s3mh Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Variance is up for approval before the planning commission Jan 31. Plans are up on the planning commission website. Big project. Might this be the beginning of the end for all the crud along Shep/Durham between I-10 and 610? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatline Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 That's big news, but given that it's the parking lot at the bayou bridge, and not the dealership between 12th and 13th, I don't think it will have much of a domino effect on "No-Credit-No-Problem" Row, at least for the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 That's big news, but given that it's the parking lot at the bayou bridge, and not the dealership between 12th and 13th, I don't think it will have much of a domino effect on "No-Credit-No-Problem" Row, at least for the near future.The dealership is supposed to get a big upgrade for their showroom and lot. As for Tote-the-note Drive, there are plans for a new Storage West facility on 15th and Shep:http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2013/01/25/real-deal-commercial-real-estate.htmlI do not see Shepherd and Durham ever becoming anything other than a very busy commercial area. But, I think there are some random dominoes falling that will start a cleanup of the area. Not that I want the same thing to happen, but think about what Washington Ave looked like ten years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 The self storage facility speaks to the increasing number of townhouses etc. that are already in the area. Some people who have moved into the neighborhood have down-sized and need the extra storage for their "treasures." What exists now on North Shepherd must exist somewhere in the city - in a city the size of Houston it exists in several places. Tote-the-note used car lots and cheap furniture stores interspersed with check cashing, pay day loan, and Cricket stores are a fact of life. There are a lot of people who don't have the credit (or cash) to buy a new car. In a city like Houston, where personal transportation is a must for many, these lots serve a vital role and, yeah, I realize they are a form of usury. To quote the late Marvin Zindler, "It's Hell being poor." I don't see N. Shepherd being mentioned on the murder and mayhem report every evening at 10:00, i.e. the local news, nearly as often as some other places around town. I don't hear my friends who live in the Heights complaining about excessive crime generated by used car lots. I'll admit they are garish though and many of them are vacant right now. All that paving doing nothing other than contributing to run-off is all the more disquieting. Ugly is as ugly does. IMO N. Shepherd is no worse aesthetically than Westheimer west of, say, Chimney Rock except that street is wider and so spreads the ugly out a little more. N. Shepherd north of 1-10 will gradually gentrify no doubt. What about that same street north of the 610 Loop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJxvi Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Shepherd and Durham are dry between 16th and 26th and Tommie Vaughn owns most of the land south of that line that is large enough to have anything substantial built on it. What happened on Washington and White Oak probably already would have happened on Shepherd, except that it cant. I suspect somebody like Little Woodrows or someone like that would love to have a location at the building at 19th and Shepherd thats nice sized, decently configured, and has lots of parking, but its dry, so it sits empty. Waiting for someone to get back into the auto business I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJxvi Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Instead that development on the north west side of the Heights has occured in Shady Acres along 19th and 20th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Shepherd and Durham are dry between 16th and 26th and Tommie Vaughn owns most of the land south of that line that is large enough to have anything substantial built on it. What happened on Washington and White Oak probably already would have happened on Shepherd, except that it cant. I suspect somebody like Little Woodrows or someone like that would love to have a location at the building at 19th and Shepherd thats nice sized, decently configured, and has lots of parking, but its dry, so it sits empty. Waiting for someone to get back into the auto business I guess.Someone needs to tell Table 19, Vietnam Restaurant, Collinas, Dry Creek, Down House, Shade, Becks Prime, Crickets, Carter & Cooley, Boomtown Coffee, Thai Spice, and soon to be Torchy's, and Heights General Store that their property is supposed to be a used car lot. The kind of development on Washington and White Oak is not going to come to Shep/Durham because no one wants to go to a bar that is surrounded by eight lanes of traffic. This is a heavy traffic commercial/retail area that is not suitable for an entertainment district. It is not a question of whether it is tote the note shops or bars. There is a lot in between that is way better than the tote the note shops that could go in along Shep/Durham. I think that the dominoes are starting to fall in that direction, regardless of alcohol restrictions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJxvi Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 So your explanation for lack of development on Shepherd and Durham is that traffic is too high. OMG, we cant set up here, theres too many potential customers!