East River: Mixed-Use Development By Midway

[Texasota]

Exactly. Shade trees make a huge difference here.

[UtterlyUrban]

36 minutes ago, Texasota said:

Exactly. Shade trees make a huge difference here.

Which makes it even more perplexing that the City routinely allows developers to hack down mature sidewalk shade trees with a 20' canopy for darn near every urban construction project.  "Oh, don't worry, a new 5' tree with a 3' spread will be planted in its place......".   

[Twinsanity02]

14 hours ago, kdog08 said:

 

They just don't provide much shade in a city that needs shade along sidewalks. 

In Houston we can grow a decent variety of palm trees from Pindos, Queens, to several varieties of fan palms some more cold hardy than others. They are beautiful and give a feeling of the tropics. For shade purposes I would think deciduous trees are better. They leaf up during the hot season and un-leaf during winter ( as brief as ours is)  allowing sunlight through. The crepe myrtle if turned into a "tree shape"  would look beautiful in our area. If is shade is what one wants can't beat the live oak or the magnolias that grow around here. Either way shading our streets and sidewalks would make the city a more pleasant place.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Twinsanity02
grammar error

[Houston19514]

14 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:

Which makes it even more perplexing that the City routinely allows developers to hack down mature sidewalk shade trees with a 20' canopy for darn near every urban construction project.  "Oh, don't worry, a new 5' tree with a 3' spread will be planted in its place......".   

 

Pretty sure the city actually does not allow that.

[samagon]

The city has an ordinance on file that does indeed not allow that.

 

However, there appear to be quite a few variances approved for this ordinance.

[UtterlyUrban]

16 hours ago, samagon said:

The city has an ordinance on file that does indeed not allow that.

 

However, there appear to be quite a few variances approved for this ordinance.

Bingo.

 

 

[jmitch94]

Yeah some new  town homes right near me just chopped down 4 mature oak trees so the ordinance is not very effective. 

[Houston19514]

On 4/7/2017 at 7:22 PM, jmitch94 said:

Yeah some new  town homes right near me just chopped down 4 mature oak trees so the ordinance is not very effective. 

 

Report it to the city

[Ross]

25 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

 

Report it to the city

The ordinance doesn't apply to trees on private property. Only trees on the City right of way. If the removed trees were on a lot, the City doesn't have any control .

[jmitch94]

1 hour ago, Ross said:

The ordinance doesn't apply to trees on private property. Only trees on the City right of way. If the removed trees were on a lot, the City doesn't have any control .

They lined the street so I don't know. 

[AnTonY]

On 4/5/2017 at 5:46 PM, kdog08 said:

 

They just don't provide much shade in a city that needs shade along sidewalks. 

That's only a problem if they are the only type of landscaping being used. But in most cases, various types of broad leaf trees are planted with the palms, so the shade requirement is never neglected.

 

The sidewalks aren't even where I would favor as a place for palms; they look best when they spread (en-mass) across green-belts and parks, like in the photo below. Hermann Park seems like an ideal place for it:

Prado in Montevideo

https://www.cruisebe.com/parque-prado-montevideo-uruguay

.

On 4/6/2017 at 7:59 AM, Twinsanity02 said:

In Houston we can grow a decent variety of palm trees from Pindos, Queens, to several varieties of fan palms some more cold hardy than others. They are beautiful and give a feeling of the tropics. For shade purposes I would think deciduous trees are better. They leaf up during the hot season and un-leaf during winter ( as brief as ours is)  allowing sunlight through. The crepe myrtle if turned into a "tree shape"  would look beautiful in our area. If is shade is what one wants can't beat the live oak or the magnolias that grow around here. Either way shading our streets and sidewalks would make the city a more pleasant place.

The problem with deciduous trees is that they can make a landscape look quite dull when they have gone bare. But, I can accept certain varieties of subtropical/tropical origin, like the crepe myrtles, or the bald cypress. Luckily, many far ranging varieties in the US become more "semi-evergreen" in warmer climates like the South.

