Urbannizer Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Lockmat discovered this development from a link that TheNiche posted in the "Dome over Houston" thread. Europa at Houstonian Lakes, a 500-acre master planned community. LandQuest development group (or L Star, they've recently partnered with Starwood development) is the developer. Quote Europa features a variety of new homes, upscale midrise condominiums and town homes available at affordable prices surrounded by pristine lakes with a European-style village center. http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm99/YahTrickYah57/22.jpg http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm99/YahTrickYah57/23.jpg http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm99/YahTrickYah57/25.jpg http://www.enzoinv.com/brochure/brochure.htm (pg. 20-23) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photolitherland Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 hmm, me thinks this will never happen just like the Astroworld site proposal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 gah!! these names make me crazy. But then I guess no one wants to live on a piece of barren, frozen rock in an atmosphere that cannot support human life. The Towne Centre would not be very pedestrian-friendly there. I wish developers would think bigger when it comes to names. Europa was just a minor goddess, and only got a moon named after her. I'd prefer to see something a little more majestic, like, "Uranus at SugarLandian Shores". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 It's good to know that my email to their Contact Us link was undeliverable 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0123 Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I wish developers would think bigger when it comes to names.I wish they wouldn't create "Master Planned Communities" centered around some stupid phony theme. To me, this looks like you'd be living at Epcot Center. Pretty soon Houston will have it's own "Master Planned" Japan, China, Morocco, France, and Norway neighborhoods. I wonder if the "European" feel of Europa means they'll have fake statues like "The Thinker" lining each street. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 This does not look very credible. I think most people are starting to see right through these so called Master Planned Communities. What will they call the biggest strip mall in this project? Town Centre? Ugh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!No more themed garbage this close to town...ech. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I wish they wouldn't create "Master Planned Communities" centered around some stupid phony theme. To me, this looks like you'd be living at Epcot Center. Pretty soon Houston will have it's own "Master Planned" Japan, China, Morocco, France, and Norway neighborhoods. I wonder if the "European" feel of Europa means they'll have fake statues like "The Thinker" lining each street.There's always going to be a cheesy, phony theme. Less predictably cheesy would be a good start. I saw 'Europa' and was hoping to see them step up the game with an astronomical/greek mythology theme, but alas. The European village thing is so overdone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strickn Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!No more themed garbage this close to town...ech.Right, because in-town is authentic, like the river in River Oaks, the foothills in the Heights for the mountain in the Montrose, the completely pretentious practice of naming streets for bits of English literature and Ivy League colleges so the price tag can be larger, etc. An old method of theming, and to exactly the same purpose. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I emailed and asked them this: I am interested to know if Europa has been put on hold or cancelled. If not, what quarter do you expect to break ground?Her response: The timing will be dependent on market conditions and we do not have a definite target date at the moment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 I think the names are cheesy too, but have you ever tried to name streets? If you haven't, try making up a few names, then look in the index of the Key Map to see if someone else hasn't already thought of it before.That being said, just when you think every possible combination of "River", "Prairie", "Hills", "Stone", "Green", and "Park" has been done before, here comes a bigger and better combination.Sincerely,The Original Timmy Chan12321 Northwest Green River Prairie Hills Park CircleHouston, Texas 77021 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 I've known about this concept for some time, and personally, I'm convinced that it'd work. ...if and only if they market it adequately and with an air of exclusivity, build high walls around the entire perimeter, implement plenty of architectural status symbols at the points of entry, and form a special district to finance private schools exclusively serving the development. If they can make this as much like a master planned community as possible, and just as cheesy and boring, they'll succeed beyond their wildest hopes. Large-scale developments like this one have to have broad appeal, after all, and mass marketing doesn't go well with original or experimental design motifs.It's definitely going to take a long time to get this under way, though. The economy probably won't allow the project to move forward beyond the conceptualization stage for at least another several years. I recognize that the alignment of Buffalo Speedway and the pipeline easements already on the property are a major limiting factor, but hopefully they've got a better land plan by that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 I've known about this concept for some time...Why did'nt you say anything about this before!?! C'mon this is HAIF! lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 Why did'nt you say anything about this before!?! C'mon this is HAIF! lol.I talk about what I can when I can. Appreciate what you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 So, they closed Astroworld only to have Euro-Disney open up across the street! