cspwal

The first spaceport built in New Mexico was intended for Virgin Galactic's spaceship one - which launches from a airplane mothership. Ellington would be perfect for this

Good thing block 334 is only 5 stories - imagine if the same people were making a 30 story high rise

It would be neat to replicate that camera angle now and have the two pictures side by side

I have friends who moved to med center area from Kingwood and always talk about how they're now living downtown

Where are they getting an average rent of $2,800 from?

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Things-you-should-know-about-that-high-speed-rail-6158903.php?t=2e1e746e8779b87a02&cmpid=twitter-premium#photo-7471355

Can someone explain to me why a high speed train down the current freight train corridor is such a huge deal?  There's already a train there.

Also, I think this editorial does articulate the con side argument well, but I doubt that the TCR rail would be only to Dallas and only for "elites" for long.

Anyway, I would think Washington avenue would make more sense for a light rail than in that freight right of way, but that's a different topic...

I'm not sure where to put this, but I heard from a friend that the apartments at 2017 Buffalo Terrace are going to be torn down later this year.  Does anyone know what for?

The Cardinal route still goes through to DC 3 times a week - it's a nice ride, but it is very slow going for a lot of it because of poor track maintenance by the host railways.

The block bordered by Rusk, Walker, La Branch, and Crawford.  It's 1 block "north" of discovery green.

 http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2010-04-07/Block_Numbering.pdf

If they're putting the crane in the sidewalk, that would explain why they closed everything down

This site says that the building is 16 stories, with a basement and a penthouse, and that it used to be a Southwestern Bell building.

http://www.ghabriel.com/index.php?p=1_2&mid=46

The state of the building as of 3/18/2015

Does anyone know what used to be in 1114 Texas?  

Here's a Google street view of the building - I'll see if I can get a picture after work

Would there be a reason for them to demolish this building if they were not starting construction?

Only in Houston could a 24 story building be considered "suburban looking"

Was there any visible damage on the surface?  Or am I just seeing the light rail wires...

Why would the FAA have any say in Shenzhen?

The FAA has to be notified about any tall structures not so much for approval but so that it can be included on aeronautical charts and when planning instrument approaches.  I could see that if a tall building would interrupt one approach or the other, they would file a complaint, but in this age of GPS approaches, they can still do approaches that do the proper step downs while avoiding the taller obstacles (next time you're in downtown/midtown, watch for a Southwest plane on approach - it will be making turns - they're to avoid flying directly over obstacles such as downtown.)\

There is a low flying corridor due north of downtown (1500 ft) but it is only used in nice weather where you'll notice a giant building directly in front of you.

I saw a rendering in another thread of the Chevron building with the crown looking like the Chevron logo - was that ever considered?

If they don't build this center at all, what will happen to the land?  Somewhere it was said that it was donated by the city

It looks like they may be starting on the third floor now, even though the second floor isn't done yet

If they wanted to go futuristic they could make it a monorail - and make a deal with Exxon or Chevron or someone to have it powered by natural gas or gasoline.

Have there been many elevated rail projects in the past couple of years?  I feel like its been all light rail all the time 

Who knows maybe they will be releasing their plans for a post oak subway next week?

not holding my breath

http://www.khou.com/...-144475275.html

Nothing new but here is the latest article...

"That’s precisely what the Midtown Redevelopment Authority and Camden Development Inc. plan for about half of the 3.5 acre site. Also on the drawing board are sites for two restaurants and a residential development, as well as an underground parking garage for about 140 vehicles."

"Construction is expected to begin next spring, Thibodeaux said, and the park should be open in 2014."

Uncovered this in the thread for the size of the parking garage.  I'm not that familiar with parking garage sizes, but that sounds like it would be just one floor.  However, elsewhere in the thread it said that the apartment building would have 334 units (maybe the number 334 causes slow projects?) so I'd assume there are going to be more than 140 spaces.

To get the train into DT Houston without going near the Washington Avenue corridor, why can't they route it down the railroad that goes through Memorial Park and Bellaire, then east paralleling Holmes, and shooting back up the Columbia Tap Rail Trail?

I made a quick sketch of both the Washington ave corridor and what I think you were describing. 

Going all the way down to Holmes and then turning around adds 13.5 miles to trip, which equals time and added likely hood of it being blocked by NIMBYs.  Note this route goes through River oaks, and if you look on the map at where the Columbia tap trail ends, there's a building between it and the existing freight rail.

That being said, a loop around the city might make sense if it is what you have to do - if you ride Amtrak into San Antonio you have to circle downtown.

More of the same opposition to the dedicated bus lanes http://www.chron.com/opinion/outlook/article/Levine-McIngvale-and-Masraff-Bus-lane-plan-will-6128492.php

What I don't get is if no one rides the light rail, why is it always packed?

I wonder if 1111 Main would make a good historical renovation Apple store, sort of like what they've done in London and New York.