Edited April 9, 2017 by AnTonY

[kdog08]

15 hours ago, AnTonY said:

That's only a problem if they are the only type of landscaping being used. But in most cases, various types of broad leaf trees are planted with the palms, so the shade requirement is never neglected.

 

 

Well yes obviously as I was referring to just palm trees

[AnTonY]

5 minutes ago, kdog08 said:

 

Well yes obviously as I was referring to just palm trees

I understand your viewpoint, I just showed why the requirements aren't necessarily neglected.

[kdog08]

11 minutes ago, AnTonY said:

I understand your viewpoint, I just showed why the requirements aren't necessarily neglected.

 

Fair enough. Highland Village on Westheimer is a place that actually gets some foot traffic that is lined with just palm trees. Just never understood that type of streetscape. 

[AnTonY]

8 hours ago, kdog08 said:

 

Fair enough. Highland Village on Westheimer is a place that actually gets some foot traffic that is lined with just palm trees. Just never understood that type of streetscape. 

It's just the palm-boulevard type of landscaping. It's quite tacky when the palms are just by themselves, without any trees (or even shrubs) in the mix, and also when they are used on the sidewalks. Medians serve as better areas to line with palms.

[iah77]

5 hours ago, AnTonY said:

It's just the palm-boulevard type of landscaping. It's quite tacky when the palms are just by themselves, without any trees (or even shrubs) in the mix, and also when they are used on the sidewalks. Medians serve as better areas to line with palms.

 

 

Maybe look glamorous, don't require much water, can grow surrounded by concrete without lifting it up, are ever-green, create focal points and don't litter a parking lot with 4 tons of leaves annually? 

 

How can a tree be tacky lol? 

[AnTonY]

On 4/10/2017 at 6:38 AM, iah77 said:

 

 

Maybe look glamorous, don't require much water, can grow surrounded by concrete without lifting it up, are ever-green, create focal points and don't litter a parking lot with 4 tons of leaves annually? 

 

How can a tree be tacky lol? 

If you'd have just read previous pages of this thread (or even just scrolled further up), you'd have seen that you are quoting someone who clearly supports the use of palms in landscaping, even reviving the thread just to defend their use:

Anyways, "tacky" was clearly in reference to the style of planting, not to the palms themselves. I support palms in landscaping, I just feel that their presentation is better as components of a sort of "vegetation wall," well blended with trees, shrubs, and flora that are evergreen (bolded because I dislike deciduous trees, my problems with them going beyond just annual mass leaf-litter issues), rather then just them lining streets by themselves. Basically, something like Gulf Freeway:

https://www.google.com/maps/@29.7403574,-95.354988,3a,37.5y,177.3h,87.18t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sC9aVuu94Gr4wwB5Y_8eGsg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

 

And as I said in another previous post, I also feel green-belts, parks, etc (and even medians) are better areas than sidewalks for en-masse plantings of palms:

 

Edited April 12, 2017 by AnTonY

[urbanize713]

From 609

 

[Naviguessor]

They mowed the bulldozer scraped two blocks here at the corner of Jensen and Sydnor last week.  Not sure what exactly it indicates. But, it's the first heavy equipment spotted on the site since the soil remediation completed in 2013. Also, CenterPoint re-ran all the power lines and replaced all the power poles around the site recently. Not sure if that means anything either. 

One more interesting thing is that I cannot figure out... A residential trailer was placed in the middle of the property and someone is living in it. It's not a construction office either. Someone with their dog lives in it. Very curious. I figure it has something to do with tax status. There appears to be no other function. Anyone know what that could be about? 

[BeerNut]

2 hours ago, Naviguessor said:

They mowed the bulldozer scraped two blocks here at the corner of Jensen and Sydnor last week.  Not sure what exactly it indicates. But, it's the first heavy equipment spotted on the site since the soil remediation completed in 2013. Also, CenterPoint re-ran all the power lines and replaced all the power poles around the site recently. Not sure if that means anything either. 

One more interesting thing is that I cannot figure out... A residential trailer was placed in the middle of the property and someone is living in it. It's not a construction office either. Someone with their dog lives in it. Very curious. I figure it has something to do with tax status. There appears to be no other function. Anyone know what that could be about? 

