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It helps that we don't remotely have a (lack of) parking problem. And the Sears building is at one of the most transit-accessible locations in the city.

 

Edit: Also, our standard parking requirements are quite high, so I'm not sure I understand why you think parking seem "dead last to be considered."

 

The walkable place ordinance, transit corridor ordinance, and expansion of the CBD zone are all attempts by the Planning Department to address an excessive prioritization of parking over more important concerns.

Edited by Texasota
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1 hour ago, trymahjong said:

I’m sure what you say is true

however

In a City like Houston with population growing ( more cars) parking seems to be dead last to be considered—- puzzles me.

 

Based on everything they've said so far, and the comment on In the Loop about a single story grocery store with a large parking lot not being an efficient use of land I think we can guess that cars are in fact the last thing on their mind. The type of people they are hoping to attract to this spot, potentially from out of the state, most likely don't own cars, so I'm sure the Endowment wants to keep that mindset prevalent during development. 

 

Maybe by groundbreaking they mean they will finally start making the changes to the building to transition it from being the Sears building to the Ion. It felt like most of the work has been gutting the building, knocking bricks out, etc; so mostly prep work. 

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5 hours ago, trymahjong said:

I’m sure what you say is true

however

In a City like Houston with population growing ( more cars) parking seems to be dead last to be considered—- puzzles me.

 

VMT (vehicle miles traveled) in Houston has basically been flat over the last 10 years (falling on a per capita basis), and we have almost certainly seen the peak amount of lane-miles of surface streets inside the loop. Absent non-market constraints (e.g. parking minimums) It's natural to start shifting land use away from surface parking and toward more productive uses.

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1 hour ago, Angostura said:

 

VMT (vehicle miles traveled) in Houston has basically been flat over the last 10 years (falling on a per capita basis), and we have almost certainly seen the peak amount of lane-miles of surface streets inside the loop. Absent non-market constraints (e.g. parking minimums) It's natural to start shifting land use away from surface parking and toward more productive uses.

 

Surface street traffic inside the loop has increased substantially in the last 15 years and there's more density on the way. I'm wondering if people might start embracing scooters and motorcycles more as an alternative. I just got back from San Francisco and had forgotten how relatively popular bikes are out there. 

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7 minutes ago, Nate99 said:

 

Surface street traffic inside the loop has increased substantially in the last 15 years and there's more density on the way. I'm wondering if people might start embracing scooters and motorcycles more as an alternative. I just got back from San Francisco and had forgotten how relatively popular bikes are out there. 

 

I was thinking exactly this not long ago. I've even thought about getting a Power Assist Bike. The kind that goes max 30mph. Would definitely help with parking, and they would save space.

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8 hours ago, Angostura said:

 

VMT (vehicle miles traveled) in Houston has basically been flat over the last 10 years (falling on a per capita basis), and we have almost certainly seen the peak amount of lane-miles of surface streets inside the loop. Absent non-market constraints (e.g. parking minimums) It's natural to start shifting land use away from surface parking and toward more productive uses.

 

This is interesting. Source?

 

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3 hours ago, Triton said:

 

This article is so frustrating, I don't know where to even begin. Near the bottom of the article, it evens starts listing all the successful spots around town, though not all of them. So, first off, I was with CBRE for 5 years but I am now part of a startup myself as a software engineer. We have a pretty big idea about the rental car business so we've been looking around the city for space.... it's not easy. With that being said, let's start with the worst offender in that article... this paragraph:

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. All that economic development she is talking comes when major developments like this occur, not the other way around. Let's start off on WHERE a large portion of the start ups are flourishing in our city right now.... organically without the city's input... It's not the density of Uptown or Montrose, it's the East End. You have a major one like Headquarters in the East End:

 

Secondly, people who work in startups don't care about those things because most of us go to the local gyms and coffee shops WHERE WE LIVE... not where we work.

 

Look, startups are occurring already in Houston whether Ion is built or not. It's occurring naturally. I just went to a major event this weekend and spoke with many people in dozens of startups. Some are coming from local colleges like Univerisity of Houston but others are coming from places like San Francisco where rents are incredibly expensive. The startup I'm in is simply working out a townhouse right now that allows business operations... Now, we have a large car dealership that we own near the Galleria and we're currently renovating the property to make it the central hub and headquarters for Lyft in the Houston area. We may simply build some office space on the lot but eventually, we would like to have a coworking space with other startups.

 

Either way, my point is... It's here. It's happening. And whether the city and Rice capitalize on it, it's up to them. Private individuals are buying out old warehouses on the East side and converting them into to coworking places already and will continue to do so. There's more in the works and Headquarters is even looking to build a second major location in the Heights.

 

 

 

Just because you personally don't live in the same area where you work and play doesn't necessarily invalidate the perspective in the article.  High density areas where people do all three are more supportive of the culture for creative enterprise than areas where each exists separately.  People with artistic, sociopolitical, and intellectual tendencies evident in creative industries tend to congregate in such urban districts.  Portland's an example.  Tech companies dot the metro area, but the city's Pearl District and downtown are where startup & development activity thrive.  Developers seize on the notion that eliminating physical distance between live/work/play attractions retain creative people & their industries.  The tech startup scene, advertising, the arts all cluster centrally where infrastructure & amenities favor less car dependency and where workday collaborations can carryover into nearby restaurants & bars. 

