ENGcons

The W was recently being discussed in another forum. Someone was asking why Houston doesn't have one.

So... I guess financing fell through?

And is this version of the W what happened instead? http://www.starwoodh...X_PP_AH_3127_TX

What was the "even more awesome" project?

The W hotel is gone and if it gets built it will be years before it happens. Funding killed the project. Too bad since it was going to be really great.

The biger project was an 89 floor tower set to go in at Richmond and 610 next to Williams Tower. It was being funded by a company in Dubai but again the funding killed the project.

Thisis old news I thought every knew about this a year ago.

Well, I shared how I was coming up with 40%. If you correlate the feeder schools to Ulrich, using PASA demographics and AEIS data for economically disadvantaged, you will get between 36 and 43 percent depending on how you marry the PASA and AEIS data. If you have some better insight into the demographics for Ulrich, please share it. If not then what are you basing your opinion on?

Hate to break it to you but the original PASA study was Waaaaaaaaayyyy incorrect and you can call District to ask that. The second PASA study was so inaccurate that the Board actually told the District never to show it to them again. So, you can quote PASA all you want, but those that have been involved for a while know that PASA has historically been wrong, and it is more than likely not going to be used again. I think the Board is tired of shelling out money for PASA studies that continually show inaccurate information. So that is my better insight.

Lauchable? Schools receive funds under Title 1 for economically disadvantaged kids. Priority is given to schools that have 35% or more ed kids and at 40% the school is able to implement a schoolwide program. All of Kohrville is zoned to Ulrich and it has 39% economically disadvanted students. The largest area on Boudreaux zoned to Ulrich is a trailer park. This area is all the kids zoned to Frank outsize Gleannloch and more than likely has all the low income kids from Frank. That puts the ecomomically disadvantaged percent from that area around 50%. The remaining kids zoned to Ulrich are from Krahn. Krahn has a relatively low economically disadvantaged percentage (29%) but being from that area I know that a higher percentage is coming from the neighborhoods south of Spring Cypress and east of the railroad tracks. Memorial Springs is probably saving Ulrich from being over the 40%.

Yes it is laughable. And it is not going to be the case, this is nothing more than panic.

Wow. KISD just posted their preferred zoning plan for Ulrich on their home page http://kleinisd.net. It moves all of Gleannloch to Doerre and takes most of the low income kids off Boudreaux and moves them to Ulrich. The Brill kids east of the rr tracks will stay at Kleb. This will definitely lower the low income mix of students at Ulrich. Perhaps the district is going after the additional funds they get from having a Title 1 school.

It is laughable that anyone thinks that Ulrich will be a Title 1 School. Just not going to happen.

One of the proposals had all of Gleannloch going to Ulrich. The Gleannloch folks currently zoned to Krimmel were a little bent because Ulrich is "special". They think it is special because it is a 1-1 school (kids have tablet computers). Ulrich is NOT going to have the tablets. They were more than upset with the proposed move and requested a new option. All this was at the first zoning meeting. At the second meeting the new proposal using the railroad tracks was unveiled. I would be fine with all of Gleannloch going to Ulrich since it would balance the socioeconomic demographic.

I'm not sure why the district drafted a new proposal to make Gleannloch happy. I'd bet that most of them have at least 1 computer in their home. Same cannot be said for a lot of the homes east of the railroad tracks. I asked if they considered socioeconomics and was told that they cannot take that into consideration. Anyone know of a law that precludes a district from using socioeconomics when drawing school boundaries? The Dept. of Education lists it as one tool to help with diversification.

I know all four of the proposals, and the one that had all of Gleannloch at Doerre made the most sense. And I understand that only one lady stood up and made that ludicrus "special" comment and so the district came up with 2 new proposals and kept Gleannloch split. I can tell you that the VAST majority of Gleannloch residents that are at Krimmel would rather have all of Gleannloch all at one Intermediate School.

Right now that neighborhood is a community divided. The families that live in North Gleannloch are at a disadvantage when (if) the new HS ges built. Their kids will have gone to Frank, where the majority of GF does not attend, then to Krimmel where the majority of GF does not attend, and then if they go to a new HS only then will they go to school with the kids in their own neighborhood. How is that right? Not to mention how far Krimmel is away form GF.

The notebooks either need to go away, or they need to expand that throughout the District. Have some consistancy for once KISD. My understadning is that a great deal of parents do not like them anyway.

Now that I think about this it makes no sense whatsoever.

What are the numbers west of the RR tracks to support a new school? Not enough probably

What about hte neighborhoods just east of those tracks on Spring Cypress? Do they stay at the same place? Is Gleannloch still split or is it all at one school?

Picking the RR tracks as a marker is just about the laziest thing I have seen. Put a little more effort into this and do some real work getting the numbers right. Don't jsut pick a point on the map and say that looks good.

