Evil Developer

knowing what HPI does, my guess is apartments on top of retail, like their deal on San Felipe next to briar grove.

On 5/8/2017 at 6:23 PM, Houston19514 said:

 

Thank you for that considered and thoughtful response to questions that have been raised.  And a big thanks for the link to the variance submittal.

 

A few things:

1- I'm not sure the fact that the other driveways were there before the trail is sufficient reason to deny a driveway to this lot.

2- Fair point, but it appears that the parking will be divided roughly evenly between Nicholson and Herkimer, so it will effectively be traffic from a 15K square foot medical office building.  Yes, surely more than a SFR, but if it complies with the code and deed restrictions...

 

On the linked plans, the setback from the trail appears to be well over 10 feet; more like 17 or 18 feet. I think you exaggerate the "downhill driveway from the second floor".  The "second floor" (which the plans call "first floor parking") is very little above grade at the Nicholson end of the building; the driveway coming out is at a very gentle grade. And, it seems that being slightly elevated should be a positive, as it will provide greater visibility from both points of view.

 

Is it standard practice to include a protest letter with the reasons for protest already stated?  (And note that the stated reason for protest has nothing to do with the driveway or garage entrance; it has to do with visibility at the visual triangle at 11th and the Nicholson bike path.

no deed restrictions likely on that lot.  as for the code question, i'm no traffic engineer, but is the ROW on Nicholson wide enough to handle the additional capacity?  what about Herkimer?  it is a narrower ROW.  Nicholson i think is 60', but part of that is occupied by the hike and bike trail.

i don't see any mention of a TIA yet, so likely the impact is unknown.  what is known is that 11th is a major thoroughfare, and it should be able to handle the traffic this will create (my guess is about 1120 ADT - 36.13*31) better than the narrow side streets.

the requested 0' setback is from 11th, and i have no issue with that.  in fact, i prefer a <10' setback here.

the issue with exiting driveway crossings, is:

1- they were already there when the trail went in

2- they are mostly residential driveways for a single unit.  look at the daily trips generated.  i'll bet more cars leave a 31k sf medical office building parking garage in a day, than leave a residential driveway in a week...

there is a 10' setback from the trail, from the downhill driveway coming from the second floor parking deck

here is the variance submittal for those that haven't seen it:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B770cE-SaJZHQlJHZjRWMWpVMVU

or look at the buildings around them...i hope this is just a simple concept rendering, and not at all what the final design will be.  looks like a suburban, low cost office box.

fyi, Dish society has signed a pre-lease for the restaurant space in this property.

11 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Yeah... so what's up with the Post Office?

scheduled for demo in June.

2 hours ago, Angostura said:

Yale from 5th to 12th could become a pretty interesting corridor. There's a lot of existing and upcoming zero- or low-setback construction. I'd actually like to see more street parking on Yale, making it effectively a 2-lane street, to make the pedestrian experience seem a little safer.

i completely agree...maybe have it no parking during peak traffic times, like some streets in downtown,  no parking from 7-9 am and 4-6 pm, but otherwise allow on-street parking, like they used to on Yale.

here is a small update for y'all.  color renderings based on the CD's that are in for permitting.

Steve told me this week that he has not signed Bonobos.  just a rumor.

i wish they would at least maintain the building a bit better.  the rust stains on the building facade by the gutters and the worn out parking lot make it look as lackluster as the items they sell.  i also wish the solar supply would sell.  i'm tried of the 18 wheelers coming down my street.  waverly is only about 20' wide.

they are keeping the southeast quadrant of the block where the motor bank building is now.  hopefully they do some pedestrian friendly retail on the ground floor. it is going to have a parking structure, and likely several stories, given the land price they are looking for.  high rise office here doesn't make sense really, so likely apartments.

16 hours ago, s3mh said:

http://www.parkplaceon11th.com/

 

This was the prior attempt to redevelop that tract.  it is not in a historic district, so you get what you get.  On the one hand, retail rents in the Heights are getting pretty high.  New sq footage is needed to keep rents from getting so out of control that everything in the Heights ends up being from Austin or Dallas.  But woof on the architecture on this one.  

looks like boulevard realty branding, but doesn't mention them, likely as they are a residential shop

yeah, it looks like it is the lot just west of Berry Hill

hopefully people will see the value in their sustainable, natural approach.  i think its the right area for as a friend of mine would call it, "rich people chicken sandwiches" 

we are going to move the dumpster to make a nicer patio area, and to keep the rats and trash smells away from the diners.  we are planning a mural on the south wall, even though it seems to have become cliche.  whatever, i love murals, and i own the building!