UtterlyUrban Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 Good news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasta Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 (edited) https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/neighborhood/downtown-goodyear-service-center-to-become-public-park-86211 Edited March 16, 2018 by shasta 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Duplicate topics merged. Carry on. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenOlenska Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 I was briefly stoked about TWO new parks in south downtown. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonIsHome Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 This is Caddy Corner to the Uhaul site. Taking bets on how long the Book Shop will last. But seriously the good year center has a really suburban feel to it. I would sometimes walk by this area on my lunch break so a park in this area is an awesome addition. Would have been awesome if they could have had the entire lot for use and built parking underneath. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 (edited) 21 hours ago, EllenOlenska said: I was briefly stoked about TWO new parks in south downtown. Ellen, I Was curious why the word, briefly stoked, was used. Is it because of the proximity to Root park or the scale that made you sound a little disappointed. Or the fact that they actually considered Root park new? Any time we can get a new park downtown is a good thing. I think the Movers and Shakers and developers now know that the key to successfully developing new areas downtown involves a park. And remember there will be some kind of new greenway that will fill the old pierce elevated spaces. Edited March 17, 2018 by bobruss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 1 hour ago, HoustonIsHome said: But seriously the good year center has a really suburban feel to it. I would sometimes walk by this area on my lunch break so a park in this area is an awesome addition. That Goodyear center's probably been some sort of automotive place since that block was in the suburbs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 I got my last set of tires at that Goodyear, and have had a couple of puncture repairs done under warranty since then. I like Goodyear Eagles, and it seems that Goodyear service centers are about the only places that carry them anymore locally. None of the other locations are nearly as close or convenient as this one, so I'll be sorry to see it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, mkultra25 said: I got my last set of tires at that Goodyear, and have had a couple of puncture repairs done under warranty since then. I like Goodyear Eagles, and it seems that Goodyear service centers are about the only places that carry them anymore locally. None of the other locations are nearly as close or convenient as this one, so I'll be sorry to see it go. I always seem to head to NTB in midtown. That’s said, I agree with you. The park IS a better use for the burgeoning neighborhood. However, I do hope that is all of the lots across Downtown fill up over the next 15 years, that we are able to keep some of the “context” of urban life in place. That “context” includes places to repair your car, wash your car, store your processions, get a cheap hamburger or a cheap haircut, etc. Without these, IMO, you are left with Disneyland. Edited March 17, 2018 by UtterlyUrban 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenOlenska Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 6 hours ago, bobruss said: Ellen, I Was curious why the word, briefly stoked, was used. Is it because of the proximity to Root park or the scale that made you sound a little disappointed. Or the fact that they actually considered Root park new? Any time we can get a new park downtown is a good thing. I think the Movers and Shakers and developers now know that the key to successfully developing new areas downtown involves a park. And remember there will be some kind of new greenway that will fill the old pierce elevated spaces. I was excited--or I don't think I ever really believed it--but I was excited because someone posted a second thread that there was going to be a new downtown park. So there were two threads and I thought, maybe there are two different new parks. But of course it was a duplicate thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 Goodyear seems unaware that they're going to become a park, or misheard - they just resealed the parking lot. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Pave paradise, and put up a parking lot ! don't it always seem to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 Once there were parking lots, now it's a peaceful oasis. I can't get used to this lifestyle. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 15 hours ago, bobruss said: Pave paradise, and put up a parking lot ! don't it always seem to go. The Houston-specific version is "they unpaved paradise, and took away my parking lot". It's funny to see Joni's timeless "Big Yellow Taxi" lyric popping up here, as that song has been an earworm for me all week long. I thought I knew all of the best "mondegreens" (aka "misheard lyrics"), until a few days ago I ran across someone who swore they had always heard it as "a gay pair of guys put up a parking lot". I am now unable to get the butchered lyric out of my head, and many questions have arisen, such as "why a parking lot? Shouldn't they be restoring a neglected Craftsman bungalow or mid-century mod and canvassing estate sales to outfit each room with the perfect mix of vintage furniture instead?" 