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The article below contains images of the art deco structure under the panels.  I have no idea how faithful the images are to what's actually underneath the panels these days.  I'd like to see Rice evaluate a potential way to utilize the art-deco structure if it has been somewhat well-preserved, but, given the lack of windows on it, I am not optimistic it could be turned into marketable office space without substantial structural alteration.  It has an odd layout--one floor of below grade space with a couple up above.  It might be configured into a boutique movie theater (thinking something along the lines of iPic or the AMC Dine-In cinemas) where the lack of windows is a plus.  

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/The-Sears-That-Was-6198716.php 

 

 

 

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Per Nextdoor:

 

Good morning Everyone, We are starting this new week off on a good foot! We are excited to report to you that South Central DRT officers have teamed up with the management company of the Sears, located between Main St and Fannin St., just off of Wheeler; to have the building and the offset parking lot all fenced in at this time. It is all cleaned up and ready for planning and development actions. It is definitely a start to making our communities a better and safer place to reside and do business! We are excited about what the area will become. Please be patient with us as we are working around the clock to address all the issues you may have; including, but not limited to: clean-up, homeless population, crime rates, etc. All of these issues are being addressed through the proper channels and procedures...we prefer to get it right the first time so there's no repeat necessary. Remember all we do is for you guys to be safe and live comfortable, so please cooperate with us to make it great for you.Have a great week!

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4 hours ago, houstontexasjack said:

In addition to the transit possibilities for this development, there’s also the potential to abut park space with the planned trenching of 59/69 next door and the potential for a cap over the future below-grade freeway. 

 

Thanks to the planned trenching and inevitable 5 plus years of construction that will come with that I suspect that the location will be flattened and leased to the state as a place where construction equipment can be staged as part of the project. and that no serious projects occur until after 59 is redone through the area.

 

If memory serves, trenching 59 through here is planned to be the first part of the whole project?

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30 minutes ago, samagon said:

If memory serves, trenching 59 through here is planned to be the first part of the whole project?

 

You are correct, the first planned construction of the overall downtown and IH 45 project is the section of IH 69 in Midtown. My perception (based on speaking to representatives at public meetings) is that they are proceeding full speed with design and will be ready for immediate work on right-of-way acquisition when the Record of Decision is received, which is expected this year. But I also heard that there is a last-ditch effort by northside interests to derail the entire project, which could delay the ROD, perhaps substantially.

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As I understand it, construction on the trenching is scheduled to commence third quarter 2020.  The diagram found in the link below indicates where greenspace might be placed:

 

http://www.ih45northandmore.com/docs8/04-20170428_NHHIP_Seg3_I-69_RollPlot_PH_1-2.pdf 

 

Edit:  This Houston Chronicle article references a "late 2020" start time:

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/State-accelerates-start-time-for-major-I-45-10958185.php 

Edited by houstontexasjack
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  • 2 weeks later...

I rode past the now closed Sears on Main about 2:30 yesterday afternoon. There was a truck in the parking lot on the north side of the building taking core samples. That can only mean someone is thinking of erecting a structure on the site and needs to know the soil conditions to design the foundation. Exciting!

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To which side of the existing 69  roadway will the trenching occur and is there  a plan that shows where it is proposed?

North or south of existing roadway?I

I have friends who live pretty close to both sides.

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Thanks Rechlin!

I didn't even contemplate this and so now every major north south street in midtown and Wheeler from Main to Almedawill be torn out and replaced with bridges.

Thats going to screw things up just a wee bit in Montrose Midtown and the med center. Traffic will be gridlocked all of the time with the Wheeler rail station.

Years of head aches. What are they going to do about rail on San Jacinto since it looks like it will be torn up too?

Just curious. How do they dig below these elevated freeways and keep traffic moving on 69 above while they tear out each intersection and trench below.

Seems like a disaster movie in the making, or the biggest cluster fk ever.

Thats whats nice about 288. Thy already had the right of way secured and fairly clear for all of these years.

Edited by bobruss
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Bob,

It will be a mess for a long time coming.  But, this is very similar a process that was done with 59, through Montrose/Museum Districts, where the arched bridges are now.  This stretch was elevated before being placed below grade.  This was done by feeding all traffic (both ways) to one side of the elevated structure, demolishing the abandoned structure, dig the new ROW, where the demolish structure stood.  Redirect all traffic to new , depressed ROW.  Repeat.  It's something to watch. 

 

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That makes sense, but I think I'll stay clear. The difference as far as scale of project is much different however except for the Montrose bridges.

All of those other streets Hazard, Woodhead, Dunlavy, and  Mandell, were fairly quiet with little traffic compared to Main, Fannin, San Jacinto with the rail line, Almeda and Wheeler.

Edited by bobruss
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^^ You are right about the amount of traffic on the Montrose streets, as opposed to most of these streets through midtown.  And as I recall, all of the bridged streets in Montrose were closed as they built the arched bridges one by one.  A major concern, at the time, was that alternate fire routes (and/or stations) , had to be created for emergency vehicles, south of 59.  The Arched bridge design approach was taken so that there would be no columns on the new roadbed on 59, to keep the highway as narrow as possible and still accommodate the HOV lane.   I doubt that this same requirement will be taken, or even possible, through the midtown section.   The LR line will probably be rerouted by a little bit...but, certainly it will have to be closed to some time.   Will be really interesting to see how it's all done.  It's the most (if not only) fun of watching these big highway projects unfold.   

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Well I wish I could snap my fingers and it would be all done because with all of this going on can you imagine the traffic nightmare on 69. It already backs up to Kirby just about every afternoon due to the pierce elevated bottleneck. I't will be backed up to Fondren when this is going on.

