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55 minutes ago, iah77 said:

Wait, they are trenching it when?

 

Right now there is a massive tent community on Caroline so all they did was move in that direction. City needs to fence off asap

 

It's all part of the big http://www.ih45northandmore.com/ project.  There was an article posted recently that indicated that the timeline has been pushed up for this project, maybe as early as 2021, if I remember right.

 

Since the freeway would then be below grade, Main and Fannin and the light rail will all be on bridges, and the Fannin exit ramp by Sears will disappear without replacement.  That would probably reduce high-speed traffic in the area, making a large mixed-use district like the one proposed above even easier for pedestrians to get around.

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1 hour ago, rechlin said:

 

 

It's all part of the big http://www.ih45northandmore.com/ project.  There was an article posted recently that indicated that the timeline has been pushed up for this project, maybe as early as 2021, if I remember right.

 

Since the freeway would then be below grade, Main and Fannin and the light rail will all be on bridges, and the Fannin exit ramp by Sears will disappear without replacement.  That would probably reduce high-speed traffic in the area, making a large mixed-use district like the one proposed above even easier for pedestrians to get around.

 

I think the plan is to let bids for this portion in 2020.

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On ‎3‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 4:14 PM, Houston19514 said:

 

They've already unloaded a bunch of their real estate (more than 40% of their owned locations and an even higher percentage of their valuable owned locations); that's part of why even they have finally been forced to admit they have little to no future.  And they don't have many unencumbered assets left to sell off or borrow against.

 

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/22/how-sears-ceo-lampert-cashes-in-as-stores-cash-out.html

 

An interesting read for anyone who cares to know a bit more of the financial dealings of Sears.

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9 hours ago, Sparrow said:

 

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/22/how-sears-ceo-lampert-cashes-in-as-stores-cash-out.html

 

An interesting read for anyone who cares to know a bit more of the financial dealings of Sears.

 

Current ownership was the high bidder for the rotting carcass of a company. Sounds like they pre-arranged the outcome of the eventual bankruptcy, without those structures, the end would have come much sooner and courts would have managed the asset sales that have occurred since this bunch took over, presuming that there is not someone out there that can resurrect that business model or find some other use for the brand.   

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6 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Looks like Midtown Sears is close to being finished.... Finally

Perhaps. But I don't think that we should conclude that a potential bankruptcy will be a chapter 7.  It may be or it may be a chapter 11 (reorg) - in which case there may be a means by which Some Sears stores --- including our very own midtown location - remain open with new equity owners.

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Business bankruptcies generally start out as 11s, even if it's going to be a complete liquidation - there will be a plan put in place for liquidating the assets while the business's management keeps cash flow going as long as possible, rather than having the bankruptcy court operating things.  Once in a blue moon they get converted to an operating 7, but that generally occurs only when management is so completely disfunctional that you need a trustee appointed by the court to do the winding up.  (thus endeth today's exercise in being pedantic)

 

Regardless, Sears is pretty much toast; the thought process (or lack thereof) that got it there rather than remaking itself is pretty academic.  

 

It would be nice, though, if the mid century steel sheeting could be removed, the brick taken out of the ground floor windows, and the building opened to multi tenancy - it would make a decent alternative to the strip centers that seem to be overrunning Midtown.

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  • 1 month later...

Can't believe all the celebration at the potential loss of retail.

 

When I lived in the area I used the Fiesta quite frequently to pick up a few things. 

 

What irks me is that huge surface lot between the Sears and the Fiesta and the underutilised green space around Wheeler Station. The area on both sides of the highway seem poorly used. 

 

A Ventana sized complex on that surface lot between Sears and Fiesta might help out the area a lot.

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The Sears Auto Shop is closing. May 26 is the last day they'll be open. 50% off what's left in the store. Spoke with one of the guys that worked there, Carl (perfect definition of great customer service, btw) and he said they might do something on the lot the auto shop is on and the big empty parking lot between fiesta and the sears. Sears own that empty lot and the auto shop and Rice owns the Sears building. VERY interested in what's to come with this development!

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The Sears Auto Shop is closing. May 26 is the last day they'll be open. 50% off what's left in the store. Spoke with one of the guys that worked there, Carl (perfect definition of great customer service, btw) and he said they might do something on the lot the auto shop is on and the big empty parking lot between fiesta and the sears. Sears own that empty lot and the auto shop and Rice owns the Sears building. VERY interested in what's to come with this development!

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On 5/19/2017 at 10:17 AM, drecey said:

The Sears Auto Shop is closing. May 26 is the last day they'll be open. 50% off what's left in the store. Spoke with one of the guys that worked there, Carl (perfect definition of great customer service, btw) and he said they might do something on the lot the auto shop is on and the big empty parking lot between fiesta and the sears. Sears own that empty lot and the auto shop and Rice owns the Sears building. VERY interested in what's to come with this development!

YES!!!!!!! I noticed this weekend that business seemed no existent. Great news!!! Place was a dump!

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3 hours ago, houstontexasjack said:

Gotta love how the parking lot across the light rail became a nice park in those renderings.

In all fairness if you look at the aerial photo in their gallery it looks pretty much what you see when you look from above. There is a little pocket park type area just across from this project so the rendering is fairly accurate. It is a very small park though, more a big corner.

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More from the article:

 

Quote

Last week, Rice Management Co. bought out the remaining 28 years of Sears' lease and acquired about three contiguous acres owned by Sears.

Rice now owns 9.4 acres, including the original department store, its parking lots and the Sears Automotive Center on Eagle Street between Fannin and San Jacinto.

Now that Rice has control of the property it will begin studying options.

"Removing the long-term lease obligation from Rice's Midtown property will allow the university to initiate a process of thoughtful planning for the future use of this land," Rice President David Leebron said in a statement.

"The Rice Management Company will initiate a yearlong study to consider options that contribute to the ongoing revitalization of the surrounding community as well as the city's broader economic strength. In this process, we'll consult with many actors and experts, including the Urban Land Institute, city officials and our own Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

"This is another dimension of Rice's enthusiastic engagement with the city of Houston, while at the same time assuring a return to the university's endowment in support of our missions of education, research and community service."

 

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36 minutes ago, Sanjorade said:

Fiesta only has 2 years left on it's lease as well. This area is going to change dramatically!

Yes, that and with the 59 rebuild, this area is going to look quite different in the next decade.

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