One Park Place: Multifamily At 1400 McKinney St.

[GovernorAggie]

Saw it today for the first time--they are really making big time progress on the building!!! The hole in the ground is at least deep enough for the backhoes to be completely below grade (what's that maybe 8 feet or so??)

I kinda got giddy looking at them working so much on that site AND the Discovery Green site across the street (my words were "It's really happening!"). I also finally got an idea of how close One Park Place, Houston Pavilions, and Discovery Green will be to Toyota Center--VERY CLOSE!!!

[HtownWxBoy]

Saw it today for the first time--they are really making big time progress on the building!!! The hole in the ground is at least deep enough for the backhoes to be completely below grade (what's that maybe 8 feet or so??)

I kinda got giddy looking at them working so much on that site AND the Discovery Green site across the street (my words were "It's really happening!"). I also finally got an idea of how close One Park Place, Houston Pavilions, and Discovery Green will be to Toyota Center--VERY CLOSE!!!

I also took a walk downtown today and saw them working on the Park Tower. Wow!... I can't believe how much progress they are making... there's already a huge hole! When they said in the Chronical article that they would "officially break ground in March"... I always assumed that they would officially put the first shovel into the ground in March! ha ha I don't get the whole "breaking ground" after the ground has already been broken. But ohwell, I am not complaining... as long as they are building!!

[houstonfella]

I also took a walk downtown today and saw them working on the Park Tower. Wow!... I can't believe how much progress they are making... there's already a huge hole! When they said in the Chronical article that they would "officially break ground in March"... I always assumed that they would officially put the first shovel into the ground in March! ha ha I don't get the whole "breaking ground" after the ground has already been broken. But ohwell, I am not complaining... as long as they are building!!

EXCELLENT!! Thanks for your observations. This is truly going to make H-town's Downtown magnifique. Now doesn't that sound impressive... at any rate... we got some good stuff out there. Just keeping up with all the new construction and all is difficult enough; but we will be right there. HAIFers are good folks.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Looking at the site(s) in person, you can immediately see the impact it will have on parking in that area, especially if you're wanting to go to a Rockets/Comets/Aeros game. I truly hope the Park Tower and nearby Discovery Green are successful, as the lots surrounding those developments will be even primer pieces of real estate than they are now.

[marc]

I also took a walk downtown today and saw them working on the Park Tower. Wow!... I can't believe how much progress they are making... there's already a huge hole! When they said in the Chronical article that they would "officially break ground in March"... I always assumed that they would officially put the first shovel into the ground in March! ha ha I don't get the whole "breaking ground" after the ground has already been broken. But ohwell, I am not complaining... as long as they are building!!

Excellent!!! The DT construction............UT Turnberry Tower.........MT Mosaic.........Energy Corridor exploding with development............. FINALLY, Houston seems to be on the upswing....

Very Exciting.

m.

Edited February 19, 2007 by marc

[Trae]

They need to build another parking garage. Parking is going to get bad once these projects start nearing completion and more developments take other surface lots.

[T 2 THA C]

They need to build another parking garage. Parking is going to get bad once these projects start nearing completion and more developments take other surface lots.

I do hope they build another parking garage, or something with these devolpments means more people. Soon that cheap $5 parking 5 blocks down will be like $15.

[ProHouston]

I do hope they build another parking garage, or something with these devolpments means more people. Soon that cheap $5 parking 5 blocks down will be like $15.

I guess you'll have to start taking MetroRail downtown

[ricco67]

They need to build another parking garage. Parking is going to get bad once these projects start nearing completion and more developments take other surface lots.

It is the lack of, as well as the price of the parking that will influence people to find alternative means into downtown. It's these two factors that will increase the use of mass transit and other forms of public transportation.

The Medical Center and Rice Village are two good examples on how it's reaching critical mass where it's more useful to take the train or take a cab into those two areas.

I've recently learned that several companies over the past couple of years that they no longer want their employees (that come from out of town) to Rent cars due to safety reasons.

[T 2 THA C]

I guess you'll have to start taking MetroRail downtown

Yea that would not be a bad Idea, if they had rail out where I live (290 y Mangum). Which Is why I can not wait for the Intermodal and comuuter line down 290 hempstead!

[HtownWxBoy]

They need to build another parking garage. Parking is going to get bad once these projects start nearing completion and more developments take other surface lots.

I don't see it as a bad thing that parking is going to get bad... all the best cities I can think of have tough parking situations b/c of all there is to do in those cities and b/c of all the people wanting to be there having to find parking... so, bring it on! :-)

[TheNiche]

I don't see it as a bad thing that parking is going to get bad... all the best cities I can think of have tough parking situations b/c of all there is to do in those cities and b/c of all the people wanting to be there having to find parking... so, bring it on! :-)

Expensive or inadequate parking is always a bad thing in and of itself; it is only an indicator of demand for the good thing but is not causal.

