bachanon

i wonder if wulfe & co will consider the increasing need for pedestrian friendly design in this area. it would be great if the project would embrace the uptown tirz improvements. many new developments do not include direct pedestrian crosswalks and connectors from the sidewalks on the street to their new pedestrian areas.

the rendering above may not be the same as the wulfe project which is now moving forward. check out this thread. link

thanks for the reality check. remember that we have all ages represented here and quite a few dreamers (me included). personally, i enjoy hearing about the "nuts and bolts" of things, especially when it involves architecture, real estate and development, construction, etc. so, if you're in the know about things like that "spill". but, go easy on the youngsters and dreamers please.

i believe the writer does not intend to call 8.1 to 9.8 a 36% increase. the central business district's spending is up 36%, not the TCID budget. the 9.8 million dollar operating budget comes from the taxes on the central business district's spending.

Feb. 23, 2005, 12:29PM Town Center boosting area real estate values Business hub in Woodlands helps increase home prices By BETH KUHLES Chronicle Correspondent The Town Center Improvement District, which covers the new downtown district and the College Park Shopping Center, commissioned a study to examine its impact on surrounding communities, including The Woodlands, Oak Ridge North and Shenandoah. The district is mandated by the state Legislature to spend 10 percent of its budget to deal with negative impacts from commercial development, such as police, fire, traffic and aesthetics, within two miles of its boundaries. For 2005, the Town Center Improvement District adopted a $9.8 million operating budget, which will add more security to the growing downtown district and expand marketing and operations for The Woodlands Waterway. The budget represents a 36 percent increase in spending for The Woodlands' central business district, up from the $8.1 million amended budget for 2004. The district expects to collect an increase of about 21 percent in sales tax and hotel tax this year, adding $1.7 million more in revenue, mainly from retailers in Market Street and The Woodlands Mall expansion. Barton Smith, a professor of economics at the University of Houston, found that home values were higher within the impact area around Town Center than in nearby areas outside that zone in South Montgomery County or North Harris County. Smith attributed a 6.7 percent boost in home prices specifically to a close proximity to Town Center. For example, a typical house in the South Montgomery County/North Harris County area may sell for $150,000. Those located within a two-mile radius of Town Center are selling for $162,000 and those a mile from the central business district sell for $172,000, the report said. The study found that a Woodlands address raised home values 14.5 percent, while a Woodlands address within Town Center raised values 21.2 percent. "We always approach this with a feeling that there was a net negative impact and what is the net positive impact?" said Frank Robinson, president of The Town Center Improvement District. "What we have been doing is contributing to a quality of place. You sensed that these needed to be done for the benefit of the public. You should continue to look at the big picture as to what can be done to support the quality of place." Funding public safety The Town Center Improvement District finances many public safety enhancements in the district, including The Woodlands Fire Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Department and Precinct 3 Constable's Office deputies, Alpha and Omega Mounted Patrol and The Woodlands Waterway ambassador program. "This gives us a platform now to spend the money not for obligations, but on things that we have with particular goals," said Thomas J. D'Alesandro IV, a TCID board member and president of The Woodlands Development Co. D'Alesandro took issue with property gains the analysis reported within one-half mile of Town Center, which were lower than those within a mile of the downtown business area. He argued that those figures should be higher because of the introduction of high-priced townhomes and lofts in the center of the business district. Smith said the analysis was based on home values from January 2003, and those properties were not captured in the data. Business, residential mix Smith said the study looked at the overall impact of Town Center and not at specific issues such as crime, fire calls or traffic. He said many of those statistics are not available and were hard to attribute just for Town Center and its two-mile impact area. "The net overall impact can be seen through its influence on home prices," Smith said. Smith suggested that the home values may indicate a need to make improvements for residential areas closest to the commercial areas. While the report provided Town Center with good news, it did little to address how the district should spend its budget, which comes from sales tax and hotel taxes in the district. The Town Center is faced with deciding on increasing law enforcement costs and a recent request to assist with funding a new fire station for The Woodlands. "As long as everything stays status quo, the homes would appreciate in value," said TCID Board Member Peggy Hausman, who also serves on The Woodlands Community Association. "As TCID expands and grows, if The Woodlands Fire Department or law enforcement is not at the same level, would the values stay that same level? " Hausman encouraged TCID to start collecting data from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department as a way to monitor crime statistics and law enforcement needs in the future. LINK

