mattyt36

In re the living in a high rise that doesn't have a lot of walking options, I am talking more about the high rises located outside of downtown. Living in downtown Houston is of course nothing like living in River North, Chicago, but there are objectively a lot of things to walk to--certainly could be better, but one could spend the weekend, no issue, without a need to get into one's vehicle (assuming they grocery shop during the week, but even then there is at least a CVS and a Phoenicia). But Marathon Tower and other residential high rises (I mean, even the Allen), not anywhere near the same level of options.

2:08 into the video ”Financially supported the largest rooftop garden in America” I’d love to know specifically what that means.

From the recent “State of Downtown” presentation, there was a reference that seemed to imply that the Skylawn was being publicly funded … can anyone confirm if indeed it is the entire Skylawn and by which specific organization? (Not a criticism, just the first I had heard of it.)

Well Mr Dogs, they say silence is complicity. Hell, I knew all I needed to know the moment I opened this thread (it’s all pretty transparent after all), but may this serve as a good reference for posterity.

Going back to the last wave of the DLI, is there any consensus amongst people in the industry as to which projects have been the most and least successful? Granted it’s a multi-faceted question, but seems like it would be determined by final product, GFR integration, contribution to the spaces around it, and occupancy, but at an attractive (i.e., not discounted) price point. Are there any properties downtown where it is difficult to “get into,” even if price weren’t an issue? More germane to this discussion, have there been any historical conversions that have been successful? I mean the Rice is still around and I assume still a nice address, but the GFR has always seemed to struggle and I’m not sure how it compares with the new properties. The Commerce Towers seem to have been a dud. The Star doesn’t seem all that great, either. Are the multiple loft conversions desirable addresses? (The above is not based on anything specific, just my perception, which, admittedly, is probably not worth much on this particular topic.) I for one do not understand the idea of living in a high rise when one cannot walk to much around it, but, hey I realize that describes most of the City’s high rises, and it’s not like you can walk to a “real” grocery store downtown from the Brava. At least you have Market Square, the Theater District, MMP, the Toyota Center, and a decent amount of dining options.

Well, thanks to Wikipedia, I have found out Safeway entered the Houston market on its own in 1969 before buying out Weingarten's stores in 1983. I do remember the short-lived AppleTree, for whatever reason I had it in my head that they advertised themselves as employee-owned, but my memory could be wrong. What I also learned from Wikipedia is that AppleTree moved HQ to Bryan in 1997 and there was one location operating there until 2010 (!). H-E-B is fine, but I never shopped there until the MacGregor location opened due to the parking situation (which someone mentioned above)--I tried the Montrose location but gave up after a couple of times, and parking in a garage is just needlessly complicated. I know their business model is volume, but it'd sure be nice if they opened more locations in the City. I am not a fan of Kroger, but that is mainly as a former shopper of the West Gray location, which I just find absolutely tired and depressing--you'd think it'd be a true "flagship" location for the market. Maybe they don't have a long enough lease to justify reinvestment given the other developments going on around there. Am interested to see what happens with the Midtown Randall's most of all if the merger goes through.

At the end of the day, that is a decision based on one's individual judgment of character as defined by one's actions, not one's actions relative to their "pledges." Often one can make decisions about one's character based on what one says, or how one says it. And the instances in which the choice are as explicitly cut-and-dried as the above are few and far between. And I am sure you agree that it is entirely possible that an individual can have a good character, but also be bad (or inferior) at a job. All the above is stated simply as an example that the choice is not as black-and-white as originally presented. But it remains a great cliché. (Such is the definition of clichés, I suppose.)

I suppose as a logical follow-on, @Blue Dogs, we've got the dining with Nazis thing, now we've got the suspend the Constitution thing all in the matter of a week! I'd say one's reaction to such--to put it politely--uncommon events says a lot about one's character and true motivations. (Others disagree, I know, as is evidenced by all the mealy-mouthed GOP appearances on the Sunday shows.) What was your take, as one who professes to be a "rule-of-law" kind of guy? What exactly is the "rule-of-law" if the Constitution is tossed out the window? Whatever Trump says it is at the time? Let me wager a more generous guess perchance--the Bible?

