astrohip

They're tearing down the building across the street from this project (being demo'ed today). The corner of Reinicke & Memorial. The white bldg on the left in this pic...

9 hours ago, samagon said:

 

do not exit Broadway. stay on Gulf Freeway for 1 more exit, turn right on Monroe, then right on Airport.

If I'm going at off-peak times, I use Broadway. But if there's more traffic, I usually use the Monroe/Airport way. It's rarely as crowded as Broadway. And either way still has the overpass into the terminal that bypasses the light. I also frequently use the Jet Aviation terminal, and Monroe leads directly there.

13 hours ago, kennyc05 said:

It does there's not even shoulders on some stretches and the pavement is in bad condition. Also the exit to Hobby Broadway that intersection is a mess 😵‍💫

Hobby is about the only reason I drive the Gulf Fwy any more, and yes, this exit could use some serious redesigning.

They're going to rebuild I-45 again!?! It seems like they just rebuilt it. (I know, time flies...)

Glad I don't have to commute that daily!

19 hours ago, kennyc05 said:

This is hilarious I was just thinking about this the other day how long overdue this is this project is a big deal it's going to relieve a whole lot of congestion over there! They need to work on 45 South and 610 next I know they just built the new ramps but that spot is terrible.

What needs to be worked on? I used to work right there, and it was a mess. But not longer after I retired, they opened all the new ramps/interchanges, and I thought that improved things. But since I don't drive it daily any more, I don't really know.

Thanks.

15 hours ago, steve1363 said:

Dang!  and Shanghai River too!  NOOOO!  Place gets packed every Christmas afternoon!    It's a tradition!

Only for us Jews 😄.

My parents loved to meet there for dinner. It was "quiet".

I drive by this all the time (Pilates studio is across the street). They've been moving dirt for a few months. It's hard to see that they're making any progress, they're moving so slowly.

20 hours ago, Paco Jones said:

Parcel 1, 3, and 4 have been awarded to Hoar Construction. Not sure if Parcel 2 has been awarded but Tellepsen is working on budgeting it. 

Looking out over this project now, I still don't see any activity. Any timeline when we can expect something? I thought I read October (maybe from you), but the memory ain't what it used to be.

22 hours ago, samagon said:

when I am a visitor to any city in Europe: Amsterdam, Paris, Munich, etc, I love the fact that I can park my rental vehicle at the hotel and not have to get back in it again until I'm moving on to the next place. I can walk to any mass transit location, hop on, hop off at my destination, drink, be merry, do some shopping, drink, be merry, and so long as I can remain alert enough to figure out mass transit in another language, I can get back to my hotel without any issue, and likely make new friends along the way.

I absolutely love this also. I have taken public transport in almost every major city I have visited. I would kill to have something like that in Houston.

But we don't. Can we work towards it? Sure. But it doesn't negate the fact we need our freeway system here, or the city comes to a crashing halt.

4 hours ago, Texasota said:

Also, if you live in Brenham you don't have to live with the damage done to Houston by these freeways. You get the benefit and none of the downsides.

I split my time now, but spent my adult career in Houston. Damage? Without our freeways, we don't have Houston as it exists today.

2 hours ago, MrFubbles said:

This makes the assumption that bigger freeways are the reason why it's so easy to get around town - but that's not necessarily true! It might mean more cars get to sit in traffic every day

One can assume smaller freeways, or older outdated freeways, wouldn't make it easy. So conversely, the newer ones must help.

21 hours ago, MrFubbles said:

Adding 4 lanes to I-10? What research is being done to justify these changes? We are already a laughing stock with our existing highway mess

When I drive visitors around, they're impressed with how big our freeways are, and how well you can get around town. Other than peak travel times, our freeways are the secret sauce to the Houston area success story.

I just had a friend from Germany here, and she drove herself from IAH to town, all over town for a day or two, then later to our place in Brenham. She was stunned at our freeways, and specifically commented on the size of the Katy Fwy. None of this was said in a sarcastic or insulting way. Rather, it was amazement at how well we can get around.

2 hours ago, Amlaham said:

I don't think it's they used regular glass windows for the building.

We live in a south/west facing high rise, with floor to ceiling windows. It's not bad at all. Proper glass makes a huge difference.

On 8/26/2023 at 12:24 PM, hindesky said:

Cut down the trees that will be in the way of the building.

Boo! Those iconic Live Oaks along Sunset are a big part of what makes this area so special. I understand trees in the middle of lots are an issue, but WHY did they cut down the trees along the street?

In fact, thinking about this, aren't the trees in the sidewalk/street easement protected? Why were they able to cut them down?

That orange stripe around the top makes for a very obnoxious view. I guess I should be thankful it's not the entire building.

4 hours ago, toxtethogrady said:

I had not realized how dense that corner was...

Except for the small corner of... Beck's Prime!

I gotta admit to a fascination with cranes also. Always have been. I get my fix at HAIF. 🤩

Not exactly Highland Village, but close...

Cyclone Anaya's is moving into the location formerly occupied by Frank's.

https://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/cyclone-anayas-mexican-kitchen-river-oaks-location/

I love the pic in the article, people milling around the front of it, strolling around the area. I guess they're going to relocate the 6 lanes of Westheimer that happen to be in front of this location.

22 hours ago, thatguysly said:

suddenly get very NIMBY about it when it affects them.

Literally the definition of NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard

More traffic lights were inevitable once they removed the middle turn lane. Thanks for the update.

10 hours ago, aachor said:

If the data is to be believed, I think we're in for a 2008-style housing bust. However, in 2008, Houston escaped the worst of it, and I think that will be true for this bust too. 

Housing starts plummeted in 2008, going from (and this is from memory) around 50,000 starts to around 7,500 starts. About an 85% drop in starts. I felt lucky that my business only dropped 70%. We went from 200+ employees to around 65. Oddly, one of our saving graces was Ike. We had a massive inventory left after the crash, that would have taken a couple years to dwindle down. But Ike created a huge demand for material, to renovate all the flood-damaged houses, especially cabinets, since they're always destroyed in a flood. Anyone that had cabinets in stock (and we had 'em!) was doing a boom business.

Oil prices went from almost $200 to almost $60 that same year. It wasn't just housing.

3 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

I have enough trouble with Galleria/Post Oak being called "Uptown." Calling Westheimer at 610 "River Oaks" is just ridiculous. 

 

And the developers are Houston-based so they know better.

After they called the auto dealership that's south of the SW Fwy "River Oaks Porsche", I gave up. 😲

On 2/16/2022 at 9:13 AM, astrohip said:

When we were looking at condos in 2018, we looked at 2727 Kirby. We weren't fans of the building, so it didn't matter, but one of the things our realtor warned us about was this little square of land. He said something will be built one day, and you may not like it next door to your condo.

Five stories isn't bad, I think the units start above that.

Makes my realtor look pretty smart in hindsight!

One of the things we love about our current condo bldg is the lack of developable land around it. It's rare to find a building that is unlikely to have much built directly around it.