Sparrow
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Posts posted by Sparrow
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Not sure if it's been mentioned elsewhere, but the Young Library will be moving to the plot of land at the NWC of Griggs and MLK.
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I don't understand all the suburban jealousy and hate on here. This is modern day America--a city does not survive without its suburbs.
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I think they should take this opportunity to do something historic and help save a great example of Nicholas Clayton's
architecture here in Houston..
Here is a twist of fate that is a little ironic.
The sisters of Incarnate Word want to stay down town and build there new building where the Nicholas Clayton wing now stands.
John Nau and his group had planned on building on the adjacent block a history museum.
That failed and they are now in the process of giving the donations back.
Why not trade the vacant lot next to the school for the Nicholas Clayton building and repurpose it into a history Museum. That way the nuns can build there new campus right next door.
John Nau can save a historic landmark and possibly still create a history museum.
and the city can make a statement on historic preservation and start a new era of saving our past for the future.
Isn't that kind of what Nau was planing anyway.
A nice thought, but I would think the space would just be way too small. The next best hope for the Nau Center is to lease some of the under development retail space in the GRB.
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From what I remember, this will only take a few years, not decades to build. Crazy, I know.
Wow, you're right! 5-7 years according to some articles! Ambitious to say the least.
China builds skyscrapers in less than 3 weeks.
Egypt hopes to build a new capital city for 5 million inhabitants in less than a decade.
Here in Houston we've spent 15 years debating what to do with the Astrodome...
...and we still don't know what we're going to do with it.
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How about Green and Purple Line eastward extensions?
Continue the Green line along Harrisburg and connect to the airport via Broadway. Would be kinda interesting to see some play on the "Monopoly" theme for the Broadway/Park Place area--make it a place tourists would have to take a picture.
7 stops:
- 75th Street
- 80th Street
- Lawndale
- Keller Street
- Monopoly Plaza (transfer station)
- Bellfort
- Hobby Airport/Airport Blvd
Continue the Purple line along Long/Parkplace until Galveston Road. Fewer stops and fewer crossings will allow higher speeds in the rail right-of-way. Transfer station allows for both the Purple and Green lines to facilitate Hobby Airport travel. Main goal here is to connect light rail to biggest Houston tourist attraction--NASA. Stop a short ways away from Space Center Houston to encourage more development in the immediate area--all tourists will have to know is the train gets you to NASA.
9 stops:
- South Wayside/Cullinan Park
- Telephone/35
- Monopoly Plaza (transfer station)
- Timbercreek (north of Winkler/Richey)
- Edgebrook
- Fuqua
- Ellington Spaceport
- Bay Area Blvd/El Camino Real
- Space Center Houston/NASA/NASA Parkway/Saturn
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How about an east side CBD Blue Line?
East side development lags in all districts (Downtown, Med Center, Midtown, Northside...). Jumpstart development with a new rail line. If we're ever going to have real density thru our city's core, we can't expect everyone to walk half a mile to the nearest rail station, or for everyone to own a car. Manhattan has several parallel lines. South terminus at Fannin P&R. North terminus at Kelley and Lockwood. Purely speculative line for potential development. Have some developer create a new Greenway Plaza style development along Kelley just north of the loop--land/buyouts should be relatively cheap--prime freeway location. Elysian/Hardy will see even less traffic if the HTR extension ever gets built.
22 stops each direction:
- Fannin P&R
- Holly Hall
- Hepburn
- OST
- Holcombe
- Hermann Park
- Southmore/Binz
- Blodgett/Wheeler
- Alabama
- Elgin/Baldwin Park
- McGowen/Hadley
- Jefferson
- Dallas/Shopping District/Discovery Green
- Texas
- Commerce/Buffalo Bayou Park
- Burnett
- Quitman
- Collingsworth
- Cavalcade
- Jensen
- Hirsch
- Lockwood
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Very smart political move by the Egyptian government. The decades this new capital city will take to build will ensure jobs for decades to come. An employed population is a happy population.
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Why has Downtown developed so vertically without zoning while Midtown in large part has not?
Blocks are the same size. Streets are constructed just as well. One would assume the same quality utilities are present. The geology should be similar. Why build vertically in Downtown and not in Midtown?
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Not sure exactly how long the TCR high speed rail station for Downtown would need to be, but how about putting it on the east side of MMP where the Astros premium parking is now? Sort of a "New" Union Station.
There's the proposal out there to bring it toward Downtown using the I-10 corridor, just bring it a bit farther east and come south along Hamilton (all elevated of course). Any 59 expansion wouldn't effect this parcel anyhow given it's proximity to the GRB.
If the city abandons Hamilton from Congress down to Texas, so be it. It's not a vital roadway anyhow. New home for the New Hope housing? With pleasure. The Astros parking lots on the east side of 59 could be developed, or at least sizable garages (with GFR of course) could be built.
METRO already has light rail in the area and it is very convenient for car access. A taxi stand could be created by making a dedicated taxi only lane between the station and MMP. Connect MMP directly to New Union Station and the garages/development across 59 via skybridges as well as to the GRB.
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Eliminating the current I-45 alignment in favor of a dual signed eastern side 59 and 45 would be a BIG mistake.
Imagine the gridlock one little fender bender will create. The whole system will begin to back up because of the choke point. At least now if the east side is backed up you can go around the west side of Downtown to bypass the problem and vice versa. That one little accident would put thousands of cars onto Downtown streets trying to bypass the gridlock.
To improve flows on the Pierce:
1) Create a west side of Midtown highway so that Southwest Freeway to/from North Freeway traffic bypasses the Pierce altogether. Create a two lane cut-and-cover Spur extension under both Smith and Louisiana. Create exits/entrances at Elgin, McGowen, and Gray in addition to a direct connector to/from 45.