Well in fairness, I can't really see that what has been presented as his "pledges" are his actual pledges (which adds a whole other layer about voting for people based on how others represent their pledges), but are rather someone's paraphrasing, but maybe they exist somewhere other than the guy's actual campaign website. Why I am running - John Whitmire for Mayor Which, quite honestly, is rather silly in the context of the other dime store wisdom (pedantry?) ("I don't vote for politicians based on what they say they're going to do, but rather based on what they actually do," i.e., "I judge people based on their actions, not based on their words," so said everyone ever, all while thinking they were actually saying something of substance--it's not by definition a truism, but might as well be one based on human nature, regardless it's so well-worn it is hollowed out and now empty). In any case, holding the office of Texas State Senator and Mayor of Houston are two entirely different positions. I don't think it is illogical to think that somebody could make a great senator, for example, but not a great governor and vice-versa. How could you, for example, evaluate Mealer as a prospective candidate for County Judge by this standard when she had never held government office? On the other hand, you could evaluate Hidalgo. So who do you choose if you think Hidalgo has done a flurfty job and judge her by her actions, yet you have nothing to judge whether or not Mealer can do a thing to decrease crime as she literally has no track record and therefore is all talk? The truth of the matter is such decisions are not so cut-and-dried, but boy do we like to self-rationalize (self-deceive?) that they are.

Looks like one of those garages it takes 20 minutes to get out of.

Colorful and ideologically loaded language as always, @Blue Dogs. Maybe we should discuss that? What kind of question is that?!

Can anyone provide any clarification on how the enabling legislation works on these things? In other words, do the institutions have de facto legal "home territories"? SHSU has expanded into Montgomery County, for example, so I wonder if this precludes any UH institution there. How did the respective UT (Edinburg, El Paso, Tyler, etc) and A&M branches (Commerce, Corpus Christi, etc.) get established around the state? How do these territories overlap with the "Tier 2" (my definition, although there must be an official one) schools like SHSU, SFA, Sul Ross, etc.?

Now we’re talking!

Well I went to my second favorite Texas city San Antonio this weekend (I’m a sucker for the holiday lighting of the Riverwalk), took I-37 exit from I-10 and the first exit sign (on the official overhead interstate signage) was for whatever comes before Commerce but it also said University of Houston. Not University of Houston-San Antonio but University of Houston, at the same prominence as the exit off of I-45. So I looked it up, and it made total sense. There is a UH-SA that is only an extension of the Hilton School. How great! https://www.uh.edu/news-events/stories/2016/April/52HRMsa.php

Are their other developments faring better? As I recall they had projects in Seattle and this in Houston. Is it more about the company or the market? I suspect the latter, which is a real shame.

He mentioned OKC converting its tunnel system to art spaces--this is not something I had ever heard about--does OKC really have that big of a tunnel system? Other big takeaway for me is that they are evaluating reviving the Downtown Living Initiative to counterbalance the high cost of land. It's unfortunate that downtown is just at 60% recovery, but I'm sure the trend is similar nationwide, if not worse.

With your absolutely great track record and "fingers on the pulse," I'm not too concerned! (Tell me @Blue Dogs, are you a big Nick Fuentes fan, too? Classy!)

Wow! Thanks for all the detail! This I definitely did not know and I find fascinating--there are some office suites to the east of the AA bag service office down the corridor with restrooms, maybe that was where they are?

(1) I'd have to think a lot hinged on this past election and people were in "wait-and-see" mode. I think @Triton is right that we may see some movement either one way or the other soon (although I have nothing to base that on). (2) As a longtime State pol, I think Mayor Turner sees his role as an intermediary between the County and the State and the business community, so he has been pretty deliberate and not being the loudest voice in the room (although I have nothing to base that on, either). Regardless the mantra of these anti-NHHIP groups appears to be, "Well we complained, so they're supposed to cancel everything," again, based on what happened in like 1950s Baltimore when whole neighborhoods nowhere near any existing freeway were being demolished for the first time. At no point have they offered any alternative other than to not build, it is absolutely performative and juvenile and not in the best interest of the city or the region as it's not like the problem goes away. I mean, sheesh, at least put something up that says, "Spend the $7 billion on commuter rail, and here's an alignment that would work." If they tried, I'd definitely have more empathy.

