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CaptainJilliams

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Everything posted by CaptainJilliams

  1. CaptainJilliams
    Kinda wished they had cropped out the Jack-in-The Box in the lower left corner 😂
  2. CaptainJilliams
    Texas Wetlands at the Houston Zoo will open to the public on Friday, May 24 https://www.houstonzoo.org/explore/exhibits/texas-wetlands/?fbclid=IwAR2gvnks3fM11Ykm0R328rx0Wbp0lh1PTTcKh4O7EI_EwGlavgTgrT8EuXM
  3. CaptainJilliams
    Agreed on the East End Cap and the 69 Caps near the Innovation District. The element that seems less certain is the Pierce Elevated Skypark, I don't know if they will re-purpose the highway for a park or if they will simply knock it down and connect Midtown and Downtown.
  4. CaptainJilliams
    What’s the reason why?
  5. CaptainJilliams
    Wait, What’s Going On With the Astrodome Now? https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2019/3/25/whats-going-on-with-the-astrodome But also: https://www.click2houston.com/news/what-s-the-astrodome-renovation-timeline- The second article states that there really isn't a set timetable moving forward, but that work is happening now to remove asbestos from the building. This has to take place before any major construction can take place.
  6. CaptainJilliams
    Even though BRT won't be quite as nice as light rail would, any rebuild of Richmond is a win. I can't tell you what a pain it is commuting just 1/2 mile down that road.
  7. CaptainJilliams
    Finally, this giant empty lot is going to hopefully be filled!
  8. CaptainJilliams
    Let's hope! The eastern end of the skyline is getting its fair share of development while the western end has been quiet for a while now.
  9. CaptainJilliams
    I'm still very skeptical about this one, I'll believe it when I see it.
  10. CaptainJilliams
    We visited the JFK Assassination Museum, it was very nice! I wouldn't say Houston has a museum quite like that downtown, but we do have Sam Houston Park and The Heritage Society (granted those houses could use some upkeep and maintenance). Most of the museums in Houston are centralized in the Museum District near the Medical Center. The Majestic Theater is also very nice, but again, I would say that the Houston Theater District is superior to the one in Dallas, just in terms of venues and performances the city hosts. And in terms of Neiman Marcus, I have to be honest in saying I didn't even know one existed downtown. That being said, I have to question whether or not having that store downtown is a significant draw for locals or tourists. True, Houston doesn't have a major retail store like that downtown (correct me if I'm wrong), but we do have GreenStreet and The Shops at Houston Center. By themselves, they aren't anything too impressive, but at least there are renovations/expansions planned for both venues. Furthermore, most of the high-dollar retail is concentrated in Uptown Houston with the Galleria.
  11. CaptainJilliams
    I believe it's "Deep Ellum", which is just slightly northeast of downtown Dallas.
  12. CaptainJilliams
    No joke, my wife and I made the foolish decision of walking nearly 3 miles around Bayou Park at noon in the middle of July last summer. We were contemplating calling an Uber about halfway through because it was so hot 😂. As much as I love the park, going those long distances without a water fountain or options for purchasing drinks was rough. Definitely one of the things that could be improved in the park, as well as adding more trash cans and dog bag stations.
  13. CaptainJilliams
    Yeah, I should've just kept my opinion to myself, seems as though I've ruffled a few feathers 😂 This is a forum dedicated to Houston, and as such, comparisons between other Texas cities are inevitable. I simply gave my initial impressions from my first visit, things may change the more I travel there, there's no need to get all bent out of shape. There were many great things I liked in Dallas: the zoo is nice, there are several excellent museums, and the food (like many major cities in Texas) was diverse and wonderful. That being said, I don't think there is anything wrong with pointing out the flaws in a city. Houston has several flaws, and I'm not going to be ignorant to them since addressing these issues can make a city greater. From my initial experiences (as seen above), there are many things I disliked about Dallas that still makes me believe Houston is the superior city in my mind. Remember, this is just my opinion, and I value certain aspects of cities that others don't necessarily value as much as I do. Apologies for diverting the discussion on this thread, back to our regularly scheduled program.
