Luminare

*facepalms*

If they do scrap the tower position I really hope they go with the pocket park concept for that lot..but this being Houston odds are a surface parking lot

Wow. Whatever. If y'all want to waste time speculating about this nonsense. Fine.

This is actually how you get additional LEED credits as well, is by making sure that some of these materials gets recycled into the new building. It's a headache all around lol, but if you get a well organized contractor then it can be done. What's more unique about Houston than in other cities as you have mentioned is that we have a very strong palette of trades that are able to use these materials. Most people think that everyone can use concrete or steel, but we are lucky to be living in such a big city that has all these trades particularly for concrete. I mean why do you think it's used so much here. It's probably the strongest trade here.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/transportation/article/U-S-290-plans-change-to-single-managed-lane-5859418.php?cmpid=twitter-premium&t=842f3cee94

So this was dropped this morning. I actually like the redesign, but I don't understand why they can't do it like what they did for the Katy Freeway?!

I swear these people are completely inept...

Thrown away?!? Do you have any clue that scrap is recycled and worth money to the Demolition Contractor? All that concrete will be recycled. I venture to say 90% of that pile will not be thrown away.

Yeah dude chill lol. No need to jump all over him

It's a LEED Platinum building meaning that of course the vast majority of these materials have to be recycled so they can get the points (also for those that don't know the reason ).

http://houston.culturemap.com/news/innovation/10-23-14-speeding-forward-205-mph-bullet-train-between-houston-and-dallas-plans-its-high-speed-routes-in-10-billion-project/

Man they are really getting close with these routes. Both of the ones where they are focusing their study miss either Huntsville, Waco, and College Station. It seems they are trying to get the most direct route possible. While it would have been nice for it to go through college station, I think it's a given that commuter rail will go through there eventually. These routes look fine to me though! What does everyone else think?

I don't disagree that it's shortsighted, but another part of it is that it's being seen as an imposition of foreign technology on rural areas that they didn't ask for. One comment was made that while trains might be good for the Japanese, Texans like trucks.

 

We all chuckled at that, but there's no doubt that these are very deeply felt sentiments.

 

One of the things that I did not understand was the strong concern with the lack of notice. There are clear legal requirements for notice that appear to have been met, but some of the attendees would not have been happy with anything short of someone going around and knocking on every door within a 30 mile radius of the line, and leaving materials. Needless to say, this would be an extraordinarily unreasonable request.

First off, "Texans like trucks" I could say so many expletives to this....ugh!!! I'm sure their father and his father before them were like, 'What's an automobile? Nothing beats an old horse and buggy!" These are also the same kind of people that oppose the mechanization of farming, but now they all use it! I'm sure they miss all the hard labor that was extremely expensive. It's not like they already get subsides just like other industries do. Etc... Etc....

I have a lot of respect for farmers and those who like living in rural areas I really really do, they are wonderful people who have great perspectives on life, but this is just....UGHHHHH!!!!

The second is the door to door thing. Man first thing we are doing is telling the next Governor to bring wifi to ever single part of Texas so everyone has internet >.< !!!!

Ok I know some of this sounds terrible probably lol Been a late night at work. This was the icing on the cake xD

I've thought the post office site would make for an excellent site for a railway station. If properly marketed, office space constructed above a state-of-the art rail station with accompanying retail could have appeal. Think of St. Pancras station in London with a tower similar to the Transbay tower over it. Unfortunately, such a station would require a partnership with a far-seeing developer with the patience wait for the construction and preparation of the remainder of the line. 

You would be surprised that when the vision is that big, and the payday is bigger than what immediate returns they think they would make if they flipped it quickly, how patient they can be. I think sometimes we jump on developers a little too quickly. A project like this of this size will also, most likely, seek foreign investment. Foreign investors, because they aren't wrapped up in local affairs and probably have other interests else where want their properties to be developed in the best and biggest way possible. Of course we don't know where TCR will pull investment from (especially since such a project is very unprecedented).

In fact this is an interesting topic of discussion. Who else knows of any recent privately funded railways of this magnitude?? I really don't have any. Companies of course will do work on the project and provide stuff, but usually they are all handled by local, state, or federal government. This is probably the biggest push for new rail line by a private entity in DECADES!!! Pretty profound stuff happening here and has wide reaching implications going into the future. Lets give TCR credit for even getting this far! I mean this isn't some pipe dream anymore. It's a legitimate enterprise. Once we start getting more info in terms of financial backing, then it will become official to many. Whatever we continue to speculate on, lets remember that we are pushing into uncharted territory, realm of the unknown, etc... Sure we have examples of rail lines from the past, but this is a very different situation.

It's about access.  

