Elan Heights: Multifamily At 825 Usener St.

[urbanize713]

It reminds me of some of the apartments that have been built along Lady Bird Lake and Lamar in Austin.

[Triton]

Taylor / sawyer street.

I'm sure there will be opposition, but in this city of no zoning, it doesn't matter much. It's all about the market, and obviously, the market that matters to the developers is the one of people that currently live elsewhere.

 

thoroughfare: A main road or public highway. A heavily traveled passage, such as a waterway, strait, or channel.

 

Taylor and Watson are certainly not thoroughfares. Studemont/Studewood certainly are since they are built for major traffic but Watson is a small neighborhood street that Taylor goes into. Taylor is only a four lane road for a small portion there and turns back into a small two lane road in the warehouse area.

 

Now there is talk of expanding Taylor street but Taylor is nothing like Studemont/Studewood, Yale or any of the other real thoroughfares.

 

 

Neither is White Oak nor Usener St.... the two roads this thing will actually be built on will not be able to handle this development. This development is not connected to Taylor in any shape or form... Taylor is on an elevated, disconnected portion that this project won't be apart of. White Oak is in absolute disrepair here so if they do get the variance, I certainly hope the city makes it a condition that they repair this road, just how the city got Walmart to repair Yale.

 

Check out the map... this development will be built on two small roads:

 

 

The main point I'm getting at is that the city should make it clear that both Userner and White Oak should be improved to make this development feasible for these falling-apart small streets.

[fernz]

Valid points. What variance are they asking for?

[DNAguy]

I'm sure the neighbors will miss this.

 

 

 

This picture alone should win a Swampy award. IDK what category, but it needs one.......

 

'Best farewell of a structure to be torn down'

Winner: Skylane Central Apts. / Elan Heights 

[mollusk]

I doubt the net result will be an extra couple hundred cars.   In any event, Welcome to the increasingly densifying Houston.  ;-)

 

It's going from around 75 units to around 250, so yeah, I stand by my number.  

[Houston19514]

It's going from around 75 units to around 250, so yeah, I stand by my number.  

 

I stand corrected.  Actually, the number might even be higher.  They are now saying 325 units.  Some street improvements probably are in order. 

 

 

[mollusk]

I stand corrected.  Actually, the number might even be higher.  They are now saying 325 units.  Some street improvements probably are in order. 

 

I could not agree with you more.  As it already is, the westbound ramp to Taylor/Sawyer/Watson backs up almost onto the freeway at times.

[Luminare]

well....that escalated quickly xD Man they really beefed up this building since the last renderings. Annoyed at the visible parking levels but at least they are underneath. It is a bit busy in terms of composition. I bet it will look nice from the Bayou though.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Luminare

[Triton]

Valid points. What variance are they asking for?

 

I can't seem to find it now but Swamplot was saying that the variance was asking to be closer to the road near White Oak and the Taylor bridge.

[monarch]

opposition, copposition, who cares.. just build it!  edifice, is majestic, classy... this area needs it.

[htownproud]

Looks great. I don't live in the area, so can't comment on the roads, but I would note that if you couldn't build large developments on rough roads, then nothing would ever be built in this city.

[Triton]

Looks great. I don't live in the area, so can't comment on the roads, but I would note that if you couldn't build large developments on rough roads, then nothing would ever be built in this city.

 

haha! I totally agree. I was basically trying to say that these streets are small neighborhood roads, though you could arguably say White Oak can handle a little more traffic.

Either way, in their current state, it's going to be like driving off-road if the city doesn't at least make Greystar repair part of White Oak here.

[infinite_jim]

 

http://swamplot.com/how-the-apartments-along-white-oak-bayou-in-woodland-heights-have-grown/2014-05-21/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+swamplot+%28Swamplot%3A+Houston%27s+Real+Estate+Landscape%29

Who rides a bike on the pedestrian shoulder, where your center of gravity is higher than the guard rail whilst cars zoom by? Kudos the Audi driver for changing lanes. 

[Triton]

Who rides a bike on the pedestrian shoulder, where your center of gravity is higher than the guard rail whilst cars zoom by? Kudos the Audi driver for changing lanes. 

 

Me! Hahaha!

 

Do it on the Taylor bridge all the time. Unless you are with a big group of bicyclists, it's strangely the only safe way, in my opinion, to go along the bridge instead of being in the traffics way. The sidewalk is not that narrow. With all these white ghost bikes around town from bicyclists killed from being run-over, it definitely feels like a safer alternative to be on the sidewalk. Most people use the bridge's sidewalk to go from the Woodland Heights to the bike trail along Sawyer Heights St/Spring St.

 

The scary one which I refuse to ever do again is the Studewood bridge over White Oak Bayou. I didn't realize how narrow the bridge's sidewalk became and the guard rail was below my knees. 

[mollusk]

The scary one which I refuse to ever do again is the Studewood bridge over White Oak Bayou. I didn't realize how narrow the bridge's sidewalk became and the guard rail was below my knees. 

 

Dude, I don't know if that was brave, crazy, or just not quite grokking what lay ahead.  For the benefit of those unfamiliar with that area, the Studewood bridge is also on a curve and a hill - and don't forget, Studewood has lots more traffic than Watson.

[xsatyr]

I don't even feel comfortable walking over the bridge on Studewood. It's too narrow. You have to walk in a single file line if you're with others. I am not even convinced it's meant to be walked on but I guess it's a Houston thing.