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I talk about what I can when I can. Appreciate what you have.Did that website just recently go up? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Why did'nt you say anything about this before!?! C'mon this is HAIF! lol.LOL. That's just the Niche being the Niche. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Did that website just recently go up?I'm pretty sure that they've revised it within the last six months, or thereabouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 (edited) I would like to see Buffalo Speedway go through to Holmes Rd. Maybe the city would then finally improve/widen that road. That would take a lot of pressure off the highway 90 commute. Edited May 18, 2011 by Fringe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I would like to see Buffalo Speedway go through to Holmes Rd. Maybe the city would then finally improve/widen that road. That would take a lot of pressure off the highway 90 commute.Buffalo Speedway will eventually go through past Holmes Road, so that it connect with a mile-long road-to-nowhere that the City has built in 2006 or 2007. Check it out on Google Earth, and then feel free to complain to City Council and the Mayor. You should also complain to to the Attorney General, since the premature construction of this road was a misappropriation of funds indicative of gross negligence on the part of Bill White and/or Andy Icken. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golyadkin Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 Buffalo Speedway just south of 610. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIS_Gordon Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 The apartments shown in the NE corner of the development are almost done. I drove down Buffalo speedway to where Willowbend has tied in and noticed that they have already dug the retention canal. Maybe things are moving along? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 Saw this For Sale sign the other month. Lots of vacant land on Buffalo Speedway. Probably will all slowly develop over the next 20 years. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawee Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 Just curious why the area south of 610 and NRG is so undeveloped. Any rhyme or reason why areas northwest of Houston and north east of Houston would develop more while south of 610 seems so undeveloped and just raw land. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 5 hours ago, hawee said: Just curious why the area south of 610 and NRG is so undeveloped. Any rhyme or reason why areas northwest of Houston and north east of Houston would develop more while south of 610 seems so undeveloped and just raw land. The area just South of 610 was an oil field, and the owners of the rest of the land were running their cattle businesses and had no interest in selling for development. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arboosto Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 Part of the answer is that decades ago the city placed landfills in the Black suburban development of Sunnyside. This article highlights present day reclamation of some of that land for a solar farm and provides historical context, particularly in the 5th paragraph. In Houston's Sunnyside, overburdened from decades of discrimination, you learn to provide for yourself 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Ross said: The area just South of 610 was an oil field, and the owners of the rest of the land were running their cattle businesses and had no interest in selling for development. That would have been my guess. Old oil fields are typically seen as oil fields waiting on technology to surpass what existed when they stopped producing the last time. Mineral rights owners will go generations waiting for it to come around, and I'd imagine no developer would want to build on top of land with a permanent easement for future development of wells, if doing so is even legal. Mineral rights changing hands is a completely different economic ballgame compared to the real estate it is attached to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted October 22, 2021 Share Posted October 22, 2021 Long ago there were plans to build a huge retirement community on the land where Astroworld used to be. That blew up for many of the same reasons a lot of pie in the sky development ideas went down in flames in the early 2000s. Not sure why the land still hasn't been redeveloped other than it is a lousy location. Otherwise, there are a couple of superfund sites around Wildcat Golf Club. I think a lot of the land around there has too many environmental issues to allow it to be redeveloped. