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Maniac, that's awesome! I like the big dome in the middle giving your center court natural sunlight. The movement of Palais Royal down by Macy's is a good touch. All of these years with it in center court, and now moving it into the Foley...er uh Macy Wing would take some getting used to, but I think it's a good idea.

Great concept for Almeda, nicely done Maniac! With Northwest, Macy's has abandoned the store, so what would you propose moves into the old Northwest Foley's? Would Carolyn Thompson's Antique Center, which currently occupies the Penney's store, remain in the mall at all? Using your concept for Almeda, I would personally flip Forever 21 to the other end of Northwest, demoing the old Foley's, and replacing it with F21 with a slightly smaller footprint. Carolyn Thompson would then shift to the old Palais Royal location at Center Court, PR moves to the new Forever 21 wing, and H&M takes over the Penney's wing.

The only negative that pops into my head with this, is whether or not F21 and H&M can support the mall as full anchors. This is why I like cloud's idea of taking its roof off and making an outdoor shopping plaza out of it. It takes away that old perception that a mall requires a big name box tenant to survive.

You are much more familiar with Almeda than I, Maniac. When was the DD's building added to the footprint? Or is that the back half of the old Battelstein's/Beall's department store? Northwest doesn't have a DD's, and from what I'm seeing in your Almeda layout, it appears that this may have been an add on to the original mall space.

Thanks for keeping the Picadilly's too! It's got to remain in its original location though.

The whole charm of Picadilly's Almeda is that it remains frozen in time and looks as it did when it opened back in the 60's. It reminds me of my childhood, gobbling down a cornbread stick, and watching the trays ride down the conveyor belt for all to see. It's one of the few things I get to satisfy my nostalgic itch. My wife doesn't get it, you know, with the long drive from north Houston and all, but it sure does take me back to a much simpler time and always brings a smile to my face to visit it occasionally.

Considering the Northwest Macy's just sits there vacant I see no need to ask Macy's to return to Northwest if I were implementing my plan there. Perhaps a demolition of the store would work therefore Northwest could open up with no anchors in the outdoor open air style which would play off of city center since that center is a success without major anchors. Now considering almeda, I never took any thought into the open air style. Considering that, it would really help revitalize the area more than a mall would. Now as for F21 and H&M supporting the mall, it's very possible. Both are relatively inexpensive and draw large amounts of people because of the trendy clothes. As for picadilly's I'll see what I can do lol. Now that dd's discounts (which in reality is Ross Dress For Less in disguise, they opened a new Ross next to the adjacent Walmart) I think it was added onto the mall considering it has no connection to the actual mall itself. I'm going to work on some more layout possibilities. 

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Son of a biscuit eater!! Closed June 24th. That stinks to high heaven, IronTiger.

As for Northwest, the food court is hardly full, brother. I went about a month ago and snapped pictures of all the emptiness. Picadilly is empty, as is Chick-fil-a, Taco Cabana, Great American Cookie Co., and what once was Orange Julius. Still open were the Sesame Hut and a pizza place that used to be Sbarro's, but for the life of me, I can't recall the new name of it. Northwest is rather depressing, although my buddy that went with us and tried the "hurricane machine" right in front of the empty store front formerly occupied by Journeys. Next time you make your way down 290, and you've got some time, swing through Northwest again. The West Loop construction has absolutely obliterated Northwest's occupancy from even what it was a couple of years ago.

Please, no second rate Macy's at Northwest either. Its been there and done that already, and destoyed a nice Foley's in the process. I agree that Northwest should remain, just not in its current configuration or state of repair. This is why I like both of the concepts laid out above. Each one brings this prime spot back into the limelight and would be beneficial to the immediate areas surrounding it. Just imagine, football game finishes up on a Saturday afternoon at Delmar, and you've got either cloud's or Towermaniac's ideas in place directly across 18th to enjoy.

I'd even add a return of the Northwest theater somewhere into either plan. It'd be a good idea for a place to get out of the sun and enjoy a movie, and alleviate some of the crowds that always pack the Marq-E every weekend.

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Well, I did go in April 2013 and at the time, there was one diner/cafeteria place with red/green/blue/white tiles (don't ask me what it was), a Chick-fil-A Express (limited menu, akin to what you'd see on college campuses), and a few local places. The antique mall is there too, and I kind of liked that (but didn't explore all of it), but it's a bit disheartening to see it and imagine the J.C. Penney that was there before (and I've never even seen that JCPenney, just pictures of what it might've looked like given the age and prototype)

As for Macy's, you're right. The Macy's at Northwest has been sitting far too long empty and probably not worth a serious investment. The bigger problem is because the reduced parking lot makes it difficult to navigate and the anchor pad (oversized anyway) would need to be demolished and rebuilt.

