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nate

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  1. nate
    This was featured in today's WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119257756005161262.html
  2. nate
    Yes and no. Big, politically connected developers embrace zoning because they can get their projects approved and use the zoning process to limit competition. New entrants and smaller developers may oppose. But the people that will really suffer under zoning will be average citizens who will have to eat the inevitable increase in the cost of housing/products and the reduction in choice.
  3. nate
    I posted it a few days ago. http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...st&p=201501
  4. nate
    Here is a rendering of the project: http://www.buckfund.com/nss-folder/1717%20.../07018-A401.jpg It continually amazes me that people here (and in general) are not only willing, but eager, to turn their lives and property rights over to government. The immediately adjacent property owners are the only ones that will truly be negatively impacted. And that negative impact will be limited to noise during construction and altered sunlight patterns. (most of the area is shaded by beautiful trees anyway) These concerns are not enough to dismantle the entire system of private property rights than Houstonians enjoy.
  5. nate
    I believe that Advantage BMW is building a new showroom.
  6. nate
    What would be their cause of action? Probably no complaints if it were on Main, but I would rather live in Southampton, as would most people.
  7. nate
    Sounds like a nice place to live. When I first saw this thread, my initial reaction was that there would be a lot of upset, wealthy homeowners nearby. The news story proves my intuition right. Who is the developer and what is the project website? How many apartments are currently on the site?
  8. nate
    Image combined with the federal subsidy is why light rail lines continue to be built. METRORail makes no sense otherwise. It is no more useful than buses at far greater cost.
  9. nate
    It would be setback at least 20 feet, have a small surface parking lot and a landscape barrier. What more do you want of MainPlace? Plans call for street level retail and a lobby with direct access to the street. Please state specifically how they could enliven the street environment. Then ask if your recommendations are commercially viable.
  10. nate
    Good news that they dropped the western theme. That had potential to the be the cheesiest place in America. This project looks interesting, but I don't like the tax credits.
  11. nate
    I assume that you are talking about Texas at Main? Give it time, that lot is not going to be vacant for much longer.
  12. nate
    Not so fast. The HBJ article only says that there is "preliminary interest in more than half of the projected 350,000 square feet of retail space." Still good, but it doesn't sound like there are leases in place. The sheer amount of new retail space coming on line around 2010 Uptown is simply amazing. And the traffic is already a nightmare.
  13. nate
    What is a TIRR? I know that there are several TIRZ districts that cover portions of downtown. The City Center project might be in the Main Street/Market Square district. But a TIRZ is not a tax break. Property owners in TIRZ districts pay normally increasing taxes. The increase over the baseline in collections is used for public improvements in the district. It is a benefit that I don't think should be given, but it really is not a tax break. As for waiving city taxes for condo buyers, I have never heard of this. Could you please provide a link? However, I am aware that certain "historic" sites have been given tax abatements. Perhaps some renovated condo buildings downtown recieved these. If they did, they should not have. But, the City Center won't be given a tax abatement.
  14. nate
    Thanks for the link. Please note the following from that article: What is a Renaissance Zone?: http://www.degc.org/main.cfm?location=54 & http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/renzones/default.htm Do you still think that this is not a subsidized project? Besides being exempt from most taxes, I would not be suprised if TIF financing were available and don't have time to look into it. Not to mention that GM is giving away land in order to have the small income stream from condo sales. Hines has done a good job reducing their risk on that project. They don't have to buy the land, don't have to pay taxes, maybe TIF financing, their condo buyers will be exempt from taxation, etc. A Houston project would require a larger financial commitment and entail more risk. They will not get TIF financing, they will not get tax breaks (perhaps PAY impact fees), any office space will have to compete with other new construction, any condos will compete with other condos and SFRs all over Houston, etc. These are not comprable projects.
  15. nate
    There is a big difference between a massively subsidized project and something that will have to compete on market terms in one of the most competieve environments in the world.
  16. nate
    What makes you think that? There are only 13 of 93 units still for sale. This project sounds like a success. Even if the lender goes belly-up (unlikely), this is the type of loan that would be picked up by another party. If the construction crew screwed up the foundation of another building, there might be delays while that is fixed, but the project is not dead. The pessimism here is astounding. 2727 Kirby will be completed and will be a beautiful building.
  17. nate
    The responses in this thread crack me up. I love how so many people think that they know more about shopping center development than Trammell Crow. To me, this looks like it will be a successful project and will be good for the area.
  18. nate
    Amen, brother. A lot of people on this forum wish that Houston would be more like Uptown Dallas. That would be a disaster. Uptown Dallas is attractive in many parts, but it is just so sterile. There is very little demographic diversity and very little architectual diversity. Other people I know have said the same thing. Remember what Philip Johnson said: "I like Houston. It's the last great 19th-century city. Houston has a spirit about it that is truly American, an optimism. People there aren't afraid to try something new." Keep it up. Don't become Dallas, don't enact zoning. In other works, keep blazing the trail. Stay Houston.
  19. nate
    Tonight, I could stay at the Hilton for $109. Next weekend, I can get a room for $89. Source: hilton.com Maybe the Hilton is doing better than other convention center hotels, I don't konw. It is a fact that convention center hotels around the country regularly have terrible vacancy rates and dirt cheap rooms. If the hotel made business sense, why didn't a hotelier build when the convention center opened? The answer is that without taxpayer subsidies, the hotel probably would not be profitable.
  20. nate
  21. nate
    In other words, the area around the Pavillions will have great landscaping for the next 30 years while the rest of the city crumbles because tax revenue cannot be spent outside the district. Last that I checked, midtown had great roads and nice sidewalks. Much of the rest of Houston is in dire need of street repair. Targeting development in city approved areas is dangerous.
  22. nate
    Does anyone think that Hilton would have ever built the Hilton of the Americas without taxpayer support? Does anyone think a fancy hotel with $75 rooms and 50% vacancy is a good business venture? The convention business has been in the toilet for years, but cities all over the country continue to use their taxpayer's money to finance these insane projects. I simply don't understand what the convention business does for Houston that is so worthy of this subsidy. So some quilters spend two days downtown and go to a bar on mainstreet and return to their $75 city-subsidized room. Nice. Is that worth the millions spent by the public? I don't think so. Why ask poor people in East Houston to pay higher taxes so that some quilters can enjoy the pleasures of downtown Houston?
  23. nate
    Terrible idea. They may help develop certain areas, but at the expense the rest of the city. I don't want the city giving subsidies or tax breaks to anyone. Houston is a wonderful city because of competition. We have no zoning, which keeps costs low and supply abundant. I hope that Houston continues to let private ventures rise or fall on the merits. Is it fair to developers Uptown or elsewhere that they have to compete with a subsidized development downtown? I don't think so. If this will not be profitable, then it should not be built. Cut and dry. Don't ask the taxpayers to prop up white elephants like our convention business or the disastrous redevelopment projects that cities all over the country have tried.
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