Lower Heights District Developments

[Texasota]

Which, unlike Einstein, makes actual bagels.

[gmac]

1 hour ago, Texasota said:

Which, unlike Einstein, makes actual bagels.

 

Can't be true. Golden doesn't have salt bagels on the menu.

[Texasota]

A good point - that's a pretty glaring omission. Still, much closer to bagels than the bread circles Einstein sells.

[august948]

On 3/9/2019 at 8:56 PM, august948 said:

 

Lower Heights might not need the space on-site since the area around it is developing a bit denser than the City Centre area.  I'll have to go walk the area myself, but I've walked around City Centre and the adjoining Town & Country center and it's not a bad walk.  Looking at the map, it looks like the distance as the crow files is similar.  I'd expect you could do a lot of walking around there if you are inclined.  It's just that most Houstonians aren't so inclined.

 

I got the chance to walk around the edges of Lower Heights earlier this week.  They've got a parking lot going next to the Kroger (where I parked) and the start of a parking garage closer to the Target.  They've got Oliver St fenced off and are doing dirt work along it.  When I walked down Studemont and east on the feeder, I could see where the Heights Bike Trail touches the edge of the property.  Looks like they're doing some excavating for a detention pond.  I hope they make that a park-like area and do a good high-comfort connection to the main trail.  I'll be curious to see if they end up connecting Oliver St to the adjacent shopping area where the Target is.

[hindesky]

Tower crane is up at the southern fenced in area.

Edited April 14, 2019 by hindesky

[j_cuevas713]

On 4/14/2019 at 3:25 PM, hindesky said:

Tower crane is up at the southern fenced in area.

Damn that's fast as hell!

[Triton]

The earlier brochures had Cinemark... makes me wonder if that didn't pan out or whether they were even working on a deal with them.

[dbigtex56]

Please forgive me if this issue has already been addressed on this thread, but a major impediment to making this development pedestrian accessible is the Studemont bridge over White Oak Bayou.
I cannot walk across it. I'm willing to bet that most people can't. A two foot tall railing and an 18" sidewalk do not inspire confidence.
There may be other routes to cross the bayou but they are not evident to the hapless pedestrian who discovers that You Can't Get There From Here.
Are there any plans to widen this bridge and add adequate sidewalks and rails?

 

[Visitor]

21 minutes ago, Triton said:

The earlier brochures had Cinemark... makes me wonder if that didn't pan out or whether they were even working on a deal with them.

The earlier rendering also had west elm where is now East Oaks Home Goods.

[Luminare]

Probably said this earlier, but really like the industrial aesthetic. Fits with the area and its prior use.

[Triton]

23 minutes ago, dbigtex56 said:

Please forgive me if this issue has already been addressed on this thread, but a major impediment to making this development pedestrian accessible is the Studemont bridge over White Oak Bayou.
I cannot walk across it. I'm willing to bet that most people can't. A two foot tall railing and an 18" sidewalk do not inspire confidence.
There may be other routes to cross the bayou but they are not evident to the hapless pedestrian who discovers that You Can't Get There From Here.
Are there any plans to widen this bridge and add adequate sidewalks and rails?

 

 

 

Or perhaps a simple pedestrian bridge crossing over. I believe this bridge is still in pretty good condition and it seems to be able to handle the current traffic.

 

But I completely agree, this bridge is completely dangerous. A few years ago, I made the poor decision of crossing this with my bike which had a flat tire, in order to get home quicker. Never again. Felt like I was fairly close to either falling off into the road or getting hit by someone's mirror at 40 mph. What made it even worse was that someone on the other side also made the same poor decision I made and we had to scoot around each other just to pass. That being said, I highly doubt we'll see a pedestrian bridge here seeing how we already have the former train track crossing for the Heights Bike Trail.

[rechlin]

2 hours ago, Triton said:

That being said, I highly doubt we'll see a pedestrian bridge here seeing how we already have the former train track crossing for the Heights Bike Trail. 

 

And there will be almost no need for a pedestrian bridge here if they ever finish building the White Oak Bayou trail from the east to connect with the M-K-T/Heights trail.  That one little gap in the trail for so many years has perplexed me.

[crock]

3 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

Please forgive me if this issue has already been addressed on this thread, but a major impediment to making this development pedestrian accessible is the Studemont bridge over White Oak Bayou.
I cannot walk across it. I'm willing to bet that most people can't. A two foot tall railing and an 18" sidewalk do not inspire confidence.
There may be other routes to cross the bayou but they are not evident to the hapless pedestrian who discovers that You Can't Get There From Here.
Are there any plans to widen this bridge and add adequate sidewalks and rails?

 

 

 

I don't understand where you would be coming from that you would need to use this?  Maybe the 4 square blocks south of white oak? Or if you were at Stude Park and wanted to go? 

I share @rechlins frustration that the northern trail just deadends literally within view of the southern trail, when i've tried to make a loop around, but from an actual pedestrian friendly walkablity standpoint, the heights bike trail has been incredible for us living in the first ward.  

