wilcal

They've submitted a parking variance. They took the property from 6 units to 11 units without the proper permits.

I think that they are required 14 parking spaces and actually have somewhere between 3 and 0 with the revised construction in the driveway.

Public notice is required, so signs and mailed notices will go out soon. Will be interesting to see how the neighborhood reacts. 

Was out by the church Sunday morning and they actually pay for security to close the median on Washington Ave and escort pedestrians from their parking lot across the street. Hypocrisy much?

Edit: also, deconstruction is supposed to start today. CM Castillo called for a one week pause. Unclear if Whitmire will do it.

Drove by yesterday and all of this construction was complete, so not sure what is going on now. 

That carport cover going directly into the sidewalk is something. I can't imagine they are going to get to keep that. 

Streetview shows them building some type of shed and replacing some windows in May '22. I wonder if they got red tagged.

Nice find! You can plat without owning it, so that is a good sign that someone wants to move quickly. My gut telling me that at least some of the structures are staying, though.

New plat came in last cycle and was deferred at the planning commission on 1/25. 

It is a combination of a few parcels that front Harrisburg Blvd and the Harrisburg Trail

The plat was likely deferred due to Harrisburg being a TOD street, and it having pedestrian realm requirements that aren't being shown. I would say that the landscape reserve is... unusual. I would think that this would normally just be included within the unrestricted reserve and then they would have the choice to leave it as open space. Maybe they have a specific plan? Or maybe they don't know what they are doing? We won't know until later!

They have it split into two unrestricted reserves and a landscape/open space reserve (which typically can't be paved at all). 

The owner on the plat is showing on HCAD to have owned the property since 2003, but the property is currently listed for sale for an undisclosed price. It appears to have been listed for sale for at least 1 year and possibly 3 years. 

Yeah, if you asked me to find a street in EaDo to do 80 MPH on, it would def be McKinney. 

The TIRZ did have a McKinney rebuild option as part of their public meeting like a year ago and it did receive some votes but was in the middle of the list at best. 

On 1/12/2024 at 9:19 AM, EastwoodEnvoy said:

There was a (presumably unsuccessful) attempt by Eastwood residents to get this project's permit rejected, among other legal maneuvers. This is Eastwood's Ashby High Rise evidently 🤣

They honestly had a point! ...until Livable Places went into effect on Nov 27 and ADU size limitations went from 900 sq ft to 1,500 sq ft.

Also, I'm pretty sure that this is going to be a duplex and not a triplex. 

Heard from some friends who live close by said that some people have been camping out :/

On 10/27/2023 at 9:53 AM, HoustonMidtown said:

 

They better not leave it lily white. This is the east end, damn it. Get a mural up there. You're a bar for gods sake!

Quote

Bravery Chef Hall Italian spot Figo Sugo will operate a coffee-and-panini outpost with outdoor seating.

Even if they are baking the pizzas downtown, I would take reheated slices in the caboose. I hope they can figure out a little bit more.

So so pumped for this!

I understand their hesitance to invest money in the project when they are about to have a decade of highway reconstruction immediately adjacent to them. 

Wooooooooow. Willow's is a huge get for the area. Figo Sugo (concept) + Willow's are both so exciting.

Currently platted as 3 small townhome lots from 2017. They're going to have to replat first and go through the public hearing process. Also, not wide enough for an unrestricted reserve (60'), so will also require a variance. Seems reasonable because this street has several commercial uses. 

Was driving by a few hours ago and there were glass blocks going in underneath the Nickel City sign. So some progress is still being made.

2 hours ago, hindesky said:

Isn't this building coming down for the IH45 realignment?

I would have guessed yes..... but the answer is no.

Ate at Street to Kitchen last night and noticed that the thrift store next door said that their last day would be 12/31. The print shop also looked to have closed and mostly moved out :/

Eden was pretty full though. 

Really hope this gets built! Any dirt moving yet?

On 12/26/2023 at 10:16 PM, __nevii said:

Is the parking really that strict/non-negotiable? As seen through various projects on this forum, developers don't seem to have much issue in terms of variances regarding setbacks and anything else pertaining to Chapter 42.

I'm trying to see all the codes that apply to the ETJ other than Chapter 42. Because it's quite possible that the parking mandates played a role in driving development out to the burbs (though I think that MUD creation + TXDOT highway policy + mid-century ideals were more significant factors).

A couple of things. Basically, parking really is that strict in terms of following the guidelines. If you have a unique use you are able to get a director's discretion opinion but that basically never happens. I honestly think that the bar parking requirements is so onerous (14 spots per 1000 sq ft) because city council wanted to make it harder to build bars. Of course when we are the DWI capital....

I think that also with developers getting variances approved, there is an extended period working with staff to get something that the department would recommend approval on. People initially show up with some wild stuff. 5% or less of the plats need a variance and so many of them are addressing intersection spacing variances (outside in the ETJ) or things like addressing stub streets or instead of frontage on a public street, taking access from a permanent access easement. 

There just aren't that many controversial variances because 42 is pretty flexible and usually developers are willing to improve something like the pedestrian realm in order to get a slightly reduced BL. 

Also, additional context on parking restrictions in Houston: there were about a dozen parking variances given last year and most of them were for doggie day cares which don't have a good parking category yet.

Developers don't even think it is worth their time. That is why it is important to make market-based parking the standard so people will take advantage of it. 

Some form of parking reform is scheduled to be looked at in 2024 according to some comments made by the Planning Commission/planning director. A robust public engagement will be made and I would imagine that there would be an action committee established with some public meetings.

As mentioned above, it really comes down to what city council wants to do. 

Recently passed Livable Places did have some parking reforms baked-in, but most of them were removed unfortunately (all all apply to residential only). The big change to this is that second dwelling units (garage apartments/etc) have no additional parking required (instead of 1) if 1,000 sf or smaller and that on primary units, homes 1,500 sq ft or smaller only require 1 (instead of 2).

So if you build a 1,500 sq ft house and a 1,000 sq ft garage apartment, the previous parking requirement would have been 3 and the new minimum parking requirement is 1. What had been originally proposed was market-based parking for all residential within 1/4 mile of frequent transit or dedication bike lanes, but that did not receive enough support. 

Ok, I think we have inadvertently been led astray by Google Maps. The parking lot is on N Milby St.

111 Milby St is a shared driveway development on the east side of Milby between COmmerce and Sherman. 

The owner, Geometry Developments LLC matches the permit. 

9 hours ago, Tone2002 said:

I still don’t see how how that plot is going to hold 21 townhomes but I will soon enough. 

The plat is in the first post and shows the lot layout. 

Oof. Well, that would match up with what the site looks like right now. Thanks for catching this!