How Can The East End Best Capitalize On Our Rail Line's Jump Start

[totheskies]

So the current estimates by Metro...

East End Line... under construction, scheduled to finish in 2012

Southeast Line... under construction, late 2012

North Line... same as SE

Uptown Line... starts construction in 2010, finish in 2014

University Line... starts construction in late 2010, finish in late 2014

So for 2012 and 2013, all eyes will be on Houston's East End, thanks to the Southeast and East End Line. This is an awesome opportunity for the area to transform itself into one of the city's most coveted destinations. So my question is, how are we going to do it???

[musicman]

invite them to lenox barbeque as a destination.

[editor]

Find a way to encourage restaurants and mom-and-pop retail shops to locate near the stations. Use the rail line to turn that corridor into a shopping and entertainment district. Maybe pick a theme for it. Little Guadalajara, or maybe something easier for Gringo tourists to spell.

[TheNiche]

So for 2012 and 2013, all eyes will be on Houston's East End, thanks to the Southeast and East End Line. This is an awesome opportunity for the area to transform itself into one of the city's most coveted destinations. So my question is, how are we going to do it???

We can start by bricking up all the windows in old downtown Magnolia Park, because the plywood is going to look really tacky once all the businesses have been flushed out by construction and inaccessibility issues.

Oh, oh! Or better yet, maybe we can get some stimulus funds to cut the facades off all those buildings and relocate them to Mason Park. And then we can demolish the remnants of the old buildings and sell parcels to drive-thru operators like CVS or Jack in the Box.

[LTAWACS]

We can start by bricking up all the windows in old downtown Magnolia Park, because the plywood is going to look really tacky once all the businesses have been flushed out by construction and inaccessibility issues.

Oh, oh! Or better yet, maybe we can get some stimulus funds to cut the facades off all those buildings and relocate them to Mason Park. And then we can demolish the remnants of the old buildings and sell parcels to drive-thru operators like CVS or Jack in the Box.

You're forgetting drive through liquor stores.

[crunchtastic]

Find a way to encourage restaurants and mom-and-pop retail shops to locate near the stations. Use the rail line to turn that corridor into a shopping and entertainment district. Maybe pick a theme for it. Little Guadalajara, or maybe something easier for Gringo tourists to spell.

Yes, starting at the Lockwood station. There's a blank slate to work with on one corner, at least. The city park is right there, (which needs to be refurbed, especially the play areas and the pool). I see a great opportunity to make Eastwood Park into something much nicer. If you anchor the station with the park, and then retail on the other corners of Lockwood and Harrisburg, you could have a sigificant improvemnt in public space and retail all in the same location.

I am preparing myself for extreme mockery-- but if there were any way to acquire some of the property on the west side of the park, I think it would be totally cool to build a mini golf course and a small game arcade, with food stands too. The east end is so family-oriented anyway, always big groups cooking out and doing birthdays and stuff there at the park already. We should be careful to stay true to the neighborhood, in addition to the inevitable wine bar and farmer's market wish-list that the minority yuppie population will want.

I'd also like to see the Astros team with METRO for a big 'east end neighbors' promotion. Lots of baseball fans over there, and with the rail, a new, direct shot to MMP. Who knows, by 2012 the Astros might even claw their way back to being a .500 team.

[ricco67]

Yes, starting at the Lockwood station. There's a blank slate to work with on one corner, at least. The city park is right there, (which needs to be refurbed, especially the play areas and the pool). I see a great opportunity to make Eastwood Park into something much nicer. If you anchor the station with the park, and then retail on the other corners of Lockwood and Harrisburg, you could have a sigificant improvemnt in public space and retail all in the same location.

I am preparing myself for extreme mockery-- but if there were any way to acquire some of the property on the west side of the park, I think it would be totally cool to build a mini golf course and a small game arcade, with food stands too. The east end is so family-oriented anyway, always big groups cooking out and doing birthdays and stuff there at the park already. We should be careful to stay true to the neighborhood, in addition to the inevitable wine bar and farmer's market wish-list that the minority yuppie population will want.

I'd also like to see the Astros team with METRO for a big 'east end neighbors' promotion. Lots of baseball fans over there, and with the rail, a new, direct shot to MMP. Who knows, by 2012 the Astros might even claw their way back to being a .500 team.