it will be interesting to see what develops in regards to the new building for 20th century and contemporary art. hopefully, there will be an international competition for an architect. perhaps we will have another significant piece of architecture to add to our great city. although i love the fact the we have a museum district, i would like very much to have a significant (architectural gem) museum downtown or midtown. not robert stern or michael graves please. i know gehry is cliche to some but i'm still green with jealousy over bilbao. tadao ando or renzo piano would be awesome too. how nice it would be to have more of their work in texas. zaha hadid would really make me happy as well. is it true that they will destroy the new parking garage for the next expansion? anyone?

"traction" for downtown residential will explode when someone creates really affordable, quality housing. $1000 a month efficiencies aren't going to cut it. 2/2 flats for under $1000 would change the face of downtown. i'm not sure how this would be financially feasible for a builder/developer with current land costs. maybe mixed income developments could be workable.

http://www.buffalobayou.org/sunsetcoffee.html the last i heard, lake/flato architects were tapped to redesign the sunset coffee building for mixed use, but financing was an issue.

what a strange coincidence. i went to the car show and had tapioca too(at the shepherd teahouse location). my nephew and i had chai cream tapioca. funny.

i believe there is a construction fence up around the site now. i've heard that they have scaled down the original plans. the rendering published when it was announced some years back was quite impressive.

wow, i new he was older. i guess i thought he'd live forever. he made an extraordinary impact on design in houston. i'm truly sad to see him gone.

kudos to sugarland. these new "downtowns" will take cars off of the freeways. for instance, why live in sugarland and come to the galleria to shop when you have high-end retailers closer to these new concentrations of wealth and residences. consider the woodlands' residents who used to travel to the galleria area several times a month who now go there less because of the stores opening in the woodlands. there were some surveys done (pre-market street) of woodlands area shoppers. they found that more than 80% were shopping in houston at least twice a month. more than 95% said they would not drive in to houston if the same stores were here. several of the stores listed as favorites are now here: urban outfitters, cheesecake factory, william sonoma, pottery barn, sur la table, storehouse, smith & hawkin, etc. unfortunately, i could not find the survey to provide a link. i believe it was linked through the market street website or town center. Woodlands Town Center this is good for the environment and may eventually provide the format for less intracity travel. think "outlying urban villages" that will eventually be connected to the central city by commuter rail. in my perfect world, the vast acreage that would begin to be available between these centers of activity could be returned to natural habitats, farms, etc. ok, coming back to earth now.

welcome to the forum jonah. one item to consider: downtown and midtown did not have all of the infrastructure improvements 8 years ago. there were no stadiums, no light rail, no cotswald project, etc. over 2 billion dollars have been spent preparing downtown for an urban renewal. there is a real buzz, actually, a freight train (IMHO) of interest in the revitalization of downtown/midtown houston.

i think the woodlands high school holds under 2000 kids. maybe it's a new standard. i hope so.

yet another blight on our dear city's skyline. the original renderings were better. it aches to see this waste in the same frame as philip johnson's buildings on post oak. an utter travesty. ughhhh!

i really enjoyed that article. perhaps it's because i live in the woodlands and would love to be a part of houston's downtown/midtown redevelopment. don't get me wrong, i LOVE the woodlands. however, i DO love all of the activities in and around our wonderful city, houston. hmmmmm, why can't the "city" be as concerned about affordable housing downtown as it is with the expansion of the convention center and having a convention center hotel? certainly architects and developers would step up to the plate if the city showed some sort of interest (read investment opportunity, less than average profitability i'm sure, but something media noteworthy none the less). kudos to all you "urban pioneers" for paving the way.

