could have in the original post. But they specifically mentioned how they had never seen anything like it.

It was a very, very positive experience for everyone.

Also, and not to say anyone else here doesn't, but I travel to Europe many times a year and I have never seen "modern European" if you will done in the size and consistency of City Center. I've seen buildings like the ones seen in City Center, but not in such a mass. Also, you would not normally see decks like the ones in City Center in Europe (usually smaller Bistro style), however they are very common in the Med. and South America. It's like Architectural fusion.

Lastly, there is a lot of Southern Stones (like Austin Stone) used in City Center and NY style Bricks, so European Architecture would be very different.

Edited by SpringShadows
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A person from West Side of Houston was trying to convince me that the City Centre is the natural center of Houston. I just said, you are joking, right?

I said it's basically re-invented mall with residences. they are popping up every where in the country in suburban neighborhoods and cities.

Having said that, it is still better than having old style huge parking lot malls.

I agree with you. Why on earth would I journey that far without saying "Eff it, might as well go to San Antonio!!". What's in city centRe? Amegy bank? Anthroplogie? I think I'll pass.

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I agree with you. Why on earth would I journey that far without saying "Eff it, might as well go to San Antonio!!". What's in city centRe? Amegy bank? Anthroplogie? I think I'll pass.

Yeah - it's 7 miles outside the loop, almost San Antonio. I have not heard anyone say anything negative about it after visiting. Hopefully West Ave will turn out this nice.

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You make a good point, but context of his comment to me was not in mimicking but more of an "American Slant" on European. I may not have communicated that as well as I could have in the original post. But they specifically mentioned how they had never seen anything like it.

It was a very, very positive experience for everyone.

Also, and not to say anyone else here doesn't, but I travel to Europe many times a year and I have never seen "modern European" if you will done in the size and consistency of City Center. I've seen buildings like the ones seen in City Center, but not in such a mass. Also, you would not normally see decks like the ones in City Center in Europe (usually smaller Bistro style), however they are very common in the Med. and South America. It's like Architectural fusion.

Lastly, there is a lot of Southern Stones (like Austin Stone) used in City Center and NY style Bricks, so European Architecture would be very different.

See, that makes more sense to me.

I know there are certain things that seem to be unique to us down here. Met many from Northern Europe that absolutely adore the "novelty" of being able to eat outside and watching women wearing "skimpy" clothing and take advantage to eat at the various places that offer an outdoor deck.

Just like I'm not fond of people trying to copy a sense of style (be it music, fashion, whatever) from someone else, I find it frustrating when it is done architecturally.

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