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 We covered several Joni Mitchell songs including Paradise. One of my favorites was She Comes For Conversation, which we played on Austin City Limits the first year it was on in 1975. I purposefully put the lyrics backwards because your right it is backwards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 3 hours ago, mkultra25 said: . I thought I knew all of the best "mondegreens" (aka "misheard lyrics"), until a few days ago I ran across someone who swore they had always heard it as "a gay pair of guys put up a parking lot". “A Gay Pair of guysput up a parking lotWith a pink hotel, a boutiqueAnd a swinging hot spot” I mean, who else, in the box of stereotypes that was 1970, would build this? 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 On 3/21/2018 at 7:17 PM, bobruss said: We covered several Joni Mitchell songs including Paradise. One of my favorites was She Comes For Conversation, which we played on Austin City Limits the first year it was on in 1975. I purposefully put the lyrics backwards because your right it is backwards. I do the same thing to Guns and Roses, Paradise City. Take me down to the paradise city, where the girls are green and the grass is pretty. it works much better than the other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 That Goodyear was a handy place to have downtown when you had a screw in your tire and you are down to 12 psi before the slog back home. With respect to Ms. Mitchell's lamentations, in a city where folks are putting up a swimming pool/night (day?) club next to a cement plant, I think we have proven that paradise and pavement can coexist. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 So they had the planning meetings this Thursday and Saturday, and I went to both. It is very much still in the planning stages; the Saturday session was a full on brainstorming session with the 21 people who showed up. A few details that I learned: They were only able to acquire a 30 year lease on the good year property and the parking lot at the corner of Leeland and San Jacinto. The land is owned by a trust that won't let them sell it but they can do a lease. The Southern Texas College of Law didn't want to give up their parking lot to let this be a full block park - the current plan is a fence between it and the park. The project is already fully funded by the Downtown Redevelopment Authority Goodyear's lease is up in March, and they expect construction on the park to start in April. They're targeting a Summer 2020 opening date. Here are the boards from the happy hour with the categories they're looking at. I couldn't figure out how this broken forum software could let me embed the photos. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/928/29833049758_609bf90afd_k.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/934/29833051638_dd53b58186_k.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/857/43656374522_78fddc6f41_k.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/859/29833051348_756790e647_k.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/862/43656371632_d549f53e73_k.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/860/29833050268_82c6d5236d_k.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 Don’t bother putting a Park here when in 30 years it will be demolished.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 10 hours ago, cspwal said: So they had the planning meetings this Thursday and Saturday, and I went to both. It is very much still in the planning stages; the Saturday session was a full on brainstorming session with the 21 people who showed up. A few details that I learned: They were only able to acquire a 30 year lease on the good year property and the parking lot at the corner of Leeland and San Jacinto. The land is owned by a trust that won't let them sell it but they can do a lease. The Southern Texas College of Law didn't want to give up their parking lot to let this be a full block park - the current plan is a fence between it and the park. The project is already fully funded by the Downtown Redevelopment Authority Goodyear's lease is up in March, and they expect construction on the park to start in April. They're targeting a Summer 2020 opening date. Thanks for the report. When it was first announced, it was reported they had a ground lease with option(s) to renew. Do you know if the 30 years is just the initial term? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 They didn't get into the terms. I'm sure they'll have an option to extend the lease Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 A new public space to replace the Goodyear Tire at Fannin and Leeland is in the design phase. The City will be renting this land for at least 30 years. http://swamplot.com/downtowns-upcoming-rental-park-should-be-around-as-long-as-the-tire-shop-building-its-replacing-but-no-guarantees/2018-10-10/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted October 11, 2018 Author Share Posted October 11, 2018 Existing thread (I’m unable to merge at the moment): https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/29469-new-park-for-the-southern-area-of-downtown/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinsanity02 Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 That comes out to a total of approximately 12,100,000 dollars in