Mister X

It was as though they went out of their way to choose the ugly one.

You truly have awful taste. Just completely awful. Please don't quit your day job. Thanks.

Don't get too frustrated. Take it for what it's worth; free entertainment on the internet and nothing more.

Don't be too hard on 214...

People from dallas are very jealous that Exxon is building their new campus in Houston instead of somewhere in the dfw metroprairie. It's as simple as that. I would expect many more jealous dallasonians to rear their ugly heads at this thread more and more as the new Exxon campus and the fabulous new Springwoods development bring even MORE new residents and talent to Houston from around the country.

Exxon was smart to realize that Houston would be the greater draw as most people prefer the Houston area. There is simply more to do and a much higher quality of life in this region. Beaches, Museums, Shopping, Theatre, Sports, Natural Forests and it stays green all year... In some areas dallas can't even compete with Houston. That is the curse of landlocked cities and the source of many of their insecurities.

There is really a lot for north Texans to be jealous of in Houston so you really can't blame them for hanging around HAIF so that they can know what's going on in our region. If I lived in Dallas I would be more interested in whats going on in Houston too.

Why am I not credible?

No more or less that anyone else around here. No offense but I never believe anything I read on the internet unless I see it posted from at least 10 different sources. And even then...

Thanks for the info.

Either Jesse is privy to special info only available to Exxon Employees or I keep missing the part in every article I've read today that says the HQ is officially out of the study. Is it possible to post a link to any article or credible info that says that the HQ is out of the study? Thanks.

The fate of VA will be announced in 2012. Headquarters are officially out of the scope of the study, and is not being considered for a move to Spring.

We actually know quite a bit more than we did yesterday. Size, scope, timing, who, design, look, amenities, etc.

What article says that the HQ is officially out of the study. I haven't seen that report yet.

Quote from the announcement - "Further study will determine whether any other U.S. office locations will be located at the campus in the future."

As far as moving headquarters and relocating people from other cities, it sounds like Exxon is not ruling anything out yet. Spring may one day get the world headquarters after all. There will be lots of room to grow and to build more brand new state of the art offices on already owned land. IF they ever decide to move the world HQ, Spring would be a good choice from an economic standpoint.

For every one person that finds Reliant bland there are 100 people that find it awesome. I can live with those numbers.

I also like how Houston will have 4 major league stadiums within a 6 mile radius. 3 of them less than a mile from one another with an exceptional urban park, a convention center, several nice hotels and a shopping plaza connecting them all within walking distance. Houston's sports venues ROCK.

When you compare the BIG picture in regards to stadiums between Houston and Dallas. Houston wins again.

Bland my arse.

Cowboy stadium looks retarded. It looks like a big broken easter egg sitting out on the prairie. It looks completely out of place, works against it's setting and is visually awkward. I predict it will age very badly and look even stupider as the years pass. It is to stadiums what the polyester jump suit was to fashion in the 1970's - cool for a while, but 10 years later "what the f were we thinking?".

I like the understated elegance of Reliant. Blandness is in the head of the beholder.

Here is something recently mentioned on Swamplot. Does anyone know anything about this project?

http://www.kirksey.com/project/buffalo_lakes_master_plan

Page 10 of this PDF http://www.ridemetro.org/ProjectsPrograms/PDFs/90A_Media_Briefing_020711.pdf shows rail going through the project.

I'm glad Pavilions is there, but why should that stop be from bitching about missed opportunities that the developer had?

Go ahead. Just see where that gets you.

Maybe you can get the city to force HP to get jumbotrons - it couldn't hurt. Maybe with enuf bitching they will even build a big residential tower on top. Maybe the broke developers can start printing their own money.

I personally think it's a bit late for crying over it, but you never know. While your at it - see if you can get 10 more stories put on top of Hess Tower too.

swtsig agrees with your post (no offense Trae). We should all keep up the complaining and then the developer will tear down this version of HP and build a new one just for disgruntled HAIFers. Seriously, if typing complaints on the internet about a project which has already been built can make HP be a better place to visit, then by all means keep typing and bitching.

I know HP could have been better, but besides the positive of replacing vacant lots, the other positive (a dirty word at HAIF) that might come out of HP not having the residential component COULD be that the near by vacant lots to the east of HP may one day be a draw to developers wanting to cash in on having residential proximity to HP. The hotels and condos that didn't get built on top of HP could very well be built next to HP and fill some vacant lots. Whereas if HP built hotels and residential, it might keep those other vacant lots empty forever.