Buildings start taking shape for College Park High School Meetings to help kids, parents decide courses, schedules start Tuesday in The Woodlands By CARISSA D. MIRE Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Meetings for parents and students to discuss course selection for The Woodlands College Park High School are set for Tuesday for juniors, followed by a meeting for sophomores on Jan. 27 and on Feb. 3 for freshmen. However, meetings are just a small part of what makes College Park High School Principal Mark Murrell excited about the new campus, set to open to ninth-, 10th- and 11th-graders in August. Seniors will be added in the 2006-2007 school year. Historical texture "I'm just ready to be here," he said during a recent tour of the 350,000-square-foot building, which is nearing the final stages of construction. Murrell said he's extremely pleased with the three-story building's design, especially the front entrance

Plaza Hotel New owners are planning to redevelop the historic Plaza Hotel, 5020 Montrose Blvd, as a medical office building to be called the Plaza Medical Center. A group of Houston investors has purchased the long-vacant landmark from the French company that has owned the property since the 1990s. According to the Houston Business Journal, total costs for the project could reach $24 million. Plans call for a total exterior restoration with modern interior design. The building formally opened Feb. 21, 1926, as the Plaza Apartment Hotel, Houston's first facility to provide hotel accommodations and suites for permanent residents. The concept was based on the Ritz Carlton in New York and the Biltmore in Atlanta, among others. The architect Joseph Finger decorated the splayed wings of the building with neoclassical and Italian Renaissance motifs. The Plaza operated as a traditional hotel until the 1980s. GHPA has been monitoring the building for many years. Staff members have met with neighborhood representatives and interested investors to discuss the property's potential and address local concerns about any redevelopment proposals. Link i realize this is somewhat redundant. does anyone know the current status of this project?

U.S. grants Lexicon $1.9 million for antiterrorism research By: BURTON SPEAKMAN, Villager staff 01/05/2005 Lexicon Genetics Incorporated (Nasdaq: LEXG) was awarded a $1.9 million grant for the discovery of drug targets that could provide resistance to ricin poisoning from the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases for a one-year initial term. "Lexicon's proprietary gene knockout technology, coupled with our comprehensive system for analyzing the physiological effects of genes in mammals, can provide the Army with important information in its effort to combat the harmful effects of bioterrorism and biological warfare agents," said Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., company president and chief executive officer. According to the Centers for Disease Control, ricin is a water-soluble poison made from the waste produced during the processing of the castor bean and can be produced in pellet, powder or mist form. The goal of the program is to ultimately identify target agents and to develop protective drugs, Sands said. Lexicon will complete the testing for 250 genes within the term the grant. Genes will be tested to evaluate their potential to block the body's reaction to ricin, he said. This technology does not work in the same manner as current treatments for either diseases or poisons. Current treatments work to eliminate toxins or infections from the body, Sands said. Drugs developed through this gene therapy will keep the toxin or infection from reacting with the agent it uses to damage the body. "Any agent - whether it be a poison or a virus - must use an agent to interact with the body," he said. Currently it is unclear what kind of reaction ricin produces that infects the body. Another advantage to gene treatment is that toxins and diseases can mutate, making current treatments invalid, Sands said. This would not be the case for drugs that affect the target agent. "Genes within the human body don't mutate," he said. "This could be the beginning of a whole new class of therapy." "We believe the methods we will be using to find host factors for ricin resistance could have broader applications for other toxins or infectious agents," Sands said. This is one of the initial steps that could bring the new therapeutic treatments to wider use, he added. The grant from the U.S. Army is the first grant that Lexicon Genetics has ever received, Sands said. Burton Speakman may be reached at bspeakman@mail.hcnonline.net.

i hope you're right, gwilson. i'm anxious to drive by and see what you've seen. i think a "neo-prairie" style movement would be refreshing in the builder/developer community. in fact, i think it's way overdue. the increase in available home accessories and fixtures from the craftsman era are an example of the public's increasing interest in this type of design.

i don't remember the name of these trees, but i do know which trees you are referring too. these trees do lose their needles/foliage and appear to be dying; however, they will grow back. in fact, i think these trees were discussed in the old forum. maybe someone else will know a little more.

this building is atrocious. i hope the the actual structure looks better than the rendering.