 

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2019 by crock

[j_cuevas713]

57 minutes ago, crock said:

 

 

I don't understand where you would be coming from that you would need to use this?  Maybe the 4 square blocks south of white oak? Or if you were at Stude Park and wanted to go? 

I share @rechlins frustration that the northern trail just deadends literally within view of the southern trail, when i've tried to make a loop around, but from an actual pedestrian friendly walkablity standpoint, the heights bike trail has been incredible for us living in the first ward.  

 

 

 

 

I think it's more a question of why not? We should be able to access any part of the city fairly easy by foot without having to road map a solution. 

[s3mh]

A while back, someone riding their bike on that bridge got pushed off the bridge by a motorist.  It is unbelievably dangerous.  

 

If you are on the hike and bike path and want to get to Stude Park, you can't without either taking White Oak across Studewood or taking Studemont over that bridge.  Otherwise, you have to take the trail all the way down through 1st Ward, under 45 and back along the bayou.  

 

But the real reason there needs to be a safe connection between the hike and bike path and Stude park is give people 100% bike path access from the Heights to the bike path on the north side of the bayou by Stude Park.  That lets you go downtown without having to have to go through the Target shopping center (which is terrifying when riding with kids).  

[j_cuevas713]

Is there anything we can do to present this issue to the city?

[mollusk]

4 hours ago, crock said:

 

 

I don't understand where you would be coming from that you would need to use this?  Maybe the 4 square blocks south of white oak? Or if you were at Stude Park and wanted to go? 

I share @rechlins frustration that the northern trail just deadends literally within view of the southern trail, when i've tried to make a loop around, but from an actual pedestrian friendly walkablity standpoint, the heights bike trail has been incredible for us living in the first ward.  

 

 

 

 

 

Or how about anywhere up Studewood (and adjacent streets) north of White Oak???

 

If you're north of the bayou, the easternmost access to the MKT trail is at Oxford - which is almost as far west of Studewood as Watson/Taylor is east (not that Watson's any picnic on foot or bike, either).

 

[dbigtex56]

5 hours ago, crock said:

I share @rechlins frustration that the northern trail just deadends literally within view of the southern trail, when i've tried to make a loop around, but from an actual pedestrian friendly walkablity standpoint, the heights bike trail has been incredible for us living in the first ward. 

 

It certainly helps to be intimately acquainted with the neighborhood. The casual visitor would justifiably assume that a major street will allow one to travel from point A to point B.  It's frustrating to walk a good distance from the closest main cross street only to have to retrace one's steps, and still have no indication as to how to access the closest and easiest route. 
My observations are from the perspective of someone who sometimes walks without having a fixed destination in mind, and who doesn't carry a GPS device. I realize that that's not everyone. Still, it might be nice to have some warning - maybe  "NO PED ACCESS - YOU'LL REGRET IT" signs posted at White Oak Dr. and I-10?
Yes, you can get there from here, but it's not as obvious as it ought to be.
 

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric

[EllenOlenska]

[innerloop]

On 5/17/2019 at 7:43 AM, CrockpotandGravel said:

 

...Total Wine and Ulta Beauty have finalized leases for the retail space underway, but the developer would not reveal names of the other tenants it is talking to.

 

 

Seems a little premature, but Ulta Beauty is already running an ad for the General Manager position for this location.

[TrainTrak]

[ErickEdgar]

From the Studemont Junction leasing brochure, here's a list of retail stores for Lower Heights District:

 

Ulta

Michael's

Ross

Nordstrom Rack

Cinemark

Sam's Club

Academy

 

https://www.streetwiseretail.com/public/Studemont-Junction-Marketing-Brochure.pdf

[Triton]

1 hour ago, ErickEdgar said:

From the Studemont Junction leasing brochure, here's a list of retail stores for Lower Heights District:

 

Ulta

Michael's

Ross

Nordstrom Rack

Cinemark

Sam's Club

Academy

 

https://www.streetwiseretail.com/public/Studemont-Junction-Marketing-Brochure.pdf

 

Thank you for posting but unfortunately that is an old document from several years ago. Lower Heights District's design has completely been redone.

[j_cuevas713]

On 5/31/2019 at 6:20 PM, TrainTrak said:

This is moving very fast, along with East River. 

Edited June 5, 2019 by j_cuevas713

[hindesky]

Trammel Crow Realty and EDI are building the apartments and parking garage.

 

The tower crane is on a temporary base with lots of concrete counter weights.

 

 

EE Reed has what looks like a retail building going up on the western portion.

[BigFootsSocks]

That’s interesting, why would they construct the crane in this manner? 

[hindesky]

1 hour ago, BigFootsSocks said:

That’s interesting, why would they construct the crane in this manner? 

Probably so they don't have to dig a foundation deep enough which wouldn't end up being part of the build. The Courtyard by Marriott  in the Heights.hotel did the same thing. That tower crane was in the eventual front drive court.

 

 

[BigFootsSocks]

Huh I didn’t know that either, thanks hi

[Serrano]

found this it looks like the most recent layout :