MidtownCoog Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 bounded by an interstate highway More like strangled by an interstate highway. Like I said, the traffic patterns worked when Astroworld only need one way in and out. Even today Kirby north under 610 is a killer.I almost bought a home near Stella Link and 610. Excessive Loop 610 noise was the deciding factor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texas911 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I'd love a Walmart near my house. I hope Walmart buys it, it'll be the only one in the whole south loop area. They'd mop up. Plus they already own the property next door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
77017 Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I'd love a Walmart near my house. I hope Walmart buys it, it'll be the only one in the whole south loop area. They'd mop up. Plus they already own the property next door.Yeah except there's already a walmart 3 exits down at 610 and post oak. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 All of the townhome construction around Buffalo Speedway on the south side of the Loop may be an indicator of what will eventually come of the former Astroworld site. Speculations have always been there concerning some residential components south of the Astroworld site once the rail was completed. The Astroworld land sale might just speed it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Land is cleared and roads are in place south of Astroworld along Almeda. It's like they are waiting for something to happen.I don't know why yo, but that land feels toxic to me. I'd want some serious "soil samples" before I did anything over there. Somebody call Scamrock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternGulf Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 There are apartmants butting the freeways all over town. My aunt lives in those El Mundo apartments sitting on 610 across from Six Flags and has no problem with noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 So, we need a 30 story condo to make it more "Urban" around there ?That would be nice, but no. I just think a car dealership or suburban homes would be bad for that spot, when they could do something a lot better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 I don't know why yo, but that land feels toxic to me.isn't it really home to decontaminated toxic materials? not only along 610, but by bellfort as well? what about superfund projects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 isn't it really home to decontaminated toxic materials? not only along 610, but by bellfort as well? what about superfund projects?I believe that was all oil field down there, so yeah, there would be some environmental concerns in that area.Not to mention, there are also old landfills down there as well. I believe much of that land used to be the City dump.Rest assured, any potential buyer will do the appropriate environmental assessments before closing on the land. What I remember from school is that under CERCLA legislation, ALL owners of a tract of land are potentially liable for any contamination of the tract...regardless of whether they were responsible or not, and ignorance is not a defense. A potential buyer must do their Phase I (and probably in this case Phase II) Environmental Assessments, lest they become financially responsible for a multi-million dollar cleanup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 (edited) There are several former or current oil fields in southern and southeast Houston, hence the large gaps of undeveloped land you can see on any street map. I'm with 'Coog, however; I'd want to have some extensive soil sampling and soil remediation done before I committed to anything big down there.OTOH, there have been a couple of developments to move forward in south Houston along 288 over the last year or so, specifically south of Airport Blvd. If the COH has records, I'd be interested to know the history of those developments to see if they did soil sampling, environmental safeguarding and the like. Edited January 18, 2006 by The Great Hizzy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 OTOH, there have been a couple of developments to move forward in south Houston along 288 over the last year or so, specifically south of Airport Blvd. If the COH has records, I'd be interested to know the history of those developments to see if they did soil sampling, environmental safeguarding and the like.Without checking any records, I can guarantee you that the developers did their homework on potential environmental issues before they bought the property.They don't necessarily do it out of a concern for future residents, but it has HUGE liability potential all over it. At a minimum, the developers check the history of the site, do field surveys, and check for existing environmental problems nearby that may affect their property. Remember Brio? Or more specifically, remember the hundreds of acres of subdivisions that used to sit next to Brio? THAT'S what developers are trying to avoid...Also, those new subdivisions going up near 288 between 610 and BW-8 are on the City of Houston water system, which is derived mostly from surface water. Point being, those new subdivisions are not pumping groundwater (which could potentially be contaminated by the historical uses of the sites as oil fields and landfills) for drinking water. Their water is coming from Lake Houston like the rest of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Ah, thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 ohh brio...let's take a look back about twenty years: http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1985_8058bleh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnu Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 ohh brio...let's take a look back about twenty years: http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1985_8058bleh!yep...bleh...now you can buy homes over there (or near it) again since it has been "remediated"!and closer to the Astroworld area...Kennedy Heightshttp://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=1994_1183630http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2000_3208113 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 I think that the buyers can find something better to do with a 110-acre parcel of land adjacent to a major freeway than put a car dealership. So I-10 isn't a major freeway? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 So I-10 isn't a major freeway? Nope, it's a giant PARKING LOT! ...but seriously, I was really referring to the size of the tract. I don't think you'll see a 110-acre car dealership any time soon. I think 10 acres (or less) is more the norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Just passed by the site and its getting close to being clear. That's a huge chunk of land. What do yall envision being there? I see an extremely upscale midrise community right there. Makes sense.I drove by today, and they have made a dent, but it will clearly be a few months before that land is even close to being "cleared". I would say 1/6 of it is "cleared". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
77017 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I drove by today, and they have made a dent, but it will clearly be a few months before that land is even close to being "cleared". I would say 1/6 of it is "cleared".Yeah I said that cuz a lot of the big rides I was used to seein there have already been taken down. Does any1 know how big the entire tract of land is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Just passed by the site and its getting close to being clear. That's a huge chunk of land. What do yall envision being there? I see an extremely upscale midrise community right there. Makes sense. Realisticly: A large mixed-use development with bad copies of bad architecture. Lots of parking lots and box stores. More crap. Ideally: A park with LOTS of trees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 That area doesn't look too promising based on what's already along the freeway around there. Aside from the stadium itself, it's mostly junk. By the way, does anyone know what they're going to do with the Texas Cyclone? That thing was practically a landmark! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houstonian in Iraq Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 That area doesn't look too promising based on what's already along the freeway around there. Aside from the stadium itself, it's mostly junk. By the way, does anyone know what they're going to do with the Texas Cyclone? That thing was practically a landmark! I believe I heard that the Texas Cyclone can't be relocated due to it being such a complex wooden roller coaster. So it seems like this is the end of the road for it. So it's anyone's guess on how they would deal with all that wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I believe I heard that the Texas Cyclone can't be relocated due to it being such a complex wooden roller coaster. So it seems like this is the end of the road for it. So it's anyone's guess on how they would deal with all that wood. Not cool!!! Too bad they couldn't incorporate it into whatever big box, strip center, car lot, or monster billboard development that ends up going in over there. It'll probably be tacky enough anyway, so why not add in a roller coaster?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Not cool!!! Too bad they couldn't incorporate it into whatever big box, strip center, car lot, or monster billboard development that ends up going in over there. It'll probably be tacky enough anyway, so why not add in a roller coaster?!! Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike1 Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 (edited) ....and lets not forget that no new development along any Houston freeway would be complete without adding the always-popular giant inflatable King Kong blow up on top: Edited January 20, 2006 by mike1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 (edited) Does any1 know how big the entire tract of land is?+/-110 acres.An imaginative developer could try to keep some of the existing "street" layout of Astroworld and save the trees in those areas. I also imagine that the existing water features will stay in place. Edited January 21, 2006 by Original Timmy Chan's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Not cool!!! Too bad they couldn't incorporate it into whatever big box, strip center, car lot, or monster billboard development that ends up going in over there. It'll probably be tacky enough anyway, so why not add in a roller coaster?!!...or integrate it into the light rail system. WHEE! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fierce Pancake Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Texas Cyclone was demolished this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwatra Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 i guess we knew it was coming, but its still sad to hear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternGulf Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 goodness. I thought those people were crazy who spent all that money on AstroWorld memorabilia, but I see why now. Sad indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fierce Pancake Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 http://www.aynart.com/astroworldphoto.htm Panoramic photo of what the scene looks like currently. Larger version at the link above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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