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shasta

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  1. shasta
    Anything new on the design end?
  2. shasta
    Anything new on this project? Any new master plans, info...anything? This project was literally weeks away from breaking ground back in 2008/2009 before the downturn and now I'm afraid this one might have missed the boom AGAIN. Hopefully there are things in the works and it will start soon. The demolished Allen House lot (an all that revenue that could have been had) remains undeveloped for close to a decade now.
  3. shasta
    I try to make it an effort to check out downtown a couple times a week, either by driving or taking the rail line and walking around. I am a huge supporter of the growth of downtown and like to get a pulse on what is happening and to check out the construction sites. Of course, I know there has always been a homeless problem downtown but on my two recent visits downtown I've seen more than normal...way more than normal. My last visit, I stopped into a downtown restaurant and a homeless person aggressively followed me to my car trying to get my attention. I know they are usually harmless but It seems like I am noticing more and more homeless in various parts of downtown. Another time this month, I took the train in and noticed that a group of homeless had gathered around the train station and were exchanging drugs. When the train arrived, they did not get on. Has there been a problem with homeless hanging out at the train stations with no intentions of actually using the transportation? Also, what is the city doing about this situation and what do people on this forum feel will happen with an increased residential component in most of downtown? I understand that there are a number of shelters downtown and I am OK with their presence, if they are seeking those services, but drug deals and aggressively going after downtown visitors is going to make some uneasy and sour their opinion of downtown.
  4. shasta
    A $100,000 property damage coverage with your auto insurance is pretty typical. Hopefully it is already part of their insurance policy. If he doesn't have it, he could be sued for the damages and required to pay the damages. Should the developer pay $100,000 because a driver decided to drink and drive and crash into their construction site. This guy's life in about to be drastically affected because of this stupid move.
  5. shasta
    A) I wonder if this accident will delay the construction schedule and B ) if it does, I'm thinking the developer can sue the driver of this truck for damages...especially since the driver was under the influence and ran multiple red lights. Hope this guy has a good insurance policy
  6. shasta
    Development doesn't happen in a vacuum they work in unison. Top retailers conduct studies before they choose to locate their "brand" in a particular location. They look at population the general area, and more inportantly the wealth of that general area. Regent Square, unfortunately, is located really close to the retail cluster on West Gray. This is a problem for them in getting retailers to put faith in another unproven cluster so far away. The developer has chosen to re-think their strategy and they are starting with some of the dense buildings first and then will work towards the master plan we saw in 2007. They have a game plan and its to get the quality retail and restaurant component that they want. Fot those of you who want a case study.....look at the history of Vintage Park in the Northwest/Tomball area. They were an unproven development ans had to settle for unknown 'mom and pop' type of shops and restaurants. Major retailers were not going to touch them until they proved themselves first.
  7. shasta
    Longer than that ...the developers have owned the Allen House since the 1980's. They definitely know how to play the waiting game. While I agree No activity is perplexing but in all honesty, they did just build the first phase of Regent Square. The apartment tower IS part of Regent Square. They are trying to establish a catchment area to justify the walkable retail space.
  8. shasta
    Wow....I would much rather have the design of the Astoria, or the Titan, or a number of the other buildings that some people here think are poor designs OVER this bland design. I thought this was supposed to be a design that RD was waiting to unveil in a place like downtown. Hopefully (fingers crossed) that is just an initial massing model to get the square footage right and to give the city an idea of the scale and then RD will surprise everyone with a much better design.
  9. shasta
    It is possible that renderings don't even exist. Apartment projects typically don't require fancy renderings. Unless you are doing a condo projects (need pre-sales), an office tower (need tenants) or need something put together to get approval (tax incentive, loan from bank, or court ruling) then it isn't necessary to hire someone to do a nice rendering. For a typical apartment project with financing already secured, just start the project and pre-lease when you are close to occupancy.
  10. shasta
    Oh......so that's why that Dentist Gremlin in Gremlins 2 kept saying "Is it safe?"
  11. shasta
    They are building this first because this will be the main Practice facility, basketball offices, and locker rooms. It will be open to the Men's and Women's basketball players 24-7. They are building it first because UH is grossly behind in upgrading these facilities. they have the game day court but the practice facilities/lockers/showers/etc. are horrible. I agree with their strategy, Practice facility first, attract recruits because of this, and then renovate Hofheinz after.
  12. shasta
    We all heard the most desirable office building lots are the ones with tunnel connection, however, wasn't Hess Tower (way off of the grid) sold for a record amount. I think this false facade of "it must be on the tunnel" system will start to fade especially if the convention center district looks like it will be built around activity of the street level and will be close to residences.
  13. shasta
    What pictures?
  14. shasta
    Check out this high resolution panoramic shot of the stadium. You can pan and zoom in. http://gigapixel.panoramas.com/houston/football/20140829/
  15. shasta
    I can't speak for the renovations to Kyle Field because I haven't seen them yet. I've been to the campus of Texas A&M a handful of times and it was a pretty generic campus. If they were going for an engineering school type of look then it worked. The University of Houston actually features two buildings by Pritzker Prize winning Architects (the highest award an architect can receive) so it has some variety. Also, the campus of the University of Houston was recently featured in this new Jadeveon Clowney Commercial...It's pretty funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654mJ3Svv7U&app=desktop
  16. shasta
    New Clowney commercial featuring hi running through the University of Houston to deliver a new pair of Puma sneakers to a college student. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654mJ3Svv7U&app=desktop
  17. shasta
    Allen Parkway turns into Kirby...I call that stretch from Downtown to Reliant Stadium (NRG) our Broadway...or at least I think it will become that
  18. shasta
    Can someone, with superior photoshop skills. add in the missing buildings? The ones that have broken ground or are scheduled to really soon: Marriott Marquis, the other office towers, the other residential, etc.
