Luminare
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Posts posted by Luminare
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16 minutes ago, cityliving said:
This Montrose marketplace is a joke, reminds me of a flea market in a third world country, the owners of the property didn’t even bother removing that crappy sign from the corner that was left there from the previous shopping center that was torn down,
Oh lord... we can't have the rabble with their darn dirty tailgating tents.
Besides, this is merely a temporary installation until something actually happens with the property, so you rest easy at night.
I'm curious about your opinion on open markets elsewhere since you just seem to make an association that this is only something one finds in third world countries. Maybe, I don't know, take a stroll along The Seine, The Spree, The Thames, every local market in the Balkans, every little German town market (Mauer Park in Berlin?), every fishery in little Italian city/town, or tourist trap areas in Rome, Florence....I can keep going but please enlighten us about a more sophisticated solution free of peasants.
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19 hours ago, hindesky said:
The Montrose Marketplace is getting more and more people and vendors every week. The warmer weather certainly helps.
Would be cool if that entire block was permanently an open air market place. Definitely not possible given that piece of land is so valuable. My hope is someone sees the success of this and replicates it on a nearby block somewhere.
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1 hour ago, august948 said:
Just larger variations on the "bridge of death" play. If they know what they're doing, TCR should already be expecting stuff like this to keep coming until tracks are laid and trains are running.
or in life its similar to what is know as a "sh i t test". Something specifically designed to test you to see if you are actually what you say you are. You fail the test if you fold, make concessions, or start walking backwards from a lack of confidence. Luckily it doesn't seem like they are walking back, making concessions, or folding, but I'm sure it must be incredibly frustrating. I mean they had to first go through a multi-year Environmental Impact Study (which is already bogus to begin with), but that alone should be enough to make the claim that you are a railroad. Its a game. I understand that there are and will always be games like this, but its getting really silly and unethical at this point. The only thing TCR can do right now is wait for a judgement on the current case that establishes they are a railroad. Once that is cleaned up they can get started on building, and then in the meantime they should threaten to sue every county for walking back their promises.
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13 hours ago, Triton said:
Ladies in Gentlemen welcome to the world of politics. First you grant tax exemptions because they are railroad. Then you file a lawsuit claiming that they are not a railroad. Then you revoke said tax exemptions because you claim they aren't a railroad, and now if you are Texas Central you are stuck with taxes you didn't think you had to pay, and stuck with property you can't build on because counties and people are suing you because apparently in this post-modern world we live in you can make up whatever interpretation for the word "railroad" you want if it aligns with your political viewpoint. Brilliant......
Heres the thing though. None of this matters if the Supreme Court sides with TCR and states the obvious which is...yes you are a railroad. Then TCR will be able to successfully sue all these counties which revoked tax exemptions for political and arbitrary reasons. These counties and people are playing a stupid silly game, and I hope they win stupid and silly prizes.
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1 hour ago, Montrose1100 said:
It's basically catty corner to other high rises along a major thoroughfare?
Its also outside the historic district, on a property that is an "unrestricted reserve" which means they literally can do and have it look like however they want.
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1 hour ago, Paco Jones said:
Hello and thank you for your reply. You make very good points and I don't disagree with you.
I would like to add some clarification, though. The renderings that I shared for the Heights project are true to the Heights project itself. They are part of the DD drawings (5th progressive set) and are reflective of the Architectural and Structural plan sets. I thought this information might be helpful so that others would know that the renderings were not found by themselves somewhere and are part of the construction documents.
It is very possible that the renderings could be used as a basis of design for future developments, though. There are a few additional elevations for the Heights project that are provided as cost saving alternate pricing deductions to the base construction cost (and schedule). So it would make sense to start with a base conception for future developments and then simply make changes on the overall building to accommodate the site and location. It would give the developer a good price point to work with when establishing the overall cost budget
Thank you.
That all makes sense to me. Good clarification on your part. Definitely the Heights project was developed first, and probably during discussions they said, we like this project hey by the way we have this other property that we would like to develop as well. Can we use this as a base for the next project?
This happens a lot. In fact I'm currently working on a project where we are taking a basic apartment layout from a previous job and moving it to another job, but just doing a reskin. It is what it is. If a form or aesthetic works and is profitable then its something worth repeating. Alexan, Pearl, Hanover do this as well. Its just how the market works especially when margins are tight, but you want to pump out a lot of units and projects.
