por favor gracias

9 hours ago, Texasota said:

Noice

Sounding that out makes me think of Steve Irwin.

More of these kinds of developments, please

On 5/29/2019 at 7:32 PM, richfish said:

There was an article I think in the Chron about how HPD has seized like 13 million from these clubs but basically prosecuted almost no one.  

Funny how that works, huh?

I love how it's going to take 6 years to rebuild this intersection when it took less time to rebuild what is now 23 miles of the widest freeway on the planet.

5 hours ago, hindesky said:

I like trying to get some inside info from these guys, hope it doesn't get them in trouble for releasing any insider news.

 

edit: I mentioned I was on HAIF to him and he was impressed how much info on the projects we had.

Really appreciate everything you do for this forum.

In response to the comment above (forgot to quote)

"Freakin' H-town, man..."

Ahhh, I knew I recognized those eyes from somewhere. That's an awesome mural....actually both of them are. Nice catch!

I only count 12 stories

10 hours ago, hindesky said:

Spotted the mural a couple weeks ago, asked a security guard if I could go in and take pic. It's on the back wall of the Art store.

Man, what happened to orbit??

3 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

I heard they stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Let's hope that's not what this ends up being.

45 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Look at what happened in Kingwood yesterday and will probably happen again this weekend.

Someone in the government or insurance needs to stand up and say no more building in the flood plains.

They also need to start buying up properties, homes, businesses and whatever that are currently in the flood plain to be 

cleared and turned into green space. It's time to wake up and stop screwing around with all of this flood, rebuild, flood, rebuild, flood, rebuild................

 If Houston wants to get pst this stigma they need to take charge and make some serious changes, because its not getting any better and it's only going to get worse.

I'm tired of my insurance policies going up so some homeowner can rebuild 4 or 5 times in the same flood prone lot. 

This is ridiculous and after a couple time it seems like there would be a wake up call.

I drove through Kingwood late last night and thought the exact same thing. The cost of irresponsible planning is immeasurable.

20 hours ago, Brooklyn173 said:

 

 

 

Last night (May 2, 2019)

Wow, that looks terrific!

Also the Post Oak (Tilman's tower), Belfoire, the one on St. James, The James, plus all the mid rises around the entire area. The Skanska Tower and Highland Tower weren't long before, either.

This thing's gonna end up being a Mattress Firm when it's all said and done.

2 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

Drove past there a few days ago. They have made a lot of progress since switching to a different contractor. Looks like the only thing left is site work and interiors.

So...we're looking at a 2035 completion date?

"Lyndon LaRouche people"....lol. They're what telemarketers look like in person. I know nothing about the guy, but his goons' antics have given me little reason to inquire.

To each his own, but I can't comment since I've never had those sopapillas from Panchos. This is the only picture I could find of what they once called the chocolate banana at Ninfas, but it's different than I remember and it doesn't do it justice. It used to come with whip cream and vanilla ice cream and chocolate both melted inside the empanada w/ the banana and drizzled on top of the empanada.

The tunnel system serves a legit purpose. Overall, I'm glad we have it. I've used it during inclement weather myself, and it's a great option to have. I just think that 80% of the retail down there would have created an entirely different atmosphere downtown if it was on street level instead.

Fortunately, the street level landscape downtown is changing despite the tunnel system. There are a lot of developments and renovations with more street level retail on the horizon. 

41 minutes ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Will Ninfa’s BLVD Place offer mole dishes?

Last time I was at the Original Ninfa's on Navigation, they didn't have the deep fried chocolate banana in the pastry shell w/ the ice cream. Not sure how long ago it happened, but how that "disappeared" from their dessert menu is beyond me.

11 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

 

Well i am sorry, you are not a Houstonian if you dont like our magnificent tunnels!!!

Our tunnels are not unlike our domed/retractable roof stadiums that we keep closed when it's 65 degrees and sunny.

9 minutes ago, DrLan34 said:

I meant city wide. Yeah, this development looks great.

Agree 100%.

32 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

This would come with brand new wide sidewalks down all those corridors. It’s transit access on all levels. 

