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bachanon

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Posts posted by bachanon

    Lifecycle of Master Planned Communities

    in General Houston Discussions

    Posted

    I agree with parts of your analysis, but I don't agree that decay is inevitable in all cases. Both The Woodlands and Cinco have strong centralized HOA that are really there to specifically prevent the type of decline that you mention, because I would expect that these areas understand that a large part of their appeal is reducing the risk that crappy development will occur in the immediate neighborhood.

    Your argument is that since early planned communities declined, more recent planned communities are destined to decline as well. Wouldn't you expect that more recent developments might have learned something from those experiences?

    BTW, I lived for a number of years in Irvine, California which like The Woodlands, was one of the early planned communities and has not suffered the type of decline that you reference.

    i think this is true. grogan's mill is the oldest neighborhood in the woodlands and homes are being completely renovated.

    houses in the woodlands in disrepair are targeted by the residential design committee and forced to upgrade; there is even a fund for homeowners who cannot afford to do minimum exterior maintenance. these safeguards are outside the domain of the woodlands development company and will stay in effect after the development company is gone.

    Research Forest Lakeside: Mixed-Use Development In The Woodlands

    in Points North

    Posted

    i think what they mean is that the architecture is plain. it's clean, sleek, but nothing new, certainly nothing too interesting.

    that being said, it is cool to think that the woodlands "skyline" is growing outside of town center. the simcity player in me is already connecting the commercially zoned areas between town center, shenandoah and the research forest. the crane at aon/hewitt (research forest) is not too far from memorial hermann's crane for new six or seven story building (shenandoah). a crane recently came down at the luxury senior community on the waterway (town center/eastshore) and a crane at 2 waterway square may be in the works (town center/waterway square). to see three cranes up in such a small area is exciting.

    even though the architecture leaves much to be desired, it's fun to watch it be constructed.

    did i just hyperventilate?

    • Like 1

    Lifecycle of Master Planned Communities

    in General Houston Discussions

    Posted

    The Woodlands is 37 years old and Sugarland is 34. Do you see any sign of impending decay in either of those communities?

    for the woodlands, there are decaying homes in older neighborhoods, but the values are stable and people are remodeling/upgrading. the infrastructure continues to be maintained/upgraded. the school are good/for the most part

    Lifecycle of Master Planned Communities

    in General Houston Discussions

    Posted

    consider that sugarland and the woodlands have several major employers as opposed to a mall only. also, the freeway system and the ease of driving further out for cheaper "custom" (sarcasm) homes have facilitated the growth of sugarland and the woodlands. if a new era of rail were to come about, allowing people to live even further out, easily, these communities might suffer. in addition, i do not see the available land around beltway 8 and the grand parkway, disappearing too rapidly (well, if we are talking fifty years though....). as much as our population is increasing, we have considerable room to grow close in (less than an hour), especially on the northeast side and due south.

    of course, communities focusing on corporate investment and lifestyle improvements could become new city centers themselves spawning further out suburbs; smaller master planned communities are popping up within 20-30 minutes from the woodlands. surely, the woodlands as a job center is a factor. add 3 million square feet for exxon south of the woodlands and i do not see the woodlands going the way of sharpstown in my lifetime. sharpstown was new when i was a kid and went downhill by the time i was in my twenties.

    i do not think sugarland or the woodlands will go the way of sharpstown, certainly not in less than twenty years......fifty? i don't know.

    • Like 1

    Weston Solutions Office Building Proposal In Midtown

    in Houston Real Estate

    Posted

    not sure how the state of the media is connected to two new buildings in midtown................

    two blocks of new construction in midtown is good for midtown, regardless of the sad state of mass media. are there any renderings of the new buildings? i'll go out on a limb here and predict the usual outcry of "boring, banal, suburban, f*ugly and why isn't there any retail space?"

    • Like 1

    Bachanon reviews: Bootsie's Heritage Cafe (4/5) on Yelp

    in Houston Area Dining, Shopping and Entertainment

    Posted

    You mentioned having to be on point to be downtown, Rucker actually had a restaurant fail downtown (Laidback Manor) at Main and Capitol where Korma Sutra is now.

    yes....i wonder if the tomball location is helping rucker's foodie rep. i seem to remember good reviews about laidback manor. do you know why it failed? i'm not aware of the circumstances that led rucker to tomball.

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