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Apartments In The Visitor Parking Lot Of 2016 Main St.


LarryDierker

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According to a resident at 2016 Main, the Visitor Parking Lot will be replaced with an 11 story apartment building.

 

Environmental work to start at the end of June.

anybody know anything?

 

Is that the lot south of it?

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Is that the lot south of it?

Yes, 914 Gray St.

 

Midtown Redevelopment Authority was the buyer. 2016 Main's lease ends on 06/30/2014 from Central Parking. The proposed bldg was in the long term planning phase, which to me suggests they are looking at acquiring another parcel on the block.

 

Also, GFR. 

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Yes, 914 Gray St.

Midtown Redevelopment Authority was the buyer. 2016 Main's lease ends on 06/30/2014 from Central Parking. The proposed bldg was in the long term planning phase, which to me suggests they are looking at acquiring another parcel on the block.

Also, GFR.

You had me at GFR.

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Without looking at a map, wouldn't this parcel be adjacent to the Greyhound station?

If so, unless Greyhound moves, I am unsure how well received this project would be in the market.

Yes, I know that the City wants Greyhound to move but the Mayor is on record that NIMBY issues are problematic.......

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I think the only way you are going to get greyhound to move is to revive the unified transit hub plan..maybe if the proposed Dallas to Houston plans which would give the city something to build around

This is exactly how I feel/what I'm hoping.. The only downside of the 11 story in that location is the north/downtown views will all be blocked by 2016 Main.

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This is exactly how I feel/what I'm hoping.. The only downside of the 11 story in that location is the north/downtown views will all be blocked by 2016 Main.

 

Correct. Sadly we won't be seeing much activity on those lots close to the freeway until TxDOT moves their lazy buts and decides how they want to deal with the Pierce. I really just want them to demo that building though. It's one of the worst blights in the whole area.

 

On a positive note they get first dibs on the Greyhound lol.

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no bar will ever be successful at 2016 Main because of the bus station. All the hustlers, crack heads, and thugs chase off good clientele. That Mickey D's there is a disaster area- it's the dirtiest restaurant i have ever walked away from

 

That's what happened to Warhols.

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I agree with the mayor that NIMBY issues are problematic. The mayor is not a dictator. She can't just move someone from their property because somebody asked. Its not that easy. Greyhound has rights too.

Furthermore, greyhound is a contributing cause but not the only cause. There are half a dozen homeless shelters and a couple of churches in the area. So to single out greyhound is not really fair.

Finally, on a legal basis, there is the notion of coming to the nuisance. Greyhound is not newly moving to a river oaks type neighborhood. You can't move in next to a slaughterhouse and then complain that the smell is a nuisance. You decided to come to the nuisance so it's your fault.

I would like to see the area improve, but the mayor is right. She can't just tell them ok, why don't you move to Afton Oaks.

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Furthermore, greyhound is a contributing cause but not the only cause. There are half a dozen homeless shelters and a couple of churches in the area. So to single out greyhound is not really fair.

 

Churches just seem to be magnets for those pesky poor people, and vice versa.

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if were going to have the prisons on a little Alcatraz, we might as well build some low income housing and homeless shelters on the new island too.. then all the undesirables can be controlled and confined to the island. if/when they ever get river boats going up and down the bayou they can make the loop around the North Canal and past Allens Landing, while looking in awe at the prisoners and the poor. it will be a new tourist attraction for the rich and powerful.

but really. move homeless shelters and low income housing to the island/next to the prisons.. yay, nay? that area is already kind of blighted and wont be useful for much besides more undesirable stuff anyways. i really wish the prisons could be moved so that island could be developed into a big touristy development, but i dont see it happening anytime soon.

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Or we can just deal with it. I lived in Budapest two years and there were homeless people all over the place. It wasn't a big deal, and they posed no barrier to urban neighborhoods that were much more lively and exciting than anything in Houston. If the type of residents we're trying to attract can't stand any panhandlers being around, they're not the residents we want. Let them go to the Greater River Oaks District. This is part of the difference between living in a real city and a controlled yuppie playground.