In fact, it is usually the opposite, a limitation. The less parking serving a high-demand location, the fewer people will use that location.

[ricco67]

There is also something to be said about the advantage about this and HP being being located at a STOP of the MetroRail. People can park anywhere up and down the line to hit HP, meet a friend living at The Finger Tower at HP for a quick lunch or simply a quick stroll.

I was talking to a girlfriend that used to live in Chicago, her home one quarter mile from the "El" her and her mom walked to the El year round for school and work. Surely 4 blocks isn't going to matter that much.

[UrbaNerd]

Well, perhaps it is a good thing that they're building that subsurface garage under the new park after all. I remember reading people kvetching about it a few months back.

[KinkaidAlum]

Expensive or inadequate parking is always a bad thing in and of itself; it is only an indicator of demand for the good thing but is not causal.

In fact, it is usually the opposite, a limitation. The less parking serving a high-demand location, the fewer people will use that location.

Yes, that is why Manhattan, Washington, The Inner Loop of Chicago, the Financial District and Back Bay of Boston, and San Francisco are so completely devoid of activity right now. If only they had more parking those central areas could see the kind of vitality that currently exists in downtown Houston!

[ProHouston]

Yes, that is why Manhattan, Washington, The Inner Loop of Chicago, the Financial District and Back Bay of Boston, and San Francisco are so completely devoid of activity right now. If only they had more parking those central areas could see the kind of vitality that currently exists in downtown Houston!

I concur.

[jdbaker]

I was talking to a girlfriend that used to live in Chicago, her home one quarter mile from the "El" her and her mom walked to the El year round for school and work. Surely 4 blocks isn't going to matter that much.

I live in Houston and walk to work everyday. So does my wife. We both live and work downtown. My walk is approximately six blocks while her is seven. She has free theater district parking but chooses to walk because faster and more pleasant. Even in the summer, it's not that bad in the morning and surprisingly I've only been rained out by severe weather twice in the past six months. I'm simply baffled by the aversion to walking that seems to permeate this city.

[Scharpe St Guy]

Any chance some one on here could snap a few pictures for the rest of us so we too can become giddy from the sight of earth being excavated? If possible the Finger Building, Discovery Green, and Houston Pavilions would be awesome.

Thanks ahead of time!!!

Scharpe St Guy

[Houstonian in Iraq]

Any chance some one on here could snap a few pictures for the rest of us so we too can become giddy from the sight of earth being excavated? If possible the Finger Building, Discovery Green, and Houston Pavilions would be awesome.

Thanks ahead of time!!!

Scharpe St Guy

I second that

Would really appreciate it

[musicman]

I live in Houston and walk to work everyday. So does my wife. We both live and work downtown. My walk is approximately six blocks while her is seven. She has free theater district parking but chooses to walk because faster and more pleasant. Even in the summer, it's not that bad in the morning and surprisingly I've only been rained out by severe weather twice in the past six months. I'm simply baffled by the aversion to walking that seems to permeate this city.

I don't think there is an aversion to walking. i just don't think a convenient walking situation is there for most. for your wife for instance, she finds walking faster than driving so she walks. if it wasn't faster, i don't believe she would walk as often.

[TheNiche]

Yes, that is why Manhattan, Washington, The Inner Loop of Chicago, the Financial District and Back Bay of Boston, and San Francisco are so completely devoid of activity right now. If only they had more parking those central areas could see the kind of vitality that currently exists in downtown Houston!

They'd have even more activity than is already there. There'd also be more highway congestion, but only because so many more people would be willing and able to go to those areas.

Trying to take the snapshot of those areas and compare them to downtown Houston, ignoring the historical differences in timing of development, is pretty lame. You know better than that.

[KinkaidAlum]

Do you honestly think if any of those areas had more massive parking garages, more surface lots to create dead zones on certain blocks, and more cars driving about multi-laned streets, that they would have more pedestrian traffic, more street life, and more street level retail?

They are crowded and desirable because they are some of the few places in this nation that do NOT cater to the car.

[TheNiche]

Do you honestly think if any of those areas had more massive parking garages, more surface lots to create dead zones on certain blocks, and more cars driving about multi-laned streets, that they would have more pedestrian traffic, more street life, and more street level retail?

I didn't say anything about the layout of parking. Given the historical development and redevelopment patterns of the 'old' cities that you tried to compare to Houston (a 'new' city), as well as the high land values and parking rates, I doubt you'd see very many surface lots. More likely, you'd see the development of big parking garages with office, residential, or hotel uses above them, and retail on or near the ground floor, in those cities. The Houston model that you characterized simply does not apply.

