Fortune Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 My question is why are they renovating the interior of the mall instead of tearing it completely down ? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscats35 Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Where is the source of this information of renovating the interior? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) Gotta admit, it was kind of neat and sad the last time when I went there (2013-ish). There was a fountain...there was a Chick-fil-a Express that had closed for the day...there was perhaps the last Sesame Hut in existence...there was a soccer-focused place (I think) that had action figures...nothing like "Wow, this place is a treasure that needs to be memorialized" but to be honest, I'm surprised it lasted this long. The loss of Macy's no doubt damaged its prospects, and the removal of most of its parking lot (making it a pain to get around even the parking lot, one of the sides of the old Macy's has just one lane open up for clearance) for construction made it even harder. Would be surprised if the Macy's WASN'T torn down by the end of the year. -- Also, when they say "renovating the interior" I'm thinking they'll probably turn it into an office building and/or outdoor facing tenants, they aren't saving Palais Royal and the other tenant they mentioned I believe is not quite flush with the interior either. Edited March 4, 2017 by IronTiger 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 On 3/4/2017 at 7:33 AM, IronTiger said: Gotta admit, it was kind of neat and sad the last time when I went there (2013-ish). There was a fountain...there was a Chick-fil-a Express that had closed for the day...there was perhaps the last Sesame Hut in existence...there was a soccer-focused place (I think) that had action figures...nothing like "Wow, this place is a treasure that needs to be memorialized" but to be honest, I'm surprised it lasted this long. The loss of Macy's no doubt damaged its prospects, and the removal of most of its parking lot (making it a pain to get around even the parking lot, one of the sides of the old Macy's has just one lane open up for clearance) for construction made it even harder. Would be surprised if the Macy's WASN'T torn down by the end of the year. -- Also, when they say "renovating the interior" I'm thinking they'll probably turn it into an office building and/or outdoor facing tenants, they aren't saving Palais Royal and the other tenant they mentioned I believe is not quite flush with the interior either. My guess is the "renovation" of the interior is simply to keep the building online for extended use until more deals are done with the property in the future or some master plan is drafted for this site. No way they will keep this aging relic standing for long or in whatever master plan they come up with. Would be cheaper to tear it down than to "restore" or "reconfigure" or whatever "re" one could come up with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Wait a minute. Are we all talking about the same run down out of date excuse for a retail center, in the middle of an industrial neighborhood surrounded by a wall of freeways, railroad tracks and every other physical barrier known to man to keep people away. Maybe we can get the state historical society and Ed Emmett together to save it for posterity along with the dome. Better yet move the mall into the dome. Perfect. It could be like those chinese boxes. Open one and see whats inside. Then when you got to the bottom there would be a superfund site. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 4 hours ago, Luminare said: My guess is the "renovation" of the interior is simply to keep the building online for extended use until more deals are done with the property in the future or some master plan is drafted for this site. No way they will keep this aging relic standing for long or in whatever master plan they come up with. Would be cheaper to tear it down than to "restore" or "reconfigure" or whatever "re" one could come up with. You are probably right. Second-tier malls like this are a dying breed. I don't know about potential for mixed use, but I could picture a large apartment complex on the site. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoric Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) - Edited July 11, 2019 by Timoric 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 55 minutes ago, Timoric said: I wonder if Amazon will take a look at one of these malls to have a place you can visit - brick and mortar to get stuff. If they can buy them cheap, why not do an experiment? Would people use it? Amazon Drone Factory/Warehouse/Storage Facility/Home 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparrow Posted March 8, 2017 Share Posted March 8, 2017 I envision a retail power center going in here with maybe an apartment building or two and about a dozen pad sites. Perhaps an office building or two if we get really lucky. Maybe they could keep the mall structure for the big box retail stores for cheaper than tearing down and rebuilding? I'd like to hope for something more "urban", but I'm not going to set my expectations too high for this one just yet. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post King Owl Posted March 8, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted March 8, 2017 If they tear it down, hopefully they build something on the site that keeps with Houston's architectural tradition. Like perhaps 17 standalone CVS stores on the site. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Montrose1100 Posted March 8, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted March 8, 2017 10 hours ago, King Owl said: If they tear it down, hopefully they build something on the site that keeps with Houston's architectural tradition. Like perhaps 17 standalone CVS stores on the site. A "Cypressvile". Coined here first, report that swamplot. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post gene Posted March 8, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted March 8, 2017 cant they just shut down all 53,426 Mattress Firms and make this one HUGE location!? 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 They could put it at end of the high speed rail line for padding in case the brakes fail 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 (edited) Well IF the station is going to be built here, you can bet a developer is going to create some city centre environment for visitors. We should call it little dallass Edited March 9, 2017 by j_cuevas713 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 On 3/7/2017 at 7:46 PM, Sparrow said: I envision a retail power center going in here with maybe an apartment building or two and about a dozen pad sites. Perhaps an office building or two if we get really lucky. Maybe they could keep the mall structure for the big box retail stores for cheaper than tearing down and rebuilding? I'd like to hope for something more "urban", but I'm not going to set my expectations too high for this one just yet. Probably not even that, given it is hard to access and Palais Royal is going to be heading out. My guess is that it will become a modern industrial park, which would fit in with the antique mall (remember that it was a former industrial site nestled in industrial before becoming an antique mall...directories indicate it was originally a facility that manufactured fans). If not that, I can see more of an office building/hotel environment going in. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehoustonion Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 This is a great topic. A great spot for it, but cannot connect to buses. As they are building in San Francisco right next to the Saleforse Tower a large terminal with BART, MUNI, Heavy Rail and buses. We are so far behind and the county and the city are just stupid. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 2 hours ago, nativehoustonion said: This is a great topic. A great spot for it, but cannot connect to buses. As they are building in San Francisco right next to the Saleforse Tower a large terminal with BART, MUNI, Heavy Rail and buses. We are so far behind and the county and the city are just stupid. That's not a new terminal, it's a replacement and redevelopment of an existing bus terminal, with an extension of the Caltrain line from 4th and King to the new terminal(unlikely to be completed until 2026, apparently), and a pedestrian connection to the existing BART Embarcadero station near Market and Pine. It's easy to build a terminal when most of the connections are nearby or already exist. The San Francisco project is nothing like the proposals for the NW Mall site. San Francisco also has far higher density, and far less empty space, so there is more impetus for transit projects, and they make more sense there. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 1 hour ago, Ross said: San Francisco also has far higher density, and far less empty space, so there is more impetus for transit projects, and they make more sense there. There's somewhat of a chicken/egg situation here. Lack of transit makes it impossible for Houston to get anywhere near San Francisco in terms of density, but, especially since we are continuing to grow in population, there's no reason for that to continue in perpetuity. This really does seem like a great, catalyzing spot to work on that: High speed rail connection to Dallas Connect to Uptown BRT Short term: express buses to downtown Medium term: extend Green Line LRT to NW Transit along Washington Long term: Extend high speed rail to downtown; add links to other cities 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenOlenska Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 As a person living in the Tanglewood area I like to think of a line up Washington either connecting and Shepherd and then going down 11th, or connecting at Hemptstead. But the light rail of my imagination goes all over the place. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nativehoustonion Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 (edited) 21 hours ago, Ross said: That's not a new terminal, it's a replacement and redevelopment of an existing bus terminal, with an extension of the Caltrain line from 4th and King to the new terminal(unlikely to be completed until 2026, apparently), and a pedestrian connection to the existing BART Embarcadero station near Market and Pine. It's easy to build a terminal when most of the connections are nearby or already exist. The San Francisco project is nothing like the proposals for the NW Mall site. San Francisco also has far higher density, and far less empty space, so there is more impetus for transit projects, and they make more sense there. I'm referring to the future over 400,000 live inside the loop. That will double in 15 t0 20 years have some sort plan now! Edited March 12, 2017 by nativehoustonion 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 NW Mall one of three options for a HSR Station 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitter1 Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 90 minute? Damn that's quick! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkylineView Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 How does this process work? They don't own these properties. Some of the warehouses along 610 in option 3 already got cut in half by the 610/290/10 work... and just rebuilt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 Connecting it to the NW transit center is certainly a start. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 The DEIS was released?! Finally! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate4l1f3 Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 Did they say how exactly they’re connecting this to Downtown? A 90 minute ride turns into a 120 minute ride if you have to hope on a bus or Uber to DT. I’m just really bitter this doesn’t go directly DT. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EllenOlenska Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 I live in on 18th Street, so I have a little dream about a LTR going up 18th to the center of the Heights. Maybe it would become a more urban satellite. Some of my neighbors might reject. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 1 hour ago, nate4l1f3 said: Did they say how exactly they’re connecting this to Downtown? A 90 minute ride turns into a 120 minute ride if you have to hope on a bus or Uber to DT. I’m just really bitter this doesn’t go directly DT. The link to Downtown is another billion or more dollars with very little benefit. There's also no real route to go to Downtown without having to impact a neighborhood. There oculd be a connector running down I-10, but it wouldn't be suitable for HSR given the number of turns required. 30 minutes ago, EllenOlenska said: I live in on 18th Street, so I have a little dream about a LTR going up 18th to the center of the Heights. Maybe it would become a more urban satellite. Some of my neighbors might reject. There's not enough room on 18th for rail, especially from TC Jester East to the Heights. I don't think you could reasonably get a single line on it, and it would be a hazard for neighborhood children. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunstar Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 2 hours ago, Montrose1100 said: Connecting it to the NW transit center is certainly a start. That appears to be the third option. But what's the purpose of the structure at 610 and Hempstead? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 6 hours ago, SkylineView said: How does this process work? They don't own these properties. Some of the warehouses along 610 in option 3 already got cut in half by the 610/290/10 work... and just rebuilt. I suspect that they will throw money at all 3, and see which one they can actually buy for the least amount of cash. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 Levcor now selling NW Mall https://www.levcor.com/northwest-mall 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortune Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 4 hours ago, Urbannizer said: Levcor now selling NW Mall https://www.levcor.com/northwest-mall Hopefully it will be purchased by Hanover or Midway! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstontexasjack Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 I think it’s safe to say Texas Central is dead, despite their pronouncements to the contrary. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 https://www.houstonpress.com/news/will-texas-dreams-of-light-rail-ever-become-real-13615274 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxConcrete Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 (edited) 11 hours ago, Urbannizer said: Levcor now selling NW Mall https://www.levcor.com/northwest-mall If Levcor wants credibility, they should update the text of that page. It is at least 5 years out of date. Quote The 290/I-10/I-610 interchange, at which Northwest Mall is located, is undergoing a massive ~$3B redevelopment plan to improve connectivity and traffic flow, and will be completed in late 2017. Edited June 24 by MaxConcrete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 21 hours ago, houstontexasjack said: I think it’s safe to say Texas Central is dead, despite their pronouncements to the contrary. With this news, it has to be dead right? This is where the station was going in. Damn! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortune Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 52 minutes ago, Triton said: With this news, it has to be dead right? This is where the station was going in. Damn! Is it? Texas Supreme Court Clears Eminent Domain Hurdle, Clearing Way For High-Speed Rail (bisnow.com) 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstontexasjack Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 (edited) On 6/24/2022 at 4:54 PM, Triton said: But is it too late? Happily, it looks like Levcor hasn’t updated its website. The parcel appears to have been sold by an entity affiliated with Levcor back in 2020: Edit: I do see vendor’s lien language in this warranty deed. Financing to the entity affiliated with Texas Central was provided by Frost Bank judging by a deed of trust from November 2021. Edited June 27 by houstontexasjack 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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