dalparadise

I'm for this, but I really don't see how it's a big deal. The land outlined in the Chron map from the article is already heavily landscaped and green. Even the article says the purchase of it only "ensures it won't be sold for development". So, it's already mostly park -- where's the mass peripheral development? Plus, it's only a 13-acre piece of land -- hardly a large urban park. The comparison to the 25-acre LAKEFRONT park in Chicago seems misleading to me. Ours is also pretty far from any existing or proposed residential. Very few use the existing park areas right there even on weekdays, during lunch! Sorry, but this seems like good intentions that won't amount to much difference. I hope the area remains as one of the best places for street parking for Astros games, under the shade of crepe myrtles. It will take more than crafty boosterism language by the Chron (don't think the terms "central park" (no caps) and "superblock" were unintentional) to make this existing greenspace into a boon for residential and retail development. I do applaud the idea, if not the execution. Bleh...this is the kind of story that deserves to be buried in the paper.

What's a "CU?"

I believe much of the glass breakage was due to loose gravel on the roof of the Tenneco (now El Paso) building being whipped up by the wind. If I remember correctly, the glass damage alone went into seven figures. Needless to say, the lawsuits and embarassment have ensured there won't be a repeat of that. Now, as for the building's design -- as 2112 will tell you, it is ground zero for upskirt shots on even moderately windy days. The facade swirls winds around more than any other building in town. So, it's possible that enough negative pressure could be generated to blow a some windows out in a strong hurricane. I doubt it would be anything close to the rain of glass during Alicia, though.

Hold on there...we need two more.