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X.R.

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Everything posted by X.R.

  1. X.R.
    This is the surprise of the year for me. Thought "oh, gonna get some nice 10-12 story red brick apartments like the one near 45 in midtown" and then see a baby Caydon sprouting out with GFR. Ridiculous. Who would have thought the opportunity zone designation would create this type of affordable housing/apartments? Not I! If this starts a trend of affordable development because of the long-term money designation, then I owe people apologies. And the problem with buying the "undesirable" land is those lots most often times have immense situational value to the owners (concrete plant can't move, the junkyard land has been in the family for 40 years, etc), the land is more expensive than one would expect, or, and you see this alot with downtown/midtown lots, the land is owned by some random oil and gas or international company that is holding the land for the big, big payday. In my experience every commercial real estate developer in-town, and quite a few out of town investment funds, are just trying to buy whatever lot they can (in Midtown/Montrose/Museum/Downtown), however they can but sometimes its too expensive even for them. Can't just snap those fingers!
  2. X.R.
    I would agree with thatguy about some, but most of that part of Midtown was a dumpster for a while. Like, no one lived there, and no one went there cause it was seen by most as unsafe. And this is coming from someone who grew up in various dumpster-like places like old gulfgate and soho. If we're talking about the people who live on the other side of 59, and next to that Fiesta by the barber shop, then yeah, theres people there. Now that is true, or at least I agree with that. But that letter they want people to send is disingenuous, because they don't care about any of that. They just want to some concessions. Its like when the Museum Park people are smacking around apartment developers at town hall meetings to get nicer esplanades and to have more trees and free drainage fixes. Or when those Midtown residents showed up to fight the bike lanes because of their supposed right to free parking on the street but really they wanted wider sidewalks/fix drainage issues, etc. Its all the same, and I think most people find it gross. The problem is, this part of Midtown to my knowledge doesn't have an association other than the ones for the townhouses closer to DT, this aint the hood those people signing that letter normally claim. So yeah, they can't even do what the Midtown/Museum people did. I dunno, its shiesty man; I agree with you in part, but where were all these organizations when Sears closed and you would accidentally exit 59 at Fanin and be like "yooo what is the fastest way outta here."
  3. X.R.
    You guys know Burger Joint has like the tiniest parking lot ever right? With some unique angles for parking. So while they may be adults, they dont have alot of experience with parking lots lolol. I think you can poke fun at them for something fairly stupid even if you love their burgers and fries as most of us do. Looking at this thread, it seems basically the Heights is getting a lot of Montrose transplants. Dunno if theres a better blueprint for restaurants in the city so congrats my Heights homies.
  4. X.R.
    I'm assuming they have an issue with the stuff going on in the area surrounding the Ion that is/was third ward (the terrible litigation going between Turkey Leg Hut and the Museum District people and the perceived stifling of certain business on Almeda, the expansion of townhomes into third ward, etc) and this is something they can actually effect. All the other stuff is private actors and private developers. Here its schools and some city people, and various organizations that could/would actually listen to complaints. I agree tho, this is the wrong entity to throw stones at, since I don't think a single person in Houston would say this part of Midtown has been anything to anyone in 20+ years. In my line of business alot of people just want to have their voice heard at the end of the day. I get the feeling this is alot of what this is, for better or for worse.
  5. X.R.
    Yes, as of this morning, the one that caught fire was still up, but they are currently clearing all the debris from the other homes and putting them in massive trash bins. The guys on site mentioned they are looking to start site prep work before Christmas (I don't know what that means) but that seems pretty fast considering where they are and that they are quite a few older trees on this lot that I hope they figure out a way to preserve (I never thought I would type that last part).
  6. X.R.
    Sad that people can mistake this construction for various places along the Bayou because of how long this has taken. Its kind of ruined these "hundreds of miles" of bike paths the city likes to talk about. Yesterday was a beautiful day to be on the bike, and met 6 or 7 people who were like "uhh we can't ride the Bayou because every mile or two there is more construction." The old-houston slow construction doesn't make much sense when you have 40 story multi-family going up in a year and a half. Just wish this would be finished soon so people can get the flood relief they deserve and the old bike system can go back to normal. Also, one of the construction workers that helped with the bayou expansion by the Cistern by buffalo bayou was saying the greenery they are planting there will be more of what will be seen over here.
  7. X.R.
    Man, that map really, really hates single lot homes. I checked where my rents live, it doesn't even have a color and its inside beltway 8. I guess I never realized how inefficient those types of developments are. West U and the other more single lot home areas definitely fit the "low" category. Kinda telling that the map loves that part of Montrose and the museum district close to the park. If they update that map Q2 of 2020, I think Midtown and the whole of Montrose will look very different.
  8. X.R.