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3 hours ago, hindesky said:
The reason I think it might be is that Us Living and Vero Sade are connected. The Vero Sade description in their render and the TDLR description are the same. Of course renders rarely are what is built.
I'd have to push back on that last sentence. Its not rare that renders are rarely are what is built, its that renders that don't convey what is possible are rarely built. I also think this forum is a double edge sword in some ways. Its great that laypeople get a chance to see the evolution of projects, but at the same time the first image that's shown is what ends up being their (the average layperson's) vision of the project, and if they don't keep up with the process then by the time something is built and they see it built for the first time since an initial render in predesign then they ask why something doesn't look like the render. The question is, what render? The render from a week before construction only distributed in-house, or the pre-design render or design documentation render that was floated to city council as a one off to clear a hurdle. Big difference. Most projects actually do look like their renders. Sometimes you can gauge a quality of a project by its render, and sometimes you just can't. Especially with rising costs these days, and with improvements to realtime rendering, the client is not going to begin construction unless they see an updated render on the eve of construction.
3 hours ago, Paco Jones said:Just to add to the confusion...
The renderings shown on the Vero Sade website for Heights and W. Alabama are the same renderings and are are for the Heights project. I don't know what the W. Alabama project looks like yet, but perhaps it's similar.
I think I said this in a previous post, but if Preston is designing both and Us Living is a partner of Vero Sade then it stands to believe that Preston is the architect for both which owns the instruments of service and design copyright for one which could be used for the other (aka why we can have two copies of Skyhouse). I'd imagine the company wants to do multiples and make it known that they are building these as one type of branded theme, scheme, or idea. The sites are very different, and I'm not a fan of duplicate designs even for the same client, but aesthetics can be the same just the forms would have to be adjusted. I haven't seen anything in the Heights renders that tells me that that design is so specific to the Heights that it can't be transferred over. It certainly can be done.
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On 3/21/2022 at 6:40 PM, KirbyDriveKid said:
They're airplane window photos so apologies for the quality, but figured I'd share my shots from the ever-scenic Hobby Airport takeoff path.
Awesome shots!
Do we seriously not know anyone that operates a helicopter or has a pilots license? We have a bunch of drone operators on here, but it still doesn't beat a shot from a plane or a helicopter.-
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55 minutes ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:
The sidewalk on one side is blocked halfway through the tunnel.
My guess is some kind of barrier will be installed at some point soon.
Could be. It would have to be a gate with a mechanism that allows you to immediately open it from the inside only. That is really the only way to do it because if its an emergency sidewalk to clear out the tunnel in an emergency, therefore its a means of egress, then you can't put a barrier that doesn't allow for immediate exit. I'm wondering if this was city official mucking around after the fact because if this was truly only for emergency egress then they would have already put in the one way exit gate per plan and they wouldn't need the temporary barriers. Or it could have been contractor error. Maybe they skipped the submittal or the lead time on a gate took so long it would have impeded the deadline. Maybe it was the architect who forgot to include a gate as part of the design. Who knows. What I do know is that gate is begging to be hopped haha. Also what I know is that in about 4 weeks I'll be in Houston and I'm looking forward to driving through it. When that happens I'll take a closer look.
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On 3/26/2022 at 10:30 PM, sapo2367 said:
I asked about this at one of their open houses. The walkways in the tunnels are for emergencies only — there will be separate trail infrastructure for walkers/ bikers outside of the tunnels.
1 hour ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:The temporary signs say "This is NOT a sidewalk." I also read that pedestrians are to use separate trails. And anyway, why would anyone in their right mind want to walk through that next to traffic? The noise would be terrible.
Hey I'm fine with both explanations. Prefer to have separate travel between car and pedestrians anyway. Though it would be fun to hear the acoustics inside. Besides when since a sign that tells you "this is NOT a sidewalk" ever really stopped anyone from using something that is clearly a sidewalk...not me. Then again I'm the kind of guy that looks at the "closed sidewalk" sign telling you to cross the street, and in return I say "screw them" and keep walking forward haha.
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5 hours ago, Houston19514 said:
Perhaps it's been edited, but the article says "vehicle traffic only". I don't see anything about not allowing buses, motorcycles or trucks. It also says "a commuter trail south of the tunnels will open for bike traffic but until that opens bikes have been rerouted to a new permanent trail on the south side of the Land Bridge and prairie project."