 

From a farmer or rancher's standpoint, a power line or gas line ROW might as well be invisible.  A regular railroad track will likely be in the way, since they're generally fenced, but they also have at grade crossings for minor roads and driveways, often protected only by an unlit crossbuck.  That, and most of them have been in place for upwards of 100 years.  However, the high speed rail ROW needs to be isolated for safety reasons, and that means no more grade crossings thrown about with abandon.  The fear is that it's going to be in effect the Great Wall of China East Texas, even though (as others point out) there are accommodations that can be and are made.  But even with accommodations, there's going to be what the law calls a "taking." Those whose property rights are taken (including the right of access) should be and are compensated.

 

Similar arguments get made whenever a highway is built from scratch or rerouted.

Correct on all counts. Even driveways that go over the current rail line would also have to go under the rail line or over it. It's too dangerous to have free running, whether it be animal, human, or vehicle. In the grand scheme these are minor inconveniences, but at the end of the day the company will do whatever it needs to do to appease these property owners because guess what....they will already be planning the next rail line once this is underway!

I also wanted to add one more thing to what I posted earlier. Lets remember that it's important that this is a private company that is planning this out instead of a government entity. This won't be the only high speed (or even rail line period that they build). Maybe it does only get to NW Mall, but it would be silly to think that they won't keep an extension in mind or in planning so it can be built later. Having a successful business is about having successive goals down the line and knowing how you are going to expand your market. They know that even at the costs it will be more cost effective overall if it is at Downtown or they have a plan to get all the way to downtown eventually because that's going to put more butts in seats.

Looks like the plan has changed.

Thank you for posting this update, but is this a sign that fell over or is this really a cancellation of a project? Not necessarily you, but it would be nice if someone could clarify this.

Responding to the question about how the HSR cuts off access when it's in an existing ROW - 

 

The infrastructure in utility rights of way is up in the air and/or underground, unless it's a canal.  At most, you might have to go through a couple gates to cross it - and many utility ROWs aren't even separately fenced out in the boonies.  A high speed rail line will have to be isolated from the adjacent property so that livestock doesn't come wandering onto it; my understanding is that there aren't even at grade crossings in the high speed area for safety reasons.

What I've seen in other countries, especially during my time in Germany and Italy is that the people laying the rail will make accommodations like underpasses going below grade at various points on whoever property they are crossing. I actually think that this is a relatively non-issue but is being overstated like many concerns are. It's a concern, but it's not enough to shoot down a whole rail line or even a proposed route. It simply needs attention and cooperation between both parties. In terms of environment impact the biggest will be migratory patterns of various wild life. This is what I think might make a route going through Huntsville harder because there is simply way more forest than in the Brazos Valley. Again though it shouldnt kill any routes or overall plans it just needs understanding and cooperation to execute.

I attended last night as well, and most of your assessments were right on. I also noticed that the majority of comments were NIMBY-ish in nature, which is surprising given the reported acceptance in the Dallas meeting.

 

I did agree with the civil engineers' concern about the adaptability of Shinkansen technology to FRA regulations. In particular, if tracks are shared with either the BNSF or UP lines at any point, the use of the technology will be impossible, as FRA weight requirements will not be met with the technology as it exists.

 

Several comments were made about adapting the project to have a commuter component. While I'm firmly in support of commuter rail, I did think that the forum was inappropriate for the discussion of those projects, since TCR wouldn't be involved at all, nor ought it to be given the requirements of a high-speed corridor. However, the FRA representative did indicate that connectivity would be a large consideration when it came to route recommendations; I'd imagine routes would be less favored if they removed the possibility of future commuter rail along the same corridor.

 

I was somewhat perplexed at the strong opposition that many Rice Military residents had presented, given that they already live near an operating rail line whose equipment is much noisier than that being proposed here. Further concerns about takings seem unwarranted given the high property value of the area; any option that involved purchasing or expropriation would likely not be cost-effective.

 

However, given the above, it seems that a downtown station is much less likely than a Northwest Mall location. Political opposition from an affluent area, along with last-mile cost considerations, make it much more difficult to get to downtown Houston. This is in particular contrast to Dallas, where the line would run through lower-income areas within the urbanized zone.

I think of Rice Military as another Afton Oaks, but instead of ranch style suburban homes, insert townhomes. I think they project an affluence that isn't as big as they think. Instead they just have a louder voice than others around them. Aside from them??? Not THAT much of a last mile cost. I think we are once again projecting past perceptions and perceived costs that might not even exist. There is certainly a growth going on in Rice Military and deeper into downtown, but not to where it will escalate land values significantly. Seriously look at maps though of the areas surrounding the current rail line that passes that area and you will see you are still running through some of the poorest areas of town (this is whether you are approaching it from the west or the north!) The only way an option going downtown might get squeezed is if they fail to get the land at which the station will stop at. The two places will be the Post Office Site, or Hardy Yards. I think that with the continued progressive nature of current and possible future City governments it would be financially smart to sell off that land for something they would get back immense returns. Hardy is simply open land and just needs to be acquired.

