astrohip

No drive-thru. Doesn't Starbucks require them in Houston?

That's a tough location, not easy to get in & out of. A driveway redesign would help. Maybe ROB buys it?

23 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

Freeway shut down this weekend. Traffic wasn't too bad honestly.

That's because they were all on 290 towards Brenham, ogling wildflowers and headed to Round Top. From Chappell Hill to Brenham, a 7 mile drive that takes about 6 minutes, was pegged at over twenty minutes at one point.

I drive by this all the time. I've often wondered about it, since there's no sign. It's next door to an imaging place, I sometimes thought maybe they used.

It's really small. Doesn't seem like residential would be likely, Edloe ain't a great street for new residential. Maybe a small office bldg? But there's plenty of that around, and available, so the economics would be challenging.

I'll be curious to follow this one.

It's amazing how much potential Alabama has. Lots of older buildings, houses, small offices. I'm guessing the biggest challenge is Alabama itself. Not enough lanes maybe for some developers?

Be interesting to follow what happens here.

6 hours ago, __nevii said:

Yeah, I don't really understand that line of thinking either. Especially when "fiscal responsibility is the pretense" ... while living in a city that literally involves itself in enforcing deed restrictions of SINGULAR SUBDIVISIONS.

I ask out of ignorance... I thought the city couldn't enforce deed restrictions, since they weren't laws or regulations.

When I lived in Southampton (strong deed restrictions), we had a resident who flagrantly violated one restriction. Built a permanent structure in a deed-restricted part of his lot (think "easement"). But since there wasn't any city code violation (it wasn't a legal easement, only a deed restriction), the city had zero interest in our problem. We had to sue to get him to remove it.

Excellent news! I know the part of Westheimer (between Buffalo Spdwy & Weslayan) where I live is in terrible shape. I hope we're part of the plan.

I remember seeing some discussion a few months back on something in this area, but I thought it was across the street. Was that the 3302 Branard you were referring to?

Also, driving by today, I saw fresh utility markings (technical term: "orange paint stripes") on the sidewalks along Buffalo Spdwy.

One unique thing about PnP is their pot selection. They have hundreds and hundreds of really interesting pots. Including some really large ones. I don't go there for flowers, I go when I need a big pot.

About two years ago I needed four large pots, all matching, but something out of the ordinary. They had dozens of styles to pick from.

On 11/11/2023 at 6:47 PM, Highrise Tower said:

I believe, in due time, this parcel will be combined with the retail parcel to the left and sold for high-rise development.  It's a lot of space in a high valued area, and single-story buildings will be phased out.

While it's probably inevitable, it would be a shame. Relish is a great little restaurant, interesting menu items, good food. I would miss it.

2 hours ago, editor said:

There are new features,

Welcome back! 

New features?!? Inquiring minds and all...?

So the neighbors concerns are accurate. Traffic is a mess! 🤣

On 2/5/2024 at 4:40 PM, CREguy13 said:

Behind a paywall, but looks like this has broken ground per HBJ:

Mimosa Terrace condo project, years in the making, breaks ground near River Oaks

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2024/02/05/mimosa-terrace-breaks-ground.html

Here's the article (I'm an HBJ subscriber). I noticed the units start around $800/sqft, which fits in with my post the other day (different thread), that said $700-$1000 a sqft for luxury high-end condos.

22 hours ago, hindesky said:

Prices for Miami St. Regis condo.......

"St. Regis-branded luxury residences ranging from 1,950-4,680 square foot floor plans with units beginning at $3.5 million."

https://www.miamicondoinvestments.com/st-regis-residences-sunny-isles-beach

That's Miami. Very VERY different market from Houston.

My experience is top-level, high-end condos in our market go for about $900 to $1,000 sqft. Maybe a little less for lower floors, a little more for higher floors. Doing a quick scan of listings at the Huntington and the River Oaks confirms this.

Don't forget to add at least $1/month/sqft for dues.

12 hours ago, bobruss said:

Auberge Hotels, is getting ready to break ground on their 30 story residential tower and hotel in the RO on the corner of Buffalo Speedway and West Alabama.

Thanks for this update. Exciting news.

Fingers crossed this happens soon. We've had several posts here stating "ground is breaking this quarter", or "they'll start before year-end". Here's hoping yours is the post that kicks it off!

9 minutes ago, shasta said:

....they haven't even broke ground.

I'm literally looking down on this now. Nothing. Nada. The only activity is the water slowly receding from the rains last week.

14 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

That sounds like the original Rice Stadium, built in 1938.

The 1937 Campus Map and the “New” Rice Stadium

Thanks, great link. There's a pic on the bottom of that page, you can see the ramp that leads to the upper seats.

Doesn't this seem like an odd place for a mid-rise condo bldg? I know there are several high-rises right behind it on Morningside and Kelvin, but nothing directly on Rice.

I'm not beating the Ashby Hi-Rise drum (really, I'm not), but getting in & out will be fun. Rice is always backed up there. There's not a lot of units, it won't add anything to existing traffic, but residents will have to contend with a congested street in front of them.

Lot of memories in that Quad. That's where I taught my son to ride a bike, back in the Paleolithic era (circa mid 90s). Weekends, in the summer, it was empty. All those sidewalks were a perfect training ground for racing around. I look forward to seeing the finished Quad!

There was also an abandoned stadium in the corner near the Med Center (or it seemed empty). It had a long ramp from the ground up to the seating area. We'd pump like crazy to get to the top, and then race down the ramp at breakneck speeds.

On 1/9/2024 at 10:27 AM, gene said:

THEN lets talk about elevating the train tracks 🙃 

We can only hope!

Thanks for sharing this. Any specifics? So much of this area has crappy, almost undrivable roads. I'd love to know what her priorities are.

Kirby was recently repaved, so it's in good shape. Except they stopped at Westheimer, so going north is pothole city. Same with Westheimer itself. Much of it has been repaved, but there is a big gap (for example) from Buffalo west.

Alabama is almost finished. 

https://realtynewsreport.com/groundbreaking-set-for-office-tower-on-kirby-drive/

On 7/25/2023 at 9:49 AM, Paco Jones said:

Hello everyone.  This project, the Parcel 1 phase, will break ground before the end of the year (likely within the next couple months).  TW is currently finalizing contracts with a general contractor.

Still nothing.

4 minutes ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

@astrohip thanks for snapping a photo. The property in the photo is located at 5440 Memorial Dr. 

Below is the topic about the building and what will be built in its place.


https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/52601-5440-memorial-dr/

 

That was a screen scrape from Google Maps, not my photo (proper credit where due). 

And of course, in typical HAIF fashion, we already have a topic on it! Efficiency!