I think one of the ideas of the master plan is to separate motorized vehicular traffic from bicycle and pedestrian/jogger/runner traffic, so I doubt those "sidewalks" are intended for bicycle or pedestrian use.
Those look like pedestrian sidewalks to me. It even has bollards and chains which is smart. The bridge also looks like its either standard highway overpass height or a little taller. No reason to ever design a bridge that can't fit a semi or even a double decker bus.
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1 hour ago, Amlaham said:
This article suggests the W Hotel will start construction later this year 🥳, who knows how accurate that is but its some kind of update!
It really depends on the company, location, portfolio, and access to labor and resources. Some are doing better than others, but what is being said in this statement is very real. Some are probably willing to kick off projects soon because they are tired of waiting, and have to many pending projects on their portfolios and need to satisfy investors or they will lose money, and at the same time their is a real possibility that we might fall into a full blown recession in the next 6-8 months, so time is ticking for many. Project budgets in bid are going through the roof right now because of shortage of labor, lead times on materials, and material shortages. The only reason why construction is still do pretty well is because of the backlog of projects that would have started in 2020 and 2021 now being activated. Of course I don't know everything that is going on, especially in Houston, but this is from my own observations over time. If anyone else has further knowledge or corrections please feel free to comment. In general people should be happy any projects get built right now period. I don't ever like to sound bleak, as its certainly not my default or my reputation both in life or on this forum, but the economic situation is very real.
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We really need more of these around. Looks nice, and low key. Blends in really well with the landscape.
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3 minutes ago, Specwriter said:
I'm also a proponent of honesty in materials. I shudder when I see metal panels that are finished to look like wood - and they only look that way from a distance. 🙂 Perhaps the designer was just trying to add visual interest while maintaining the budget.
Luminare, when you write cheap do you intend that it doesn't look "high-end?" If so, I agree but I must say concrete and CMU are not cheap in initial cost or the labor it takes to put them in place. They are, however, durable and are a good budget decision long-term which is what most institutional clients are looking for.
Wood studs and OSB sheathing are cheap(er) and, unfortunately, that is what we are seeing on many affordable housing projects. Their lower construction cost will make rents more affordable in the beginning but the long-term maintenance costs, if there is any maintenance at all, will be significant.
Then again wood frame construction may be fine for the intended service life of the building. Most of the wood framed apartment buildings that came about in the 1970s have survived several decades or at least until they were replaced.
Mean cheap in the visual and aesthetic sense. Great question though. I really love concrete's aesthetics particularly when you imprint patterns into it like one does with board form. I don't like when cement is used to look like other things. In this regard faux is cheap. They are trying to seem more aesthetically pleasing and luxury, but are going about it in the cheapest and faux way possible. I don't care if something is cheap or even looks cheap. Just don't be cheap while trying to look more than what you are. Not a good look and historically this fades over time. As for products like OSB I really like it. Its simply wood that is fragmented and laminated to give you a sheet for a particular cost. Its an honest material, with actual aesthetic value at its face, but has great utility. I wouldn't even mind products like Hardiboard if it wasn't used be a substitute for wood. Just say its concrete/cement board. We have to in the specs why can't we be honest about it? I don't know.
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15 hours ago, Specwriter said:
It may not have been cheap-cheap to build but it should be durable which is great for student housing. The dorm I lived in my freshman year in college had CMU walls between the rooms and along the corridors. Half the people who lived there were animals; the rest of us were just careless. 🙂 At least the school splurged on vinyl tile instead of bare concrete for the floors.
Oh I'm okay with student housing in general being cheap. Not a fan of the over emphasis on "luxury" for student dorms, housing, apartments, etc... I don't believe it to be sustainable long term. I mean more cheap in quality of materials and aesthetics. Rather their be more honesty in regards to materials being what than are than pass them off as something they are not. That's just my design/aesthetic sense. Overall they did a serviceable it looks like with the budget and program they had.
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3 hours ago, rechlin said:
So many different exterior finishes. I count gray painted concrete, gray painted bricks (maybe CMUs?), reddish-brown bricks, gray stucco/EIFS, brown stained wood, gray painted wood/Hardiplank (maybe two different shades?), multiple shades of trim, and white windows. And of course two more different kinds of bare/treated wood for the fence and garage gate. Isn't that a bit much? Did they just pick up random construction materials from various abandoned construction sites and combine them to have enough for one building?