Another positive (excuse my language) is that now there is something to work with on those blocks. Really, it is a miracle that anything was built there at all - especially now. Instead of discussing ways to make HP better we could very well be discussing what pie in the sky ideas we all WISH somebody would build on those 3 vacant blocks which could have easily remained empty for the rest of our lives.

Yes. I'm glad HP is there. Now at least there is something to fight about. Maybe swtsig's idea of what HP should have been will go up on the 3 vacant lots directly east of HP.

JUMBOTRONS! That would give it more synergy. It wouldn't kill downtown if there was a little more flash, sparkle and glamour. HP would get more attention if it emitted light.

I don't like this. Everyone please note this important information in your journals. Mister X does not approve. In other words - "ugh".

Are you e-stalking me?

(again?)

Ugh.

I believe it is dead. That sign has been there for years.

Ugh!

I'll email them to you...

Ugh!

man, what a botched project this became... three blocks of prime CBD land all for an outdoor mall and an office building. the developers had a chance to make this a very solid contribution to downtown but really dropped the ball here. if it wasn't for NRG this project would've traded hands already or would've gone back to the lender by now. to think they had all that perimeter sidewalk space and willingly chose to not take advantage of it.

Yes, the 3 empty surface lots that were there for 75 years were much nicer. I miss them so much. The citizens of Houston were much better off before HP ruined downtown forever.

Houston needs another oil boom. A big one.

There are so many worse buildings in the world. I'm with Hou19541 - Get over it already.

In that photo recently posted of East Downtown, one can barely even notice ES. You would need to draw a circle around it for people to even know what building you are talking about. This building makes no impact on the skyline whatsoever.

And get real people, ES isn't nearly as bad as the people on this thread say it is. If I could remove any buildings in DT Houston that I wanted to with a blink of an eye . ES wouldn't even make my top 10 list.

Of coarse you have every right to hate this building or any building. However, always remember this: people like to complain about things in order to make themselves sound like they know more than they really do. There sure are a lot of those types at this website.

Does that location deserve something better? Absolutely. But it could have been SO much worse. ES could have built something higher or something that made a much bigger impact. Since you can't change anything, you should start thanking your lucky stars that Houston and Disco Green might have actually dodged a bullet. If the economy was better, they might have built something that would have scarred the Houston skyline forever.

Everything is a complete disaster. Wah, Wah, Wah.

Did he just call me "humanistic sludge"? I think The Niche is in line to take over Musicman's place on HAIF which makes me less inclined to post here as much.

The thing that makes this building interesting is that it isn't just pure aesthetics like a spire, or a lighted top. What makes it interesting is that it is aesthetically interesting and functional. You can think of it as a kinetic sculpture if you want, but it is also a small scale technology demonstration that gives people something to talk about and sets this building apart from the others. I am sure if they hadn't put turbines on top they would have spent money on something purely aesthetic and lit it up anyways.

I hope that someday you live in your nondescript metallic warehouse and your spite for me inspires you to save a lot of energy, but please consider being less condescending while you're at it.

Don't stop posting. Nobody cares what Niche thinks. If it wasn't for people like you, posting current photos of Houston on a regular basis , this website would be nothing but a bunch of know-nothing-know-it-alls typing useless gibberish and insignificant opinions all day. Don't take Niche's comments too seriously - I assure you no one else does. A photo is worth a thousand words. Anonymous internet opinions are worthless (except for mine, of coarse). Jax is a useful contributor to this website. Niche is not.

One thing that is certain. The Houston Ritz will be much cooler looking than the Dallas Ritz.

713to214 is just jealous that Houston always gets the more impressive buildings, eventually. And unlike Dallas, people actually use them. And he's still bitter about the Victory Park fiasco and the Mandarin pipe dream that never had a chance of materializing.

Here's my advice. Don't take the advice of anyone who has been proven wrong about his assessments of Houston time after time after time for years. This guy said that HP and light rail expansion were never going to happen either. I wouldn't worry too much over anything this guy has to say about anything.

Maybe the ugly side of this building should have a giant 20-story jumbotron facing the park. Think of advertising revenue. All the haifers that want more lighting for DT at night would be so happy.

I frequently stay at the Embassy Suites in Buckhead and I promise you that its design is every bit as mediocre. This isn't a Houston thing, it's an Embassy Suites thing.

This is very true. But in Velvet J's defense: since when did knowing what the hell you are talking about ever matter at HAIF. Suggesting that all those other cities don't allow ugly buildings to be built is asinine.

Check out this beauty in dt dallas

For all you haters out there, just be glad that a 19-story building like ES can't make that big of an impact downtown other than infill and to remove a part of a surface lot. But I would also suggest waiting until this building is finished to make your judgments.