    The Boulevard Project

    X.R. replied to zaphod's topic in Transit

    Thats the short term. So for retail and food services, the short term sucks because of the construction (and thus all the Cease and Desist letters and injunctions and lawsuits Uptown faced when they were a year into construction) hurting flow of people to their businesses. But long term? I think we've finally turned the corner for business and light rail in the city, which bodes well for BRT. Foodhalls, sports venues, hotels, apartment, and other new builds begin their investment pitches and advertising now with proximity to light rail in Downtown. Hell, the Dynamo practically beg people to use it. Plus, businesses are on the side of removing the parking minimums in Downtown/Midtown, theres some signs of going more transit based. I really honestly think the BRT will change the flow of people to Uptown. We thought it sucked working in Galleria area before? It'll take a few years, like the rail, but once it gets going, I think the businesses there will finally appreciate it, and we will be whining about getting stuck at the Westheimer and Post Oak light in April because theres so much foot traffic and it takes forever to take a right. Also, the "Gold Line" is hilariously appropriate for the area.
  9. X.R.
    Lol y'all crazy. There ain't no way, no how these metro people gonna find the money to ED new builds in that area. They shoulda done all this before the houses were built. They'll find a different, cheaper way. They always do.
  10. X.R.
    What in the world, they're completely redoing the landscaping in the area? I don't think Caroline has esplanades, does it? And is it just me or are they basically shutting down that central laneway area? They weren't kidding about walkability. With the speed in which Ion is moving now...I'm guessing some of the landscaping and sidewalk stuff will probably start in the new year.
  11. X.R.
    This sewer issue, which has been mentioned before, but not discussed in too much depth, actually makes sense when you think of how much sewer work the city is currently doing in Midtown (Caroline is destroyed, and various other streets have work being done on the weekends). And to an extent in the Museum District (part of the package for these apartments to move into the District usually involves them paving small ditches and doing sewer work). And I guess I never thought of Montrose/Muesum District/Midtown as under-built, just that a new need has arisen. But now it makes sense why people are stumbling over themselves to dump trucks of money in these areas, as if playing catch-up.
  12. X.R.
    Oh snap! They took down the bridge! This part of the trail, and a bit further down where they are extending/reworking it towards 610, has taken so long. I don't really understand it since with this bridge they have been slowly working on it since July. Crazy the amount of work they are doing on this bayou, you have this bridge and the pathway and then on Macgregor you have the same type of construction going on. The new design of the bridges are supposed to help with flooding, and there will be walk/bike path components to both.
  13. X.R.
    *Cries* are you saying...I can go from downtown to...UPTOWN? MY GOD IS THIS REAL. I never thought I'd see the day I could take a timely, consistent, and frequent transit option from Downtown to the Galleria. This blows my mind.
  14. X.R.
    I drive by this, and the Ion building, every day. Both have hit the overdrive button on working, 15+ people on site every morning doing various things when previously you would go a few days with very minimal movement on the site. The glass tube wrapping seems to now only have one large side and one tiny side left, when like in early September they had only done one side. Probably good for the construction guys and gals, Christmas is coming and overtime sounds pretty good right now.
  15. X.R.
    Something was bugging me and I realized it reminds me somewhat of the Menil and I don't know why. I love the design. The only thing is those skinny columns, dont know how I feel about that. The airyness of the design is pretty striking. Make parts of this out of recycled materials and we have a true winner.
  16. X.R.
    These two are pretty unique (for Houston): The Astorian has a great view on the roof and the inside is soooo beautiful. When we wanted to have ours there, they wouldn't let people on the roof yet because it wasn't ready, but I hear now they do. Also, they may work with your favorite ethnic place for food, depends on them. The Asia Society Texas Center is beautiful inside, and the upstairs with the water mist...thingy is very pretty. They do weddings for sure, I see them every so often. If I think of anything, I'll add to the thread. Good luck!
  17. X.R.
    Something lost in the discussion is that outside of TMC (full on land managing 501(c)(3)), these other institutions generate good revenue and have large endowments boosting their financials, aka they have more money than they know what to do with. They've probably done 1000 studies about 1000 different things, and settled on this type of development. If it works, its amazing and their endowments grow and a sector in Houston that as @102IAHexpress accurately points out is just above average is going to get a huge boost. And the type of people they are trying to attract to potentially move to Houston probably won't have cars or really want to go to Katy or Clear Lake to do anything (hell, maybe not even Downtown). These researchers, as pointed out before, are generally focused on their job at hand and are used to college campuses where everything is relatively close and walkable. I think given all that, some of us can agree that one could see what they are trying to do. And someone asked if this was for regular Houstonians, and they said on the Looped in pod, yes, it is, to make TMC a more inviting place for those who live around it. If the design sucks, or they don't get as much business as assumed, hey, nothing's better for these entities and their endowments to hold and take loans against than developed real estate, right?
