17 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

The analogy was between the park cap and the North Canal. Both similarly high-cost projects.

 

 

Last I saw someone had a map of projects and the North Canal was on the planned but not yet funded list.

 

I did some poking around and I found it in The Pierce Elevated/I-59 Redesign thread: 

If you go down to @Triton's post from 09-04-2018, he listed these 2 points under the images he posted, I believe it was from a city development meeting:

"Build the North Canal. Out of all the proposals presented tonight, is the one that has funding after the bond passed. The Planning Commission said they want to get the design down first and want people's inputs on the design. They presented several previously proposed since the grand master plan back in 2002."

"Only thing to add is that most of these proposals so far do not have funding however after the bond passed, the canal has funding now but they are trying to figure out the best design and where to properly relocate the bus depot."

Again, we haven't really heard much since this meeting, so we will just have to wait and see where things currently sit.

5 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Saying "I wouldn't hold my breath" simply implies a reasonable level of caution. I certainly hope that something gets built, and would put the likelihood of some form of deck park at greater than 50/50. When the Buffalo Bayou Master Plan came out in 2003 I was excited at the plan for the North Canal, and now 16 years later we are still hoping that the North Canal gets funded. Luckily I did not hold my breath.

 

I thought in another thread it was discussed in a recent city meeting that funding had been met for the north canal (if we are talking about the one near UHD and downtown).

I might be crazy, but if I can find that thread I'll try to quote it. Still, I don't believe there was any word on when the canal would actually get built.

31 minutes ago, InTheLoopFromNYC said:

Not sure if a joke or not, but unfortunately, the "grandest" title isn't even close. Post Oak isn't bad and the decorative street elements (the arches, rings over the intersections, etc.) make it really stand out. It does  kind of remind me of a mini Wilshire Blvd in L.A. but a long way from matching the likes of 5th or Park Ave's or 57th st., for that matter, in NYC, Michigan Ave in Chicago, or the likes of the Las Vegas Strip or New Orlean's Bourbon St!

I'm pretty sure that's why @Timoric said "America’s grandest BLVD in the making". Hell, we're still about 1-2 years away from completing just the basic infrastructure for the project, so of course it won't be close. I'm certain it won't be the "grandest" blvd in America upon completion, but it's a step in the right direction for continued Uptown development. I'm excited to see what projects go up following its completion. I mean look at what has already gone up/is planning to go up (Arise Post Oak, 1801 Post Oak, McNair Mixed-Use, etc).

(And yes, I'm certain there was a tinge of sarcasm in his statement 😂) 

2 hours ago, ekdrm2d1 said:

Brick through the window.

 

 

Either thievery or a poor man's attempt to kick-off demolition. 

Thank you @Luminare, this is amazing. 

Between this project, Regent Square,  and the Hanover Mixed-Use Project, the Bayou is going to see its share of exciting new developments.

4 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Buffalo Bayou is a halfway decent park.

 

And they are planning to renovate Jones Plaza to make it greener like a park as well as turning the downtown Goodyear into a park. 

If all goes well with the sinking of the highway on the southeast side of town and the park cap gets made, the green space downtown will easily double or triple (but we will have to wait and see).

15 minutes ago, Avossos said:

 

Could it handle major bayou flooding?

Even better question, I didn't consider that.

2 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

Battleship Texas is moving to an undetermined location:

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/houston/article/Battleship-Texas-will-be-relocated-from-San-13904051.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HC_MorningReport&utm_term=news&utm_content=briefing

I was thinking the Maritime Museum (if they decide to locate to East River), would be a fantastic location for the battleship.

There are 2 problems (and probably a few more) with this location:

1. Can they even get the Battleship that far up the ship channel? Is the bayou deep enough to handle a ship that large?

2. This project has deep political ties, and rumors have suggested that those in power want to move the battleship to Galveston in hopes of generating higher visitor numbers. Even if the Bayou is suitable to dock the ship, will the local politicians allow it to happen?

I definitely would have preferred the high-rise, but this is adequate for the area given the design.

At the very least it will be a taller structure then what is currently at the location right now, and it will be consistent will the new construction going up along the blvd.

28 minutes ago, C List said:

Not sure if this is the right place, or if it has already  been mentioned,  but the Zone d Erotica has been vacated

I think on some random thread someone posted a picture of some soil testing going on at the Shell Station next door, but no one mentioned that bit of info!

Hopefully this means we will see that eyesore finally bite the dust.

12 minutes ago, thatguysly said:

 

The information is in one of the previous pages.

My bad, that's what I get for being lazy. Thanks.

25 minutes ago, richfish said:

Tower is dead. Not sure what this is going to be but the speculation is some kind of upgraded, higher end strip mall

Source?

From the Houston Reddit by DougDTX:

“The Midtown Sears sign is about to get hauled away. No longer on top of the building.”

1 hour ago, Texasota said:

 

Oh come on. There are worse things than living next to poor people. I (and lots of people I know) have walked through there countless times and never had anything remotely like an issue. To the extent that's even possible of course, since the whole thing is fenced and separated from the rest of the neighborhood. 

Yeah, this development is right across the road from Buffalo Bayou Park, and I've walked/run many times in that area and have never had an issue.

At least the damage was relatively minimal.

Any idea if they are planning to patch up the exterior to make it look a little nicer? How do you go about resolving this kind of fire damage?

Article from Woodlands Online:

The Woodlands Township and The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion look at possibility of Performing Arts Center

https://www.woodlandsonline.com/npps/story.cfm?nppage=63185

"At its May 22, 2019, Board of Directors Meeting, The Woodlands Township unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Center for the Performing Arts at The Woodlands (CWMP) regarding the possibility of creating a Performing Arts Center in The Woodlands.