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Ok, that worked so here's the rundown on the pics, from top to bottom:

1. Great American Cookie Company

2. Taco Cabana/Two Pesos

3. Sesame Hut

4. Foley's mall entrance

5. Hastings Records

6. Picadilly

7. 2 buddies that went with me, center court area

8. Former Spencer's

9. Journeys

10. Old Navy

11. Woolworth entrance

12. Woolworth Lunch Counter entrance

13. Penney's entrance

14. Back down the mall standing at Penney's entrance.

15. Visible Changes & Playhouse Toys

16. Inside the old Penney's

17. Fool in the hurricane machine. That cost me .50 for his amusement, lol!

...and thank you for taking the depressing tour. It was much worse in person.

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#2 used to be the Chick-fil-A Express in 2013. The mall seems way too dark in some places with too-low ceilings but I guess that's just part of the time it was built. I imagine it's more depressing if you remember what it used to be, which I never really experienced.

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Well that means Chick-fil-a moved across the corridor at some point then. What was the original spot for Chick-fil-a is now still open for a seating area, but the counter has been walled off with a sign that gives info about leasing opportunities.

Extremely depressing from the vibrance I grew up with in the 70s-80s. Northwest has actually lit up more than it used to be. I was commenting to my friend about that when we paid the visit. Maybe it's because the mall is so empty now, maybe it's the brighter paint colors.

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Here is my expanded GreenStreet/retail district that I sketched up for another thread.
It features a people mover system that spans 10 different rooftops, yes rooftops.. I figured I'd really think outside the box with this one. It spans my expanded 6 block greenstreet, the shops at Houston center, and 2 garages, all that have about the same roof height.
The roofs could be used for an outdoor market space on the weekends and have a few street vendors here and there on regular days (the rooftop makes a great space that was underutilized, where they can charge very cheap rents so that these vendors can afford to set up shop in downtown). The people mover links the Main Street Square light rail stop at Sakowitz building (which could be turned into a movie theater, dave & busters, or something of the like to add some entertainment to the retail district) with the greenstreet garage, hotel Alessandra, NRG Energy office high rise, Toyota center (one of the main draws outside of shoppers in the new retail district, saving people a half mile walk from the light rail station if the weather is nasty), a condo tower (yellow) I implemented into the expanded greenstreet, and discovery green, and shops at Houston center, all together (and more importantly to light rail) to form a more cohesive retail district and open opportunities on the roofs for things like a Farmers Market and/or an area for mom and pop type shops/vendors to sell stuff downtown for cheap.



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What about an outlet mall with a decent list of brands similar to what Simon properties has way, way out on 290? Parking can be resolved with construction of a garage. I think there is going to be a tremendous amount of growth along old Hempstead hwy, and the demographics will support it. There is no reason to attempt to compete with a traditional mall with the Galleria so close.

As far as Gunspoint is concerned:

Option 1 - Cleansing fire

Option 2 - Data center

Option 3 - Hunger Games arena

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What about an outlet mall with a decent list of brands similar to what Simon properties has way, way out on 290? Parking can be resolved with construction of a garage. I think there is going to be a tremendous amount of growth along old Hempstead hwy, and the demographics will support it. There is no reason to attempt to compete with a traditional mall with the Galleria so close.

As far as Gunspoint is concerned:

Option 1 - Cleansing fire

Option 2 - Data center

Option 3 - Hunger Games arena

What is the first part in reference to? Northwest mall..?

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theGalleria V expansion

For each potential expansion I would trench W Alabama below the current crossing to Galleria IV and the new crossing from V to III, and build out the first floor over the newly trenched roads so the main floor of the entire mall would be continuous. I would also move Dillard's into theGalleria and redevelop the Dillard's plot into a cluster of mixed use iconic high rises. Probably a higher end hotel/residential condo tower, an apartment tower, and a couple office towers. Or if the market doesn't warrant that, build an outdoor shopping area there connected to Neimans by a pedestrian bridge over Post Oak.

Here's the first/most logical expansion.. Buy out the church and build an expansion lined up with the new Macys, going towards the west, before turning north across W Alabama, connecting in with Galleria III.

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The more controversial Galleria V expansion. This expansion encompasses the 3 hotels to the southwest and the lower levels of the Oxford residential tower with a glass roof, a la the Orlando International Airport hotel.

It would possibly include gutting the whole first floor of the 3 hotels for retail, and building out the first floor of the hotels to make a central mall corridor, so the retail aspect of the mall is continuous, but maybe just keep all the hotels the same if gutting/rebuilding the first floor won't fly with the hotel owners.

There is also a 2.75 acre (120,000 sq ft) central plaza/park in between the L shape of Galleria V, Galleria IV, and W. Alabama. I'm going to be honest here.. A lot of the reason I added this part was to shut the northpark crowd the hell up about their "only park surrounded by a shopping center" claim. Lol. But I think it would make for a nice central plaza that could possibly host events or have some type of outdoor mini market place.

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Orlando Airport Hotel - the southwest corner of the Galleria V expansion would all be like this with the current hotels.

