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Guest danax

WiFi ban dropped from telecom bill

Fri. Mar. 18, 2005

TECHBLOG: With Dwight Silverman

Looks like citizen pressure has had the intended effect -- the ban on city-provided WiFi service has been axed from HB 789.

Save Muni Wireless, however, says the Fat Lady has yet to croon:

But it's not time to relax -- we expect bad amendments to appear again on the House floor, or attached to other telecom bills like HB 2637.

We hear that SBC is continuing to lobby members HARD to prevent cities and towns from increasing high-speed internet choices for citizens.

Perhaps the telecom lobbyists now regret not speaking up on the provision's behalf during hearings on the bill earlier this month. Then again, I'm sure their voices get heard in, um, other ways.

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WiFi ban dropped from telecom bill

thx for the update. By the way, the Technology for All company installed another antenna a couple of days ago. Even though the system is still in its infancy, i've had good success with accessing the net using their system. They also donated 10 laptops with wireless access to the library which is another plus for Pecan Park's library. You can check them out....for use in the library.

http://www.techforall.org

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just put a deposit down on a lot with In Town Homes close to downtown in the East End (right off Clinton/ Jensen). Right now is definitely a "transitional" area. However, it seems with the Buffalo Bayou partnership, this could be an area that has quite a bit of potential over the next several years and seems to maybe be a little more planned than the randomness of the Midtown area. What are everyone else's thoughts on this area?

I think it could end up being a pretty funky area due to mix of people that live within 5 miles around.

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Well the exact address is I think off Cline and Gregg, but basically if you were coming out of downtown, you would take Franklin until it turns into Navigation, then go on Jensen, right on Clinton and then like a block back, you see all this construction with In-Town and Juliet Builders. Allegedly Alan Atkinson is involved in a few projects around there too.

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I have also bought and Intown Home in the Cottage Grove area by TC Jester and I-10. I love the home but hate the builder. They are completely un-organized. The last month I was sending emails every day to three different people at the company and and faxes. This included the president. They wanted to delay my closing date by a month. I told them to have the house finished or I want my earnest money back. Just make sure you have a copy of every thing that happens and keep on top. Go by the house every couple of days and ask a ton of questions. Become a pain in their ass to make sure you get the house they want. They were trying to make changes to the exterior, windows and host of other things that were orginally promised. I stood my ground and also had a realtor who had a strong bark to keep them in line. Be prepared for typical builder excuses and don't take "i don't know" or '"no for an answer". I know you may seem like a delicate flower when you act this way, but this is your house and deserve to be treated fairly.

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There is a great looking project called the Cityview Terraces on south jensen and ann, right across the street from the Alexan Lofts and Perry Homes development. I think this is one of alan atkinson's deals or he's involved to some degree. I picked up a flyer from the sign there and its looks very nice. Each unit has a 272 sq foot roof-top terrace and views from there should be awesome.

I currently live in midtown at post apts, but am considering a move to the east end and this project looks most intriguing.

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There is a great looking project called the Cityview Terraces on south jensen and ann, right across the street from the Alexan Lofts and Perry Homes development. I think this is one of alan atkinson's deals or he's involved to some degree. I picked up a flyer from the sign there and its looks very nice.  Each unit has a 272 sq foot roof-top terrace and views from there should be awesome.

I currently live in midtown at post apts, but am considering a move to the east end and this project looks most intriguing.

Sounds nice. How much are they? They have yards?

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I have also bought and Intown Home in the Cottage Grove area by TC Jester and I-10.  I love the home but hate the builder.  They are completely un-organized.  The last month I was sending emails every day to three different people at the company and and faxes.  This included the president.  They wanted to delay my closing date by a month.  I told them to have the house finished or I want my earnest money back.  Just make sure you have a copy of every thing that happens and keep on top.  Go by the house every couple of days and ask a ton of questions.  Become a pain in their ass to make sure you get the house they want.  They were trying to make changes to the exterior, windows and host of other things that were orginally promised.  I stood my ground and also had a realtor who had a strong bark to keep them in line.  Be prepared for typical builder excuses and don't take "i don't know" or '"no for an answer".  I know you may seem like a delicate flower when you act this way, but this is your house and deserve to be treated fairly.

Thanks for the advice. I actually am not in the biggest of rushes for the house to get done, but still good to know I will need to stay on top of it more to make sure they don't literally make changes days before closing. I actually went by Cottage Grove to see the finished product before they are moved into and was impressed by how good they looked with nice touches, much, much better than Perry. However, the attitude of the builder rep over there was awful, Mabyl I think was her name. Even though I explained I had been referred by the rep in the East End, she acted as if I wanted to break into the houses to steal something. The rep at the East End homes has been awesome so far.

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Back to the original question, I think that the East End is ripe for development and property appreciation. The question is how fast will it happen? I have been surprised how many townhomes have been popping up and this bodes well for the area, but then you have a project like Live Oak Lofts which seems to be very slow to sell, and so then you have to wonder.

I think that the bayou improvements will make a considerable difference, but really only to the homes in proximity of those improvements.