CWMP, better known as The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, and the Township are discussing the possibility of entering into an agreement to build, maintain and operate a Performing Arts Center near the current location of the Pavilion.

In the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), members of the Pavilion Board of Directors and The Woodlands Township agree that they desire to explore further options to ascertain whether the construction, maintenance and operation of such a Center is a viable project for the Pavilion and Township to jointly pursue.

The MOU is a non-binding approach such that due diligence may be conducted by the parties to determine viability of the joint development of the Center.

“This is a major step in furthering the development of performing arts in The Woodlands,” said Township Chairman Gordy Bunch. “It feels right that on the day after acknowledging our founder George Mitchell’s 100th birthday this week, we are moving forward with one of his wishes to have a performing arts theater in The Woodlands.”

This is a massive transit center, drove by it yesterday not realizing the magnitude of the work.

Do we know if they are planning to overhaul/renovate the northern transit center or just leaving it as is? I know it has a pretty unique design (with the white pyramids on top and all), but will it need to be modified to handle the new BRT vehicles?

The scene from this morning, the exterior is coming together. They are also painting the lower garage portion a light brown to go with the color scheme.

1 hour ago, Reefmonkey said:

 

I get it, it sucks to have to deal with it on a daily basis, I remember it well. Just trying to walk to stores from my apartments down there in the early 00s I was constantly being pursued by aggressive panhandlers, and I do mean pursued, I had then shout at me from a block away, and start following me, it was spooky. I remember shopping in that Randall's in midtown when it was all shiny and new and being accosted by a panhandler in the frozen food section. When I lived in the Camden Midtown circa 2003, across from the Cadillac dealership, my view from my 2nd story balcony was of the homeless woman who wore plastic grocery bags for socks and always sat on the bench right below me. Couldn't even be free of their badgering when I was in my own apartment - one sunny Saturday afternoon I was grilling on my little hibachi out on my balcony and a homeless person (can't remember if it was her or another one) calling up to me for money. I haven't lived there in 15 years, but I do go down there a lot on weekends, park and walk around, eat at restaurants, shop, etc, and it's a lot better than it was 15 years ago. There is so much more development and activity now than there was back then, homeless people can't exist there in the concentrations they did back then, and when you get hit up by a homeless person on a busy street with a lot of other normal people, and a lot of brightly lit businesses, it's a lot less threatening than when it is just you and a homeless person on the lonely street between your apartment and the nearest store. And the corridor between midtown and downtown under the Pierce Elevated back then, having to pass through a Hooverville, it was a real psychological barrier between the Fourth Ward and the First Ward. Making that area gated parking was great. Again, it sucks when you're dealng with it on a daily basis, and I understand how that is going to affect someone's perspective, and I am sure there are certain times and certain areas where things get to be more like they used to be for a while, but from a longer perspective of 20 years, it looks much better overall.

Well, it's certainly encouraging to hear a perspective from someone who has been here longer than me and has seen the improvement firsthand. I'm hoping continued Downtown and Midtown development will create greater connectivity and community, decreasing blight and the areas where people have been gathering. I'm also hoping the Pierce Elevated rebuild along with the sinking of 69 near downtown helps break up more tent cities. 

This development is actually starting to remind me of a development in Pittsburgh known as Nova Place. Before I moved down to Houston, I attended college just outside of Pittsburgh, so I frequently made trips to the city to watch ball games and see performances, a nice mid-size city.

Nova Place is a renewal project on the north side of town that took the former Allegheny Center (Mall) and turned it into a mixed-use hub with the largest co-working space in the city, restaurants, and even residential units nearby. From what I've heard, it's experienced a decent amount of success and continues to add a lot of tech and medical companies.

You can take a look at it for yourself here: https://novaplace.com/about-nova-place/

I hope Post HTX can be a significantly better version of this, and hopefully grow and add more amenities with time.  

7 minutes ago, Reefmonkey said:

On what do your base your opinion that it is worse? I'm looking at the statistics, which show that homeless numbers have significantly decreased over the last several years. This comes from the Coalition for the Homeless's 2018 report on the Point-in-Time Homeless Count & Survey for the Houston area, which is required by HUD. It shows a 51% decrease in overall homelessness since 2011, and a 63% decrease in unsheltered homelessness in that time. There has been a slight uptick since Harvey, but it's still lower than it was 5 years ago.

I don't want to speak for @UtterlyUrban, but I think I may know what he means.

In the past 2-3 years since I've lived in Houston, and again, this is just my personal experience (no real way to quantify anything), I've noticed an increased aggression in panhandlers in my most recent ventures downtown. Now I'm not sure if it's just desperation, mental health issues, withdrawal from drugs or all of the above, but I've been called out by people on the streets asking if I can give them money. No conversation starters, no small talk, just straight to the point. It's uncomfortable and it's difficult when you have to navigate strategically around them as you walk through town. You could look at this situation, again, as a norm in most major cities, in fact we probably have it easy down here. But with a growing downtown population, many of whom have families, I'm sure many of them do not look favorably on the situation when those who are homeless congregate in areas of high activity (Market Square, Minute Maid Park, Main Street, etc.)

Also, the tent cities keep shifting locations after each city clean-up, and recently they've moved to more visible locations.

Underwhelming to say the least. I can echo the sentiments of everyone else. Although if this is a multi-phase project, then there is definitely hope for increased Bayou interaction and development on those surface level lots.

Cranes, gators and eagles: Houston Zoo’s new wetlands exhibit showcases Texas conservation success

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/science-environment/article/Cranes-gators-and-eagles-Houston-Zoo-s-new-13882732.php