This infomration has to be incorrect.

So now it is the railroad tracks?! I can see why Gleannloch would be angry. Currently that neighborhood is split between Doerre and Krimmel. The Gleannloch people that are currently zoned to Krimmel are the ones who are going to end up screwed. Krimmel is way out of the way from their location and that group was hoping Ulrich would change that. Gleannloch should be at all one school.

We have known that for quite some time

This bond screw up is really amusing to me. It is funny the amount of uneducated people there are that vote on these things.

First off, the Board has NOTHING to do with the current state of the KISD Bond. Let me say that again, the Board has NOTHING to do with the current state of the KISD Bond.

The School Board voted and approved the same Bond that the residents voted and appproved. It was imo the wrong move which is evident by what is happening today. However, the Board has done nothing to change the proposal since then. It is Jim Cain, and the District "experts" who are in charge of the changes being made, not the Board. The Board will only be presented the potential changes in January that are going to be made by the District and vote on whether they approve them or not. See the Board and the District are independent of each other in many ways. In fact I am willing to bet the Board has very little idea of what the changes are if you asked them. The District doesn't like to share information like that.

You see, the district screwed up and didn't heed the warning signs that the economy was slowing down and now they have bitten off more than they can chew. But KHS had to be rebuilt into the Taj Mahal, so the KHS residnets who voted this through are now upset they won't get their new school since the taxes can't be collected to pay for it. But rather than build the new HS #5 to benefit all, they would rather tell everyone that they are more important than the rest of the districts needs and not build HS #5, and rebuild KHS where it is (Option C). So their true motives have now come to the surface. As if everyone didn't know them already.

Anyhow, I can sit back and laugh at this one where all the people who supported Cain for the bond are now getting screwed by their leader. It is truly ironic.

And for those of us who are supporting Jean Casagrande for postition #5 please go vote. She is a proven leader in the community that has shown through her volunteer work and countless other actions in the KISD community that she is the right choice.

To my knowledge she has:

•Led a community effort to raise over $150,000 for playground equipment for Frank Elementary.

•Recognized as Volunteer of the Month for KISD.

•Successfully lobbied the KISD Board of Trustees to change outdated transportation policies, making after-school transportation alternatives safer for children and more convenient for working parents.

•Worked with Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole to install stop signs providing safe passages for children going to school.

•Successfully lobbied Harris County Judge Ed Emmett to prevent the open burning of debris in Harris County after Hurricane Ike.

•Assisted in obtaining an additional $41,000 for a playground for McDougle Elementary.

•Initiated effort to donate over $6,000 to Epps Island following the fire in December, 2008 as well as to replace eyeglasses lost in the fire.

•Worked with the KISD Technology Department to enhance internet safety procedures.

•Helped secure Social Studies books for Krimmel Intermediate.

•Currently serve on the Board of Directors of Harris County Municipal Utility District (MUD) 383.

www.casagrande4kisd.com

Actually I was able to attend. The meeting went very well. Many questions were addressed. There are 2 zone options for Ulrich. Most of the people at the meeting thought option 2 was a better fit fo the district. Option 1 will relieve Schindewolf, Hildebrandt, Krimmel and Doerre. Option 2 will relieve Schindewolf, Hildebrandt, Krimmel, Doerre and Wunderlich.

With option 1 subdivisions now in the Schindewolf zone like Forest North, Forest Ridge and Mossy Oaks would now go to Hildebrandt but then return to Klein Collins instead of Klein Oak. Thats not good.

With option 2 some kids south of FM 1960 would now go to Kleb instead of Wunderlich, but go to Klein Forest instead of Klein. Also subdivisions now in the Schindewolf zone like Enchanted Oaks and Cypress Forest will now go to Strack. In my opinion option 2 is way better.

What about Gleannloch? Will it be split in half between Frank kids staying at Krimmel and Hassler kids at Doerre or Ulrich, or will all of Gleannloch go to Ulrich, or Doerre?

To say that KISD is in decline is a joke. As a matter of fact Klein just became a recognized school district. That is a title that Cy Fair, Tomball, Spring, and any other around KISD can't claim. And I am a KF Grad 1990. While the school is much different than when I went there to say it is crap is just verbal garbage.

I still want to know some details that keep being left out.

1. Who is the Architect?

2. Who is the Builder?

Who is the Contractor that is doing the work?

Alright, don't take my word for it, see a shot of the mortgage package below confirming HKS as the project Architect. Bam.

No need to get defensive, I was just asking.

The rendering posted is HKS's handiwork. I'm a fan of the concept. At this point, the Redstone/Stream conceptual plan that you're looking at calls for (1) a 20 story office tower that consists of 12 stories of large floorplate office (each floor over 33k sf, thus approx. 370k sf in total) sitting atop 8 stories of parking, (2) a taller approx. 30 story hotel/resi tower with 297 hotel rooms and 100+ resi units and (3) just under 75k sf of accompanying ground level+ retail. Pretty ambitious in this environment.