 

 

Edited by bobruss
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2 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Well I wish I could snap my fingers and it would be all done because with all of this going on can you imagine the traffic nightmare on 69. It already backs up to Kirby just about every afternoon due to the pierce elevated bottleneck. I't will be backed up to Fonder when this is going on.

 

 

 

or 610 traffic will be even worse from people trying to go around the area...

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On 2/28/2018 at 2:43 PM, Naviguessor said:

The LR line will probably be rerouted by a little bit...but, certainly it will have to be closed to some time

I was thinking about it and thought "hey they could just run it as a single track" but nope - the red line goes under 59 now as a single pair of tracks, and only splits after 59.  If I were TxDot, I would start the trenching by digging out either side under 59 for the train, close it one weekend and put in a pre-made support underneath it that would hold until they finish trenching the whole thing.  I'd also do as much excavation work before closing the freeway as possible, but the traffic volume on the roads is high, especially Almeda and Fannin.  Montrose would be the detour - and a parking lot

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On 2/28/2018 at 1:49 PM, Avossos said:

Wheeler and Caroline looks like a pretty significant intersection that is suspended above the freeway... logistics?

The Downtown Connector in Atlanta has a few intersections above it. They just construct a very wide bridge to accommodate the intersection https://goo.gl/maps/iU7kGxtXMby

On 2/28/2018 at 3:07 PM, bobruss said:

Well I wish I could snap my fingers and it would be all done because with all of this going on can you imagine the traffic nightmare on 69. It already backs up to Kirby just about every afternoon due to the pierce elevated bottleneck. I't will be backed up to Fondren when this is going on.

 

 

Another contributor to the traffic is the two left lanes branching away to become Spur 527. You have people weaving to get over to 527 and people weaving from the left lanes to stay on 59/69. This would be a good opportunity for them to relocate the 527 exit to the right lanes. I went to one of the neighborhood meetings and suggested it, but one of the workers said they thought it couldn't be done. I think it could be done. There's enough space since there'll be the same number of lanes. The only difference which side the exit is on. It'd just be a shifting of lanes and structures in the same space. Since the freeway will be depressed, there won't be a need for a high flying flyover. I guess they also might want to keep the Spur 527 exit ramp and HOV ramp on one structure, and having a Spur 527 exit from the right side would mean two separate structures.

Edited by JLWM8609
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21 hours ago, JLWM8609 said:

The Downtown Connector in Atlanta has a few intersections above it. They just construct a very wide bridge to accommodate the intersection https://goo.gl/maps/iU7kGxtXMby

Another contributor to the traffic is the two left lanes branching away to become Spur 527. You have people weaving to get over to 527 and people weaving from the left lanes to stay on 59/69. This would be a good opportunity for them to relocate the 527 exit to the right lanes. I went to one of the neighborhood meetings and suggested it, but one of the workers said they thought it couldn't be done. I think it could be done. There's enough space since there'll be the same number of lanes. The only difference which side the exit is on. It'd just be a shifting of lanes and structures in the same space. Since the freeway will be depressed, there won't be a need for a high flying flyover. I guess they also might want to keep the Spur 527 exit ramp and HOV ramp on one structure, and having a Spur 527 exit from the right side would mean two separate structures.

I don’t think it’s people jockeying for lane position that slows 59 down here.  59 inbound gets stacked up past Kirby every day because two lanes become dedicated to the Spur 527 exit, effectively bottlenecking the “through lanes” on 59, a major freeway, from five lanes to three at the spur.  It’s the most insanely stupid design of a freeway I’ve ever seen!  It looks like they address the issue in the redesign.

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Although the spur cause some problems,  the source of the backup goes to the split of 45 at the Pierce to Galveston and north to Dallas.

Where you have to merge to one lane to get on the Pierce elevated. That is the bigger problem. It backs up 288 and 59 every day.

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  • 4 weeks later...
5 minutes ago, corbs315 said:

Fiesta Mart is being sold. Any idea as to whether this may influence keeping the one on San Jacinto open?

 

https://www.chron.com/business/article/Houston-based-Fiesta-Mart-to-be-acquired-by-El-12780585.php

 

 

Probably not. The lease is still up in a couple of years, and the landlord wants to do something else with the property.

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8 hours ago, wilcal said:

 

Have they said that? (That they want something else with the grocery portion of property?)

Rice University bought that property when they bought out the rest of the Sears lease. I would not bet anything important that Fiesta will be there after their lease is up, since it would interfere with any big redevelopment plans.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Interesting. A lot of people don't know this but there are actually a good amount of incubators in the downtown and eastside... as a web developer, I frequent a lot of them. Wonder if they'll be setting up shop in this district. (Some incubators right now have their own buildings while some have taken over former gas business floors in downtown). Here's a picture of Station Houston in downtown:

stationhouston.JPG

 

 

Quote

The innovation district is modeled after similar developments across the U.S. such as 1871, a digital startup incubator in Chicago. 

 

Here's that Gensler project in Chicago:

1871.JPG

 

18713.JPG

 

18712.JPG

 

 

 

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I worry about Houston's ability to Innovate. We are very good with production and profit making enterprises. Taking ideas from other locations and making them profitable. 

 

People will point to O&G innovation but a lot of that is driven from Licensors located in Chicago, Germany, Italy and other overseas locations. I dont know enough about medical to say if this is really the location for innovation or if there are other places in the country that do more. We should never stop encouraging innovation but I dont think a high priced innovation coordinator is the answer. The more natural progression that is happening on the East End seems like the better option. 

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