The Allen: Mixed-Use Development At Allen Parkway & Gillette St.

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[wxman]

So they did shrink the main tower then—from 42 stories to 33. I was wondering where the previous 40-something story figure came from. 

[hindesky]

Couldn't find the article on their web site but the Houston Chronicle had an article about "The Allen" in Saturday's Business section. I don't get why they think this is a questionable site, to me it seems to be a great site next to the park and so close to downtown, Montrose and not far to other parts of the inner loop.

Edited May 27, 2019 by hindesky

[hindesky]

I looked at the Chron site and the Houston Chronicle site but I guess I didn't look hard enough, thanks Crockpotandgravel.

[Angostura]

8 hours ago, gclass said:

 

^^^ totally cool INDUCTION HEATING COUNTER TOP at the RESIDENCES AT THE ALLEN.  the state-of-the-art surface only heats the INDUCTION COOKWARE that is placed upon it.  what a cool amenity... wow!

 

 

 

 

Don't leave your keys on the kitchen island!

[shasta]

I wonder what is the agenda for this article....it seems very off for coming from someone respected, like Nancy Sarnoff.

 

“For a developer, it’s risky. It’s not Uptown. It’s not River Oaks,” Contreras said this week,

 

No, Contreras..it's a place called Near Town..nuzzled in between downtown, River Oaks, and Montrose. For its residents its a short drive, or uber ride, or private car to all of the cultural districts in the city.

His concerns are ridiculous...I'd rather live here than Uptown anyway.

 

Plus, you will have the Regent Square development, the Hanover development, and the Ismaili Landmark just down the street.

 

"While the location of the project is a short drive to Houston’s cultural and sports destinations, the medical center and upscale housing, it lacks the walkability of areas such as Uptown or inside the West Loop near San Felipe, where multiple towers have been built or are under construction."

 

Well, that's the first time I've ever heard Uptown described as "walkable".  Its one of the LEAST walkable "major" districts in the United States. Walk from Boulevard Place to the Galleria and tell me how pleasant of a walk that is.

 

Seriously, Nancy is better that that.

You know Houston is in trouble when we point to Uptown as a model for a pedestrian friendly, human scale district..lol

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by shasta

[Response]

I'd take the 'walkability' of Buffalo Bayou Park to the 'walkability' of uptown any day. If I could live anywhere in Houston that I wanted to, it would be along Allen Parkway and that beautiful stretch of park along Buffalo Bayou. Screw dodging cars. But, too bad about that cool pedestrian bridge not being built, I would think that would seal the deal with potential buyers. 

[dbigtex56]

36 minutes ago, shasta said:

I wonder what is the agenda for this article....it seems very off for coming from someone respected, like Nancy Sarnoff.

 

“For a developer, it’s risky. It’s not Uptown. It’s not River Oaks,” Contreras said this week,

 

No, Contreras..it's a place called Near Town..nuzzled in between downtown, River Oaks, and Montrose. For its residents its a short drive, or uber ride, or private car to all of the cultural districts in the city.

His concerns are ridiculous...I'd rather live here than Uptown anyway.

 

Plus, you will have the Regent Square development, the Hanover development, and the Ismaili Landmark just down the street.

 

"While the location of the project is a short drive to Houston’s cultural and sports destinations, the medical center and upscale housing, it lacks the walkability of areas such as Uptown or inside the West Loop near San Felipe, where multiple towers have been built or are under construction."

 

Well, that's the first time I've ever heard Uptown described as "walkable".  Its one of the LEAST walkable "major" districts in the United States. Walk from Boulevard Place to the Galleria and tell me how pleasant of a walk that is.

 

Seriously, Nancy is better that that.

You know Houston is in trouble when we point to Uptown as a model for a pedestrian friendly, human scale district..lol

 

My reaction was about the same, accompanied by incredulous laughter. Who IS this developer - Jerry Lundegaard?
"Oh, jeez, I don't know. It's way overpriced, and the neighborhood sucks. People are gonna hate it."

[shasta]

I hope both Nancy and the developer read this thread to realize how off base they are. Uptown is considered an urban nightmare to anyone with even close to a little knowledge of urban design. I'm thinking dodging cars along a giant thoroughfare is NOT what Jane Jacobs had in mind.

 

On this site, I'm pretty sure Hines current Market Square tower and the new one under construction will demand the highest rents in the city. True, this one isn't IN downtown but its close enough for those rich buyers who want the downtown proximity without being in the middle of it. The $600k asking price for a 1 bedroom and $1million plus for a two bedroom back that up.