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Someone needs to tell Table 19, Vietnam Restaurant, Collinas, Dry Creek, Down House, Shade, Becks Prime, Crickets, Carter & Cooley, Boomtown Coffee, Thai Spice, and soon to be Torchy's, and Heights General Store that their property is supposed to be a used car lot. The kind of development on Washington and White Oak is not going to come to Shep/Durham because no one wants to go to a bar that is surrounded by eight lanes of traffic. This is a heavy traffic commercial/retail area that is not suitable for an entertainment district. It is not a question of whether it is tote the note shops or bars. There is a lot in between that is way better than the tote the note shops that could go in along Shep/Durham. I think that the dominoes are starting to fall in that direction, regardless of alcohol restrictions. Yeah, thats why there is no development on shepard/durham south of the alcohol restrictions... also that is a nice list of places that aren't on shepard/durham, so your point doesn't really make sense, almost all of those restaurants are on lots entirely to small for used car lots... half of them are in *gasp* strip centers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 S3mh is right. 1. It's too fast paced on Shepard. Too many people with motor carriages. 2. No hitching posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Yeah, thats why there is no development on shepard/durham south of the alcohol restrictions... also that is a nice list of places that aren't on shepard/durham, so your point doesn't really make sense, almost all of those restaurants are on lots entirely to small for used car lots... half of them are in *gasp* strip centers.It makes sense if you read it. I was making two points. 1. Alcohol restrictions do not equal a void of development. 2. You are not going to see any Washington Ave-esque development along Shep because there are too many lanes of traffic. There could be some restaurant development like there is south of I-10. The dry restriction isn't preventing that because it hasn't prevented restaurant development in the rest of the Heights. More likely, there will be an upgrade in the commercial development with maybe some residential development mixed in, if the dominoes continue to fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 It makes sense if you read it. I was making two points. 1. Alcohol restrictions do not equal a void of development. 2. You are not going to see any Washington Ave-esque development along Shep because there are too many lanes of traffic. There could be some restaurant development like there is south of I-10. The dry restriction isn't preventing that because it hasn't prevented restaurant development in the rest of the Heights. More likely, there will be an upgrade in the commercial development with maybe some residential development mixed in, if the dominoes continue to fall. And I was saying: 1. Your wrong. 2. Your wrong. I don't think anyone thought Washington Ave-esque development... but larger restaurants with nice bars would be a great fit along there, they simply aren't going to move their until the restrictions are lifted so yes, Alcohol restrictions do equal a void of development (or at least present a major hurdle). Arguing that traffic hinders the development reminds me of a quote... "That place is so crowded that nobody goes there anymore". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 It makes sense if you read it. I was making two points. 1. Alcohol restrictions do not equal a void of development. 2. You are not going to see any Washington Ave-esque development along Shep because there are too many lanes of traffic. There could be some restaurant development like there is south of I-10. The dry restriction isn't preventing that because it hasn't prevented restaurant development in the rest of the Heights. More likely, there will be an upgrade in the commercial development with maybe some residential development mixed in, if the dominoes continue to fall. Wow. Don't quit your day job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 http://www.davidweekleyhomes.com/new-homes/tx/houston/houston/park-place So, this is going to be another Weekley development inside the loop. On a related note, Frank Liu/Intown Homes is developing the old elementary school lot on 27th and Harvard in Sunset Heights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 I wonder if this will cause confusion with the "original" Park Place at the intersection of the Gulf Freeway and the 610 Loop. I really doubt it. I would think the developer would try to work the word "Heights" into the name though. If the project turns out to be a bust (and I doubt that too) it could be called "Withering Heights," a corruption of the Emily Bronte novel Wurthering Heights. The Park Place neighborhood at 45 and 610 is ripe for redevelopment IMO. Access to downtown, UofH, and the medical center is very easy from that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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