j_cuevas713

Thank God something on San Jac is getting renovated!

Def not a colorless rendering

That's why I don't think the new residential on Leeland is meant to stay longer than 15 to 20 yrs. Metal almost always means a long term investment.

That cooling plan looks like it belongs in the burbs. I have no idea why that thing has such small narrow sidewalks. Anyways I can't wait for this project to finish.

This is so huge for this city!

Ok I can't take this guy anymore. Anyone have any cool pics of the rail lines? lol

They're putting a lot of effort into marketing the downtown site. Was I the only one that didn't know an adjacent garage was part of the deal too?

 

https://my.hfflp.com/GetDocument?DT=DealDocument&ID=113784

 

 

THANK YOU MR. HINES!!!! This man is going to save this city all by himself!

Where did they get these conceptual renders from? We need a tower like that. Along with Discovery Tower, downtown could become something amazing!

I'm still waiting on you to private message me the names of your "friends" that live in Rice Lofts who use the light rail all the time.

 

Also still waiting on you to answer my question....

 

I see you're now over 3000 posts? Too much time on your hands?

Omg are you done yet!? So two business don't succeed and you blame the light rail!? Smh Maybe other things such as overpriced goods or a failed attempt at securing finances to begin redevloping an area has something to do with it. The market feeds off the demand for a good. So if a business isn't succeeding, it probably has to do with the lack of quality and demand of the product or good. And who cares who doesn't come walking straight from the Rice Lofts to use the rail! What scientific data do you need to walk to the rail stop at 8 am and see it packed or at 5 pm rush hour and there is no space to even get on? Is that scientific enough for you? Maybe the fact that every weekend people crowd the thing to go to the zoo or to a Dynamo or Stros game. And somehow you don't see the tons of cranes going up and around the rail line, and because it isn't exactly built on the line you completely refuse to admit the line has any impact on development yet developer after developer has admitted that the access to the rail within a 5 block radius, let me repeat, 5 BLOCK RADIUS, is a total benefit to their business. Access to public transportation is a big deal in ANY city. And the more we continue to attach to these lines, then the better for us and future generations. 

They aren't going to build something as massive as this and not build it to maximize use and profits. And yeah people, such as your colleagues won't use it because the culutre in this city is still the car. As the culutre changes from generation to generation, that commuter rail will be worth all the trouble.

Dude walking in that area is not terrible. It can get sketchy but so can any location in any other major city in America. So I have no clue how that area around the McDonalds/Greyhound is so terrible.Not saying it's ideal but thats life in the city.

The lack of a grid can be very annoying. Too many one way streets have hurt downtown a little but I heard they were trying to get rid of all the one-ways.

 

The funky street layout however gives the CBD its cool, unique look. Like a giant stonehenge.

I mean there is nothing wrong with one ways. It makes it safer to move around on foot. And for a central business district that should be the norm. I was speaking more along the lines of how things change so much from one area to another with no sense of direction. Like walking from Victory Park to the House of Blues and everything hitting a wall at the Hooters. There is nothing eye catching past that point. And then what made it worse was having a main road where people are speeding through going both ways and no designated crosswalk or anything for pedestrians. Everyone I spoke to that were natives of dallas all seemed to defend the lack of safety. Anyways, it is what it is. 

Man but a 3rd quarter 2017 completion date!? When do they plan on starting this thing? Smh

Seriously..nobody believes that.    

Lol no that's an actual fact, but it's not a knock against dallas. I went there a few weeks ago, and I think the biggest thing that hurts downtown dallas is the lack of grid. It is so hard to get around.

My prediction is that all of these wood framed structures are around in 20 years, and a lot longer than that. Unless, the are removed intentionally to repurpose or increase the density of the property. What do you think we've been making low/mid rise structures in this city with for at least the past 50 years?

I don't know man, I have no clue about construction, that's why I asked

So I'm a bit curious. As excited as I am to see these new residential units go up, what is the likelihood that any of these structures will be around longer than 20 yrs based on the fact they are all wood framed? And are there examples of other cities also having many wood framed buildings?

Do what you want. But you're the one getting defensive.

 

At this point I agree there's not much to debate anyways. We just have to wait and see. But you're making some false observations regarding the development along the new lines. There's actually not that much development along the lines and the few new developments that exist I'm not sure I would attribute to the new lines themselves anyways. Same thing goes for the Red line. Very little new development along the Red line and it's been more than 10 years. In fact it seems like developers were moving away from the Red Line.

 

The point is I don't want to wait and see regarding new development or ridership or whatever. The new lines are doomed to be a disaster before they even launch. The city is moving west but Metro's lines are moving east. I want Metro to help it's citizens now. Not 10 years from now.

The line is serving areas that are the core of the city. The city may be building West but inner city neighborhoods are still centered around the downtown area. I have no clue what data you are looking at to conclude that the lines are a disaster. There is a ton of development occurring along the rail lines so I have no idea what you've been looking at the past 10 years. Plus you aren't considering the time it has taken for the city that has been undeserved to gain the trust of developers along with the economic downturn in 08 that slowed projects all together. The past 7 yrs have shown proposal after proposal of future development.

So I ride the Howard Hughes (Green) daily.

My opinion: It is poorly designed.

A. The biggest issue - Lines doesn't have their own right-of-way downtown (unlike Red line) so trains routinely get stuck behind traffic waiting to turn while pedestrians cross. Thus the train faces delays. At some points, I could outrun the damn train out of Downtown on foot. It's ridiculous how long it takes to get from the Theater District platform to GRBCC platform. From what I've heard, Metro tried to get city approval for its own right of way Downtown but the mayor refused them. Not sure on this, just what I was told by a Metro employee.

B. If Green had been extended to both the Municipal Courts to the West, and down Harrisburg/Broadway to Hobby, the trains would have more ridership. As of now, they are virtually empty when I ride. (But I'm not complaining - it's much more peaceful & cleaner than the Red). As for Purple - I'd imagine if it were extended to end at Gulfgate rather than Palm Center, it also would have more ridership.

C. Pedestrians along Harrisburg also face an obstacle in getting to the platform because of a commercial railroad with no crossing over. I would imagine this may discourage some from walking to the platforms at Lockwood & Coffee Plant, especially if you get caught by a freight train with no way to cross over.

That's not poor design. There are multiple US cities that have the same design. It has to do with the fact that the train is more of a trolley for the downtown segments more than a high speed form of transportation like a subway. Look at cities like SF or Boston, they have the same design. Now as for Metro wanting a right of way and not getting city approval seems like Metro was stretching a bit.

I'm sure there is a plan to build lines further out, but for the time being, what the lines do is done well. 

The fact that developers are interested is great news! It shows that a little city planning and guidance can do a lot for this city. I'm already drawn to downtown weekly because I love the feel of the city. I will prob be there even more often if they start to establish retail. 

Yeah it sucks but Houston is transforming to developments all about walking... in about 20 yrs Houston will be mostly walkable IMO

Is this expected to start this year?

Yep, some time this month hopefully.

Wish Gerald Hines would buy that land and give Houston the ultimate expression from the home town boy done good with Transco Tower 2.0 but bigger.

Hines would be my pick too. I hate seeing those old renderings, and thinking how amazing this could've looked. I think downtown does need a tower that resembles this though. Whether it's as tall or about the same height as Chase tower doesn't matter to me, just the overall style.

Damn that's a nice garage

^^^^^ An iconic tower would be awesome right there on that parking lot ^^^^^