On a side note, I've always wondered why they place so many pipes directly under our streets, rather than the sidewalks. Any time something goes wrong, we have to tear up the street, and almost every time, the street is in much worse condition than it was before the work. I'm sure there's a good explanation...

2 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

I was just thinking that coming home today from work. Like wow we only had cars and buses! All the more reason to vote yes to Metro’s plan this Fall. 

LOL just got back home after literally sitting on Franklin St for 25 minutes trying to get to 59 North this evening.

Not that I won't vote for Metro's plan, and it will absolutely help considering the lack of alternatives, but I know I'm not the only Houstonian who would like to see a less intrusive, faster service transit system here that can really move people. It would have to be either elevated or submerged to be that efficient, and I'm not sure how feasible a subway network around, say, the inner loop area would work, but we do already have a mini-sized one at IAH, plus lots of other underground development in downtown and of course the Galleria. Is that "as far as we can dig?" I'm all for more light rail, I just hate how much our version of it interferes with street/pedestrian traffic. It creates almost as much automobile traffic as it alleviates. If subways aren't feasible, then elevate it. There's going to be 8 million people here in the next 7-8 years and 10 million by 2040....and I really don't want to imagine what traffic is going to be like if we still don't have these kinds of alternatives by then, much less moving forward.

Sorry for staying off topic.

6 hours ago, Timoric said:

Lists are good, the World Book Almanac list of tall buildings by city was a favorite as a kid, Houston had lots of new ones in the 80s

In that case, we might be soulmates. All those years and I thought I was the only one...

I remember the building height stopped at 450 feet for Houston, but other cities had buildings listed at 400 ft. Not sure if it's still the case, but I always felt like despite Houston having the 3rd largest "list," we were being somewhat shafted by their seemingly subjective criteria. Then again, I was like 12.

1 hour ago, ArtNsf said:

Okay, I'm forced to get up on my soap box here, sorry if this offends you, or maybe not -

 

Well, I and I'm sure many others on this forum, are very PROUD of the work that Mayor Turner has done to improve the image of Houston.  Indeed, all of our mayors in recent decades have gone to great lengths to improve the quality of life. 

 

The only mayor I can remember from my childhood that I learned I could never ever support was Louie Welch.  Now, HE was a complete idiot if there ever was one.  And, trust me, in this day and age, RWNJ's (you can look that one up elsewhere if you need clarification) are all too plentiful in this country. 

 

So, I welcome Houston's many recent forward thinking mayors, including Turner.  In fact the past 2 decades or so have seen the best city mayors of Houston and have left other cities and their mayor "in the dust".  There are many other examples of mayors and policies that were once thought too "progressive" to be acceptable here, too numerous to list.  But, we as Houstonians did the unthinkable and tried these policies and low and behold, they work for the good of all of Houston, not just the upper wealthy elite, or just the homeless population.  As we have seen lately, no one is perfect in public office, and some are downright evil and corrupt beyond belief.  I have seen no such mayor in Houston in many decades of my life in Houston, with the exception as mentioned above.

 

The fact that we have moved so forward as to think of the old Sears store downtown as a new innovation district is more proof at just how progressive and people oriented Houston's brand of capitalism has become.  There is and will always be a profit motive, but the PEOPLE of Houston are demanding more and more bang for their buck in the way of a better quality of life, yet still understand how important the profit motive is to obtain the best.  I would think all of what I've said here is obvious, but comments to the contrary just proves that not everyone that is intelligent enough to participate in the HAIF blogs, are enlightened enough to stop making nonsensical untrue comments about Houston's leadership.  It is simply non-constructive to continually criticize good leadership like ours for the sake of argument and because you disagree with their policies, EVEN though the facts show these policies are working for the vast majority of Houston and it's people.  There's a real reason why Houston maintains the boom that started at least 20 years ago and continues to this day - it's sensible leadership and way of life endorsed by that leadership.

 

I say these things because after reading some of the crap (not too many over all thank goodness) these ideas need to be said in this open forum for all to see and read.  If we can put up with some nasty commenters words on here, we can put up with my more constructive comments.  Period.

 

But, I digest.......

