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thedistrict84

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Everything posted by thedistrict84

  1. thedistrict84
    Good point. I know we like to give Lovett a hard time about dragging their feet on larger projects like the old Houston Post building and Post HTX, but a smaller scale project like this should be easier to turn around in a more timely manner. Or, they’ll just sit on it for an extended amount of time with no activity. Honestly could go either way.
  2. thedistrict84
    Did anybody happen to go to this? I heard some information third(?) hand that was apparently discussed at this meeting regarding East River, but don’t know how credible that information was.
  3. thedistrict84
    That’s a refreshingly rational viewpoint. I was just curious because I’ve seen other people post on here complaining about having tall buildings built that compromise their views, sunlight, etc. You didn’t seem to fit in that camp, but I thought I’d ask anyway. I did the same, buying with an empty lot next door. A three story apartment is currently being built that blocks a view of the edge of downtown from the shared driveway. Like you, I figured it would be developed eventually. I’m just glad someone didn’t try to stick a high rise there. . .
  4. thedistrict84
    I’m guessing you live in one of those townhomes immediately to the east of this site. I’m curious how you feel about having your downtown view blocked by a mid rise apartment?
  5. thedistrict84
    Not just a parking lot. That seems to be most, if not all, of the block in question. Seems absurd. Seems to be overkill for a parking lot intended for joggers and bikers on the trail to use. Only explanation that makes sense would be that the City is relocating one of its vehicle yards to this spot. Maybe Parking Enforcement? Their facility/lot on St. Emanuel will have to relocate due to the I-45 reroute.
  6. thedistrict84
    It might have. A sign is still up advertising the property for lease, but the land is now being used for parking for the Southwest Key detention center on Emancipation.
  7. thedistrict84
    It was open for maybe a month? It didn’t do too well. Reviews were generally bad. https://yelp.to/qTKq/JO91BApuY0
  8. thedistrict84
    Just walked by and there were several cars parked in front and a bunch of people sitting at the bar. Seems like it’s open!
  9. thedistrict84
    Today I learned of the Venus sports car made right here in Houston (thanks to a post on Reddit). As a native Houstonian and gear head, it is a bit surprising that I hadn’t heard of it before. A total of 10 were apparently built. Although the running gear was from an earlier Ford, a lot of the components were custom made for the Venus, including it’s fiberglass body. This was presumably done at their building located at 930 S. 75th St. in the East End. The Pinterest page linked below was set up by the son of the designer and shows some really interesting historical photos of the vehicles, as well as a few articles. https://pin.it/qz2dalwkojyzc7 One of the pictures features the vehicle in front of the building on S. 75th St. Using Google maps, it looks similar to the building now located at 926 S. 75th St., which is an auto repair shop. I doubt that the address would have been changed however, so I presume that the building was torn down some time ago. If anyone happens to remember that part of town from the 1950s-1960s, I’d be curious to know if it’s the same building. Thought I would share. Enjoy!
  10. thedistrict84
    Drove by here this morning and there is zero activity at this site.
  11. thedistrict84
    I agree with you completely. I think one of the best things Market Square and this stretch of Main has going for it is proximity to the light rail. Many of the people who will be moving into all of the new mid-rises and towers in Midtown and other parts of downtown skew younger and more professional and have disposable income for going out. A growing number (typically transplants) seem to be going without cars, if things I read here and on Reddit can be extrapolated. This area represents the best upscale bar experience anywhere along the light rail.
  12. thedistrict84
    But Lucky’s Pub is an awful place. It’s dark, dingy, their deck is falling apart, and they charge way too much for drinks. I paid $7.50 for a Lawnmower pint there on Saturday when I met up with some friends for the Red River Rivalry game. On top of that, my credit card got compromised there about five years ago—somebody behind the bar duplicated my credit card’s magnetic strip onto a blank card and went on a spending spree the next day in the Westchase area. When I spoke to a manager about it, he didn’t seem too concerned about it. I would recommend avoiding that place if you can. If you absolutely have to go, bring cash.