Maybe it's this Special Districts

[Naviguessor]

A couple interesting observations at the KBR site. 

1.  So, mid size trees are being planted in a grove like fashion in the lots which were previously scraped. I've speculated that these have been removed from Midway's HEB/Washington Project and are just being stored here. I doubt the intent is to reforest the site. 

2.  Many of the larger weeds and wild flower areas along Bayou St, within the KBR's boundaries, have been marked with small landscape flags. Obviously this is so landscapers don't mow them down.  It's nice, but I'm not sure why. Not much traffic here, except dog walkers, sleeping cops, cyclist who know how to get to the bayou trail and the people that live in the mystery trailer. 

[Fitch]

On 3/10/2017 at 0:01 PM, swtsig said:

trees!

 

What he said. 

 

[Fitch]

On 5/13/2017 at 10:42 AM, Naviguessor said:

A couple interesting observations at the KBR site. 

1.  So, mid size trees are being planted in a grove like fashion in the lots which were previously scraped. I've speculated that these have been removed from Midway's HEB/Washington Project and are just being stored here. I doubt the intent is to reforest the site. 

2.  Many of the larger weeds and wild flower areas along Bayou St, within the KBR's boundaries, have been marked with small landscape flags. Obviously this is so landscapers don't mow them down.  It's nice, but I'm not sure why. Not much traffic here, except dog walkers, sleeping cops, cyclist who know how to get to the bayou trail and the people that live in the mystery trailer. 

 

Edited May 19, 2017 by Fitch

[Naviguessor]

...and each little flower with its very own little flag. Thanks, Fitch. 

[Chi-Char-Hou-Dal]

Tell me more about this mystery trailer?

@Fitch

Edited May 22, 2017 by Chi-Char-Hou-Dal

[Naviguessor]

Media Kit from Midway. 

 

eastriverHTX.com

 

Broad in concept. Short on details. 

 

Info on the Transplanted Trees.  They are coming from the Post Oak, rework. 

[Mr.Clean19]

http://abc13.com/realestate/citycentre-developer-has-eyes-set-on-fifth-ward/2094957/

[mcook2002]

nm

[HoustonMidtown]

So this area will be called EaRi ??  (sorry)

[UtterlyUrban]

17 hours ago, HoustonMidtown said:

So this area will be called EaRi ??  (sorry)

No.

 

it will be NoEaDo

[Urbannizer]

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2017/08/07/midway-ceo-shares-updates-on-east-river-project.html

 

East River will be developed in phases, Brinsden said. Phase I will include retail, entertainment, office, multifamily, single-family homes and potentially a grocery component. It'll sit on the east side of the property, and future phases will work their way westward.

 

The East River's future phases will work westward as TxDOT's planned highway improvements are completed. Brinsden said Midway's done a complete master-plan on the project and is in the midst of designing Phase I.

"The idea is that each phase could be its own fully, self-contained mixed-use project," Brinsden said. "We’ll work our way through it over time."

 

 

[Mr.Clean19]

I'm surprised that they would develop the east side first. Maybe they have potential anchor tenants. If so, that would allow for the development of land around the company. Over the next 5 years, there will be an additional 400 homes to the existing 400 new homes in the area. They will need to coordinate around the TXDOT project becuase people wont visit if there is a giant traffic jam right in the middle of the project.

[pablog]

I think it might be a good idea to have a light rail line branching out from the green line onto Hirsch Rd. To go through this developments. Make it accessible from downtown and vice versa

[Mr.Clean19]

The original idea was to have a trolly system linking the east end and lower 5th ward circulating the bayou around Clinton and Navigation. Probably 20 years away from this though.

[Naviguessor]

I'd like the see the streetcar circulator that the East End Management District was discussing.  I think the route was be, Hirsch- Clinton,-Jensen,-Navigation-Hirsch.

[cloud713]

They were discussing a few different routes for an East End streetcar.. I'm not sure any decisions were ever made or if discussion of a streetcar progressed much further past that point though. Hopefully they revisit the idea as the area gets built up.