2) Create a 45 to 288 S direct connector similarly to what being done with the 610/290/10 interchange to eliminate the backups and weaving that happens after exiting the Pierce.
3) Eliminate the 59/288 exit to 45 North at the Pierce. Create a dedicated direct connector north of Downtown for 45 North Freeway bound traffic from 288 (or 59 drivers that didn't take the Spur).
What's even better is the direct connectors can be built without completely shutting down freeways for years at a time as other proposals may require. Cut-and-cover of a bypass under Smith and Louisiana thru Midtown wouldn't be pretty, but it wouldn't be devastating if done a block or two at a time.
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By anjacob on Reddit
For all those hoping and wishing for a unified skyline from Downtown to the Med Center, this is a depressing reminder of how far we have yet to go...
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Less than 4 weeks to go until start of service!
Metro is still set to begin on April 11th, right?
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Armpit of Houston? Elysian/Hardy area from Downtown up to the North Loop. No retail to speak of. Maybe a gas station or two. There corridor just screams "lock your doors!" West side of North Side will be redeveloped long before the east side--if ever...
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The extent of westward expansion will depend largely upon development (or lack thereof) of the Prairie Parkway. New highways lead to new master planned communities. On that note, the next big development area has to be along and north of the under construction Grand Parkway between 290 and 249--even moreso if they continue extending the Tomball Tollway as the Aggie Expressway.
What will be more interesting is if/when the high speed rail is built and if/when the College Station/Huntsville area (Shiro) station is built, to what degree will that area evolve as a city.
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Skyhouse isn't a for-sale building. They are all rentals. Ditto for the Ashby.
I realize they are apartments not condos. But what I'm saying is if you were to build a SkyHouse high-rise and sell (instead of rent) off the units at only a $200k average, you'd still be making a profit. How long before some other developer catches on to the business model they've employed building the same building over and over again. It's just like building the same 5 varieties of house out in the burbs--but it seems to be much more efficient and profitable on much less land.
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Very little doubt in my mind that this is an Aldi grocery store.
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At what equilibrium point do developers scrap the townhouse or wrap apartment plans and go the SkyHouse route? If SkyHouse sold each of their 336 units for $300k (low ball average estimate) they'd take in just over $100M. If I remember correctly their buildings cost in the range of $50-60M. Houston has no zoning--why aren't other developers building these all over town? Even a $200K price point would put you above break even.
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The one thing about Metcalf that I think were missing here is not that he's against rail--he's against rail going somewhere else. He wants it for his county, so his strategy seems to be to stir up the pot of rural land owners to create backlash that necessitates using the I-45 corridor.
This is a little different than the Culberson anti-rail agenda. If high speed rail went down 45 it would not have a station in Montgomery County at first, but no doubt such a line would lead to a station eventually--and increased land values and property taxes--one day in the future when the "economics" favor such a station. If the rail line is way out in Grimes County, Montgomery County stands to lose out on those dollar signs. He's not a NIMBY like Culberson, he's a OIMBY--Only In My Backyard (or I'll put up a big stink so nobody gets it).
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Are there any other good spots in downtown that could work for the HSR station?
Sure the engineering would be a challenge, but not impossible. I still say find a way to build the station on top of the GRB.
That's about as central as you'll get in Downtown without tunneling. It wouldn't take much to connect it to the tunnel system. It's already along the light rail. Access via car is the best you'll achieve. Adding thousands of parking spaces near the GRB, Toyota Center, Minute Maid, and BBVA Compass would be well received. My God what a memorable first view we would give to our visitors up there. I'm sure the city could work out some sort of deal with TCR that eliminates the land acquisition costs that would be associated with a station anywhere else (perhaps allow use of the roof for free provided all engineering/construction is paid by TCR and the station is built such that it could be used for commuter rail at an undetermined future date should the city so wish). Think of how many more conventions Houston would attract with such a unique station. It'd be a great way to keep the area lively when conventions aren't going on as well. Talk about mixed use: office, hotel, retail, transportation, parking garage, and civic uses. Let's find a way to put in a residential tower too and call it a day. GRB would become one of the most mixed-use buildings in the world.
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"Lockhard" Elementary. C'mon NewQuest. Proofread!
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One would think selling off the current, valuable property west of Downtown would offset a large portion of the costs of a move to the Exxon building. I thought that was a given assumption. Surely the market value of that piece of land would be considered for the financial viability of a move to 800 Bell.
Selling the property will increase tax revenue as it puts land back on the tax rolls. The numbers from the above referenced article come in short of $900M over the estimated 30 year lease--significantly lower than the estimated $1B+ cost to rebuild on the current property. Seems like a no brainer to me.
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If HEB can build two-story grocery stores over parking amongst housing in San Antonio and they are proposing the same along Bissonnett, surely one would think they would consider the same for Downtown.
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Gensler's "4 Corners" 2025 master plan.
What's the diagonally oriented building at Lamar and LaBranch just to the southwest of the park? I realize it's just a potential scenario from 2011 or so, but so many other items from the proposal seem to be based on some fact. My apologies if I missed this somewhere else.
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How are they achieving that blue colored water anyhow? Is that a dye job or are they relying on a design characteristic?
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Augusta Pines Walmart On Kuykendahl Rd.
in Other Houston Neighborhoods
Posted
New Augusta Pines Super Walmart on the Houston Planning Commission agenda for April 2nd. SEC of Kuykendahl and Augusta Pines Drive, immediately south of The Woodlands Village of Creekside Park.
It would be interesting to poll the area residents if they prefer the current trailer park or the Walmart that will replace about 17 acres of it.