 

Hopefully, Ion indeed becomes a successful node alongside EaDo, the Heights, Midtown, and downtown in helping propel Houston's tech scene.  But it'll be by force of beneficent capital and in spite of its initially spartan location.  

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15 hours ago, Nate99 said:

 

Surface street traffic inside the loop has increased substantially in the last 15 years and there's more density on the way. I'm wondering if people might start embracing scooters and motorcycles more as an alternative. I just got back from San Francisco and had forgotten how relatively popular bikes are out there. 

 

Will probably depend on whether or not they can do so safely, which will depend on more protected lanes/bikeways. E-scooters and bikes are a non-option on our sidewalks, and would be scary on a lot of our streets.

 

 

8 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

This is interesting. Source?

 

 

Saw it here:

 

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, nonenadazilch said:

 

Just because you personally don't live in the same area where you work and play doesn't necessarily invalidate the perspective in the article.  High density areas where people do all three are more supportive of the culture for creative enterprise than areas where each exists separately.  People with artistic, sociopolitical, and intellectual tendencies evident in creative industries tend to congregate in such urban districts.  Portland's an example.  Tech companies dot the metro area, but the city's Pearl District and downtown are where startup & development activity thrive.  Developers seize on the notion that eliminating physical distance between live/work/play attractions retain creative people & their industries.  The tech startup scene, advertising, the arts all cluster centrally where infrastructure & amenities favor less car dependency and where workday collaborations can carryover into nearby restaurants & bars. 

 

I'm sorry, startups don't need any of that. We need Wi-fi and a chair. This is the 21st century and we can literally work from home 3 to 4 days out of a week. It's about the idea, not the area where we are at. No startup is saying "Oh, that mural on the side of a building or this coffee shop across the street is going to inspire us to be successful." Also, most of the people that I meet at these startup meet ups live out in Sugarland, Katy, Spring, and Pearland.... with the internet, you don't have to be confined to an area to find inspiration. Look, the most critical piece is actually the work done and people inside the coworking space. Seeing other like minded people inside a complex like Ion designing, building, and then releasing new material is a real inspiration for you to do the same.

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Maybe my perception of parking ( or lack of it) being on the lowest rung of importance is flawed. I should have used IMO.

Still-the majority of meetings I attend where parking questions come up- there is usually a big hurry to get on to other priorities.

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On 5/11/2019 at 7:18 PM, houstontexasjack said:

Edit: and the parking lot south of Fiesta. We might need some purple to hit the gamut of Infinity Stones. 😊

Not sure how I missed this but there is a small parcel near 69 that is listed on HCAD as being owned by Sears.  I would think Rice owns or will acquire this parcel also.

m4rRyj4.jpg

Edited by BeerNut
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Now on the HAIF Development Map under the layer "Renovations, Reuse, Revamp". All future proposals/property that is under Rice's control is under the layer "Proposed". For any updates on the status of this project. Please DM me.

Things to keep an eye on include (but not limited to):

-updated renders (will be adding pics to all projects later)
-project name changes

-changes in use or additions of uses

-changes in number of stories

-changes to Developer or additional Developers

-changes to Architect or additional Architects/Designers

-announcements or changes to construction dates / finish dates



If any of the above is missing in the project info already then please assist clarifying any missing info to me.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/28/2019 at 7:41 PM, hindesky said:
 

A project to transform the former Midtown Sears building into an innovation hub is set to break ground July 19. 

 

A place to hold the groundbreaking ceremony?

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

The building's parking lot is now full of worker's trucks, I'm assuming they are going to town on the inside of the building while the heat has been causing hallucinations in people who dare to go outside at 1 pm.  A lane of wheeler has been closed the last few days early in the morning as they move stuff into the building. Makes you kind of wonder how much work they actually have to do on the outside.

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8 minutes ago, Brandon55 said:

 Give the gest of the article.

 

Basically they are worried that the Ion will displace the huge homeless population in that area and instead they want the Ion to house the homeless, provide them public restrooms, and give jobs to the people of the area.

 

A Community Benefits Agreement with the impacted residents and stakeholders could more adequately address these issues, if it includes on-site affordable and assistive housing, first-source hiring for permanent employment, harm reduction-based addiction centers, health care and mental health resources, work training services, funds for small business development, and public bathrooms. Rather than displacing the homeless into precarious housing situations around the city, this project is a valuable opportunity to provide these vulnerable Houstonians with needed supportive housing and resources in the neighborhood that this project will significantly impact.

 

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4 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

Basically they are worried that the Ion will displace the huge homeless population in that area and instead they want the Ion to house the homeless, provide them public restrooms, and give jobs to the people of the area.

 

They also want the Ion coalition to take preemptive action against Third Ward gentrification:

 

Quote

The Ion will almost inevitably accelerate predatory homebuying and development in nearby Third Ward, a historically African American neighborhood. The development’s leaders have invoked the importance of supporting and involving communities such as Third Ward but they have not proposed measures to protect Third Ward residents from rising property values and displacement.

[...]

If the Innovation Corridor partners are sincerely interested in benefiting Third Ward and communities like it, they would agree to provide protections against gentrification, support local businesses and art, provide living-wage jobs and secure generational wealth through housing.

 

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