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On 11/30/2018 at 6:08 PM, Triton said:

 

There is Summer St. and Crockett St. 

 

Neither Summer nor Crockett are thru streets to this site. To get to anything resembling a neighborhood, you have to cross 6 acres of Target parking lot.

 

It's now clear that the original sin of this entire area is that Target development. If that area had been platted with thru streets and integrated with the 1st/6th ward street grid, it would be possible to continue that pattern here. Unfortunately, integration with the 1st/6th wards wasn't seen as all that desirable when that site was developed.

 

 

On 11/30/2018 at 9:15 PM, august948 said:

And it's right next to the Kroger.  Can park there and walk around.  

 

On 11/30/2018 at 2:55 PM, Angostura said:

 

The thing about drive-to urbanism is that the "drive-to" part is a lot more important than the "urbanism" part.

 

 

 

Edited by Angostura
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5 hours ago, Angostura said:

 

Neither Summer nor Crockett are thru streets to this site. To get to anything resembling a neighborhood, you have to cross 6 acres of Target parking lot.

 

It's now clear that the original sin of this entire area is that Target development. If that area had been platted with thru streets and integrated with the 1st/6th ward street grid, it would be possible to continue that pattern here. Unfortunately, integration with the 1st/6th wards wasn't seen as all that desirable when that site was developed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You really could connect to those streets if you wanted to. The city does have a planned connection here for Summer St., including a proposed expansion of Sawyer.

 

 

LowerHeightsDistrict.png

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On 11/30/2018 at 10:55 AM, Angostura said:

 

Less terrible is better than more terrible, but I think "tie in" is a stretch. There's nothing there to tie in to. The site is an island from a walkability standpoint, bordered by a freeway, a railroad and two big box sites. 

 

The thing about drive-to urbanism is that the "drive-to" part is a lot more important than the "urbanism" part.

 

 

And that's the thing...for the vast majority of the population of Houston, all urbanism is drive-to urbanism.  Without the drive-to part, you would likely not get much at all. 

 

Baby steps for a place not designed for density.  Baby steps...

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That would be nice, but it doesn't look like that's the plan. That's a standard nasty big box strip mall (that even appears to house a Michael's) behind the giant parking lot. 

That being said, the rest of the site is way better than it could have been, so... hurray?

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11 hours ago, Urbannizer said:

2728 Summer St - 5-story/90,000 sq ft office building.

 

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/2728-Summer-St-Houston-TX/14599849/

 

 

 

 

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Personally, I believe this is the best result in the realm of realistic possibilities. Those of you who look at Westcreek / RO District see the Target and parking lot as huge opportunity for future redevelopment... this is similar.

 

This development must include a parking garage (movie theater and offices) in addition to the apartment garage. So you have a little bit of everything. As density increases, we will likely see the parking lot and box stores change. You cant go from a 2 to a 10 overnight.

 

Don't fool yourself... convenient parking is amazing and a factor of success. I go to the target near here all the time. I doubt I would frequent it as much if parking was not easy.

Edited by Avossos
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2 minutes ago, Avossos said:

 

Personally, I believe this is the best result in the realm of realistic possibilities. Those of you who look at Westcreek / RO District see the Target and parking lot as huge opportunity for future redevelopment.

 

This development must include a parking garage (movie theater and offices) in addition to the apartment garage. So you have a little bit of everything. As denisity increases, we will likely see the parking lot and box stores subject to change. 

 

Don't fool yourself... convenient parking is amazing and a factor of success. I go to the target near hear all the time. I doubt I would frequent it as much if parking was not easy.

I agree with this. This development reminds of University Village in Seattle, WA. It is very walkable and popular, even though it has a large parking lot in front of the grocery store. 

 

I can definitely see this lot becoming a parking garage in the future if the development becomes a huge success, but I like this project from the look of it so far.  

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It looks like what would happen if Highland Village and the Central Market across the street had a baby.

BTW, there's structured parking elsewhere on the site. Why separate one of your anchor tenants from the rest of the development with a sea of asphalt?

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Like the industrial feel of the West Elm building. Kinda reminds me of old industrial buildings you would find nestled in the massive city blocks of Berlin. I agree with most, the giant parking lot is a bummer, but looking at it pragmatically its a necessary evil, it doesn't deface the development, and does help with ease of access. As the city continues to mature more, these will become the first sites to be drastically altered (could be a nice spot for a signature building or even a park).

Lets give credit were credit is due and keep encouraging developers that they are on the right track (while of course making sure they continue to get better). This was the best possible outcome for this site considering the disappointment that is Kroger right next to it (very likely could have done something similar). Its been interesting watching this free market experiment with competing versions of new urbanism. While they are not perfect, the fact that these are the models of development they are choosing to duel with is an incredible sign of maturity in the city than before when it was a duel between big box store plazas.

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2 minutes ago, Luminare said:

Like the industrial feel of the West Elm building. Kinda reminds me of old industrial buildings you would find nestled in the massive city blocks of Berlin. I agree with most, the giant parking lot is a bummer, but looking at it pragmatically its a necessary evil, it doesn't deface the development, and does help with ease of access. As the city continues to mature more, these will become the first sites to be drastically altered (could be a nice spot for a signature building or even a park).

Lets give credit were credit is due and keep encouraging developers that they are on the right track (while of course making sure they continue to get better). This was the best possible outcome for this site considering the disappointment that is Kroger right next to it (very likely could have done something similar). Its been interesting watching this free market experiment with competing versions of new urbanism. While they are not perfect, the fact that these are the models of development they are choosing to duel with is an incredible sign of maturity in the city than before when it was a duel between big box store plazas.

I also like the comparison given to University Village in Seattle. You're very right about how the city is maturing. 

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15 years ago this whole area was a huge industrial complex with toxic waste and ugly warehouses full of stuff and no future in sight. It went from Washington Avenue all the way to to I-10.  I used to drive to my studio on Silver, Summer, Winter, White streets and dodge trash, scare away wild dog packs, hear bullets in the night and  trains all the time. Progress takes time and this is pretty remarkable compared to what it once was. 
Sometimes you have to have a little more patience. It will all change over time. Imagine if there was a time lapse video of NY city over the last century how much it changed. Nothing remains the same, unless its done right the first time.

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