  18. X.R.
    @Luminare is right in that there are a number of much older units. Also, surprisingly(?), there are a bunch of ooold townhomes/condos/smaller apartments all along Westheimer/Bissonnet. There are pockets of older facilities all over the inner-loop that are being targeted by real estate companies as easy acquisitions for the opportunity to update and flip. So I can see that. I agree alot of the pressure will be on the West loop where developers are really pushing for that oil and gas crowed. And I also agree with Lum that you would think people would pay an incredibly pretty penny to have a house or apartment there, so I get why these are "luxury" apartments versus just regular apartments. Its incredibly puzzling that the Bayou area wasn't developed before. Having grown up on the south side of Houston, I always assumed that was where the rich people lived, but when I started to visit the park and that area more frequently I realized they were...just empty lots and fields. Weird. Just odd there wasn't significant development there before.
  19. X.R.
    There can be no way they could call it BRT and put it in normal traffic with everyone. Maybe utilize the HOV lanes? If they put it in normal traffic, I give up on my dreams of a Smarter Houston.
  20. X.R.
    Only real relevant info: ""If you look at the downsizing of some of the oil and gas companies, we’re not seeing the job growth in the 'A category' right now. And we’ve still got a significant number of units that are under construction to be delivered in the next 18 months," Greystar's Stacy Hunt said in a recent interview. "Today there are still a lot of properties, particularly inside the Loop, that are giving two months free rent." One would think this would be a great area for condos/townhome/apartments mixed development, but its mostly apartments now. It is kinda nuts that Houston will go from a smattering of apartments there to 1600 apartments within a few years. That influx, particularly since they are high-end almost exclusively, is a bit worrisome as they note because how much of Houston really has 2k+ a month for an apartment.
  21. X.R.
    This. Doesn't this all funnel into the conversations in the other office space threads where we talk about how alot of these buildings are still wayyyy behind the ball when it comes to catering to the new standard of beer fridges, colliding spaces, bike racks, bike rooms, innovative floor plans, group spaces, etc. Its cool that a building looks cool, and I don't know much about who keeping up with the market rests upon (the owner of the building or the management company), but I do know alot about lease agreements and client expectations. Space is expensive. WeWorks is only sort of expensive, and offers all the "start-up energy" one could ever want. Just saying, if your space can't beat a run of the mill coworking place, then what are you doing. Law firms, many of which call Dtown home, are even jumping on the updated floorplans and startup layouts, and law firms are notorious fuddy-duddies. If these building's floorplans are more than 15 years old, then I would expect them to take the loss when a big regional or national company is looking to house their employees (of which half are potentially younger than 40, or come from companies in NY/CHI/SF/BOS where the sexy interior space revolution has happened or is happening).
  22. X.R.
    It's truly strange how few grocery stores/coffee shops/local corner stores/etc there are in that area. You have a ton of people living by that park, stupid amounts of foot traffic. I can guess why that is but its not a pretty thought. Regardless of its location, its targeting 60% of AMI and lower, which is super commendable. Tbh, I'm surprised the business interests behind the Mosaic and other higher end apartments are OK with such a development. I didn't see where it says senior housing. I wish more of these would go up in that neighborhood, emancipation area, and the heights.
  23. X.R.
    That is one of the worst parking lots in the city, hands down. The amount of near accidents, actual accidents, wrong way entrances, people waiting 5 mins + for someone to pull out of a spot, etc is pretty astonishing. Its so bad that I leave my car at home when I g...oh was that their plan all along?!? But yes to a a garage that forces people to park further away and walk to the place. More foot traffic in that area to me is a massive W to fight the 40+ mph crowd trying to book it down westheimer.
  24. X.R.
    Yeah that park is going to hoooooot during the summer time. Unless they need all that space for discgolf, I don't really understand the thought behind having all that space and no significant landscape architecture. It screams "THIS IS BETTER THAN A PARKING LOT, RIGHT?" when in actuality, I don't know.
  25. X.R.
    On the looped-in pod he said they moved away from the elevated park design because it wasn't quite as open as they would have liked. The TMC president kept saying it had a stadium-feel. He stated, and its confirmed on the linked pod, that it will be a flatter park/promenade/walking area for people to utilize on breaks, before work, during work, whenever. On the looped-in pod he mentioned that he'd want people people to "collide" while utilizing the space, whether its yoga, morning runs, etc, so I'm assuming there will be programming for that space. Those are the actual renderings from the current designer. As to the parking, I don't know where that came from. On the looped-in pod, and the linked pod reconfirmed, he stated no cars will be able to go through the campus, other than the designed pathways to be used for deliveries. This construction pod mentioned GFR, food halls, and bike pathways?!? HAIF dreams do come true!
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