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I think the live oak lofts are slow to sell because of the hugh price per sq foot that they are asking. For a 2 bed/2bath, 1936 sq foot condo they are asking $319K or $165/sq. ft. For that price you should be able to live in the heights or montrose.

Most new construction projects in the east end seem to be around $100psf. Cityview Terraces, the project i mentioned before, is offering a 2bed/2.5bath with study, 1974sf for $210K or $106psf. Thats a huge savings. I think perry and juliet are around that price too. juliet was even going to throw in a 42" flat panel tv when i spoke to them.

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I think the live oak lofts are slow to sell because of the hugh price per sq foot that they are asking. For a 2 bed/2bath, 1936 sq foot condo they are asking $319K or $165/sq. ft. For that price you should be able to live in the heights or montrose.

Most new construction projects in the east end seem to be around $100psf. Cityview Terraces, the project i mentioned before, is offering a 2bed/2.5bath with study, 1974sf for $210K or $106psf. Thats a huge savings. I think perry and juliet are around that price too. juliet was even going to throw in a 42" flat panel tv when i spoke to them.

That price for the City View is great. I'm guessing its pre-construction pricing, but still very competitive, especially for that size and if they all have a terrace with a view. Its more than I would have needed and a little out of my range, but InTown was a little more in terms of price per square foot ($120 range) but still not at Live Oaks range. I was just looking at their web site and it looks like they still have a lot of units to sell.

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Guest danax
Just put a deposit down on a lot with In Town Homes close to downtown in the East End (right off Clinton/ Jensen).
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Sounds nice.  How much are they?  They have yards?

No an no. The Perry Townhouses are very crammed together. The Alexan lofts look pretty cool but there is not much of yards around there.

To be honest I am not happy with what Perry has done on the East side. I think there Midtown developments are much nicer and better organized.

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I spoke to the cityview rep yesterday, and she said that each unit has 10ft by 15ft of yard space. she added that they think the yard is secondary on this project because of that open terrace...and i agree. that would make a great place to relax and entertain. the builder is installing a gas line up there for a grill. she added that five of the nine units already have contracts on them, and they expect to break ground by the end of the month and complete by september.

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Just put a deposit down on a lot with In Town Homes close to downtown in the East End (right off Clinton/ Jensen).  Right now is definitely a "transitional" area.  However, it seems with the Buffalo Bayou partnership, this could be an area that has quite a bit of potential over the next several years and seems to maybe be a little more planned than the randomness of the Midtown area.  What are everyone else's thoughts on this area?

I think it could end up being a pretty funky area due to mix of people that live within 5 miles around.

Bought a Juliet Homes in the area.

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she added that they think the yard is secondary on this project because of that open terrace...and i agree.

I agree too...but I don't want dog poop on my terrace....

All I need is 800sqft with a few hundred sqft more of yard....I don't need some 2k sqft triple decker McMansion.....WHY is that so hard to find!??!

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Guest danax
I agree too...but I don't want dog poop on my terrace....

All I need is 800sqft with a few hundred sqft more of yard....I don't need some 2k sqft triple decker McMansion.....WHY is that so hard to find!??!

800 sq ft? You know you're way out of touch with the times, man. No demand for something that "tiny". It's unlikely anyone would build something that size these days. The 21st century woman "needs" that much space just for her clothes. I lived with my wife and first child in a 750 sq. ft , 2 bdm. house and it seemed perfectly fine to me.

I think the terrace idea is great. It's about time roofs were used once again. And, I think that Clinton Drive area is a bit isolated right now and it will take time for the various other townhouse islands on the East end to get glued together by more building and eventual new improved retail. The views over there are nice.

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800 sq ft? You know you're way out of touch with the times, man. No demand for something that "tiny". It's unlikely anyone would build something that size these days. The 21st century woman "needs" that much space just for her clothes. I lived with my wife and first child in a 750 sq. ft , 2 bdm. house and it seemed perfectly fine to me.

I think the terrace idea is great. It's about time roofs were used once again. And, I think that Clinton Drive area is a bit isolated right now and it will take time for the various other townhouse islands on the East end to get glued together by more building and eventual new improved retail. The views over there are nice.

I agree it will take time, but the good thing is that both Juliet and In Town are building pretty close together, block by block. I would guess that in another year there should be around 300-400 townhomes out there and populated. I was out there yesterday and I guess it was In Town that bought the huge tract of Super Fund land located out there. Said they would have to clean it up over next 1- 2 years, but interim plans are to build possibly more community style homes similar to what they did over by the Dome. Also In Town is building some high end $280+ on Clinton with terrace views. Not sure the size, but for that price, I'm guessing 3 story ones, over 2k sq ft. I meant to take pictures of the view from there, but didn't have the time. Retail will be nice, but I kind of like the idea of getting more people there first in a set of established ownership properties and then it will be easier to get retail to come.

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Good thing the salesperson for Intown's operations on the east end is qualified. Everytime I met him he answered all my question completely without diverting. The location just didn't work for me since i work at 290 and Hollister.

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Good thing the salesperson for Intown's operations on the east end is qualified.  Everytime I met him he answered all my question completely without diverting.  The location just didn't work for me since i work at 290 and Hollister.