Edited May 27, 2019 by shasta

[H-Town Man]

I think she was just going along with what the developer was saying and trying to have an angle for her article. I think it would have sounded stronger though to say, "Developer Builds on Emerging Bayou Residential Corridor" and not act like this could be a bad idea.

 

And yes, there is nothing at all walkable in Uptown.

 

[jgriff]

Being next to the park and downtown is great but Allen Parkway Village brings the whole area down. I wouldn’t want my family walking in that area alone. Get rid of Allen Parkway village and it would be great.

[Angostura]

20 hours ago, shasta said:

"While the location of the project is a short drive to Houston’s cultural and sports destinations, the medical center and upscale housing, it lacks the walkability of areas such as Uptown or inside the West Loop near San Felipe, where multiple towers have been built or are under construction."

 

Well, that's the first time I've ever heard Uptown described as "walkable".  Its one of the LEAST walkable "major" districts in the United States. Walk from Boulevard Place to the Galleria and tell me how pleasant of a walk that is.

 

 

 

+1

 

Density and walkability are not synonyms. This is the problem with algorithmic measures like Walk Score, which rate relative proximity of various amenities, but don't take into consideration how crappy the pedestrian experience can be.

 

[Texasota]

2 hours ago, jgriff said:

Being next to the park and downtown is great but Allen Parkway Village brings the whole area down. I wouldn’t want my family walking in that area alone. Get rid of Allen Parkway village and it would be great.

 

Oh come on. There are worse things than living next to poor people. I (and lots of people I know) have walked through there countless times and never had anything remotely like an issue. To the extent that's even possible of course, since the whole thing is fenced and separated from the rest of the neighborhood. 

[CaptainJilliams]

1 hour ago, Texasota said:

 

Oh come on. There are worse things than living next to poor people. I (and lots of people I know) have walked through there countless times and never had anything remotely like an issue. To the extent that's even possible of course, since the whole thing is fenced and separated from the rest of the neighborhood. 

 

Yeah, this development is right across the road from Buffalo Bayou Park, and I've walked/run many times in that area and have never had an issue.

[Luminare]

1 hour ago, Texasota said:

 

Oh come on. There are worse things than living next to poor people. I (and lots of people I know) have walked through there countless times and never had anything remotely like an issue. To the extent that's even possible of course, since the whole thing is fenced and separated from the rest of the neighborhood. 

 

Yeah its kinda rigid thinking. I mean its not like they don't have a point (and its not like there aren't bad dudes that frequent these areas, lets not be naive), but its different when its simply out of fear of the unknown rather than personal experience. I've been getting push back recently from some who don't want me exploring Northside for this very reason. It was interesting a conversation I had with two people about this sort of thing. One was a person close to me and another was a nurse that works in a rough neighborhood. The person close to me has never been to these areas, and has zero experience in these situations and simply doesn't want me there...just because. The nurse (lets say is a good friend of mine) was completely neutral, and instead gave me valuable insider information about how to be in control of the situation and what to look out for knowing full well I want to journey into these areas anyway. Again one was simply from fear and the other was from experience. One has zero value for me and the other is immensely valuable. One is superficial nonsense and the other is deep and nuanced. As long as you are taking precautions, and not acting like a total fool, or act like someone who legitimately "shouldn't be there" then you won't be messed with and in fact won't care that you are there at all.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Luminare

[htownbro]

4 hours ago, jgriff said:

Being next to the park and downtown is great but Allen Parkway Village brings the whole area down. I wouldn’t want my family walking in that area alone. Get rid of Allen Parkway village and it would be great.

With all the new development, it will only be a matter of time before this goes.  

[thatguysly]

It and a lot of the Freedoms Town area near the development aren't going anywhere from my understanding. A lot of that area is historically protected so it can't be. It's like the shotgun houses off West Gray.

[Luminare]

On 5/27/2019 at 10:00 AM, shasta said:

I wonder what is the agenda for this article....it seems very off for coming from someone respected, like Nancy Sarnoff.

 

“For a developer, it’s risky. It’s not Uptown. It’s not River Oaks,” Contreras said this week,

 

No, Contreras..it's a place called Near Town..nuzzled in between downtown, River Oaks, and Montrose. For its residents its a short drive, or uber ride, or private car to all of the cultural districts in the city.

His concerns are ridiculous...I'd rather live here than Uptown anyway.

 

Plus, you will have the Regent Square development, the Hanover development, and the Ismaili Landmark just down the street.

 

"While the location of the project is a short drive to Houston’s cultural and sports destinations, the medical center and upscale housing, it lacks the walkability of areas such as Uptown or inside the West Loop near San Felipe, where multiple towers have been built or are under construction."