 

http://houston.culturemap.com/news/city-life/11-02-12-its-full-speed-ahead-on-streetcars-in-eado-public-transit-plans-routes-are-revealed/#slide=3

 

Edited August 10, 2017 by cloud713

[cspwal]

I feel like alternatives 1 and 2 do the most to connect downtown (both east and not east) together.  Also - there's a railroad museum?

[Purpledevil]

2 hours ago, cspwal said:

Also - there's a railroad museum?

A nice one, too.

http://www.kingswayrc.com/gcst/

 

They have a restored M-K-T passenger car, caboose (MKT 6), SP caboose (4696), a couple of old switchers (one of which is an old HB&T unit), and a helium tank car. Weird, weird looking car to say the least. Last I saw these pieces of equipment, they were being stored off of Navigation, just west of Sampson/York, on an old rail spur. I believe the museum is moving, but have heard nothing recently concerning its venue change.

Edited August 11, 2017 by Purpledevil
dyslexia kicked in on the caboose number

[cloud713]

Yeah, I like alternate 1 the best, due to the downtown connectivity and the loop down Clinton.

Is the railroad museum at that old rail round table thing? I had been wondering about those random rail cars on the spur.

[Purpledevil]

30 minutes ago, cloud713 said:

Yeah, I like alternate 1 the best, due to the downtown connectivity and the loop down Clinton.

Is the railroad museum at that old rail round table thing? I had been wondering about those random rail cars on the spur.

 

It was off of Mesa Drive. They used two out of service sidings to house the cars for several years. This was around the time they restored the M-K-T and Southern Pacific cabeese. I don't recall a turntable there, cloud. Only turntable that I vividly recollect in East End is the one at the Milby St. shops at York and Milby.

 

This is the video of the museum equipment being moved onto the Canal St. spur. The spur doesn't see a lot of activity, as you will see below.

 

Edited August 11, 2017 by Purpledevil

[cloud713]

Milby Street sounds familiar. I've been meaning to drive by and try to

catch a glimpse of the turntable, but every time I'm in the area I forget..

Thanks for the video! Those rail cars seemed to have been sitting there for so long that I was starting to come up with ideas for how to incorporate them into a new development/repurposing of that warehouse at the end of the spur.. Haha. 

If they were to do an artist oriented development at the warehouse that the spur dead ends into (on the south side of the bayou across from KBR), kind of like the Silos on Sawyer development, some old rail cars on the abandoned tracks could make for a unique industrial vibe that houses individual art gallery/installation space, as a throw back to the sites former industrial heritage.

[Urbannizer]

'Done

[Mr.Clean19]

How would we find out about bonds that were passed by the management district for this lot?

[Ross]

15 hours ago, Mr.Clean19 said:

How would we find out about bonds that were passed by the management district for this lot?

Here's the website, http://www.greatereastend.com/ which implies there's no bonds.

[Mr.Clean19]

So.... speculation is that they had a trailer on their property for 1 year to establish a Board of Directors that could vote on bonds. The trailer is now gone, which means the vote has happened (Or so some people think). It would be interesting if they published it somewhere.

[Ross]

2 hours ago, Mr.Clean19 said:

So.... speculation is that they had a trailer on their property for 1 year to establish a Board of Directors that could vote on bonds. The trailer is now gone, which means the vote has happened (Or so some people think). It would be interesting if they published it somewhere.

It would be public record if they did. A trailer has nothing to do with a Board of Directors. You might be thinking of the process for a new MUD, which needs residents to vote on the initial bonds. The Management District already has residents, etc.

[HoustonMidtown]

On 2/13/2017 at 11:21 PM, Triton said:

 

Yea we saw it from pretty far away. It's impressive.

 

 

HTX by Marc longoria, on Flickr

 

 

The building is now lit up with   AMZN

 

I will try to get a picture when I drive by tomorrow morning

 

 

[Mr.Clean19]

lol, yep

[Naviguessor]

...and why not the texas hyperloop station, while we're at it. 

[H-Town Man]

Wow!