kbates2

Admittedly, I’ve only ever tried during dinner times so I’m not sure what time it opens.

Aren’t all of these buildings past their tax free period? Seems like we get very little from the TIRZ relative to the size of the tax base. If somebody breaks a bottle or drops deuce outside somewhere, it will be there for a week at a minimum. Broken things like this clock tower seem like a given.

I’ve been numerous times. Never seen it closed.

This happens on a ton of projects in Houston. I did some consulting work for this type of company one time and would compare their list to HAIF. They were not the only company in town and their list usually covered like 1/4 of the Going Up section.

1 minute ago, JClark54 said:

I'll take my daily view of the area as an area resident over a January 2020 street view any day. The fence was erected to stop defecation and vandalism from the encampment that developed under the highway. 

Sounds like an argument for trenching the freeway.

18 minutes ago, tangledwoods said:

I am about 75% positive that these are part of either a permanent or temporary dewatering system.

Here is a company that specializes in that kind of work here in Houston:

Griffin Dewatering

 

 

The sled in the background of Hindesky's photo does appear to be a dewatering pump sled assembly.

16 minutes ago, Valhalla said:

name a single master plan that's ever been followed perfectly 

Inside Man?

Really good to hear.

1 hour ago, Specwriter said:

Our collective obsession with physical appearance is concerning in many ways. Height is not necessarily a hinderance in baseball nor even in basketball. Spud Webb and Calvin Murphy come immediately to mind. I don't follow football very closely but I am aware there are running backs who are much shorter than their teammates and opponents who tear it up with their speed and agility.

It is certainly a hinderance which is why you were able to name very few players. The people who have thrived and are below average height for the sport are the exception and thrive as a result of extreme levels of talent. The pool of potential NBA players that are under 6'0 is WAY larger than the pool that are over 6'5 but the number of players historically that are over 6'5 compared to under 6'0 is a clear indication that height gives you a huge leg up.  Honestly this point isn't even really debatable in basketball and is only debatable in certain positions in the other of the big 3 sports.

3 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Re:  electric rates.  It’s not that electricity is expensive in Houston.  It is actually relatively inexpensive.  But Seattle has very inexpensive electricity because it is blessed with a ton of hydroelectric generation (much, if not all, of it federally subsidized).

Also regarding electric delivery, those smaller one-off companies are not providing your electricity.  Centerpoint delivers your energy and maintains the infrastructure to do so.  The other companies just market your electricity.

15 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Is it just me or does downtown seem dead? A lot of the tenants at the Rice Hotel are all gone. Minuti Coffee seems to be the only place aside from the pub around the corner. A lot of the bars have been closing early. Local Foods is still closed. Finn Hall and Understory don’t seem to be running very well either. And just about all of Bayou Place is a desert now. Discovery Green is dead. Just feels like the pandemic sucked all the life out of everything. 

Local Foods basically died before the pandemic hit. Their hours never made any sense to me and I thought it was going to be the death of them when they first opened.  Finn Hall has had issues with crap food. Downtown is definitely still slower than it should be by a lot but most of the places that you mentioned have/has more issues that the pandemic just made more obvious.

19 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Looks like the Alley needs another bath.

Is this something that is unique to Houston?  I always feel like any buildings that we have with lighter colored stone turn black and I don't see it in other cities.

Gotcha - just not your speed. I think the other McIntyre's does pretty well so we will see how this one does. 

What signs point to this being a terrible, terrible  bar?

No garage floors in Market Square Tower.

47 minutes ago, hindesky said:

No.

Just to clarify, hindesky is saying no they have not fixed it and there has been no murmur of funds moving anywhere near such a project.  It’s craze.

10 minutes ago, Avossos said:

 

So, before I get too riled up... is this the block that Chevron tore down the beautiful old building, and then did nothing with it... and perhaps they sold it after they tore it down???

Yep that's my understanding.

If they were sprinkling this in various neighborhoods it wouldn't have such a high likelihood of turning into a slum.

SE Tower Crane coming down today.

That garage covers multiple blocks and is multilevel, I think that a project to redo that would be huge and we would have heard about it.

10 minutes ago, hindesky said:

According to "Houston Historical Retail" website the 501 Lovett in on the list for demolition. I guess I thought they were just going to renovate it for the Korean steakhouse not tear it down.

https://houstonhistoricretail.com/2021/05/16/this-week-in-demolition-living-in-the-shadow-of-hope-city/

Says "Guest House Only" - Looking at photos, that seems like a newer addition in the back.

1 hour ago, Montrose1100 said:

I'm assuming a lot of this has to do with college? UT, A&M, Air Force Academy, CU, Texas Tech, so on and so forth? It seems like a low number for 4 years. 

It is 'net' so it would represent the ones that went to college in those places and didn't return to Houston (less the students from other locations that came to Houston after grad).