 

Well, that's the first time I've ever heard Uptown described as "walkable".  Its one of the LEAST walkable "major" districts in the United States. Walk from Boulevard Place to the Galleria and tell me how pleasant of a walk that is.

 

Seriously, Nancy is better that that.

You know Houston is in trouble when we point to Uptown as a model for a pedestrian friendly, human scale district..lol

 

 

The agenda...eyeballs. Views. Responses. They market in attention. Having a headline that reads "new towers going in growing neighborhood" is not going to get as many eyeballs as "new towers going in bad neighborhood". Remember these people don't care about facts. They simply care about attention. They also have declining readership, and at this point I'm no longer mystified at what goes for a headline or even a "story".

 

Same goes with words such as "walkable". For them its a buzzword. Like "luxury" or "modern". They don't care about what the word actually means and how it should rightly be applied. They want to use that word in as many ways and instances as possible to get attention even if that means devaluing what that word actually means.

 

Whats funny is how transparent and elitist it all sounds. The same poor which they pretend to defend and protect is the same poor that will throw under the bus if necessary. 'Oh look its a poor area...poor areas can't have anything nice! These areas are for poor people.' Nobody has the power in this city to dictate who lives where. I don't care what race, creed, or income the person is. If you can afford it, and you want to live/build something somewhere, and you are doing so by legal means, then do so. This idea that we must self-segregate ourselves into tribes dependent on our race, creed, and income is regressive. "Walkable" areas aren't only for wealthy areas just as they aren't only for poor areas. Nice things aren't only for wealthy areas or only for poor areas. This kind of mentality is complete cancer. Let people do what they want, and lets get out of their way.

 

EDIT: Heading off a particular response to this at the pass, I understand that some will choose to live with people that are "similar" to them. That is understandable and completely fine as that is the free right to associate with whom one chooses. I'm simply saying that nobody has the moral authority from top-down to dictate where certain people live, when, and how.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Luminare

[jgriff]

2 hours ago, htownbro said:

With all the new development, it will only be a matter of time before this goes.  

Not likely. The political outrage would be impossible to overcome. 

[nate4l1f3]

7 hours ago, jgriff said:

Being next to the park and downtown is great but Allen Parkway Village brings the whole area down. I wouldn’t want my family walking in that area alone. Get rid of Allen Parkway village and it would be great.

Laughable. 

[Angostura]

28 minutes ago, jgriff said:

Not likely. The political outrage would be impossible to overcome. 

 

Almost certainly true. But APV is sufficiently low density (as compared to most of what is being built nearby), that a clever developer should be able to find a way to make money with the same number of BMR units in a mixed-use, mixed-income development on that piece of land.

 

Edited May 28, 2019 by Angostura

[EllenOlenska]

4 hours ago, Luminare said:

and its not like there aren't bad dudes that frequent these areas, lets not be naive

I wouldn't be so naive as to not think there'll be bad dudes buying the condos

Edited May 28, 2019 by EllenOlenska

[Response]

O.K. I'll play nice.

[Luminare]

8 hours ago, EllenOlenska said:

I wouldn't be so naive as to not think there'll be bad dudes buying the condos

 

I know right? I don't know about you, but I've NEVER seen or meet a BAD rich person. NEVER. The only bad dudes or criminals are poor people. Only the rich elite are good right?

 

I've also been in conversations with people who assume that because someone has a college education that they all the sudden become good people. Lest they forget that some of worst crimes imaginable have been committed by those who had a college education or were part of the intelligentsia at the time. Its amazing what people convince themselves to think just so they can feel safe and secure. 

 

 

[thatguysly]

Amazing how many topics in 4th Ward and Midtown turn into how much people don't like the poors.

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[BlindTiger]

23 hours ago, thatguysly said:

Amazing how many topics in 4th Ward and Midtown turn into how much people don't like the poors.

 

To be fair, they are mostly turning into "people think other people don't like poors and are getting mad about it."

 

I think one person said something to the affect of "APV should go or is likely to go."  Then like 5 people are saying no one likes the poors and rich people are bad and arguing against arguments that were never made in the first place.  All very odd. 

[Texasota]

On 5/28/2019 at 6:20 AM, jgriff said:

Being next to the park and downtown is great but Allen Parkway Village brings the whole area down. I wouldn’t want my family walking in that area alone. Get rid of Allen Parkway village and it would be great.

 

Just a reminder of what people (myself included) were reacting to.

[jgriff]

I stand by my comment. It is not desirable to live next to government assisted housing. Live in a fantasy all you want.

[Texasota]

I have done and likely will again. Disagreeing with you is not "living in a fantasy."