 

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Well said HTown!

I lived in DC for a few years, in a very up and coming neighborhood, with Whole Foods down the street and a bunch of high end condos all around. On my 3/4 block walk to whole foods, I had to walk past a church with a homeless encampment on its front stairs, and a hardware store that served as day-laborers pickup location.

And guess what, the neighborhood was all the better for it, quite lively and diverse. My wife walked that block with our infant baby every day without ever feeling threatened.

Let's stop pretending that the homeless are such a nuisance and undeserving of living amongst us.

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I agree with htown man and fernz. I don't think its the homeless people that mage downtown/upper midtown scary. I think its scary because it looks like one of those life after people cities (especially after night).

The homeless population is on par with many big cities but the non-homeless population isn't. When you see the resident population increase, the homeless presence won't stand out much.

Also, as the different areas of downtown and midtown develop, maybe the homeless will spread out instead of concentrating in just a few haunts.

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I totally agree that Greyhound has all the rights to stay but since there is a noise issue that they create almost every night, I think they need to warn their drivers not to honk in the middle of the night even early morning - 2 am, 3 am, 4 am... you name it. There are times, Greyhound drivers honk 30 seconds without giving break around 4am. I live in 2016 Main and I am witnessing this every single day. Believe me, it is not a good feeling. The reason that they do honk is very simple. The vehicles that they drop off passengers, block bus entrance and exit of the station. Why? Because, since there is a light rail there, vehicles do not have any pick up/drop off spots in this station. Can you imagine a Greyhound bus station with NO pick up/drop off area??? Unfortunately, in Houston they DON'T. So there is two simple solution for the Greyhound issue. 1) You create a noise ordinance in this area right away 2) You close the main street to vehicle traffic (which I think this idea is on the table for a while). Once these two will be in place, Greyhound will be gladly leave the premises in no time. 

Edited by samkan
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I totally agree that Greyhound has all the rights to stay but since there is a noise issue that they create almost every night, I think they need to warn their drivers not to honk in the middle of the night even early morning - 2 am, 3 am, 4 am... you name it. There are times, Greyhound drivers honk 30 seconds without giving break around 4am. I live in 2016 Main and I am witnessing this every single day. Believe me, it is not a good feeling. The reason that they do honk is very simple. The vehicles that they drop off passengers, block bus entrance and exit of the station. Why? Because, since there is a light rail there, vehicles do not have any pick up/drop off spots in this station. Can you imagine a Greyhound bus station with NO pick up/drop off area??? Unfortunately, in Houston they DON'T. So there is two simple solution for the Greyhound issue. 1) You create a noise ordinance in this area right away 2) You close the main street to vehicle traffic (which I think this idea is on the table for a while). Once these two will be in place, Greyhound will be gladly leave the premises in no time. 

 

Samkan, I didn't realize that was where the honking was coming from.  I live all the way at Austin and McGowen and I hear that honking almost every single day, inside my house with the windows closed.  I would support enforcement of the noise ordinance, and if you're truly upset by the noise (it was more perplexing to me) I would advise you to contact the city about it.  They're not going to fix a problem that they aren't aware of.

Anway, to stay on topic, I think this would be a boon to that area.  Sure, there are homeless people and drug addicts and ne'er-do-wells, but they were here first and we have to remember that.  Maybe as time passes the charity groups will sell their high-value property and all of them will move out to the burbs.

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  • 5 weeks later...

no bar will ever be successful at 2016 Main because of the bus station. All the hustlers, crack heads, and thugs chase off good clientele. That Mickey D's there is a disaster area- it's the dirtiest restaurant i have ever walked away from

 

That's what happened to Warhols.

 

Sammy's was a success. Until Sammy left, anyway.

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