Just glancing at it, this is all entirely cement and concrete. The "Brown" wood plank is a Fiber Cement board that mimics the look and color of stained wood. The Stucco is either a Fiber Cement Panel, or its a Cement to mimic Stucco, Hardi Plank in the back. You are right about the CMU. Its just a CMU that mimics the look of stone. Other than that the rest are real materials (the metal panel, brick, etc...). I didn't know this was student housing so this must have been a very cheap build with a low budget. Honestly though it doesn't look to bad for what it is. Could have been worse, but this is very cheap.
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Maybe they should name this one "Lawn Dart" for hitting the bullseye in a see of nothing much around.
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Really dig the Strong Reds and Blues in this. I like that they went with a darker brick than the more tan brick in the original renders. As for form its not my cup of tea. There are a lot of awkward moments in this that don't match the traditional look this is trying to go for, but overall they built what they said they were going to build in the render (not as easy as people think), and used some good colors.
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I'm only looking for Populist candidates. No matter if they are left or right. Since this thread is about the GOP, here are some of my thoughts;
1) Anyone that has been associated with the GOP establishment over the past few decades is DOA when it comes to nomination. Anyone that is associated with the NeoCons is also DOA. Anyone associated with previous impeachment efforts is DOA. Anyone who supports the prevailing narrative of Jan 6th (btw this isn't about whether I believe the narrative or not or whether I believe in any alternatives. I'm simply speaking pragmatically and as a populist and what I understand the Trump base to be) is DOA. This for me crosses out Pence, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley. Richard Scott I actually don't know very well, but as much as I tune into politics if I haven't heard of him then you can bet your average voter hasn't.
2) Right now the GOP has solid Governors who have strong consolidation politically within their states, but near zero have a ton of influence outside of their states. DeSantis comes the closest since he has been mimicking Trump the most, but without the blunt edge and chaos of Trump. This will lead more into my next point in a sec. Because very few Governors have broader national appeal, in my opinion, this quickly eliminates Kristi Noem.
3) Whoever can rally the Trump base, but appeal to your typical country club / Rhino Republican will be the clear frontrunner. Its a hard balance to strike, but will see who can be the most pragmatic and flexible. As illustrated in my previous point DeSantis is by far the closest. On the exterior he looks like your typical cookie-cutter Republican, but his mannerisms and speech have matched Trump pretty well. DeSantis is also constantly pushing the message forward, and bringing up issues that matter, and furthermore is actually implementing policy in his state which proves he can lead by example. Again with DeSantis, the jury is still out whether he has broad national appeal. I don't know if he does yet. Pence.....well Pence is just plane F'ed. He has no base unless the establishment can pull a ground game like the Dems did with Biden, and can sell Pence good with the media. Otherwise, Pence is toast. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley are very similar, and I think this will be their biggest problem come primary season. What makes them different? They both tend to hang in the same circles, hang with a particular base of the GOP, are not Rhino but at the same time not MAGA. They need to commit right now to an audience or they can forget even trying. Kristi Noem knows how to talk like a populist, but is she? I think thats what everyone is trying to figure out right now. Is she MAGA or is she a reformed Rhino? Who knows. I think the first debate will really show if she is dedicated to running at all.
4) That leaves Trump. Really he is still the best candidate, but even his ticket is...well awkward. The benefit Trump has right now is basically Biden is making Trumps case for him. The last State of the Union was basically a Dem "MAGA Light" pitch, but Trump is MAGA, is the better Capitalist, actually was working on the Border, and understood who was the real international threat (China). Everyday it seems more and more statements Trump has made in the past or coming more and more true. Its really funny by the way. I'm not even saying the guy was a genius or always right, but the current Ukraine War is highlighting a lot of what were Trumps focus during his Pres. Problem from Trump is; one he is old as heck. He definitely has more spring in his step than Biden, but Trump will be the oldest ever elected if he wins. I'm not cool with that. Two, Trump still refuses to build on his base of support by building an institution of populists who can help Trump and his base keep power and fill positions once in office. I was interested if Trump would pull an Andrew Jackson and create a new populist party, but that is never going to happen. Three, whether some like it or not, the dude is still polarizing. He ain't going to win or convince anyone new except for independents finally waking up to why Biden was a lame choice.