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Northpark Center Park

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The Dillard's plot mixed use high rise redevelopment - renderings of other mixed use developments to give ideas of what could go there.. (Id like it to be a little more iconic though)

Millennium-Hollywood.jpg

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Here's a mixed use development with an outdoor retail/shopping area component that would be a nice compliment to the mall (apparently this was actually a potential plan for theGalleria at one time. I assume where Galleria III is) at the current Dillard's plot.

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Obviously these plans would mean buying out the church, agreeing with Dillard's to relocate into theGalleria, and agreeing with the hotels and owners of the first few floors on the north side of the Oxford residential tower to allow theGalleria to build the glass roof structure overhead to encompass that area into the mall.

It seems to me like the church is holding out for the right offer. If theGalleria offered them a spot in the expansion and parking in the garage on Sundays along with some money they might go for it. Dillard's would probably love to be incl

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Dillards would love to be invited to attend theGalleria's party.  But...Simon won't have them.  It'd cheapen the Brand, they think.

 

Really?  Yet they apparently think having two Macy's is high end. (*sigh...*)

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Dillards would love to be invited to attend theGalleria's party.  But...Simon won't have them.  It'd cheapen the Brand, they think.

 

 

Really?  Yet they apparently think having two Macy's is high end. (*sigh...*)

this.. isnt Dillards more high end than Macys?

part of the problem with any expansions is i dont know how well Galleria V would connect into Galleria III with Saks Fifth taking up the whole corner and the future residential tower being plotted for the space directly south of Saks. but maybe they will figure out a way to better integrate the residential tower into Galleria III without forcing people to walk through Saks or a parking garage, opening up a nicer/more pedestrian friendly corridor for people to walk through from III to V.

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Well, among Arkansas-based chains, I would rate Dillard's as more "high-end" than Walmart.  ;-)

 

I've always thought of Dillard's as being between Macy's and JC Penny on the high/low-endedness scale, but closer to Macy's.  

 

FWIW, a cousin who worked at Foley's told me they had a tough time matching the prices Dillard's charged.  

 

 

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Well, among Arkansas-based chains, I would rate Dillard's as more "high-end" than Walmart.  ;-)

 

 

Agreed.  I don't see a Wally World being built anywhere closer to the Galleria than the Crackhead Walmart that's already there on Dunvale.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

Considering the acreage, proximity to existing hotels, even closer proximity to the airport, bordered by Houston's major highways (bltwy 8 and 45) that happens to connect to Dallas, and in an area that could be readily developed with little need of more residential/shopping projects in city, this area would be IDEAL for an amusement park destination or even a Six Flags revamp. Have you ever taken an aerial view of the mall? Imagine digging up that behemoth of a surface parking lot, bull dozing the mall, and even buying up a couple adjacent parcels of land (shitty strip malls etc) we'd have more land than Astroworld sat on. I compared the aerial views of GP mall and Disneyland in California, if you flip the maps they almost look identical. I also think that doing so would create a necessary cohesion of the city, maybe even promoting more development in between the site and down 45 into the city, or even pushing light rail connection northern. Plans for amusement parks further out in the outskirts only creates further headaches of more commuting, this is a location Houston wouldn't mind driving to, without destroying more forest land, infill is our answer. The city also desperately needs something of a jewel near that airport, its depressing getting off of a flight from our intentional airport only to drive through blight. Houston is spending on so much on developing residential and retail, this would however create jobs, bring tourism, and promote a more lively atmosphere to our already growing city.

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Considering the acreage, proximity to existing hotels, even closer proximity to the airport, bordered by Houston's major highways (bltwy 8 and 45) that happens to connect to Dallas, and in an area that could be readily developed with little need of more residential/shopping projects in city, this area would be IDEAL for an amusement park destination or even a Six Flags revamp. Have you ever taken an aerial view of the mall? Imagine digging up that behemoth of a surface parking lot, bull dozing the mall, and even buying up a couple adjacent parcels of land (shitty strip malls etc) we'd have more land than Astroworld sat on. I compared the aerial views of GP mall and Disneyland in California, if you flip the maps they almost look identical. I also think that doing so would create a necessary cohesion of the city, maybe even promoting more development in between the site and down 45 into the city, or even pushing light rail connection northern. Plans for amusement parks further out in the outskirts only creates further headaches of more commuting, this is a location Houston wouldn't mind driving to, without destroying more forest land, infill is our answer. The city also desperately needs something of a jewel near that airport, its depressing getting off of a flight from our intentional airport only to drive through blight. Houston is spending on so much on developing residential and retail, this would however create jobs, bring tourism, and promote a more lively atmosphere to our already growing city.

 

I wouldn't hold me breath.

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Considering the acreage, proximity to existing hotels, even closer proximity to the airport, bordered by Houston's major highways (bltwy 8 and 45) that happens to connect to Dallas, and in an area that could be readily developed with little need of more residential/shopping projects in city, this area would be IDEAL for an amusement park destination or even a Six Flags revamp. 

 

Well, it is an amusement park destination, at least seasonally - there's a fairly large traveling carnival operating in the parking lot right now.  :ph34r:

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  • 7 months later...
  • The title was changed to Malls

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