phillip_white

Damn, I like Sausage Hut Guy's tenacity for wanting to become a restaurant and/or real estate mogul.  I'm sad (but also glad) that I didn't think of his plan.

A few of the storefronts are remodeled, but I think the owners have put all of their focus on building Mid Main.  I would imagine there will be a lot of interest in those vacant units once the behemoth completes.  Perhaps they're just holding off before signing leases so they can lock in as much rent as possible?  I could be wrong though... maybe there's a ghost that needs extracting.

Does anyone know whats to become of the Antique store across the street? Is that place even open?? I never see anyone in there, ever. Those storefronts are prime retail space though, when Mid Main is complete and all the retail moves in this area could be amazing if you had retail on BOTH sides of Main street and not just the Natachees/Continental Club side.

Being the developer (MRA) and general contractor (Camden for MRA) aren't necessarily the same thing.  Let's not get into semantics so soon after that whole "digital vs analog" thing.

See, Midtown is building the garage, not Camden. Or am I reading this wrong?

So you're saying they're from Dallas? 

That certainly can be a good indication of wealth. But, is it also possible that this couple have many of the trappings of wealth but......

1) were leasing the car.... And they only had one car ...... Not two.
2) were still paying off their clothes at 18% on their credit cards
3) were still paying student loans and
4) generally had not much actual wealth but rather a debt enabled lifestyle financed by the cash flow from good white collar jobs that made them appear "obviously wealthy" despite having little money in the bank?

Is that a possibility?

I have known people who had good jobs, tons of debt to finance a lifestyle, but seemed "wealthy"..... They actually were not. They were actually living paycheck to paycheck.

I'm no horologist, but I'm pretty sure your drawing would still depict an analog clock... in that the numbers are permanently affixed and a hand is used to display the time.  You should have added a light that shines through numbered cutouts and displays the time on a wall. That would definitely be perplexing as to whether or not it was a digital clock, as a sun dial is considered analog (except this one: http://www.digitalsundial.com/product.html).

ah... we're divided on whether "digital" describes the readout or the operating technology... 

 

I suppose that if it's the display that governs, this might be considered a digital clock:

 

 

I'm not familiar with the proposed reroute, but their new location is one block east of where I-69 runs.  And who knows if that will even happen,

Wouldn't this location be partially on the proposed path of TXDOT's I-45 re-routing?

I actually like the facade that faces Fannin, but that's about it.  I wasn't sure if it would be more cost-effective for a developer to renovate the building for office or tear it down and build something new like MF.  It seems to me like there is already a bunch of MF units coming online in the area.

I am not a big fan of the existing building.
I am a preservation cheerleader, but if this one is slated for the wrecking ball, i would skip the protest.

Midtown is heading towards being downtowns largest neighborhood. I forsee a sea of apartment buildings from 69 to Brazos and museum district to pierce. I think it's going to get so populated that the area is going to be categorized into smaller areas like is done downtown. I see midtown going from 8000 people to 50,000 people in a few decades.

Anyway, I see this building being demolished swiftly for multi family development

Rather than post this is in every Midtown thread that mentions the homeless (there are a lot), I'm creating a new one for those who would like to surmise what will happen to SEARCH's existing building. I kinda feel bad for the EaDo neighborhood having to inherit this.

http://swamplot.com/search-homeless-services-will-be-moving-from-midtown-to-this-new-building-in-east-downtown/2015-05-14/

They're in the process of taking down the crane.  Lots of brickwork has been completed as well.

I was at Mid Main when I saw two of them, black I think.  They were flying straight toward the Med Center, so I thought they were med copters.  Didn't see them turn back toward downtown.

Close...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilodon

"Smilodon" sounds a bit like an ancient shark, as named in a Disney film.

Yeah, for real. I now have a new destination for a Zombie-infested Houston!

I hope that watch tower isn't demolished

They've started excavating for the pool.  General Contractor said they are working on having this open by 4 July.

You are correct.  I was told that the city is not willing to support MRA on much other than sidewalk improvements because it is their opinion that the tax increment is technically their contribution... I can see how they would think a portion of that lost revenue is theirs (especially with the renewal of the TIRZ for another 10 years), but I think they are being a little short-sighted with how much an area can improve after an upgrade like was done on Bagby.  The result of this project is going to be right in line with their Houston Tomorrow initiatives.

Probably smart, but the city just needs to realize that these complete street improvements aren't exactly going to be cheap and should anticipate that they will cost a little bit more than just laying down a new road with a simple grass median and 4-5' wide sidewalks. The simple fact is....they are probably being a little cheap and don't want to pay a lot for it.

Apparently this project was pared down are re-bid but still came in over budget.  I think they're planning to put this (and other proposed projects) on the back burner until some of the current construction boom slows down a bit.

I was super pumped about this project, but from the exterior it looks like they're renovating this as cheaply as possible.  Sheets of concrete board are going over the existing latticed facade on the McIlhenny side.  Hopefully they are going to open it up with windows on the Main St side, as shown in the renderings.

I remember the interchange at 290/610 being worked on when I first moved to Houston 3 years ago.

ummmm no? I drive this everyday. If you are talking about the 290 to 10 ramp yeah that was done about a year ago, but the bulk of the work has been done over the past year. I know it doesn't sound as ridiculous as 5-6years but this has only been going on for 1 1/2 - 2 years.

Sorry, I should have clarified. Zoom in on the tallest parking structure in the world.

Of which of the hundreds of buildings lol 

Zoom in on the 6th railed tier from the top.  I'm not sure about how the yellow Ferrari got up there, but...

http://gigapan.com/gigapans/48492/

I tried to find what the tallest parking structure in the world was, and they weren't very tall, this seems taller.

 

http://www.subwayjoyride.com/2012/08/30/not-transit-tallest-parking-garage-in-the-world/

I have no idea what you're looking at on which camera, but it sounds like you're referring to a cast-in-place form.  They're installed to form the bottom of the pour and removed after a predetermined amount of curing time.

Someone who has construction knowledge can you please answer this. In the webcam I can see these, what look to be massive metal plates they put down before they pour the concrete. Are these just there to support the concrete in the laying down/pouring or are they like massive re-bar? 

EDIT: ^Yeah, what he said.

More brick work was in progress when I walked by yesterday.  They were also planting some trees on the front side.

There was a rendering a while back, but I just checked and the link is 404'd.

...and not a rendering has been shown. At least as far as I know.

So I guess there's actually some legitimacy behind the previous argument (don't remember which thread) about how much say the FAA has in downtown construction.

 

FAA Request: Proposed Case for TX: 2015-ASW-2445-OE

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn't have said it any better... unless I said eyesore.

Okay, the current building is a dilapidated run down hole in the wall surrounded by homeless people.  It is not pleasant to see when you drive by or ride by on the train.    

I walked by this morning and it looks like they have about 90% of the glass up and they're preparing to start work on the fire escape out back.  I'm hoping they'll wrap up all of the exterior work in the next couple months so this upgraded structure will start to serve as a catalyst for the area.

Good call. That would also explain the size of the hole.

Look at the above rendering again, on Travis st there are two "Public Garage Entrances."

One on each side of the apartment building.