In response to the concern with grade rail that would be used here. I can't get around such narrow thinking. They would probably keep whatever rail that is there now for existing train traffic and then build new rail using new track because it requires a completely different system/grade of track. I just thinks it's funny how a world can not exist where both rails co-habitat on the same area.

I will finally add that NW Mall location isn't really that bad, in fact it would be a great spot, but I think that they will keep that station open ended for later additions to downtown if they want to continue on later. Lets not remember that what gets approved here isn't the final rail line that ever gets or has a chance of going here. It's only the beginning. It's going to have some misunderstanding, some contention, and a lot a lot of worries about things that are, in the end, very small.

Lol. I just noticed that.

lol Yeah I didn't notice that either for awhile. I know what it's like to Misspell titles on Forums and its a good feeling -.- You gotta give a heads up though and support them in making the correction.

I remember I was like.....ok I'm not that great of a speller, but I know this is missing a letter somewhere!

Oh right, because weve never had a project delayed indefinitely, scrapped, scaled back or shelved here in Houston. My bad.

But this is pretty standard in an industry where a lot of things have to go right to make something happen! It's also ludicrous for people in general (this isn't specific to you or anyone) to place this particular label on Houston alone as if we are a special case or we live in some kind of bubble or under a depressing rain cloud that doesn't affect anyone else. It's just silly. I literally can not comprehend why people CHOOSE to subject themselves to that.

Not to mention it's incredibly irresponsible when someone throws this kind of conversational grenade simply to turn the discussion into a topic of failure. It's pretty obvious that this was the intention or the person did this for lulz and we shouldn't be distracted by it. This of course could become part of the discussion once the person has backed up his/her wild claim by fact, press release, inside information, etc...

Until then it should be ignored. I mean look at the incredible scope of the project and it's actually underway! It's making significant progress and this is only the early phases of it. Unless someone has info to the contrary then I'm inclined to believe that it's not only doing pretty well, but will build the full scope of the project.

FYI to whoever changed the thread title....Catalyst is spelled wrong (hint: missing an 'a') >.>

Come on people...this pessimism is really annoying -.- How do you even expect them to build the tower when they are still in the beginning stages of the renovation portion? Lets use some common sense and also a little less "oh woe is us" junk.

Once the renovation of Buffalo Bayou is complete, do you all think this will be the premier park in Houston or will Herman Park keep that title?

Honestly? Why does that even matter?

Is it really to much to ask for renderings or at least elevations of this thing -.- The fact that we don't know the architect, nor have we seen what this thing will look like has me worried.

My guess is an indoor ski-slope!

 

That would be a game changer!

NO!! .....No, bad arche!!! BAD

LOL that Chron.com comment section!

Probably the Uptown Park redevelopment.

It's not just those areas of the world as well. We also have a good number of European Consulates. Houston is after all one of the biggest port cities in the world and plays big in international commerce so its going to have quite a few from all around the world.

Apparently the demolition is being halted.....again! Seriously if these people didn't want the demolition to happen then where were these people at the HISD Bond election? Or just HISD board meetings in general? This is getting ridiculous!

http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Demolition-of-old-Wheatley-building-on-hold-5845300.php

A summery of this entire thread lol. Apologies in advance if anyone is offended by the B word  Also yes this man isn't a role model for any kind of acceptable standards, but this quote is pretty compelling.

Tried the best I could

 

Sorry for the side ways pictures, I don't know how to fix that

So I guess we hereby promote you to HAIF guerrilla photographer! Congrats No seriously it's a nice perspective

The fact of the matter is that we both don't live in Dallas nor are we stake holders in this project.....so why be constrained by the thoughts of "is this unreasonable", "this will fail as currently proposed". Why think this way? I simply do not understand that kind of pessimism (this is btw not an attack on you personally. I'm simply asking a innocent question here). I literally can never understand things such as this unless you are the; end-user, you are loaning this project money, the designer of the project, the city of Dallas, or the CEO of this Turkish company. If you aren't one of those players in this game then we are relegated to being bystanders, and instead of being the doubter I would rather be the cheerleader (or since I went to A&M a Yell Leader lol). You are right. Nothing here is set in stone, and maybe it does seem extremely fantastical, but I think I said this in the High Speed Rail thread...what is preventing some in here from really thinking big or thinking at the next level pushing the boundaries of what is possible.