  13. thedistrict84
    I noticed that they are building an outdoor area and path at the end of the parking lot at Headquarters, in previous railroad ROW. These railroad tracks have been abandoned for a while. Not sure if it will extend all the way to Commerce, but it would be nice if it does!
  14. thedistrict84
    Surrounding East River with these new mixed income affordable housing projects (as proposed) is probably not what potential future tenants for the retail sections of the project want to see. The City is undermining the creation of what figures to be a promising new commercial district if it’s going to allow these other developers to put several of these housing projects—primarily inhabited by people with no disposable income and limited buying power—in the immediate vicinity, instead of more market rate apartments (like the Marquette developments nearby), more townhomes, and other similar developments. Seems counterintuitive. And yet again, the East End (and lower Fifth Ward) may take on more of these types of housing developments. There are too many here already, as the map on the linked page clearly shows. I know I sound a bit NIMBY-ish, but other areas in the City do not have nearly the number of low income housing developments that the East End has. Since the City is involved in this process, they really need to do a better job of spreading these out more (i.e., by modifying the approval process that these projects are currently going through right now by making proximity of existing developments more of a factor in granting or denying proposals, etc.). Edit: @I'm Not a Robot does make a good point that part of the goal of these projects may be to relocate those currently in Clayton Homes, but I was under the impression that Clayton Homes was a different class of low income property (i.e., exclusively Section 8) than these projects.
  15. thedistrict84
    Thanks for pointing us to those new renderings. Architecturally it’s better than expected, and from what I can tell it will front Hutchins and Leeland with no parking on those sides, which should help promote pedestrian traffic on this streets. Not bad (aside from the sea of parking, but that was probably inevitable).
  16. thedistrict84
    I drive by this building every day. They’ve been busy the last few weeks making modifications to the windows and building out the interior. Hopefully part of the renovations are to relocate the entry door back to the corner, at a 45 degree angle, as it was originally.
  17. thedistrict84
    I’m anxious to see the site plan on this development. Given that the vast majority of Raus Construction’s portfolio on its website looks to be soul-crushing suburban-style developments, I’m not holding out much hope for something pedestrian-friendly that helps promote walkability in the area. I guess we will see.
  18. thedistrict84
    Minutes are always posted on the Planning Commission website. Just scroll down and click on the link for whatever date you want to check. http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Commissions/commiss_plan.html I haven’t heard much about this development recently. I agree that having land bank style properties in this area isn’t going to help further development, especially in such close proximity to other affordable housing-type projects. These types of projects really need to be spread out more, and not just in the East End. Hopefully the major market rate projects by Marquette nearby and other similar developments help even things out.
  19. thedistrict84
    They should have named that development Nickel’s Edge.
  20. thedistrict84
    They may have removed it from the name then. It was originally referred to as “EaDo Navigation” in materials and on the variance request notice placed on the property (see the previous pictures and discussions in this post). Regardless, Marquette still states on their website that both this development and 400 Jensen are in EaDo. They’re not.
  21. thedistrict84
    If you type in “Greater East End” in Google maps, you’re not too far off from how it is currently. I thought it ended at the Bayou, but the map shows it going all the way to Clinton. Agreed 100%, but if developers and real estate agents have their way, all of this will be called EaDo eventually. It’s the hip, trendy name after all. Exhibit A: this development, which has “EaDo” in its name but is definitely not in EaDo. I’m not against gentrification generally, but the loss or even dilution of existing area/neighborhood names into whatever invented name sounds cool to marketing focus groups is an unfortunate byproduct.
  22. thedistrict84
  23. thedistrict84
    Drove by this building today and they are making good progress. New windows have been installed throughout the exterior of the building, and it looks as though the interior has been fully built out and mostly furnished. I would be surprised if this wasn’t open by the end of this month.
  24. thedistrict84
    I’m assuming that all of the amenities put in near the Bayou greenbelt will be open to the public? As others mentioned, it would be great to have a pavilion and green space around the silos and have it usable as a community space. And, more importantly to me at least, it would be great to have another dog park in the area since the EaDog Park on Polk is rather lackluster.
  25. thedistrict84
    Good idea. It’s technically on my way to MMP by foot, I’ll try to check it out next time I go to a game.
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