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 On 10/22/2021 at 9:22 AM, Nate99 said: That would have been my guess. Old oil fields are typically seen as oil fields waiting on technology to surpass what existed when they stopped producing the last time. Mineral rights owners will go generations waiting for it to come around, and I'd imagine no developer would want to build on top of land with a permanent easement for future development of wells, if doing so is even legal. Mineral rights changing hands is a completely different economic ballgame compared to the real estate it is attached to. They will get developed if the land value goes up enough. Lots of oil fields around Houston have been developed and now look like any suburban area - Humble, Tomball, Fairbanks, etc. Some have been mostly developed with just a small core area remaining. This link is fun to explore: https://gis.rrc.texas.gov/GISViewer/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aachor Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Maybe someone who is more familiar with the history of the city can explain this. Why is it that there is this massive stretch of seemingly mostly untouched forest between Bellfort and Airport, right off of south main, and so close to the loop? How did it go so long without being developed, despite development on all sides and to the south, even farther from the loop? Was something in this area previously? Was there some sort of planned greenbelt at one time? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 (edited) Oil drilling back in the early 1920's -40's, underground salt domes used for storage caverns for crude oil, sand pits and old trash dumps. Wildcat Golf Club was a trash dump years ago before it was converted to a golf course in the late 90's to 00's Edited January 15, 2022 by hindesky 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 (edited) 38 minutes ago, aachor said: Maybe someone who is more familiar with the history of the city can explain this. Why is it that there is this massive stretch of seemingly mostly untouched forest between Bellfort and Airport, right off of south main, and so close to the loop? How did it go so long without being developed, despite development on all sides and to the south, even farther from the loop? Was something in this area previously? Was there some sort of planned greenbelt at one time? Wildcat Golf Club was a landfill. The big green square on the right was a landfill (and becoming a solar farm). The main area had oil wells on it IIRC. Edited January 15, 2022 by wilcal 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rechlin Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 More about it here: This map shows the oil wells in that area; the left side of the circle below more or less matches up with the area you circled above: 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aachor Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 11 minutes ago, rechlin said: More about it here: This map shows the oil wells in that area; the left side of the circle below more or less matches up with the area you circled above: This is some awesome history. Thank you all! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toxtethogrady Posted February 2, 2022 Share Posted February 2, 2022 On 1/14/2022 at 6:30 PM, aachor said: Maybe someone who is more familiar with the history of the city can explain this. Why is it that there is this massive stretch of seemingly mostly untouched forest between Bellfort and Airport, right off of south main, and so close to the loop? How did it go so long without being developed, despite development on all sides and to the south, even farther from the loop? Was something in this area previously? Was there some sort of planned greenbelt at one time? For a long time, the entire south side, especially around the Dome, was not able to develop because City utilities did not reach it. Also, 288 was not built. Both of those developments, which occurred in the '80s, allowed both commercial and residential development to extend southward. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbcu Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 it's starting to develop now - drive down Buffalo Speedway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 I've been looking at this Loopnet listing for a month. That area has so much potential! It's mostly contaminated forest land. These parcels are also located across the 307-Acre UT Research Campus Proposal. I know there was once a proposal, about 13 years ago, that covered a lot of the Buffalo Speedway forest land Obviously that was never realized. Here's the Loopnet listing I saw. Too much information to post in the thread. https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/Holmes-Rd-and-Buffalo-Speedway-Houston-TX/8791075/ Across Holmes Road from the 320-acre University of Texas purchase, the 115 acres is a Texas Medical Center auxiliary property. Mostly wooded, the property consists of nine parcels which adjoin the Wildcat Golf Course, of the Houston Texans, the University of Houston Cougars and the Houston Rockets, with frontage on the extension of Buffalo Speedway, one of the most prominent north-south major thoroughfares in Houston and the south side of Holmes Road, a prominent east-west thoroughfare now being 4-laned with curb and gutter and center esplanade over 42" to 48"sewer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 Tract 2 and 3 are active. I can only imagine remediation is about to take place? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 Noticed this the other day. I wonder if it's Crown Castle's? Edit: No, it clearly states "Site Concepts, Inc." out of Palm City, Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 Noticed this on my run. I didn't think this parcel was under contract? It's the land located within the Buffalo Speedway Connector loop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 The area of the proposed Europa At Houstonian Lakes development is now being split up into tracts. Something may be finally happening with the Buffalo Speedway/Holmes Road saga. Of course the whole 307-Acre UT Research Park proposed development is still dormant. Here is the property flyer by Land Quest Development from 13 years ago. See original posting by Urb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortune Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 Such a large assembly of land so close to the inner city. Sucks that one developer could not come up with a masterplan and develop it instead of selling it off piece by piece. Where is Midway when you need them .. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 11, 2022 Share Posted August 11, 2022 Buffalo Point/Holmes Road Wastewater Line https://harriscountyrda24.org/buffalopoint/ The agreement known as Buffalo Point was executed 11/20/2014 for a participation amount of a maximum contribution of $3.5M for the purpose of constructing a wastewater line in conjunction with the paving improvements for Holmes Road, a designated major thoroughfare. This proposed infrastructure improvement opened approximately 1,300 acres within TIRZ area boundaries that could not previously obtain a building permit for wastewater services. Again, the purpose of creating TIRZ 24 was to open development opportunities to over 4,000 acres of vacant or underdeveloped acreage, in the southern area of the Zone, due to a lack of suitable infrastructure. This TIRZ investment will generate new taxable property values that “but for” the TIRZ investment otherwise would not have occurred in a timely manner within the service area. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 29, 2022 Share Posted August 29, 2022 Noticed this along Buffalo Speedway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 Listening, reading rather, to the State of Texas Medical Center 2022. Bill McKeon said: TMC Bioport will be the home of our bio manufacturing. This will be a new 500-acre campus and we are still in the due diligence phase. We believe this alone will add another 1000,000 jobs. Where exactly do they have 500 acres close to the medical center? Wishful thinking; are they grabbing up the Buffalo Speedway land? By the way, did the TMC3 campus just officially get rebranded at TMC Helix Park? "TMC3 is now TMC Helix Park which will become the new city center for TMC" 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 43 minutes ago, Highrise Tower said: Listening, reading rather, to the State of Texas Medical Center 2022. Bill McKeon said: TMC Bioport will be the home of our bio manufacturing. This will be a new 500-acre campus and we are still in the due diligence phase. We believe this alone will add another 1000,000 jobs. Where exactly do they have 500 acres close to the medical center? Wishful thinking; are they grabbing up the Buffalo Speedway land? By the way, did the TMC3 campus just officially get rebranded at TMC Helix Park? "TMC3 is now TMC Helix Park which will become the new city center for TMC" How do you listen/read this report? Do you have a link? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 2 minutes ago, Houston19514 said: How do you listen/read this report? Do you have a link? The GHP and TMC social media accounts were updated every few minutes. I was planning on doing a screenshot of the TMC Bioport tweet but the bank blocks the website. See below for GHP's Twitter account where you can read about it. https://twitter.com/GHPartnership In two weeks GHP will upload the State of TMC 2022 to YouTube. Hopefully new renderings of projects will be revealed at that time. Regarding the TMC Bioport project, I'm also hoping the 500-acre campus is not located outside of the city. There are thousands of acres available at that point. I just don't know where they can get 500 acres. The area that I have in mind is Buffalo Speedway, Holmes Road, and West Airport. The University of Texas is selling hundreds of acres in that area, and UT is already established with the TMC due to MD Anderson and UTHealth. Seems like an easy (or familiar) land swamp. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Highrise Tower Posted September 20, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted September 20, 2022 TMC CEO unveils Plans for Growth of Texas Medical Center as a Leading Life Science Corridor https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220920006149/en/TMC-CEO-unveils-Plans-for-Growth-of-Texas-Medical-Center-as-a-Leading-Life-Science-Corridor With a vision to become the world’s most comprehensive life science ecosystem, TMC is anchored by four districts – the TMC Medical Campus, TMC Innovation Factory, TMC Helix Park, and the newly announced TMC BioPort. BioPort is TMC’s newest initiative and will serve as the Texas Medical Center’s biomanufacturing and medical supplies distribution engine. The district will span several hundred acres driving the much-needed repatriation of critical medical supplies and new cell and gene therapies. In addition, TMC BioPort will provide on-site upskill training center, creating over 100,000 new job opportunities for residents in the Greater Houston region. This vital initiative is aligned with the expectation that the US will significantly increase its biomanufacturing capacity to assure ready access to pharmaceuticals, therapies and medical supplies. 11 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREguy13 Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 I have no knowledge, but I would put all my money on this being the Buffalo Speedway site. There are many bio-manufacturing companies already in the immediate area along Fannin and Kirby. This is a no-brainer for all parties assuming they can agree to terms. 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Highrise Tower Posted September 20, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted September 20, 2022 Concept rendering was tweeted by the TMC account. This definitely looks like the road configuration of Willowbend Blvd near Buffalo Speedway. wow!! 18 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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