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 8, 2019 by Timoric

[mollusk]

I still don't get how they plan to cram this thing onto that property - even more so if they want to get closer to White Oak and Watson.  According to the FEMA flood maps, that part of this property is not just in the flood plain, but the flood way - which I thought could not be obstructed.  Skylane's garage has been flooded many times - and not just in the really big rain events that shut down large parts of the city.

[Triton]

Dude, I don't know if that was brave, crazy, or just not quite grokking what lay ahead.  For the benefit of those unfamiliar with that area, the Studewood bridge is also on a curve and a hill - and don't forget, Studewood has lots more traffic than Watson.

 

Probably stupidity...? My friends needed to get somewhere quickly after our bike ride and their car was parked on Stude. So the quickest way to get from the bike trail to Stude was to take the bridge from where we were at the time. I wasn't until we were actually on the bridge that we realized we made a huge mistake. Absolutely terrifying the entire way.. I'm surprised no one's fallen off that bridge yet.

 

Anyway, this is how that development will sit on this lot:

 

 

 

 

Based upon these schematics, if Elan Heights won't even have access to White Oak, then there probably won't be repairs to it then. 

Edited May 22, 2014 by Triton

[mollusk]

Oh, cool - an under the bridge dog park.     Are they going to use grow lights for the grass, and have they made arrangements to placate the troll they'll displace?

[JJxvi]

Isn't it green under those bridges right now?

[mollusk]

Kinda sorta.  Less so north of White Oak, quickly becoming more densely shaded - and to become only more so if one crams a much taller building closer to it.

Edited May 22, 2014 by mollusk

[xsatyr]

Isn't it green under those bridges right now?

 

The whole area under the bridge is pretty overgrown when not maintained. Towards the end of the bridge is the only section that prob does not have much grass. I don't know what the other poster is taking about.

Edited May 22, 2014 by xsatyr

[Howard Huge]

Who rides a bike on the pedestrian shoulder, where your center of gravity is higher than the guard rail whilst cars zoom by? Kudos the Audi driver for changing lanes.

http://m.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Bicyclist-falls-from-bridge-above-bayou-in-Heights-3863048.php

A bicyclist plunged more than 25 feet from a bridge over White Oak Bayou in the Heights area late Thursday morning.

The mishap occurred about 11:30 a.m. on Studewood just north of Interstate 10 near Stude Park, according to the Houston Fire Department.

Officials said the man, whose name has not been released, was rushed to a nearby hospital. He had a broken arm and other injuries, said HFD Capt. Don Martin.

Martin said firefighters hauled the man up from the edge of the bayou after he fell at least about 25 feet. He ended up on concrete near the bayou's center channel, which was flowing with water from recent rainfall in the area. His bicycle was near him.

Martin said someone who heard the man screaming called 911.

It is unclear, Martin added, what caused the bicyclist to topple over the railing along the sidewalk on the bridge. It appeared the man had been on the east side of the bridge

[Triton]

http://m.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Bicyclist-falls-from-bridge-above-bayou-in-Heights-3863048.php

 

 

Well the Taylor bridge, the one in the rendering, is fine.

 

The Studewood bridge, the one we were mentioning and the one in the article, is downright terrifying. The article states they aren't sure what caused the fall...???

Let me show you what caused the fall:

 

From Google Streetview.

 

Look at the "sidewalk" and tell me that looks safe. You don't realize just how bad it is until it's too late... or if you need to get to Stude Park from the bike trail, this is one of the quickest ways. 

 

Either way, it's a big NO NO NO for me.

[mollusk]

The whole area under the bridge is pretty overgrown when not maintained. Towards the end of the bridge is the only section that prob does not have much grass. I don't know what the other poster is taking about.

 

Of course not.  I only drive by it daily.

 

It's overgrown around the edges where the light is.  Yes, between White Oak and the bayou is nice; the other side, less so.

[xsatyr]

Of course not.  I only drive by it daily.

 

It's overgrown around the edges where the light is.  Yes, between White Oak and the bayou is nice; the other side, less so.

 

I think this is more than sufficient for its intended purposes.

 

 

The only area without grass is towards the end of the bridge.

Edited May 23, 2014 by xsatyr

[barracuda]

Probably stupidity...? My friends needed to get somewhere quickly after our bike ride and their car was parked on Stude. So the quickest way to get from the bike trail to Stude was to take the bridge from where we were at the time. I wasn't until we were actually on the bridge that we realized we made a huge mistake. Absolutely terrifying the entire way.. I'm surprised no one's fallen off that bridge yet.

 

Anyway, this is how that development will sit on this lot:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Based upon these schematics, if Elan Heights won't even have access to White Oak, then there probably won't be repairs to it then. 

 

I wonder who will take their children to play under the bridge, penned between two much larger dog areas, when there is a large park across the street. 

[fernz]

Well the Taylor bridge, the one in the rendering, is fine.

The Studewood bridge, the one we were mentioning and the one in the article, is downright terrifying. The article states they aren't sure what caused the fall...???

Let me show you what caused the fall:

From Google Streetview.

Look at the "sidewalk" and tell me that looks safe. You don't realize just how bad it is until it's too late... or if you need to get to Stude Park from the bike trail, this is one of the quickest ways.

Either way, it's a big NO NO NO for me.

Bikes are not supposed to go on the sidewalks anyway; they are supposed to share the road with the cars.

One of the two evils will end up killing you.

[Urbannizer]

Larger rendering: