Trae

Boeing picked Chicago because the Dallas area had all of the suburban cities fighting over who would get the HQ. The Chicago area came together and said they didn't care where they went, as long as they came to Illinois. It was in an article last year on why Boeing moved.

I think this is good news and definitely great for Spring. I'm just not that excited about this because it still creates to the Houston area's existing sprawl. I'm more interested in seeing downtown and areas inside the loop develop. Still a good looking development though!

Well, at least they aren't going further out. Instead, they are filling in the gaps between The Woodlands and North Houston.

Houston is vying with a northern Illinois city for the home of the next aeronautical university campus, with its 60,000-square-foot academic center and a hangar.

Last month, the Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University announced plans to build its third residential campus. The prestigious university that teaches aviation and aerospace is deciding between the Ellington Airport area and Rockford, Ill., which is nearly 90 miles northwest of Chicago. It had considered other cities, including Los Angeles, before shortening its list.

More: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7235342.html

This would be pretty good for the NASA/Clear Lake area, especially with the rumored cuts. It makes a lot of sense for them to locate their new campus in Houston. Let's hope it happens.

Here are some articles about the move/expansion:

http://frontburner.d...ying-in-irving/

I wouldn't completely rule out an HQ move, though it is unlikely. A new shiny corporate campus, with an entire master-planned community (and VERY nice one at that) built right behind it? That may entice a move from Irving, where there are hardly any Exxon employees compared to Houston.

Not everybody lives within 2 miles of downtown. Go back to your small town. If it was WAYYYYYY out, people wouldn't live there. Clearly you have not seen how full The Woodlands Express busses are in the morning times. Clearly you have not seen how jammed 45 is during the morning and afternoon commutes in north Harris County or south Montgomery County. If it was WAYYYY out, why is The Woodlands so prosperous? If it was WAYYYY far out, why is Montgomery County one of the fastest growing counties in the nation? Funny, nobody ever says a word about "Sugar Land" <nose in the air> or Kingwood.

Sugar Land and Kingwood are no where near as far out as The Woodlands is.

Does anyone have a rendering of the Whole Foods? Will it be built pedestrian friendly or car friendly?

Could it be both?

If Don Lessum turns out to be Borat, I'm going to be pissed. He had us all along!

The renderings from the link:

A couple of new articles on EarthQuest Adventures:

Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services Inc., says multiple groups are pursuing plans for at least two separate theme parks in the Houston area.

One of those planned projects is a 1,600-acre mega resort which would be anchored by Earthquest Adventure, a new theme park slated for an area in Montgomery County north of Houston.

Speigel says he expects that Houston will get a new theme park and San Antonio will get some new competition for visitors. But SeaWorld San Antonio President Dan Decker says a new theme park in Houston would benefit the Alamo City because it would bring more people to Texas.

http://sanantonio.bi.../13/story5.html

For those who, like me, were left with an insatiable black hole where AstroWorld used to be, fear not. Houston might (maybe!) be getting another theme park.

And it's not just any old theme park — in fact, its proposed sheer size (1,600 acres) makes AstroWorld look like the Delaware State Fair. The proposed EarthQuest Adventures is an "edutainment" resort that includes a theme park, water park, hotel, institute and perhaps even a residential component. The massive resort is proposed for Montgomery County about 30 miles north of downtown Houston (and 15 miles from IAH), and the expanse of its operations make it more comparable to Disney Word than to AstroWorld.

And that's fitting, because its founders are all ex-Disney execs. The connections run deep, too — one of the speakers at last night's private presentation at Kirksey Architecture to an audience of developers, architects and contractors was the voice of Dale the Chipmunk before he became an engineer. CultureMap was the only media outlet in the meeting.

These imagineers, as they call themselves, have dreamt up a world where eco-education is fun, and profitable.

http://culturemap.co...eco-theme-park/

"I think everyone was surprised when that study came back and showed that a world-class themed attraction with an investment level of $500 to $600 million was feasible in Houston," said Marlin.

That big money buys a park that's described as a little Disney and a little Astroworld. Along with the rides and a water park, there would be hotels, a conference center and a huge mall-like dining and shopping area. It'll all have the Earthquest nature theme.

The master plan has parts of the park spread on both sides of Highway 59, including what the developers call a large eco-tourism area.

"It's where families can come camp, hike and bike trails, rope courses, horseback riding," Marlin said. "They can get a feel for nature and have fun back in the woods."

So far, investors have pumped $30 million into the project just for the land and plans. The state and the East Montgomery County Improvement District have offered up tax incentives, too.

McCrady says Earthquest is more of a gift than a gamble, and there was competition.

"From our board's perspective, we were not going to allow Dallas to have this project," McCrady said. "It's coming to Houston."

http://www.click2hou...900/detail.html

Edit: By the way, anyone go to the meeting last Wednesday?

Yes, travelers wanting to go from Plano to DFW Airport would be better off taking the Cotton Belt commuter rail. The Orange Line to DFW will be better at connecting downtown Dallas and Las Colinas to the airport.

When is this suppose to be completed? What would someone in South Dallas do (along the Red or Blue line) take to get to DFW Airport? It's much quicker to take 408 straight up to 183 instead of the rail, which only saves money.

DART has some nice coverage and all, but light rail at that large of a distance doesn't work, in my opinion. A subway/heavy rail system would though. Light rail runs too slow for someone in say, Plano, to want to go to DFW or Love Field airports. The only thing it saves is money. DFW is easier to drive around.

Because of the numerous grade crossings and stations it would be a lot of work to switch the system to heavy rail (and not economical); it serves more of a medium-capacity role. However with its grade-separated alignment DART could easily add more vehicles and run trains more frequently. The current stations have been built to accommodate 3-vehicle trains in the future (currently only served by 1 or 2 vehicle trains). The downtown D2 line would need to be completed before this could happen.

Not to mention you have to completely rip up the rails, as heavy rail uses a third rail, that light rail doesn't use. Would be a LONG process.

That's cool. I've heard good things about Virgin America. Hopefully they come to IAH soon.

Only part I agree about is Metro needing to have more grade separations over busy roads. The comment about Metro only being 7 miles is mute, since it's under expansion currently.

Spec or not, I don't think this office building would have a hard time filling up. Especially at it's location and the size of it (not too big). Not to mention it's a nice looking building that will provide some good views.

I was thinking the same thing. fthats what happens when you build your light rail system like a commuter rail system. I think Metro's plan is better, since light rail will only be used in the inner city, with commuter rail bringing in the suburban commuters. Those stations, though nice in design, fit what the commuter rail stations on the Galveston line, for example, will (most likely) look like.

2018 being the most pessimistic view. It's not like Metro hasn't already done studies, etc., on the University Line. Mid-2014 to 2015 is the best bet.

Yeah, Houston needs one more hip-hop/RnB station and another classic RnB station. Sad how a top ten market has horrible radio stations. 97.9 and 102.1 went into the crapper without competition. And when we had that Party 104.9 station (that then went to Party 93.3), they played a bunch of Reggaetone bullcrap because it was owned by Telemundo. What are the chances Houston gets more urban stations?

With the latest Record of Decision on July 26th, do you guys think the University Line is realistically on track with what is quoted on the website (below)?

Q: How long will construction take?

A: Construction for the entire University Line is expected to begin in late 2010 and take approximately four years. That does not mean the entire route will be torn up for that entire period. METRO is committed to minimizing the impact of construction by completing each segment of the route in as short a time as possible. Click here for some of the measures we're considering implementing.

Also, is the uptown line suppose to be completed by the same time, before, or after? Frustrating to see how fast Dallas is moving and how our lines keep being delayed (and investigated)...

It's because Dallas was able to get federal funding years ago, while Houston had some congressmen (Culberson, DeLay), that tried and succeeded in blocking Metro's request. You should go look at Dallas' plans now though. They've all been delayed since DART built the system too elaborate and now DART is out of funds for other projects.

Which is why I believe adding one lane in each direction, and maybe an HOV in each direction, with rail in the middle is the best thing to do. They could also follow the Katy Freeway model through the Katy area by having an auxiliary lane (for entrances and exits off and in the freeway).

Nice to see! I remember there being an article in the Chron not too long ago saying construction was going to start soon, and they plan on opening the stadium in 2012. They plan on having the Dynamo play a lot of road games during the first couple of weeks in the season, and then have their home opener at the stadium.

Good, because tollways in both directions are pointless on 288. It works on the Katy Freeway because that's a huge employment center. Pearland? Not even close. Why can't they just add another lane in each direction, as well as a HOV in each direction? If they really want the tollway, maybe build one that changes direction during peak times.

No more or less than either of the other two options. Any CRT heading west from the NWTC is a separate entity from the LRT. It doesn't matter how the LRT gets to the NWTC from the East.

However.. 10 just expanded.. they missed the CRT boat... and they are already well served by HOV/HOT lanes and commuter buses. I wouldn't count on rail to the Energy Corridor anytime within the next 20 yrs.

And that's such a shame in my opinion. The Katy Freeway corridor would have been much better served with one HOV lane in each direction with commuter or light rail down the middle. I believe this was the Katy Corridor Coalition's plan, except they wanted the freeway below ground. That would have been too much. Anyway, they could have then expanded Metro's local bus service throughout the area connecting to the rail/Park and Ride stations along I-10. I believe they did build the new I-10 with enough support to be able to handle rail though.

And an interesting blog post: http://blogs.chron.c...david_crossley/

I-10 at Highway 6 (you can see BP's new building behind the rail).

And I've read that the line along Washington to the NW Transit Center can eventually go on I-10 out to the Energy Corridor (from the Energy Corridor District site and Houston Tomorrow).

EarthQuest plans remain on schedule

By KRISTY THOMAS

Updated: 07.30.10

Amid some doubts and local concerns about the EarthQuest project coming to East Montgomery County, Frank McCrady, president of the East Montgomery County Improvement District, said that the project is still on schedule as planned.

“The park is still on track to open late 2012, early 2013 and we will break ground either at the end of this year or early 2011,” McCrady said.

Recent articles and online polls suggest that some in the community have doubts about whether the park will actually happen. Some area residents say they have been “hearing” about this park for at least three years, but have yet to see any sign that progress is being made toward the park’s opening.

“People will know exactly when we will start working on the park. We will have an official groundbreaking ceremony where the community, media and businesses will be welcome to come and join us for the first start of construction,” McCrady said.

Area residents have expressed mixed feelings about the park and what it will mean to EMC. Some community members and businesses agree that even though there will be more traffic in the area, the growth to the community would bring positive changes.

“Traffic will definitely be a concern, and that is my main concern. Growth is always painful and change is hard, but over time I believe people will adjust, and if the EarthQuest team keeps their promotional promises, it will be very worth it,” said Jacqueline Beck, a resident of Roman Forest.

McCrady agrees that with any community change comes concerns from residents, and there are always growing pains with added projects like this to any community.

“Naturally, there will be more congestion; it is the nature of the area. Any additional growth will be good and bad to some in the community. We are still working with the city and state to relieve any burdens that come with the growth in the area,” McCrady said.

Other community members agree that even with the additional traffic, the park located in the area itself will add a positive side to them personally.