 

 

Commie....😀

The one area Houston needs to improve is transportation. From the way we handle our road "repairs" and construction to mass transit, this is the only thing left standing in the way of that "world class" image some say we're lacking. And I guess after driving down Richmond Ave for 10 seconds, it's hard not to agree with that....but overall, we have made progress even in these areas over the last couple of decades. It's amazing to think we didn't even have light rail here until 2004. SMFH....

6 hours ago, Luminare said:

 

Great list. Pretty much agree with it. However, some addendum's with explanation:

 

1 - TMC Research Campus 

2 - Sears building conversion to Houston's Innovation District

3 - MFAH expansion project

4 - Cayden's 3 towers for midtown

5 - Block 58 - Hines 47 story office building on old Houston Chronicle site + Block 42 - Hines 46 story residential tower

6 - Hanover mixed use at 3540 W. Dallas + The Allen mixed use at Allen Pkwy & Gillette (Allen Pkwy Major Developments)

7 - McNair mixed use at Post Oak & Richmond (former design by Munoz + Albin)

8 - KBR / East River Site

9 - Upper Kirby / Greenway Major Developments: The RO, Hanover Post Oak, etc...

10 - Major Infrastructure Overhauls: 59/45 Reconstruction + Downtown Greenbelt + Bayou Canal, The Blvd Project, Lower Westheimer Project, METRO Next (even though it leaves a lot to be desired. Its still something), HSR Station at Mall Site.

 

Honorable Mentions:

 

Westcreek Lane Major Developments: Hotel and Residential Tower ROD

HSPVA

Captial Tower

3rd Ward Major Developments

Jones Plaza + Bagby Street Redevelopment

Memorial Park Redevelopment

 

Instant Top Ten if announced/revived/updated renders/boots on the ground:

 

Post HTX

Regent Square

Grocery Supply Site

 

 

 

For me, Projects that don't immediately have boots on the ground moving dirt fall in the list, for now. Projects like McNair, KBR, and the Allen Pkwy Major Developments fall short because they still haven't kicked off, but make the list due to future impact. This moves up Hines developments in town because they are hauling a$$.

 

Yes, some of these infrastructure projects might not get fully off the ground or finish this year, but it can not be denied just how major these projects will be for the city and so they have to make the list.

 

HSPVA and Capital Tower, while important completed projects, in a big potential development year like this will pale in comparison. However, I think we will see impact from this projects soon.

 

3rd Ward. Call it a hunch, but I think this district takes off in a profound way this and next year. Market forces seem to be pushing that way.

 

Park development could jump into the list if we start seeing dirt moving. Both listed in Honorable have major impact potential.

 

The final three, are the usual suspects, but all they need is a major update to jump back in.

 

Its interesting thinking on all of these developments and you forget just how many high profile projects are about to go off. Just to many to potentially fit into a Top Ten. Really exciting. Its why I can justify lumping whole areas together because there is major concentrations of development happening everywhere right now.

 

EDIT: I think what would be interesting is if someone had a smaller more local project in a top ten and can justify it. Not a skyscraper or massive site, but a smaller project that might be top ten worthy simply due to impact community wise.

Damn, I like your list more than mine now. I can't believe Post HTX and KBR/East River sites didn't come to mind for me, but you're right....there are so many justifiable candidates for this list. It's a very exciting time for our city, no doubt. I love how Houston has invested more and more into downtown over the last couple of decades. It's already a sea change in atmosphere since then, and it's only going to get better over time (at least for those of us who want a more urban atmosphere).

Could not agree more with your take on McNair, KBR and Allen Pkwy developments, as well as HSPVA and Capital Tower. They made my list because I like their individual impacts downtown (again, hoping that the street/tunnel interaction is as good as advertised for the Capital Tower). I made my list based on the "criteria" of projects that have their own thread on this site, but I like how you alluded to lumping certain areas together. That allows for more room elsewhere for a seemingly more and more prestigious list by the day. Again....lots of deserving candidates.

The 59 reconstruction project might have the biggest impact of all outside of TMC Research. It's going to have an enormous "trickle-down" impact on future development around the upcoming Innovation District and the Convention Center areas. Is the Pierce Elevated scheduled to be demolished? I sure hope so....excited to watch all of these projects unfold.