In the short term, I don't think anything major will happen except for a few townhomes and apartment complexes in the area within 5 or so years.

What I hope after 10yrs is that some smart developer will develop a few blocks near the stations that would resemble the Post apartments near the stations with ground level retail (Bars, Quickie mart, and other goods and services), but not be quite as expensive.

The homes might "change" a bit after that. The older homes might eventually give out to more dense development, but that may not be in my lifetime.

[musicman]

I forgot to post this earlier. when doing some research on the recent ACORN fiasco, I noticed this was in the same bill. didn't see anything about the east side line which may be good news for them.

H.R. 3288, making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

Sec. __. None of the funds in this Act may be used to fund the Houston North Corridor LRT, TX.

Sec. __. None of the funds in this Act may be used to fund the Houston Southeast Corridor LRT, TX.

[editor]

We can start by bricking up all the windows in old downtown Magnolia Park, because the plywood is going to look really tacky once all the businesses have been flushed out by construction and inaccessibility issues.

Oh, oh! Or better yet, maybe we can get some stimulus funds to cut the facades off all those buildings and relocate them to Mason Park. And then we can demolish the remnants of the old buildings and sell parcels to drive-thru operators like CVS or Jack in the Box.

So... do you have anything to actually contribute to this thread, or are you just going to be a sarcastic jerk?

I forgot to post this earlier. when doing some research on the recent ACORN fiasco, I noticed this was in the same bill. didn't see anything about the east side line which may be good news for them.

H.R. 3288, making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

Sec. __. None of the funds in this Act may be used to fund the Houston North Corridor LRT, TX.

Sec. __. None of the funds in this Act may be used to fund the Houston Southeast Corridor LRT, TX.

Were you able to tell who introduced the rider? Is that the right term?

[musicman]

Were you able to tell who introduced the rider? Is that the right term?

looks like john mccain...lots of projects nationwide were there.

[totheskies]

I think it would be totally cool to build a mini golf course and a small game arcade, with food stands too. The east end is so family-oriented anyway, always big groups cooking out and doing birthdays and stuff there at the park already. We should be careful to stay true to the neighborhood, in addition to the inevitable wine bar and farmer's market wish-list that the minority yuppie population will want.

Exactly... the East End is very family oriented, and I don't that will change any time soon. My hope is that we can grow the East End corridor with that in mind. East End doesn't have to be "the next Montrose" or the next anything. But particularly considering what little is left on Harrisburg, this is a golden opportunity to create a nice mixed-use district from the ground up. Like ricco mentioned, something akin to the Post lofts development but not quite as hipster. It would be a smash. I also think/hope that we maintain the character of the existing streetscapes off of Harrisburg (with marked improvements to roads, sidewalks, and more home rehabs of course). This neighborhood is amazing as it is, we just need another decent retail corridor on this side of town.

[TheNiche]

So... do you have anything to actually contribute to this thread, or are you just going to be a sarcastic jerk?

Mostly, I'm just going to be a sarcastic internet jerk on this issue. ...at least until public financing is arranged for this purpose, that is. Otherwise it's just too pie-in-the-sky to take especially seriously.

I'm already going above and beyond (in real life) to further the goals expressed by totheskies, as most everyone on this thread already figured out from attending the HAIF Happy Hour that I hosted. And I've damn near bankrupted myself in the process of this project, so I'll thank you to grant me the the slightest bit of leeway in the matter.

Incidentally, it was a three-hour-long conversation with RedScare that was crucial to developing an actionable strategy to avoid bankruptcy and the forfeiting of all that's been done to further the project. When I discussed the matter with him, I figured that the odds of me filing by the end of the year were up near 60% to 70%. Today, I think that they're 10% or less, and my partners are relatively well shielded from the risk I pose.

[totheskies]

Mostly, I'm just going to be a sarcastic internet jerk on this issue. ...at least until public financing is arranged for this purpose, that is. Otherwise it's just too pie-in-the-sky to take especially seriously.