It will take a minor miracle to get financing for this one, so don't hold your breath here.

HKS? I was under the impression that Morris Architects was the one who was working the design for the Redstone Project.

There was a story in either 'The Sun' or the Houston Chronicle a week or two ago about the LDS building a church in the back of Gleannloch Farms; it could be worse, I guess.

Across from Frank Elementary is being zoned to Apartments? Wow. Where did this info come from, if you don't mind sharing? That stinks, I know a lot of people that live back in that area.

Originally that plot of land was to be additional homes comparable to Dove Manor or the Hillcrest. About 2 years ago the developers rezoned it to be high density residential which basically means apartments. It could be commercial now for all I know with the Grand Parkway. Just what a Elementary School needs across the street. A freeway, with Apartments, and potentially a convenient store.

The developers have really failed in places and taken a potentially phenomenal neighborhood and cheapened it imo by putting in

townhomes along northpoint which never really sold

the retirement community is a good idea but is practically empty

the God awful abandoned strip center at the entrance to the community

the soon to be abandoned construction on Champions Forest Drive

the duplexes at the front of the neighborhood

the Grand Parkway

the coming soon apartments across from Frank

the coming soon LDS church on Champions Forest Drive

The Gleann golf course is practically ruined with the abandoned buildings that dot it. It is a disgrace.

Does anyone have information on when Champions Forest through Gleannloch is to be expanded to 4 lanes?

There is construction continuing (and in limbo) at the front, recently built Frank Elem, future Grand Parkway, growing retirement village population, continued housing, and now the new LDS church going in at the corner of Champions Forest & Crescent Clover. Something's got to give.

How'd you like to look out your backyard and see a massive LDS church every day? And they thought the economy was the worst thing for their property values.

The developers have sold out the homeowners in Gleannloch, with the GP, and the other commercial developments that have stalled, and the changing of the property across from Frank to be zoned from homes to be zoned to APT's. Certain areas of Gleannloch stand to lose value. Shame.

My understanding is that they picked a design firm long ago - Gensler, I think.

If it is Gensler then there will be zero color on the inside. They like that sterile look.

Are you sure it is Genlser? Of course Gensler did the Helios Plaza at BP, and Hess Tower. Is this a LEED Building?

Does anyone know if they have chosen a design firm for this? Or when they anticipate actually starting?

If anyone has passed by, construction on Ulrich Intermediate School is going well, they already have the main drop-off loop and a portion of the parking lot laid now. One fact I pointed out before I believe was how close this school will be to Spring Cypress Rd. There really isn't that much space between the parking lot and Spring Cypress Rd. Krimmel has a large amount of space from the school and FM 2920, but that plot of land is totally different from the Ulrich site.

Construction on Mueller Elementary School is really going pretty fast also. Construction crews have bricked a large portion if not all of the building. The entire parking lot was laid months ago. The tin roofing has also been laid, and it is green just like the roofing on Frank Elementary. Unlike Ulrich, Mueller sits in the middle of knowhere behing Krimmel.

Just so you know that is a standing seam metal roof, not a tin roof.

There isn't an official press release regarding a W in Houston. People made these assumptions by the scope of the project and the renderings released by the developer.

This would have been a really neat concept, but it seemed very ambitious.

This project was real, was actually awarded to a construction management firm to build, and collapsed due to lack of financing. The hotels have backed out, and this project is on life support, probably never to be built.

It was set to break ground this upcoming September.

Just an FYI for everyone regarding this subject. I work for an electrical supplier and the project is bidding on Feb 12th. I have worked on numerous schools and this project will be an 16 - 18 month design. Klein High School #5 is also moving forward with a bid date of Feb 19th.

Klein HS #5 bidding Feb 19th? You might want to check that since Klein put the breaks on HS #5 for a minimum of 1 year.

Wow this really surprises me. I am curious how the death of the TTC will affect the Grand Parkway, if at all.

Right now any major project that does not have financing in place is pretty much dead.

Actually the word is that two new Elementaries are to be cut, and HS #5 delayed either 1 or 2 years. The Taj Mahal which is to be Klein High School is still going to be built. That should be the first project that gets scaled back.

If you want to cast blame the Superintendent Jim Cain should be ground zero. This is his bond, he is the one that forced this on the community and the School Board for that matter, and he is the one that did not listen to the outcry from the public in the forums about the economy and that this bond was too aggressive. If anyone needs to resign it is Cain.

Let's face it, the only reason this passed is because the KHS crowd wants their new HS and the District meaning Jim Cain promoted that fact in that attendance zone heavily and got them out to vote for their new HS. The MAJORITY of the the remaining areas in the district voted this down.