Does Intown have a wedsite. I googled "Intown Houston Homes" and could not get a match. I would like to see the product they are selling.

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Does Intown have a wedsite.  I googled "Intown Houston Homes" and could not get a match.  I would like to see the product they are selling.

They do have a web site, its not very good though. The best it shows is the floor plan and the location of their sites, kind of. The photo gallery for cottage grove isn't even that accurate, I'm sure they did build that style somewhere, but not for any of the ones that I saw. Still here is the site:

Intown Web Page

If you want an accurate shot, har.com offers some with pictures of what they are building, more useful I guess

HAR information

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I have also bought and Intown Home in the Cottage Grove area by TC Jester and I-10.  I love the home but hate the builder.  They are completely un-organized.  The last month I was sending emails every day to three different people at the company and and faxes.  This included the president.  They wanted to delay my closing date by a month.  I told them to have the house finished or I want my earnest money back.  Just make sure you have a copy of every thing that happens and keep on top.  Go by the house every couple of days and ask a ton of questions.  Become a pain in their ass to make sure you get the house they want.  They were trying to make changes to the exterior, windows and host of other things that were orginally promised.  I stood my ground and also had a realtor who had a strong bark to keep them in line.  Be prepared for typical builder excuses and don't take "i don't know" or '"no for an answer".  I know you may seem like a delicate flower when you act this way, but this is your house and deserve to be treated fairly.

Kjb, also wanted to ask you if you have had any problems since moving into the house. Since houses aren't exactly what they once were in terms of quality, have you had any issues with faulty building quality? If so were they taken care of? Someone was telling me they thought In Town might have had some issues at one of their sites outside BW8.

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The resulting home itself is of great quality. I been in it for just over a month now. Any small issue I have had (air balancing, gasket on a sink leaking) were taken care of within a day of calling. My biggest problem was that the boss, salesperson and contractor do not talk to each other very well. It took me complaining a lot to have them realize that they have communication issues. Most of the issues is with the personel running the show, but the workers produce a good end result. The contractor that was the biggest problem is gone now. I think the salesperson that was the problem may now be gone also.

Which development outside of the Beltway had an issue. I know one of the salespersons out there. He actually bought one of the homes right by mine and has been living there almost a year. His home looks in great condition.

Right now, my biggest problem is dealing with the construction crews that are working on some of the houses in the front of my group, but these crews from this developer and others are a nuissance right now anyway.

In a few years they'll be almost gone and done with the neighborhood.

The most important thing is to check anything that may go wrong within that first year so they'll have to fix it with any cost to me. I have a list I'm getting ready fax to them of some paint they need to touch up on the side of the house that I noticed from my neighbor's house next door. Nothing serious and it won't take them long to fix it.

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The resulting home itself is of great quality.  I been in it for just over a month now.  Any small issue I have had (air balancing, gasket on a sink leaking) were taken care of within a day of calling.  My biggest problem was that the boss, salesperson and contractor do not talk to each other very well.  It took me complaining a lot to have them realize that they have communication issues.  Most of the issues is with the personel running the show, but the workers produce a good end result.  The contractor that was the biggest problem is gone now.  I think the salesperson that was the problem may now be gone also.

Which development outside of the Beltway had an issue.  I know one of the salespersons out there.  He actually bought one of the homes right by mine and has been living there almost a year.  His home looks in great condition.

Right now, my biggest problem is dealing with the construction crews that are working on some of the houses in the front of my group, but these crews from this developer and others are a nuissance right now anyway.

In a few years they'll be almost gone and done with the neighborhood.

The most important thing is to check anything that may go wrong within that first year so they'll have to fix it with any cost to me.  I have a list I'm getting ready fax to them of some paint they need to touch up on the side of the house that I noticed from my neighbor's house next door.  Nothing serious and it won't take them long to fix it.

Cool thanks for the info, glad to hear its been a so far, so good type situation. I heard the thing about the BW8 development from someone here in my office who claims she went out there to look at them and thought they were shoddy, not sure which ones she was referring to. She also has allegedly been looking for over 2 years trying to find the "perfect house", so I'm not sure what her definition of shoddy and perfect are. Thus the reason I wanted to check with someone that actually lives in one instead of listening to ramblings from the Queen of real estate.

As for the ongoing construction issue, mine should be one of the last to be completed in the phase so hopefully it won't be too much of a nuisance.

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Anyone have any experience with Juliet homes? Are they good? Have you had any issue with them? I'm looking into the East End area as well and certainly like the floor plan of the Juliet homes alot more than the InTown homes.

We still have a few issues to work with. BUt overall, satified with the builder. Unlike most builders i've read, they'll work with you. As for the floor plan, it's smaller than the intowns but better quality. you get alot of quality stuff as standard vs what you would get as an upgrade at intown. Plus a nice 42 inch plasma tv. i like the area. even though , if you mention it to a stranger, they'll be afraid to stop by. it's quiet. and its' a transitional neighborhood. From reading and researching, it's going to be a nice place to live. Not sure but if they redevelop the bayou into a san antonio riverwalk, i believe it's going to be a gold mine .

it'll take some time for retail to come in. but just wait.

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