I'm already going above and beyond (in real life) to further the goals expressed by totheskies, as most everyone on this thread already figured out from attending the HAIF Happy Hour that I hosted. And I've damn near bankrupted myself in the process of this project, so I'll thank you to grant me the the slightest bit of leeway in the matter.

Incidentally, it was a three-hour-long conversation with RedScare that was crucial to developing an actionable strategy to avoid bankruptcy and the forfeiting of all that's been done to further the project. When I discussed the matter with him, I figured that the odds of me filing by the end of the year were up near 60% to 70%. Today, I think that they're 10% or less, and my partners are relatively well shielded from the risk I pose.

It's sad that you'd devote so much time and energy to the issue in real life, and then shoot yourself in the foot with your sarcastic jerkedness on here. It doesn't bode well for the success of your project to contradict yourself.

And no, I'm not in real estate... I'm not an investor... I'm not a financier... I'm not an urban planner. But I do have a mouth, eyes, ears, and a modest income. So everyone that I encounter through Houston Grand Opera, UofH, UHD, my church, Montrose and anywhere else that I haunt around in this city and world we're in gets to hear about me living in the East End. They get to hear about whether or not I enjoy it, what I expect the area to become in a few years, and what I'm doing to help guide that process. So if I talk and they listen, that may help to change or even create an opinion about the area. And they use that opinion to turn into cold hard cash for East End businesses. So the chain between your over-frustrated negative blogging and my margarita-induced chit-chat is in fact inextricably linked, whether you'd like to admit it or not.

So to you this may just be more "pie-in-the-sky" nonesense, but to me, it's planting a seed for something that may be realized in this neighborhood. And I'd prefer to be optimistic about that and hope for/work for the best.

[TheNiche]

It's sad that you'd devote so much time and energy to the issue in real life, and then shoot yourself in the foot with your sarcastic jerkedness on here. It doesn't bode well for the success of your project to contradict yourself.

And no, I'm not in real estate... I'm not an investor... I'm not a financier... I'm not an urban planner. But I do have a mouth, eyes, ears, and a modest income. So everyone that I encounter through Houston Grand Opera, UofH, UHD, my church, Montrose and anywhere else that I haunt around in this city and world we're in gets to hear about me living in the East End. They get to hear about whether or not I enjoy it, what I expect the area to become in a few years, and what I'm doing to help guide that process. So if I talk and they listen, that may help to change or even create an opinion about the area. And they use that opinion to turn into cold hard cash for East End businesses. So the chain between your over-frustrated negative blogging and my margarita-induced chit-chat is in fact inextricably linked, whether you'd like to admit it or not.

So to you this may just be more "pie-in-the-sky" nonesense, but to me, it's planting a seed for something that may be realized in this neighborhood. And I'd prefer to be optimistic about that and hope for/work for the best.

You go ahead and be a pitch man. I'll continue to be intellectually honest in saying that downtown Magnolia Park's immediate future is not a bright one. I (very intentionally) don't own property there or along any light rail corridor, so there's not a conflict of interest on my part for me to point out some of the things that piss me off about implementation of light rail (locally and generally).

[kylejack]

The Niche is right. East End culture has been decimated and many of the people who could potentially preserve it are renters, not owners, and those landlords will be all too happy to sell to big developers.

[TheNiche]

The Niche is right. East End culture has been decimated and many of the people who could potentially preserve it are renters, not owners, and those landlords will be all too happy to sell to big developers.

I said nothing of the sort.

[crunchtastic]

The Niche is right. East End culture has been decimated and many of the people who could potentially preserve it are renters, not owners, and those landlords will be all too happy to sell to big developers.

East end culture hasn't been 'decimated.' Maybe in the towhnome pods of EaDO, but not further down. I did recently notice that two formerly Mexican restaurants on Telephone are now Salvadoran, if that counts as selling out to big developers.

Within the next couple of years, the only way I see spanky new mutli-family residential is if somewhat like a Camden gets federal grant money to do mixed income housing, sort of like the development next to Ninfa's. No doubt some local slumlords would love to sell out, but is anyone really in the mood to buy large tracts? Per capita income is just too low still, would be my guess. The new census data will be interesting, but given 2 years of recession and counting, I have to wonder if the numbers will improve enough to make the east end significantly more enticing for anyting more than basic suburban retail, like the CVS and planned Ross.

[LTAWACS]

East end culture hasn't been 'decimated.' Maybe in the towhnome pods of EaDO, but not further down. I did recently notice that two formerly Mexican restaurants on Telephone are now Salvadoran, if that counts as selling out to big developers.

Within the next couple of years, the only way I see spanky new mutli-family residential is if somewhat like a Camden gets federal grant money to do mixed income housing, sort of like the development next to Ninfa's. No doubt some local slumlords would love to sell out, but is anyone really in the mood to buy large tracts? Per capita income is just too low still, would be my guess. The new census data will be interesting, but given 2 years of recession and counting, I have to wonder if the numbers will improve enough to make the east end significantly more enticing for anyting more than basic suburban retail, like the CVS and planned Ross.

For some reason I think the LAST thing the East End needs is "new mutli-family residential". Ugh.

[totheskies]

You go ahead and be a pitch man. I'll continue to be intellectually honest in saying that downtown Magnolia Park's immediate future is not a bright one. I (very intentionally) don't own property there or along any light rail corridor, so there's not a conflict of interest on my part for me to point out some of the things that piss me off about implementation of light rail (locally and generally).

But I'm not being a pitch man... I'm just living my life and conversing with people about location. And if you in fact live and work in the East End, yet you don't want the place to improve, that does suggest a conflict of interest.

[musicman]

And if you in fact live and work in the East End, yet you don't want the place to improve, that does suggest a conflict of interest.

i must have missed where he said this.

[Highway6]

East end culture hasn't been 'decimated.'

Depends on your far back you wanna go... where are all the Italians and Germans that used to call East End home?

[samagon]

i must have missed where he said this.

I think that comes from a difference of opinion, it appears that Niche feels that the light rail is not an improvement and will ultimately lead to the death of many localized businesses, where totheskies feels that it is an improvement, and will aid in revitalizing the area.

heh, just trade out 'the place to improve' with 'light rail'

Personally, I have seen what the rail is doing to main street, and I think in the short term it will hurt, but long term, it will be a great benefit, and as the rails continue to expand into more and more areas, the East End (at least along the specific corridors) will already be ahead of the game!

But then, I believe the rail system we have and are working on is a good thing for the town, and most specifically, for the areas surrounding the different tracks.

[kylejack]

Some parts are decimated, other parts are doing well. Jensen at Lyons is decimated. To borrow from Chron's Then & Now series,

To be fair that's outside Greater East End, but still. I just don't have quite as demonstrative a picture pair as that.

[musicman]

I think that comes from a difference of opinion, it appears that Niche feels that the light rail is not an improvement and will ultimately lead to the death of many localized businesses, where totheskies feels that it is an improvement, and will aid in revitalizing the area.

heh, just trade out 'the place to improve' with 'light rail'

Personally, I have seen what the rail is doing to main street, and I think in the short term it will hurt, but long term, it will be a great benefit, and as the rails continue to expand into more and more areas, the East End (at least along the specific corridors) will already be ahead of the game!

But then, I believe the rail system we have and are working on is a good thing for the town, and most specifically, for the areas surrounding the different tracks.

understand. that's different than saying he doesn't want the east end to improve. he's IS improving the east end with the work he's doing currently.

what has the rail done to main street?

[TheNiche]

But I'm not being a pitch man... I'm just living my life and conversing with people about location. And if you in fact live and work in the East End, yet you don't want the place to improve, that does suggest a conflict of interest.

I am conflicted, but not in a way that you describe.

I like the East End just the way it is. Right now, if I am going to live anywhere in Houston, I want to live here in the East End (and specifically Eastwood). It's affordable, safe, convenient to everywhere, has the best burger joints and greasy spoons around, and I could probably try a different taqueria every day for a month and not once go to the same place twice or break a $5 budget or feel anything other than stuffed to the brim. There are no douchebaggy bars. The only traffic congestion occurs around elementary schools, and that's quite tolerable. The demographics have transitioned just enough that nobody gives me an odd look or treats me differently because I'm a white guy in a predominantly-Mexican neighborhood.

