scarface

I would be alright with the Sears still being there if they ditch that horrible 1960s look and update it to a more modern look. when i'm riding north on 59/69 and look to the left and look at Midtown, the Sears, Fiesta, and HCC building all stick out like sore thumbs. I'm all for preservation, but the surroundings are changing. It doesn't look good in this area anymore.

Yes, then it will make everything easier in place for it to be converted into lightrail. Perhaps ,maybe even before 2020

blue

I wonder what the reason is for the delay. A whole year? Good grief!!!

I sure hope you all are right. Ever since the closing of those last few bars 2009/2010ish, its left downtown pretty desolate.

I have used this example plenty of times. San Antonio, i don't think has the residential pop there but its successful retail wise from a tourist standpoint.

Funny how i was just thinking about this. I have high hopes for downtown, but maybe its not going to be the urban mecca we all hope for it to be, although Midtown is showing signs of being on the upswing. I know there's only one downtown in Houston, but it seems like the real heart and soul of the city is in the Uptown/Galleria area. I just wish it wasn't so automobile plagued. They may be making strides to make it somewhat more pedestrian with the BLVD place development, but it still looks like it will be dominated by the automobile. The killings/delays of the Uptown and University lines surely didn't help matters any. It may be unrealistic, but the only real way to make Uptown more pedestrian friendly would be to either raise or trench Westheimer.

I was not aware of this.

The Dallas Galleria's redo is nicer than Houston's current Galleria, hands down, but Galleria Dallas is much smaller. I prefer Houston's Galleria by far still because it gives off a vibe as a sense of place. It's immediate surroundings are also far more vibrant and energetic. Restaurants, condos/apartments, the up and coming BLVD place, and West Ave developments add far more to the area. Dallas's Galleria just seems disjointed from everything, almost like an afterthought in the city. Houston's is woven better into the urban fabric. I really think the City of Houston cheated itself by delaying/defeating the University Line and Uptown Lines. Those stupid BRT plans seem like it should've gone on the eastside instead of a premier destination in the city. EDIT: I just thought of something funny.... Galleria Dallas and Houston's Galleria kind of in a way, represent the comparisons of the cities themselves. Dallas is slightly nicer and glitzier of the two, but smaller and more sterile. Houston's Galleria is nice, but bigger, funkier, and more energetic/chaotic, much kind of like the way the cities are. LOL

How will they know whether to begin constructing for residential intended infrastructure or office infrastructure? I'm with fernz on that one. Still good news nonetheless.

But at least it looks cool when passing by it on the freeway. And the lightrail stations are definitely artwork masterpieces.

I don't get it. Even if we did implement zoning now, that wouldn't change the developments and things that are already in place. So how would that change the uniqueness of the city that's already there? With that being said, I would like the focus of developments to start resembling more of an urban style nature. I would also like to see better roads, cleaner-looking neighborhoods. So the answer is... Yes. I think its time Houston start thinking about zoning, but is it too late?

Your post made me chuckle, and i mean chuckle at myself. I guess i have to admit, I tend to look at other places and admire what they have from a distance, and automatically think its so much different than what i have at home. Character flaw, i guess. LOL

It just feels that way when driving through downtown Dallas. It feels that it doesn't take as long to get places, and I think that has alot to do with the way downtown/Uptown Dallas is built. The heart of everything seems to be right there. In Houston, it takes at least 7 minutes to get from downtown to the Museum District. It takes 15-20 minutes to get from downtown to City Centre. Dallas planned their arts district right outside of Uptown which was a pretty smart move. .

This isn't Houston.

That would have been before the latest rennovations of the Dallas Galleria in 2005. It made the mall way nicer, but it is still no Houston Galleria. And the midtown Dallas concept is nice. One thing about Dallas is it does think big. And i believe that Dallas will make it happen. Many have said that this no more than what we have at citycentre here in Houston, but Dallas's developments will be much closer in together.

The George Bush part is the only thing that needs to be changed,

Even Plastic's grammar wasn't THAT bad. But then again, I think I remember Plastic stating he was in his mid to late 30s about 5 or 6 years ago so if this guy is 43, that would put them both around the same age. But I'm starting to think he's doing this on purpose. He keeps posting this jibberish to get a response, then when we respond, he laughs it up to himself. It's obvious need for attention, if he's really 43 and not 10. If we don't feed into it, maybe he'll go away or start posting something sensible. So back to the topic. Now.... As far as Dallas goes, I was just there in February and I was astounded by the amount of building that had taken place in its Uptown/Downtown area. McKinney Ave seems to have alot of those patio bars and window shopping underneath condos and apartments in such a small mile radius. The new Kylde Warren Park is very nice. I didn't get a chance to actually walk the park. As much as I hate to admit it, Dallas's Downtown/Uptown area is starting to feel a little more vibrant than the downtown area of Houston. Some people are going to hammer me for this, but I think some of that vibrancy has alot to do with the flashy new buildings and brightly lit areas at night. On the other hand, outside of the downtown/Uptown area, things seem very sparse in Dallas with the exception of the North Central Expressway cooridor. I like the fact that Houston has development going on and more places to go even outside of its downtown. I guess Dallas's answer to this is the plans to create a Midtown where the old Valleyview mall was. Houston's midtown is showing some promising growth, especially up there off where Bagby is being redone. And north of Gray by where the Edge is, I remember seeing a new restaurant below the apartments. It seeems that Midtown Houston west of Main Street has really begin to blossom, but I'm not understanding why its not garnering the attention of a new tower, hotel (or at least renovations of the rotting Days Inn and Central Square buildings), or more retail below apartment/condo buildings like in Dallas. As for Pearl Midtown and Post Phase II developments, I'm very interested in seeing what they will bring to the area. I understand that UTD is probably about 15 years ahead of MTH. I'm glad MTH is seeing somewhat of a mini-boom, but I want to see a new tower and maybe some retail The trolley idea that Dallas has would not be a bad idea for Midtown. I think they should put a streetcar/trolley through West Gray (west of Main Street) and it should jog its way up through Washington Avenue. Just an idea since there was talk of a Trolley a while back. And this may be old news, but why did Barcadia in Houston close? The one in Dallas is still open.

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Ok kid this is very cute. Run on sentence(s), first-posts trolling, and didn't know "funner" was even a word. How old are you kid about 11 or 12 ? You don't need to even be thinking about nightlife right now. You need to finish elementary school and be sure you're tucked in every night by 8:30.

Well, i'm starting to think that Dallas is making it work for them. Despite their excessively high vacancy rate in the CBD, the Uptown area is healthy and is booming, and now with the completion of the park, it's bridged the gap to feel like one unified place. I don't think your average person will really be able to tell the difference.

Although the previous poster did seem trollish, Downtown Dallas has really come a long way. I was just up there in February and they have really created quite a nice little scene there. Uptown Dallas is now merged with downtown where it seems that most of the activity between both places has spilled over into eachother. The previous poster could have mentioned how downtown Houston could take notes from downtown Dallas. That would've made him/her seem less trollish. I will say that Houston has done alot inside the core of it's downtown, but when it comes to areas around and right outside of it's CBD, we are simply lagging. There is nothing wrong to admit where Houston could stand to improve. Moving that darn Greyhound station would probably do wonders for that section of midtown to where we see newer type of developments like what we see around downtown Dallas.

Am i the only one having this problem? I click on the link and see no article... Only comments

Westheimer is only too small between Bagby and 610. It gets incredibly wide after that!

West Ave has a few restaurants and things, but it still doesn't seem filled up yet.