Nucleareaction

Guy in the photo with a world champion jersey on. Just ain't right...

On 5/2/2016 at 4:17 PM, samagon said:

 

Granted, I've yet to experience summer working downtown I've had maybe 1 day out of 20 where the weather sucks enough that I don't want to walk around outside.

 

Also, I overheard some ladies in the elevator one day, one of them lamented the fact that while Chase tower is isolated in the tunnels there are only 4 options for lunch and she is ready for more options again. her friend reminded her she could go outside, and her response was "oh yeah, I always forget I can do that"

 

I couldn't tell whether she was serious, or not. I hope she was just being really sarcastic to her friend, but probably not.

I'm guessing not. I work out on the west side, lots of isolated offices and strip centers in between. Walking back to work from lunch other day, I saw an suv pull out of the parking lot across the street, and drive right into the parking lot of the strip center. A distance 500 feet is being generous.

Oh, Tinsley Park would be good. The flooding kinda sucks for the amount of tables you'd have outside, but I guess you could bolt them down?

I'm thinking mostly of the Chinese Beer Garden in Munich as a guide: public park, trees surrounding, very popular area of town. I mean, we even have our own form of Oktoberfest in the Rodeo!

Anyone know someone in City Hall?

On 4/2/2016 at 3:11 PM, cloud713 said:

I couldn't find any threads dedicated to the Final Four events, but I'm out here at "The Backyard" and this place is pretty damn cool. Why can't this be a permanent fixture in downtown?

 

I've dreamed of asking city hall for a permit to open a German style beer garden in Hermann Park or Memorial Park, maybe even Discovery Green now. Texas has a lot of German heritage, you could get a local brewery to be the supplier. Its win-win!

I feel like this whole "affordable" housing is going about it the wrong way. A single person who receives $69K income can already afford a studio apartment at most of the wrap apartments in the loop ALREADY. This project should not receive one cent of tax payer dime. It's not affordable housing.

What they need to do is offer more space, less amenities, less "luxury", and get real families... Not two people sharing 500 square feet. Where is their child going to sleep?

The whole notion that this is "affordable" is a joke. Affordable should not mean less space, it should mean inexpensive amenities & accomodations. When did we suddenly become New York City when something that is affordable is only a studio?

"Two-thirds of them would be set aside for people who make no more than 80 percent of the area's median income."

I think that bit of information might make it a bit more palatable, no? As well, the 1/3rd left to individuals making around $70k will most likely subsidize the costs of the other 2/3rd. When people on this board complain about there being so many expensive units opening up, and what will happen to a neighborhood's residents, these are the types of projects that help stymie gentrification.

I'm almost positive every building north of University and south of Rice has roof parking/a parking garage wrapped in shops.

La Tapatia holds on, but there are no other tennants in the strip facing Richmond. I wonder how much longer it has to go, or why the owner is bothering to hold onto it anymore. I don't see how anything can be done with that location, and it doesn't mesh at all with what Richmond & the neighborhood (I live down the street from this project!) is becoming.

By the way, as part of the work on Dunlavy @ Allen Parkway, it looks like a stop-light intersection is being installed. As someone who has to dart across by foot and bike regularly, this will be a god-send.

Pretty big parking lot there, maybe they can bridge the gap with a garage and something facing W. Gray?

Live down the street, its going to be a storage center. There is a small sign that says as much, next to the permit board. So disappointing.

WHO IS STORING ALL THIS CRAP?

Seems like Retail still has to catch up with all the new multi-family housing. Last I heard the vacancy rate was very low in shopping centers.

To be fair though, most of that occupation has come from mattress stores.

If only we had some sort of system to get people moving without cars on the road.... HMMMMMM

Yea, photos never seem to do this tower justice from a distance but it does have quite a presence when approaching from anywhere on Montrose.

My fantasy is for the Aga Khan Foundation to finally:

a- do something with that f-ing plot @ Montrose & Allen Parkway or

b- sell it for someone to build a 10-15 story multi-purpose building. Talking about basement parking, shopping mall/arcade for 1-2 floors with balcony restaurants looking over the bayou, then 4-5 stories of offices and maybe a nice boutique hotel on top.

A boy can dream...

I have a feeling that's what's gonna happen.

Either in this thread or another one about The Woodlands, I believe the long term plan is to convert all the current mall parking lots into garages with GFR, making it kinda like an old-world bazaar with city surrounding it. Someone may have the photo/master plan around here...

Saw this on my way home from a bike ride, noted the crane base too. I wonder why they'd need it unless it were 4-6 stories tall?

Is this the one that is right next to the inbound side of 59?

Yep, just down the street from Little Big's and the Museum Tower on Montrose

Even before design has begun or the first shovel is dug, developers must make requests for water and sanitary sewer services to the mud or district the project is located in. If there is not enough capacity, the project doesn't move forward.

*Edit; unless the developer and MUD/District can work out a deal to increase those services, then the developer will pay for the infrastructure improvements up front, and will be reimbursed later on by the districts

Not to go crazy off topic, but it looks like that's what they have been doing for Regent Square. Ripping up elecrical utility boxes, redoing piping alongside Dunlavy...

Which floor(s) do you think that the FBI will rent apartments in that will have the best view of the Chinese consulate roof? My understanding is that the consulate does not need all of the dishes on their roof just to have Xfinity or Direct T.V.

I was running by this the other day and thought that EXACT same thing! I wonder, will there be another stake-out apartment at Mid-Main for the Chinese "Cultural Education Center"?

1. yes. the amount of trash in every bayou is staggering. go for a walk, or a bike ride after the next heavy rainstorm down one of the bayou trails, look at how much trash is floating down the bayous.

2. they can, I don't think anything is being done on this stretch. of course, what's your definition of beautified? mid 60s corps of engineer concrete lined beauty? current buffalo bayou park beauty? natural beauty? land that was abandoned from industrial use more than 50 years ago beauty? I think, if it's the latter, you're all set.

I think the ultimate issue that makes a lot of the beautification discussion kinda moot is that it's still a functional drainage waterway. We can try and control its flooding, but anything on the banks HAS to be flood-proof. No point in designing something otherwise. What that does to trash is what you hinted at - Houstonians can be careless & heartless sometimes.

Looks like it would fit right in anywhere in Western Europe. Amazing!

At least they don't hide the telephone poles...

 

btw, what's the "Hanover Residential Tower" next to Hanover Rice Village?

The tower they've cladding with brick right now!

http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/27428-hanover-southampton-12-story-resi-only/

Beat me to it, there was definitely some work going on this afternoon, looked like utility work though it's unclear if it's actually related to/the start of the project or something else.

I remember last year they were able to do the electric grid install then got shut down. This looks like it might be water utility work, so might just be another stutter step.

I'm sure the first time a worker honks their horn at 6:59:55 am, it will be shut down.

Spotted yesterday afternoon, snapped this morning.

what is this? 19th century England? come on people -.-

Sunset between Ashby and Cherokee. If it looks anything like that project does, who cares?

Thanks to all the replies. Far less disturbing than I had originally thought, but yes it would have been nice to just have grass lots instead of parking spaces. All that heat capture, no wonder people didn't want to walk around!