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kbates2

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Everything posted by kbates2

  1. kbates2
    Competition is good but that doesn't necessarily mean that both competitors survive, just that the better one will (or should). This area may well be able to handle two and I would be happier for it. I would hate to lose either but having two over there would be very cool. That said, the initial point is the news of a grocer is awesome but if the grocer was a bit more spread out, the news would be more awesome.
  2. kbates2
    I shop at Phoenicia a pretty fair amount and while they have some specialty products for sure, they would still probably suffer more than benefit. That said my comment is really in regards to proximity. I live downtown and would even shop at Phoenicia more often if it was closer to me personally. Adding the second downtown grocer directly next to the current doesn't help to make walking to the grocery store a reality for more downtown residents, just expands the options for the ones that live on that side.
  3. kbates2
    Real grocer is awesome, putting them right across the street from our only other grocer is less awesome.
  4. kbates2
    They had the Interio Bar sign up on Main. Forgot to take a picture. Looks ready to open.
  5. kbates2
    The idea behind the subsidy is that it pays for itself and thensome through increasing the tax base in the long run. The subsidy was thought to be necessary to get the first new residential projects going, which would pay higher taxes in the long run, and to spurn new projects without a subsidy.
  6. kbates2
    Which ones do you still have?
  7. kbates2
    It gets insanely packed during lunch at this point. Agree on the general lack of charm Sparrow's (?) nest. Wouldn't go just for the bar but the food options will keep me there regularly. That lobby is phenomenal. When I first say Denver's conversion of their Union Station, I thought about what we could do here. With Finn already done, this lobby could be an amazing extension of some sort.
  8. kbates2
    Right but not all of the way up right? I looked at 4 units there and none had windows on more than one side and all would fit well in the footprint of this building.
  9. kbates2
    Don't Capitol Lofts and Kirby Lofts have many units with only one wall of windows that are fairly deep?
  10. kbates2
    Again, UT bought the land and didn't provide a plan for the land. When pressed they said they did not intend to add a four-year university but didn't have any solid plans to assure that. As they had skipped the whole approval process when purchasing and they bought it for a ton from a donor alum, it all looked shady.
  11. kbates2
    swtsig doesn't really post sources but is rarely, if ever, wrong about these things.
  12. kbates2
    You said clear, the quotes I used said obscure, nonstransparent, and inconsistent. The point was to show that clear was the opposite of their initial plans. I also indicated that after the backlash, McRaven sated that they would not be building a 4 year university. That was not overlooking quotes, that was stating that they were after the backlash that effectively killed this.
  13. kbates2
    Cold not have been more clear? Look up EVERY SINGLE story about this and you will see that "UT Chancellor William McRaven scuttled UT's project in March after lawmakers and UT's own regents criticized its high spending and lack of specific plan." "Earlier this year, after significant pushback to an obscure vision" "“My greatest concern regarding the UT land deal has always been about the nontransparent method by which the land was acquired and by the system's inconsistent explanations for how the land was to be used.” After the backlash, McRaven said that he did not plan to build a 4 year university but would not throw in guarantees. After calling it off, the plans were unveiled showing the data center. Unfortunately, the shady deal and the attempt to circumvent the state legislation had already killed this.
  14. kbates2
    Went again today during lunch. Place was so packed it was hard to find room to stand. I think that they will be fine. It was awesome again btw.
  15. kbates2
    Competition does not make better when both institutions are taxpayer funded at inequitable levels.
  16. kbates2
    Yes, this is exactly like that. If you have a high school in a neighborhood that is underperforming because you don't fund it well, you take taxpayer money and allocate more evenly to fund well. You don't take taxpayer money and use it to build a second high school a block away that you will fund well while also under-funding the previous high school. That would be called a complete waste of money. If the second high school then leads to worse performance at the first, you have effectively hurt the students instead of helping them. You may have helped a few but you seriously hurt even more. Your argument hurts taxpayers, students, and existing universities. As mentioned, SMU is private - not the same. UNT is in Denton. I am fine with UT Woodlands.
  17. kbates2
    My understanding was that they asked UT to guarantee that it would not turn into a full time campus and they said that they didn't have all of the plans so wouldn't make that guarantee. I may be wrong. UT already has a great deal of money and impact in Houston, nobody was trying to chase out just general money for a data center. I don't really have as much of an issue with this. As said earlier, proximity was a huge part of it for me and at Generation Park they can't be UT-Houston, which I see as devaluing UH using unfair funding.
  18. kbates2
    But the problem is if something makes things better at the cost of making something else worse. UH cannot compete with UT due to an inequity in funding. By putting a second university that close to UH, there would be a natural competition for students, professors, research grants, etc. As UT is given so much more money due to the state's unequal funding, the UT branch would inevitably win the majority of those battles. As UH vies to improve itself for the benefit of Houstonians, allowing another state funded public university directly into its backyard would effectively dilute the quality of those same students and professors. I love Houston and I also love UH. I don't care to stop UT from doing good, I care to boost UH as a university for the benefit of Houston and welcome competition if that competition is on a level playing field.
  19. kbates2
    Went last night, it is pretty great. It is VERY different from Conservatory and I think that they will complement each other if anything.
  20. kbates2
    What a joke.
  21. kbates2
    I guess maybe "quite a bit" was aggressive. The base looks altered as well as the North facing facade. The crown looks a bit shorter and the cut-out on the south-side looks less steep. I still like the rendering a lot.
  22. kbates2
    Yeah looks like this has been value engineered down quite a bit.
  23. kbates2
    I can’t believe that we haven’t seen any recent condo conversions. Seems like this would be a pretty great location.
  24. kbates2
    Often times they don't even include the street name. "Where are you going?" "6141"
  25. kbates2
    For me, Karbach is the worst over-hopped offender. Going to their brewery will leave your hair and clothes smelling like hops for the rest of the day. Now that they are also not a real independent craft brewery, it has only made the offense seem greater.
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