  19. shasta
    Again..we are arguing what perception/ perceived stature/ ranking of a University vs how your major translates to actual value in the market place. The market (the actual gauge of what a person's education is worth) has been very kind to UH graduates..that's all I'm saying. Whether the University , as a whole, appears high on a list may be determined on a number of variables (some UH can control and some they can't...like access to the states PUF fund) but UH graduates most definitely have value in the marketplace and especially in Houston. So much so that something like 70 or 80% of UH graduates never have to leave the city of Houston when looking for professional jobs. Passing up a qualified candidate who has all the intangibles because they didn't graduate from a University ranked high in a magazine is laughable. My point is that people are going to start to look at the investment of a college education differently. The actual return on your investment is going to be more important that "prestige" in a magazine, especially when that same degree costs 2x, 3x, or 4x the price of tuition at a more reasonable quality University. This is why schools like UH..... and North Texas.... and UCF.... and USF are slowly taking a piece out of the historical flagship Universities of the state. This trend will continue and the academics at those schools has continued to improve dramatically each year...rankings take time to catch up. In fact, I am a fan of Shark Tank, and to date, the most impressive product pitch was from a graduate of the University of Central Florida......a school, according to Slick Vik, that shouldn't be able to produce such talent because they don't rank high in the magazines rankings.
  20. shasta
    Yes they never refer to UH as Cougar High...ever lol
  21. shasta
    August, I'm wondering if this guy even knows what ROI means? If an MBA at UH costs you $35,000 but it costs $120,000 at Rice then the average Rice MBA grad would have to find a job that pays twice or triple as much as the average UH MBA grad to keep pace....and that's if there are no student loans involved. It could happen but does the AVERAGE Rice grad make 3X what the average UH grad makes? ROI literally means return on investment and can be calculated yearly or over a period of time based on the amount of investment put in to get that higher paycheck. The reason so many UH alums are successful after they graduate is because their degree has a higher ROI because tuition is lower and because the students are more mature going in (they don't pick a school solely on athletics and tradition). Because of that they typically carry less of a debt load when they graduate. Many of hem cash flow their tuition because they work while they attend school. This means less of their paycheck is going to loans after school thus maximizing their ROI.
  22. shasta
    Let em tell you a real life story my Longhorn friend. When I was a High School senior I started looking at various architecture schools in the state of Texas. Of course I looked at UT-Austin, Texas A&M , and the University of Houston. I ultimately narrowed it down to the University of Texas and University of Houston. I scratched out Texas A&M because they did NOT offer an accredited undergraduate architecture program....that means according to the NAAB (The National Architectural Accrediting Board) they felt that the undergraduate program offered at Texas A&M DID NOT MEET MINIMUM ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS. This means any graduate of Texas A&M 's undergrad program CANNOT sit for the ARE (Architectural Registration Exam) because the board does not recognize them as a University that is proficient enough. Now..Texas A&M does offer an accredited graduate program...but not an accredited undergraduate program.I just checked and they Texas A&M has yet to be elevated to accredited status for its undergrad program. The University of Houston has offered an accredited undergraduate program consistently since 1959! I ultimately went with the University of Houston because of the city of Houston and the assets in the city. And about entrance into the University of Houston....I once sat in on an alumni board meeting where they discussed selecting incoming students into the architecture program. I can dispel your myth on this one as well.....at they meeting they discussed that they received about 1,200 applications for admission and that they would only accept about 100 of them. That's about an 8% acceptance rate. I just wanted to speak the truth because their are a lot of biased stereotypes against the University of Houston. The reality is that the majority of companies in the city of Houston feature many University of Houston graduates in pivotal management and leadership positions. All you have to do is look around!
  23. shasta
    You had a rich donor named Drayton Mclane, who slum-lorded the Houston Astros , refused to spend money on draft picks, pioneered a blackmailing scheme to get them into the American League, pre-fabricated a cable network agreement and its false value, all while selling the team for a ridiculous profit on his way out..... and then he put that money into Baylor's new stadium. He gave so much money that they are naming the stadium after him.
  24. shasta
    To address the comment in bold: Despite most people's jaded opinion, the University is neither a small school (apx. 41,000 students) nor is it a true definition of a "commuter school" anymore. Maybe in the 1970s but not now. The truth is that there are close to 10,000 beds on campus making it #2 in the state of Texas in campus living opportunities (quite a cry form everyone commuting) and I imagine another 10,000 live inside the loop. I,myself, lived on campus while I attended......... and I even grew up in the Houston metro. As far as hidden costs, I seriously considered a number of Texas schools, for both my undergrad and graduate degrees. I ultimately picked UH for both but my analysis found that UH and Texas A&M had comparable tuition rates. Rice and UT, on the otherhand, were double and almost triple for the same programs that I was looking into. The point is that hidden or not, the ROI is significantly higher at UH and at TAMU but at UH you get access to free athletic events. The UH football team has been ranked more times in the top 25, since 2009, than TAMU anyway, reaching up to #6 in the BCS standings in 2011 so the quality product has also been there...for free! While it may only be a few hundred bucks at TAMU it still is an additional cost for the students. That's my only point.
  25. shasta
    Not sure if this is a serious post or sarcastic? $300-$400??? The price, for students, to attend ALL University of Houston sporing events is ZERO dollars.....all you have to do is show your ID. Good UH Football season tickets aren't even $400 and that's for the brand new stadium. I know I paid less than $400 and I'm not too far from the field, on the ground level. Way to drink the maroon kool-aid and think that charging broke college students $400 is a "great deal"
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