Hotel Online News for the Hospitality Executive -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Houston-based restaurant firm may ante up for jump into gambling By Tom Fowler, Houston Chronicle Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Dec. 23--A booming casino industry, a lack of attractive restaurant merger targets and $400 million in cash has Landry's Restaurants prowling the Las Vegas Strip in search of its next acquisition. The company hasn't formally announced plans to get into gaming, but Landry's Chief Executive Officer Tilman Fertitta has made no secret of his interest. At a recent analyst conference in New York, he lamented the shortage of good merger deals in the restaurant industry. And in a recent conference call, he said the company would consider buying a casino "... but it would have to be the right deal." With $400 million raised just this week through a debt offering, the company is now well-armed to go hunting for that right deal. There are many individual casinos on the market, the result of a merger spree among the nation's biggest gaming companies. There are also a handful of small, publicly traded gaming companies that would fit in Landry's price range. One of those companies saw its stock price surge Wednesday in reaction to takeover speculation. Riviera Holdings, owner of the Riviera Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip and the Black Hawk Casino in Colorado, saw its stock climb $6.35 to close at $41.80. Riviera and Landry's officials would not comment on the takeover speculation. Whether or not Riviera is a target for a Landry's takeover, it may be the kind of investment Landry's and Fertitta could grow to love. For starters, the company owns one of the classic brands on the Strip, the Riviera Hotel & Casino. Built in the 1950s, the Riviera has 110,000 square feet of casino space, 2,100 guest rooms, a half-dozen restaurants and 160,000 square feet of convention space. Riviera may also be a good real estate deal. It is on 26 acres on the north end of the Strip near Circus-Circus and the new Wynn Las Vegas development. Riviera also appears to be in Landry's price range. It reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $31.5 million in 2003 and may approach $40 million of 2004. With casinos selling for as much as nine times this gauge of earnings, known as EBITDA, the price tag could be about $360 million. Riviera also presents an operational challenge, something Fertitta does not shy away from. Riviera has been a consistent money loser, with casino revenues flat and income from food, beverage and rooms down. The loss for the first nine months of 2004 was $619,000 on revenue of $153.9 million. It's an improvement from the year before, but is still a lot of red ink. Even if Landry's does find a willing seller in Las Vegas or elsewhere, it could take many months for a deal to close. The application and approval process for a gaming license, which Landry's would need to own a casino, can take six months or more. Since 2000, Landry's has nearly tripled in size. Much of the growth came through aggressive acquisitions, which netted the Rainforest Cafe, Chart House restaurants, Muer Restaurants and Saltgrass Steak House. While the company has shown an impressive revenue record, it has its detractors. Some analysts point out that free cash flow, a key measure of operational efficiency, has been negative eight of the 10 past quarters. The company says much of this is the result of the cost of funding the company's growth and the fact that, unlike other restaurant companies, Landry's tends to own its own real estate -- about $500 million worth at last count. A casino acquisition would take Landry's merging tendencies in a new direction. Gaming has become a top attraction for investors in the past year, fueled in large part by industry mergers, according to Todd Eilers, a gaming research analyst with Roth Capital Partners. MGM Mirage announced a $4.9 billion merger with Mandalay Resort Group this year and Harrah's Entertainment is buying Caesars Entertainment for $5.7 billion. Speculation over who will be next has driven up stock prices for small and midsize gaming companies. Las Vegas land prices are also on the rise, thanks to new developments. Casinos have stronger earnings growth, higher returns on invested capital and better free cash flow than most other businesses, including restaurants, Eilers said. Fertitta said it best himself in the recent conference call: "We've looked at the fact that you can go and acquire a casino that produces say $17 million in EBITDA, and it's the same as what it costs to build 50 Joe's Crab Shacks." Other possible acquisition targets include the individual casinos being spun out of the big mergers, or one of about a half-dozen smaller companies that have casino management contracts or own a few properties. In addition to Riviera, this list includes Lakes Entertainment, Monarch Casino and Resort, the Sands Regent and Century Casinos. Landry's has connections to Lakes through board member Kenneth Brimmer. He and his wife once worked for the casino company that became Lakes Entertainment. Lakes has a 64 percent stake in the televised World Poker Tournament and has contracts to run four Indian tribe casinos, including one in Eagle Pass in South Texas. -----To see more of the Houston Chronicle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.HoustonChronicle.com © 2004, Houston Chronicle. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com. LNY, RIV, WYNN, MGG, CZR, MBG, LACO,

amen!!

i would hate to lose jones hall; however, i wouldn't mind having a new structure specifically for the symphony. retrofitting jones hall for a new use, i'm all for.