[Twinsanity02]

I don't understand the source of friction. Some people like living in the suburbs, some don't. Some people don't like living near low income people some don't care. Some people like living in the countryside or small towns some prefer an urban lifestyle. Some people love Paris some hate the place. So what? 

[H-Town Man]

40 minutes ago, jgriff said:

I stand by my comment. It is not desirable to live next to government assisted housing. Live in a fantasy all you want.

 

Few people on an internet forum will agree with you, but most will make real-life choices that mirror yours.

 

[Response]

Better to be undesirable than deplorable.

[wxman]

Omg can we get back on topic? Who gives a rats @ss. There are dangerous areas everywhere. Crime isn’t zero in The Woodlands, Sugar Land or River Oaks. At the rate Houston is gentrifying, it won’t be long before the high rents drive us all out of town.

 

damn.

[Response]

Too bad you didn't get here sooner to set everybody straight, right?

[TylerHerman13]

Okay. This is ridiculous. They will be fine. I live in the apartments right next door and never had an issue. Rents only keep increasing so it’s obvious it’s desirable and not an issue, granted it’s not multi million dollar real estate but it’s not low income or anything close to. Building this will only continue to change the area and raise property values continuing to push out any outliers that cause problems.  The problems in the area don’t come from the government housing but come from the 4th ward area across the street on west Dallas. Read the reviews for 2929 - drug dealers coming in all shapes, sizes, and income brackets  now lets get this thread back on topic. HA!

[dbigtex56]

11 hours ago, wxman said:

At the rate Houston is gentrifying, it won’t be long before the high rents drive us all out of town.

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
- Yogi Berra

[CaptainJilliams]

Between this project, Regent Square,  and the Hanover Mixed-Use Project, the Bayou is going to see its share of exciting new developments.

[shasta]

On 5/31/2019 at 9:30 AM, CaptainJilliams said:

Between this project, Regent Square,  and the Hanover Mixed-Use Project, the Bayou is going to see its share of exciting new developments.

Don't forget the Ismaili Cultural Center which is supposed to be an Architectural landmark...they only select one city, per country, for their center.

Edited June 10, 2019 by shasta

[Luminare]

1 hour ago, shasta said:

Don't forge the Ismaili Cultural Center which is supposed to be an Architectural landmark...they only select one city, per country, for their center.

 

Need that site plan though....Really want to know what relationship will be to the bayou.

[mattyt36]

APV is in great shape.  The Community Center there is my polling location.  It's actually a fine place to walk around.

[nate4l1f3]

Lets go live on the scene at Parkway Village....

 

[mattyt36]

9 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

Lets go live on the scene at Parkway Village....

 

 

Yes let’s go “live” from 40 years ago. If you want to go “live,” you might be surprised.

Edited June 2, 2019 by mattyt36

[mattyt36]

That’s a great video BTW, thanks for sharing. Apologies for misconstruing your point.

 

When I viewed that this was suggested via YouTube. I had to watch the whole thing. Everything old is new again.

 

 

[nate4l1f3]

14 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

 

Yes let’s go “live” from 40 years ago. If you want to go “live,” you might be surprised.

This was a joke.  I laugh at those who are scared as you can see by my post at the top of the page. 

[Response]

3 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

This was a joke.  I laugh at those who are scared as you can see by my post at the top of the page. 

I used to laugh at that kind of stuff or at least not take it seriously enough to acknowledge it. But for some reason, it just got less funny in the last couple of years. I hear it's getting less funny in Europe these days too.

[ArtNsf]

On 6/1/2019 at 11:40 PM, mattyt36 said:

That’s a great video BTW, thanks for sharing. Apologies for misconstruing your point.

 

When I viewed that this was suggested via YouTube. I had to watch the whole thing. Everything old is new again.

 

 

WOW so many vivid flashback memories !  I was only knee high to a grasshopper at the time, but can remember just about 99% of the people, issues, visuals, and commercials from that time.  Looking back, it definitely DOES seem like a lifetime ago, although I never want to admit it was 41 years ago LOL...

[ArtNsf]

On 6/1/2019 at 10:40 PM, mattyt36 said:

 

Yes let’s go “live” from 40 years ago. If you want to go “live,” you might be surprised.

yikes, seeing that corrupt racist sleezeball Welch, just gave me chills (and not the good kind).  I usually like to let the dead rest, but like OMG that guy was so vile he makes me ill even to this day.  Reminds me of so many deep south politicians from the past few years and how disgusting and toxic DC has become.  Wow, just wow...

[hindesky]

The pool deck at The Allen.

[Twinsanity02]

12 minutes ago, hindesky said:

The pool deck at The Allen.

At night the view will also be beautiful. Tropical drink by the pool after a day of work. What a way to relax.