CaptainJilliams

Not sure if this was posted or not but...

Texas Appellate Court Allows Eminent Domain for High-Speed Rail Project

https://thetexan.news/texas-appellate-court-allows-eminent-domain-for-high-speed-rail-project/

I'm not sure if anyone has had the chance to take pictures, but from i-45 there is a lot of steel going up on the roof of the building. It caught me off guard the first time I saw it, thought it was an entirely new building going up at first. It also looks like they are repainting the exterior. 

I was at Buffalo Bayou Park this past weekend and noticed just how prominent this tower is starting to become in the skyline. Can’t wait to see the finished product.

Went out to eat (for the first time in what feels like forever) in Uptown at True Food Kitchen, got to see the Boulevard. I have to admit, it's turning out really well, love how sharp everything looks, it will be exciting to see them testing the BRT line in the next couple months.

17 hours ago, midtowndweller said:

The Pacesetters Personnel Services (PPS) has closed!!!! It’s all boarded up! Of course we knew this was part of the Rice Development but I’m just so happy to see it finally gone! That has been ground zero for the homeless in the area. Granted, now they are all congregating along the fence. Now all that’s left to be closed is that sketchy MetroPCS/Corner store.

Do you know if that Jack-in-the-Box next door will be torn down as a part of the Rice plan? 

17 minutes ago, Big E said:

 

Another thing to keep in mind: the tower as originally proposed was shorter than the current 48/50 story version, as seen here, and was in fact probably 35 stories, like the rendering that @Paco Jones showed. Also said rendering is indeed of lower quality, like something that came right off the drawing board, unlike the rendering of the taller version, which is a high quality digital picture. The Innovation Tower website still lists it as 48 stories, while the Medistar website list it as 50. Assuming they are keeping these websites up to date, I can't see how they could not have updated them with any new plans to downsize the tower. I have also done an image search, and have been unable to find that particular render of the tower; I would like to know were Paco Jones got it.

A little disappointing that it lost 12-13 floors, but I'm still happy with the design. 

Are they just repaving the parking lot in the first picture?

I'm just happy they're actually doing work on this site. Hoping the final product look sharp.

I used to drive past this station all the time, can't wait to see it become a park.

On 3/4/2020 at 6:47 PM, august948 said:

 

How long has BuffBurger been around?  I just started noticing them when the expanded a year or two ago.

Maybe 4-5 years at most? They definitely haven't been around a very long time. I used to go to the one off of I-10, the original location, and when they opened their Alabama Row location that became their unspoken flagship store. That location was much closer to where I was living, super convenient.  

Wow, this is awesome. I'm a little late to the party on this thread, but good to hear this space is getting filled! Definitely in a busy area of town.

Fingers crossed on this one, hope it happens.

15 hours ago, Response said:

I say we give trump just ONE more chance. On second thought, let's not.

 

Covid cases - 750,000

Covid deaths - 40,000

American unemployment - 22,000,000

Price of Oil - $0

 

Face it. MAGA is dead. And KAG never had a chance.

Trust me, I don't like the guy, but these numbers a direct result of global circumstances far beyond the control of just one person or party. Making an assertion like this easily lumps you into the same group of logic as many of his supporters. Every time someone is in power, the easy and usually wrong excuse is to blame the current leader. 

Has he made serious miscalculations and errors in responding to this virus? Most definitely, there's no doubt, and he needs to be held accountable for the foolishness he speaks. But at the same time, these are relatively unique circumstances, and it's hard to see how anyone outside of knowledge of the future or dictatorial control could have completely stopped this thing from spreading, given the diversity in state and local response. I don't think many people fully understand all the moving pieces and forces that make this situation a complex challenge, all we see is talking heads spout off bite-size segments that are dumbed-down, simplistic arguments designed to generate outrage and pit people against one another. 

Again, this is absolutely no endorsement of the current administration, it has been frustrating to witness on so many levels. But please, these arguments hold absolutely no merit.

Oil just dropped below $0 per barrel. 

Any implications of how this will affect Houston?

I knew they had to have something planned for that lot, when I use to live in that area we walked around that plot (currently a dog park) frequently. I knew it had to only be a matter of time.

Good Lord.

You shouldn't go overboard on both ends of the spectrum. You have to take it seriously, but we shouldn't be panicking.

Yes, it can kill, but 80% of cases are classified as mild and can be treated from home. The ones we really need to worry about are the elderly, or anyone over the age of 60. I'm honestly okay with the measures companies and people are putting in place to curve the effects of the virus.

That being said, this will accelerate the recession. I'm more concerned with the overall economic impact than I am the physical impact, H1N1 infected nearly 60 million Americans and killed over 12,000 Americans alone: almost no one talks about it. But again, that isn't grounds to treat the virus lightly.

This is more of a question than a topic of conversation, but I couldn't find a whole lot of information so I was wondering if anyone had any news regarding this topic. I know back after Hurricane Ike hit the trolleys were damaged (not the bus trolleys) and that they were undergoing restoration.

I had seen articles as recent as last year indicating they were close to coming back, but they weren't there when I traveled there in May of last year and haven't been back since. Does anyone know if they are operating again or is this one of those projects that is dragging along? Any word on when they may come back?

Man, I remember BuffBurger was the first burger joint I ate at in Houston, and I always remembered it being above average at worst. Their Alabama Row location was very nice, a good atmosphere and a quality venue.

I will say I think they made some menu changes that weren't the greatest and the quality of their food got worse with time. But still, far from a bad restaurant. Probably just location and a saturated market.

36 minutes ago, Luminare said:

 

Now thats some juicy info. I'll be sure to have the popcorn ready if and when they make the announcement.

 

By the way, any way you could elaborate on these other forums? I'm genuinely interested in see what other cities got going on.

No problem, UrbanPlanet hosts numerous city forums, but not all are super active. I know for Texas only the Austin forum really posts anything.

As for Nashville, they do have a pretty active site. The link to their forum is below:

https://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/forum/250-nashville/ 

33 minutes ago, CREguy13 said:

Had a chance to view these renderings.  This building will have even more terraces than Texas Tower.  I think this forum will be very impressed by the redesign.  High quality project - hopefully it gets capitalized!

Wow, great to hear an update on this one!

Any idea of when the public can expect to see these new renderings?

Well, wasn't expecting this to take this spot. 

But the renderings are nice and it will be good to have something on this corner.

It's already becoming a prominent building from a distance.

But it's construction is making that white parking garage in front of it (originally intended for the International Tower) stick out like a sore thumb. Wonder if that tower will ever come to fruition.