Well, the letters to the editor aren't particularly positive. The sentiment appears to be, as Laura Ingraham once encapsulated, "Shut up and dribble sell furniture." I mean, the guy is good and has done a great deal for the community, but I can't say after going to his showrooms I ever felt any desire to buy his wares--(1) way too expensive (at least for me); (2) not the most stylish or "leading edge"; (3) creepy salespeople ready to pounce (it's like a car dealership); (4) all the damned quotes that border on "Arbeit Macht Frei" and "Accept Jesus Christ now!" I get it, he's thankful that he arose from nothing and credits God, but as with any evangelical, seems to have an overwhelming desire to jam it down your throat, which to me just doesn't seem Christian. He has now transferred it to politics. Or, rather, evangelical Christianity is nakedly just purely politics now--thanks to Trump, these "good Christians" have aligned themselves with performative a*sholery. (See Young, Rev. Ed for a great example.) Anyway, again, when it comes to "sanctimony," the inability to realize at the very least that a good portion of the population disagrees with it and really doesn't see a need to be "saved" says it all. Mack, we don't need you to save us, and maybe make an effort at preserving your legacy by toning down the Messiah Complex just a tad. Wake up and realize you can't possibly speak for God, and probably want to err on the side of not pretending that you do given what the Bible actually does teach or you might find yourself in a real crime-ridden h*llhole, buddy. Hopefully this brand of religio-politics continues its slow death (it's gotten to the point at which it is not appealing to anyone except proto-Fascists)--I just hope the pace picks up exponentially. Mattress Mack and Lina Hidalgo: Houston Chronicle readers react

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Yes, that's correct . . . the bag claim area is not original to the terminal. In fact, weren't the bag belts and the ticket counters on the same level when the terminal originally opened? This old terminal map from 1968 isn't much help in clarifying, but there is only one level. Maybe a second level was added at some point, as was the case at many airports. (Note from map KLM served HOU before IAH opened . . . KL's first service to Houston was in 1957, AMS-YUL-HOU-MEX DC-7.) HOU68 (departedflights.com) This photo does show a dual-level roadway in 1976. I don't think the airport had a garage until the 1980s.

Funny, considering most of "these people" are saying now that they didn't have a say to begin with. So which one is it?

Well, no surprise there, but Mattress Mack has really thin skin. Like most MAGA types out there, he can dish it out but sure as hell can't take it. This letter sounds like something Trump would write, albeit with better grammar, no misspellings (except for Mack ironically?!), and, er, no weird sexual innuendos. The level of self-awareness calling someone else "sanctimonious," when he personally appointed himself as the savior of Harris County and went around telling everyone that Lina was essentially pro-people getting murdered, is just non-existent. The above said, Lina should lead by example--a mature and professional politician would not have made such a needless dig and instead have been more gracious. A true "humanitarian," one full of "goodwill and unwavering support for communities," would not write this letter, which has not only insults, but ends with a not-so-veiled threat. Why don't you run yourself next time, Mack? Mattress Mack claps back at Lina Hidalgo for election dig (chron.com)

Classic cutting off one's nose to spite one's face as I am sure no one has a full appreciation of the real (i.e., feasible) alternatives. Not to mention where were all of these people, what, 10 years ago, when the planning process started? At the very least they should have the burden of presenting an actual, preferred alternative to advance start a meaningful dialogue. However, Turner is by all appearances for it, the GHP is for it, I am confident Turner will be able to "herd the cats" when it comes to a City Council vote, if any. Hidalgo is the wild card. It remains amazing to me that Mealer didn't make this a centerpiece campaign issue instead of going on and on about crime--it would've diluted some of the crazy for the moderate voting block.