I wouldn't have wanted to have lived here ten years ago, and unfortunately, I don't think that I'll want to live here ten years from now...for the same reason as I don't like the idea of living in greater Montrose (even if I could lease there for less than I can here).

Having said that, I'd positively love to have been able to invest in the Heights ten years ago (or Montrose 20 years ago)!

True, it is clearly in my best financial interests to talk up my project and the neighborhood that it's in. But talking up all the pros to the exclusion of the cons isn't really my style. The glass is neither half full nor half empty; it has a x mililiter-capacity and y mililiters of z fluid. I develop a trusting raport with people because I present both sides of an issue and explain with precision why I believe what I do. That's how I lined up financing during the very worst days of the financial crisis, and that's how I saved my ass just recently. And it's good that this approach seems fruitful, too, because that's just the way I am, and I feel dirty if I'm doing anything other than being brutally honest.

The East End will continue to transition because it makes sense that it does, regardless of something as ultimately immaterial to that process as a facade-ectomy or the loss of the small businesses in old downtown Magnolia Park. That doesn't mean that I'm going to shut up about those things. They're still topics of the day.

[TheNiche]

Personally, I have seen what the rail is doing to main street, and I think in the short term it will hurt, but long term, it will be a great benefit, and as the rails continue to expand into more and more areas, the East End (at least along the specific corridors) will already be ahead of the game!

But then, I believe the rail system we have and are working on is a good thing for the town, and most specifically, for the areas surrounding the different tracks.

My big beef with light rail in Houston is that it's been poorly implemented in a number of ways. With respect to downtown Magnolia Park and the East End, it's the new 2000-foot-long overpass that I especially don't like. It'll kill all the businesses in it's shadow rather permanently, IMO. I also think that the issue was dealt with too hastily and that reasonable alternatives were not fully vetted. There are other issues I'm concerned about as well, such as impacts to the width of the ROW and the number of lanes, and auto traffic being displaced to residential secondary thoroughfares like Polk Street (which hurts both East End residents and East End businesses). And getting specific answers out of METRO is like pulling teeth.

I believe that METRO is not being run transparently, is making only superficial attempts to communicate its plans to the public, has been absolutely terrible at communicating with stakeholders (esp. Union Pacific) as part of due diligence, and I think it'd be rather irresponsible to sweep all this under the rug and claim that the East End is Mayberry and that nothing bad ever happens here.

[crunchtastic]

Depends on your far back you wanna go... where are all the Italians and Germans that used to call East End home?

dead, mostly. They moved to Westbury or Glenbrook Valley in the white flight of the 60s and 70s, and their kids went to Clear Lake and the Woodlands.

One migratory population replacing another in not 'decimation.' The decimation of the east end will occur at the first major chemical accident or sabotage/attack on the inner ship channel.

[AtticaFlinch]

dead, mostly. They moved to Westbury or Glenbrook Valley in the white flight of the 60s and 70s, and their kids went to Clear Lake and the Woodlands.

One migratory population replacing another in not 'decimation.' The decimation of the east end will occur at the first major chemical accident or sabotage/attack on the inner ship channel.

Decimation means the destruction of only one in ten. I think most people would agree the preservation of 90% of what gives the neighborhood character is a tolerable (and even desirable) ratio. What people fear is an annihilation of the neighborhood's character.

Now that the vocab lesson is over, I have a quick question. Does anyone care to guess what the impact will be on Canal and Commerce? Those streets have some pretty cool old buildings lining the pavement. Those two streets would be the perfect epicenter for a Heights-styled retail revival. If only I'd had the cash and foresight to have purchased any of those building ten years ago.

[kylejack]

I agree, Commerce is already starting to turn ever so slowly into an area like Nance St.

[TheNiche]

I have a quick question. Does anyone care to guess what the impact will be on Canal and Commerce? Those streets have some pretty cool old buildings lining the pavement. Those two streets would be the perfect epicenter for a Heights-styled retail revival. If only I'd had the cash and foresight to have purchased any of those building ten years ago.

It's not too late. Just go a little further east on Canal. Same sort of opportunity, same kind of time horizon. Navigation has some gems, too, but the amount of acreage typically involved is too daunting for small-time investors.

Forget about Commerce; grossly insufficient traffic count.