By the way, more cars in many of those older cities would mean more congestion and slower average speeds. IMO, slower average speeds is beneficial for pedestrian activity.

They are crowded and desirable because they are some of the few places in this nation that do NOT cater to the car.

Absurd. Of course they do.

It is just that those places have grown to the point that mass transit became feasible in various forms (and by the way, what was feasible 100 years ago may not be feasible today, as a result of technological advances in transportation), so that transit supplimented automotive/horse-drawn and pedestrian travel in order to sustain continued growth.

When cars become as scarce as horses and buggies in these places, only then will they truely "NOT cater to the car."

Edited February 22, 2007 by TheNiche

[KinkaidAlum]

I didn't say anything about the layout of parking. Given the historical development and redevelopment patterns of the 'old' cities that you tried to compare to Houston (a 'new' city), as well as the high land values and parking rates, I doubt you'd see very many surface lots. More likely, you'd see the development of big parking garages with office, residential, or hotel uses above them, and retail on or near the ground floor, in those cities. The Houston model that you characterized simply does not apply.

By the way, more cars in many of those older cities would mean more congestion and slower average speeds. IMO, slower average speeds is beneficial for pedestrian activity.

Absurd. Of course they do.

It is just that those places have grown to the point that mass transit became feasible in various forms (and by the way, what was feasible 100 years ago may not be feasible today, as a result of technological advances in transportation), so that transit supplimented automotive/horse-drawn and pedestrian travel in order to sustain continued growth.

When cars become as scarce as horses and buggies in these places, only then will they truely "NOT cater to the car."

You said very clearly that a lack of parking will directly impact the success of a neighborhood. You didn't make exceptions. The world is FULL of exceptions to that case. I will stand by what I said, more parking and more convenient car access to Manhattan, Central Boston, Inner Loop Chicago, San Fran, etc... would hurt current businesses located there by making walking a dangerous and tedious chore rather than the most popular option for getting around.

[TheNiche]

You said very clearly that a lack of parking will directly impact the success of a neighborhood. You didn't make exceptions.

That is accurate.

I will stand by what I said, more parking and more convenient car access to Manhattan, Central Boston, Inner Loop Chicago, San Fran, etc... would hurt current businesses located there by making walking a dangerous and tedious chore rather than the most popular option for getting around.

And I will stand by what I said. If you make it easier to park somewhere, more people will go there because getting there is a less expensive, time-consuming, and tedious chore. When more people are able to get there, the market for retail and business services becomes deeper. Congestion also increases, but as I already stated and you failed to counter, that only decreases the average speed of vehicular traffic, which is good for pedestrian safety.

BTW, I didn't say it explicitly, but the ceteris paribus assumption is in play.

[Quinlan]

My office has a fairly unobstructed view of the construction site of both The Park Tower and Discovery Green, so I will try to bring my camera phone to work tomorrow and snap a few pictures.

[2112]

My office has a fairly unobstructed view of the construction site of both The Park Tower and Discovery Green, so I will try to bring my camera phone to work tomorrow and snap a few pictures.

I may be a little behind on this thread, but has construction actually begun on the Park Tower? I know I have seen activity around the park, from a distance that is. Havent drove by it yet.

[2112]

Do you honestly think if any of those areas had more massive parking garages, more surface lots to create dead zones on certain blocks, and more cars driving about multi-laned streets, that they would have more pedestrian traffic, more street life, and more street level retail?

They are crowded and desirable because they are some of the few places in this nation that do NOT cater to the car.

I dont know. I mean, parts of Manhatten are pretty pedestrian friendly, but no all of it. There are parts of downtown Manhattan that have very little retail after 5:00pm, I walked around city hall and the surrounding areas at night and there was absolutely nothing to do at 9:00pm, it was dead. Even parts of Midtown werent all that happening at night. Times Square, restuarant row, etc. was a different story alltogether, of course. If Houston could make it's downtown more vibrant, it's doing a pretty good job. It's not like the whole of Seattle and other cities are predestrian friendly. I have been there, and guess what, it looks pretty suburban except for certain districts including downtown. Why does Houston have to be held to some unrealistic measure? Every city in the U.S. is primarily a car city, with maybe a few of them having substantial pockets of pedestrian friendly areas, but, amonst a majority of car-centric surrounding areas. I'm just saying.

[GovernorAggie]

I may be a little behind on this thread, but has construction actually begun on the Park Tower? I know I have seen activity around the park, from a distance that is. Havent drove by it yet.

Yes it's started. They are maybe 10 feet deep in the ground now.

[Trae]

Photos:

rdavis at SSP

Edited February 23, 2007 by Trae