total payments. The year 30 rent is around 450,000. To my poor self sounds like a lot of dough. What would it cost if it were bought outright ( if he were willing to sell)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HNathoo Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 I think the market is ~$100psf (~$4M) for a partial block in this part of downtown (full block gets higher premium), but there are plenty of owners who wouldn't sell no matter what price you offered them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 21 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said: That comes out to a total of approximately 12,100,000 dollars in total payments. The year 30 rent is around 450,000. To my poor self sounds like a lot of dough. What would it cost if it were bought outright ( if he were willing to sell)? At the meeting a few weeks ago, the downtown management people said that the land is owned by a trust that is forbidden from selling the land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 3 hours ago, cspwal said: At the meeting a few weeks ago, the downtown management people said that the land is owned by a trust that is forbidden from selling the land That seems like it might be an unenforceable restraint on alienation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 What in the world? So what does the city do with this lot then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 21 hours ago, Twinsanity02 said: That comes out to a total of approximately 12,100,000 dollars in total payments. The year 30 rent is around 450,000. To my poor self sounds like a lot of dough. What would it cost if it were bought outright ( if he were willing to sell)? Umm, don't forget the taxes. If this is privately owned, there will be taxes to pay, and usually on ground leases the taxes are passed through to the tenant. So the downtown management district is on the hook for quite a bit more than $12 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 The taxes could be part of those lease payment numbers quoted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 23 minutes ago, cspwal said: The taxes could be part of those lease payment numbers quoted The article quoted "$355,992 in annual rent," so it sounds like that's the base rent, not including taxes. Unless it is a gross rent, which would be unusual for a ground lease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, H-Town Man said: The article quoted "$355,992 in annual rent," so it sounds like that's the base rent, not including taxes. Unless it is a gross rent, which would be unusual for a ground lease. Since this is being leased by an arm of the City to be made into a public park, it will surely be tax exempt. Edited October 12, 2018 by Houston19514 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 7 minutes ago, Houston19514 said: Since this is being leased by an arm of the City to be made into a public park, it will surely be tax exempt. I'm not familiar with how it works. So even though a private owner is making money off this land, they don't owe any real estate tax? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 10 minutes ago, H-Town Man said: I'm not familiar with how it works. So even though a private owner is making money off this land, they don't owe any real estate tax? I'm not sure. It just seems there must be a way for the city to not pay property taxes on public park land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 48 minutes ago, Houston19514 said: I'm not sure. It just seems there must be a way for the city to not pay property taxes on public park land. It's kind of like, if the city leases space in a shopping center (as often happens in smaller cities), the landlord is paying normal taxes on the shopping center, and the city pays reimbursements if that is the lease structure. Same thing here but with land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 Demo to begin soon - see "Other Business" http://www.downtowntirz.com/downtownhouston/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/190205-Zone-Minutes-SIGNED.pdf 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted March 24, 2019 Share Posted March 24, 2019 Dumpsters on site. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted March 25, 2019 Share Posted March 25, 2019 They've already closed and moved to Pearland (which seems a bit far to move from downtown - I guess they didn't want to stay in the city) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted April 24, 2019 Share Posted April 24, 2019 There's a public meeting on 4/30 to present the park design. Starts at 5:30 pm on the 9th floor of Houston House; the renderings presented there will be up at http://www.downtowntirz.com/projects/ on May 1st Of course I misread it and tried to go both last Tuesday and yesterday. Yesterday made it to the 9th floor before realizing it was next week 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post wilcal Posted May 1, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 1, 2019 Renders released: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/What-Downtown-Houston-s-next-park-will-look-like-13808234.php * rotating gateway art isntallation * seating, bike racks, and bike repair station * 2,400 sq ft fast casual restaurant * dog run * operated/maintained by downtown district 12 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 Here's some tidbits I picked up from the meeting - The park has a 30 year lease, with 2 10 year extension options. - They will be redoing the sidewalks on the whole block, including the sidewalks in front of the South Texas College of Law's parking lot - Apparently a 2 way bike lane is planned on Bell street; that's why they're including the bike repair station - They are talking to B-Cycle about getting a station there, but nothing definitive yet - Restaurant RFP asks for one that is open breakfast, lunch, and dinner all week - Apparently there's a TxDot project to redo all the sidewalks downtown. Timeline they had in the presentation: Start Demolition - May 2019 Design Phase - Jan 2019 - Nov 2019 Select restaurant - July 2019 Permitting - Nov 2019 - Feb 2020 Construction - March 2020 - March 2021 Grand opening - March 2021 They said that "Southern Downtown Park" is a placeholder name, so what names can we come up with? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 14 minutes ago, cspwal said: Here's some tidbits I picked up from the meeting - The park has a 30 year lease, with 2 10 year extension options. - They will be redoing the sidewalks on the whole block, including the sidewalks in front of the South Texas College of Law's parking lot - Apparently a 2 way bike lane is planned on Bell street; that's why they're including the bike repair station - They are talking to B-Cycle about getting a station there, but nothing definitive yet - Restaurant RFP asks for one that is open breakfast, lunch, and dinner all week - Apparently there's a TxDot project to redo all the sidewalks downtown. Timeline they had in the presentation: Start Demolition - May 2019 Design Phase - Jan 2019 - Nov 2019 Select restaurant - July 2019 Permitting - Nov 2019 - Feb 2020 Construction - March 2020 - March 2021 Grand opening - March 2021 They said that "Southern Downtown Park" is a placeholder name, so what names can we come up with? Southern Downtown Park Presented by Goodyear? 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed_Tx Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 Parky McParkface... lol 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 Nice While It Lasts Park 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 2 37 minutes ago, cspwal said: - Apparently a 2 way bike lane is planned on Bell street; that's why they're including the bike repair station That would be news to me, as I haven't heard any of the planners talk about that being an upcoming project, but if park opening is 2 years away, then they could certainly make that happen (certainly if Downtown District is paying). Here is the park location on the "updated" (it's not really) bike plan map. Blue = dedicated on-street. Fuschia = shared on-street (sharrows/signage only) The two blue north/south lines just to the east of the park are Caroline and Austin, and they've decided to run a bi-directional lane only on Austin due to construction on Caroline in Midtown that is going to last another 1.5 years. I think that's the timing for the Bagby redesign in the Theater District, so maybe they could time that portion to wrap from Bagby down and around? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate4l1f3 Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 I can’t stop looking at the parking lot 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 10 minutes ago, nate4l1f3 said: I can’t stop looking at the parking lot It's a shame the college of law wouldn't sell or at least sign a ground lease. I can see their point of view - they would need to find replacement parking, maybe even have to build a small garage on a different lot, while this park will only make their parking lot more valuable for when they do want to sell 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, wilcal said: That would be news to me, as I haven't heard any of the planners talk about that being an upcoming project, but if park opening is 2 years away, then they could certainly make that happen (certainly if Downtown District is paying). Here is the park location on the "updated" (it's not really) bike plan map. Blue = dedicated on-street. Fuschia = shared on-street (sharrows/signage only) The two blue north/south lines just to the east of the park are Caroline and Austin, and they've decided to run a bi-directional lane only on Austin due to construction on Caroline in Midtown that is going to last another 1.5 years. I think that's the timing for the Bagby redesign in the Theater District, so maybe they could time that portion to wrap from Bagby down and around? Bell has dedicated in-street ROW in the Interactive Bike Plan Map. It is in the "Potential Short Term Implementation Opportunities" layer. Edit: I buried the lede here; the relevant info is that this section is relatively high on priority list for bike infrastructure. I agree that this is a very realistic addition in the next few years. Edited May 1, 2019 by Alec 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 2 hours ago, Alec said: Bell has dedicated in-street ROW in the Interactive Bike Plan Map. It is in the "Potential Short Term Implementation Opportunities" layer. Edit: I buried the lede here; the relevant info is that this section is relatively high on priority list for bike infrastructure. I agree that this is a very realistic addition in the next few years. Interesting that the one you linked has the Leeland side stretch all of the way to Louisiana. It's hard to tell where their priorities really lay though. Polk should be getting revised lanes this summer, but no idea about leeland east of 59. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.