  14. CaptainJilliams
    I visisted Dallas for the first time almost 2 weeks ago and I went with an open mind, I really tried to curve my Houston bias. That being said, in the week I stayed there, I found Dallas to be pretty unremarkable. “Boring” would be an accurate term to describe it as well. Sure, there are certain areas of the city that have seen revitalization, but the architecture is especially old and cold. My wife (who cares very little about development news/architecture) went out of the way to comment on how ugly a majority of the buildings were downtown. It seems like Dallas hit a big boom during the 60s-70s when buildings were largely composed on concrete. They are more of a concrete jungle than us! And surprisingly, walking around areas of downtown/uptown Dallas to be less walkable than Houston. I found the surrounding cities/suburbs to be more appealing than Dallas proper itself, and I think that might be its biggest strength. This isn’t necessarily meant to be a post dedicated to bashing Dallas, just my honest opinion and initial experience after visiting.
  15. CaptainJilliams
    Awesome stuff. Is it weird that the thing that excites me almost as much as the actual development is the infrastructure improvements? It makes me so happy to see developments like this bring new sidewalks and hide ugly power lines. Thank you for the info @jgriff!
  16. CaptainJilliams
    B-O-B is close to where I work, and I am not surprised one bit. I never tried their food, but from the people I worked with and some reviews I read, it seems like there was much to be desired. Every time I drove home, weekday or weekend, their parking lot was almost always empty with the food truck being the only vehicle on the property. The traffic wasn't non-existent on most days. Another sign profits were low was the state of the building. I believe someone tried breaking in 6-12 months ago through the glass door at the entrance, and they fixed the problem by taping it up. Someone else, later on, smashed through the fence with their car on the northern point of the lot and they never got around to fixing that section. Really sad to see a restaurant go, but I figured it was only a question of "when" this one would close.
  17. CaptainJilliams
    I've actually been to that Target in Vienna! It would be amazing if we got a Target in Midtown that looked as spiffy as that one.
  18. CaptainJilliams
    Drove past the site this morning, exciting to see this redevelopment happen! I just wish we had a rendering that showed how this will look when finished.
  19. CaptainJilliams
    I can't really argue many of these points, in fact I probably support a majority of them. My biggest gripe was with Mr. Speck in how he presented his argument, at least from what I read/heard it was a lot of negativity and very little constructive talk on alternatives to current congestion. Sure, he may have offered solutions at different talks in different cities, but I wish he had presented options similar to what you did. Also, I could see the "congestion charge" facing some serious pushback from locals.
  20. CaptainJilliams
    The article is almost 1.5 years old, but I can still hope!
  21. CaptainJilliams
    Makes me wish someone would build something (preferably a mid/high-rise) on the corner of Post Oak on that intersection! At least something worthy of being at the entrance of the boulevard.
  22. CaptainJilliams
    Wow, it's been a while since this thread has been bumped, but I had the chance today to go on a family walk at the park and it's clear big changes are taking place. First off, I don't know if I'm just very unobservant or if things have been this way for a while now, but the entrance at East Memorial Loop (the Memorial Dr @ Memorial Loop Drive bus stop for reference) has become the main access road coming off Memorial Drive to get to the golf course/Becks Prime. There is a new parking area open along with a recently finished walking path and a small restroom facility. I really dig the design and landscaping they went with, it does a really good job immersing people in greenery. But my personal favorite part was how wide the new path was, it had to have been anywhere from 15-17 feet wide at certain points! It's probably been like this for months now, but the changes are very much welcome and I'm hoping they will be implemented throughout the entirety of the master plan. (Side note: you have to pay for parking in the new lot, but for $1 you get a 3 hour window of time) Second, the previous entrance from Memorial Drive (where the sign for the golf course/Becks Prime is) has been closed off entirely, green fencing now engulfs this portion of the park. Signs indicate the Eastern Glades project is underway. There were also signs close to the new parking lot that indicated the sporting fields and facilities are going to be upgraded by 2020 sometime, a rendering of the changes found on the sign is below. Finally, as we were leaving the park on Memorial Drive, I noticed about 500-1000 feet from the railroad bridge that crosses over Memorial a massive mound of earth and dirt had been moved, at least 20 feet high. I could be wrong on this, but given its location and the plans detailed in the previous renderings on this thread, I think this is the start of what will become one of those giant land bridges. I really wish I had taken some pictures, I didn't realize the changes I missed since I had last been there. Exciting to finally see the beginnings of what could make a great park even greater.
  23. CaptainJilliams
    For those interested, check out the thread here:
  24. CaptainJilliams
    Check out the developer's website, the rendering that has been posted several times on this thread appears next to the project "Aspire Post Oak": https://www.dinersteincos.com/properties/
  25. CaptainJilliams
    Newest downtown tenant: Life Time Fitness Center and Co-Working Space Set for a 2020 opening. Read more here: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Newest-downtown-tenant-Life-Time-fitness-center-13717442.php
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