5) In the end, it really is a battle between Trump and DeSantis. The only outsider I'm interested in who could really do something if he wins his battle for Governor is J. D. Vance. A true conservative populist, who understands the issues. Can relate to Trumps base, but at the same time has a more sophisticated edge that can be more approachable to new audiences looking for change. I'm definitely all ears if anyone knows others.
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If you are ever having a bad day, just look at this project and remind yourself, "Well I could be worse." I know I do.
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Should these be merged? @Urbannizer @Highrise Tower
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17 hours ago, aachor said:
Boston's Big Dig is what this project reminds me of. It looks expensive. It looks like a decade-long project. And it looks incredibly disruptive.
Which is why I'm generally opposed to this project. Honestly, in a city that is susceptible to flooding, I don't know that it's worth the effort, time, or expense to bury the freeway. And, as planned, the freeway would certainly flood without continuous pumping.
I'd be a lot more favorable if they kept things elevated. Not just to add resiliency, but also to reduce the cost and time of construction.8 hours ago, aachor said:Either you double the size of the elevated portion, or you double it and then place it in a moat. I don't get your point.
Also, I'm reminded of 288 between McGregor and 610 during T.S. Beta. It went totally underwater while most of the other freeways were just fine. I still got to work okay, but it caused a headache for many people. It didn't flood because the bayou overflowed. The bayou was fine- I drove over it. 288 flooded because it's a ditch.
I don't see anything wrong with elevated freeways except that they don't have park caps which no one is going to pay for.I totally get where you are coming. This is actually, among those who oppose, its the most sensible logical approach, and its something which can be objectively looked at. Will it be more costly, yes. Will it be underground and potentially flood, yes. Will it be disruptive for a number of years, yes. I also get your position because its honest. You have no problem stating how it will effect you personally, and your issues revolve around your own self-interests. All of this, even if I'm on the other side of the discussion, at the very least a rational discussion can be had in the first place.
I think fundamentally this project, like many things in life, is about trade offs. Do we sacrifice the convenience of today, for what could be even more convenient and efficient in the future. Are we fine spending this kind of money for something that doesn't exist yet when the current solution works satisfactory. I think a question I would ask from you is if you were to be persuaded (which I can't and will not do because I don't work for the project or can effect it in anyway) what would this project need to do to either alleviate your concerns, or mitigate your concerns. I don't know what those are, but it might be something you would wish to share.
Yes I'm in support of this project and have been sense its inception. Lets be real though. I no longer live in Houston, and so no matter what happens this has zero affects on me. That being said, as a long time Houstonian I think the tradeoff is worth it. My interests will always continue in Houston, and at some point I want to do business in the city, and I think this project in the long run will be a net benefit to the city and the areas that it effects (yes even with its problems which still must be resolved), rather than the current situation even if the with the disruption, and chaos it will bring during construction.
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On 2/16/2022 at 12:52 PM, KirbyDriveKid said:
Loving how this building is turning out, but this... this will haunt my OCD dreams.
Why is this and only this corner not symmetrical?
Probably a coordination hiccup. It happens.
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WestMont: Mixed-Use Development Coming To Montrose
in Going Up!
Posted
Your argument consists of stock images of a Weihnachtsmarkt, which is seasonal and actually heavily regulated and not a 1 to 1 comparison, and one particular instance of maybe a food market which could be France, and thats it? You should google "Mauer Park Berlin Flohmarkt". Its a market that pops up in one Berlins biggest parks every now and then and it looks exactly like this popup market in Houston. If you want to actually have an argument then at the very least do your best to exhibit comparisons 1 to 1. Not Apples to Oranges.
Look I'm not saying this market should always be popup tents, it could certainly grow into something better later (The Houston Food Market in the heights is an example of this evolution). Who knows what could happen, but all this sounds pretty elitest. Just let the market be what it wants to be. I can't think of anything more Houston than something random and spontanous happening out of know where and in the face of busy-bodies and control freaks who want to micro manage everything. If they want to make things more permanent then let them. If they want this as something more on the fly or haphazard then let them. You are essentially acting like this is a blight on society. Just let them be.