bachanon

Don't forget that The Woodlands is working with planners to make sure the last Houston stop includes The Woodlands....a stop near The Woods/ExxonMobil means no 249 corridor. My only wish is that the HSR would originate at in Downtown Houston, swing by IAH, The Woods/ExxonMobil, to Dallas.....or at least a stop close enough to IAH for a cab or shuttle to/from to be feasible.

Wait until fracking and new extraction technologies are loosed in Mexico by Texas companies. We do not yet know what resources are available that Mexico has been unable to extract or find. There is oil under the gulf of Mexico we have yet to reach. Houston is the epicenter of present and future oil & gas exploration, extraction, r&d, and refining for north and central Americas...and maybe this hemisphere. Houston's economy is exploding due to its global position and not one technology (fracking) or resource.

speaking of density. i've been saving addresses of new high rises on google maps. notice the line between waugh and allen parkway to the museum district. curious isn't it? https://goo.gl/maps/KHepC (actually, i'm not sure if the saved places will be there for everyone. let me know if not and i'll try something else)

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2014/06/23/new-effort-launches-to-fill-thousands-of-jobs-in-3.html?page=all folks should do their homework. houston is frantically trying to figure out how to fill the 296,000 jobs coming to the houston area in the next THREE years. fueled by the large amount of oil, several 1-2 billion dollar refineries are being built or expanded in the gulf coast region by houston based companies. here are a couple: motiva/bechtel: http://www.bechtel.com/port-arthur-refinery.html chevron/phillips chemical: http://www.cpchem.com/en-us/news/Pages/Chevron-Phillips-Chemical-Breaks-Ground-on-Two-World-Scale-Polyethylene-.aspx the oil/natural gas boom has changed the socio-political power structure worldwide. the u.s. is becoming more and more independent by the day and mexico is about to open up it's natural resources for private investment; companies first in line to capitalize on mexico are almost all based in houston or have a huge presence in houston: chevron, exxon/mobil, shell, for instance. as much as russia would like to tighten its monopoly on europe's natural gas, the us is about to unleash liquified natural gas. we now have the technology to liquify natural gas at a port, load on ships to europe, deliquify...right into european homes. the world is trying to figure out how to use fracking technology that our oil and gas industry created. the demand for our technology and our people are through the roof. i think it would be premature to predict when houston's "boom" will end or to even predict how all of this will play out. way too many variables. right now, everything i see is positive for the foreseeable future. at the economic outlook conferences earlier this year, all multi-family residential that has been built is getting absorbed. absorption was static and predicted to be so for 2014. the new construction industry for single family homes can maybe produce 30K homes; demand is for 75K. consider this: population is growing slower than the available jobs in the houston region. rental unit construction is ONLY keeping pace with demand. new construction industry for single family homes could not keep up with demand even if it doubled its capacity to build. foreign investors are keen on houston. it's difficult to get our brains around this much construction especially since we are so very aware of it. although it is a lot of construction, it doesn't mean the demand isn't there. (not going to mention how important it is to get more mass transit in the pipeline but we are so going to wish we had) http://www.city-journal.org/2014/24_3_houston.html also, the panama canal expansion will bring larger freighters from the pacific ocean into the port of houston. http://www.portofhouston.com/business-development/capital-improvement-projects/ the port of houston is the number ONE port in foreign tonnage in the country.

i agree. i think you make my point inadvertently. seldom, is there a business model (thinking typical investment scenario) that would make a building as art/sculpture viable. perhaps, i should have stated my point differently. a concert hall, a museum, a large city library; these uses usually require large donations or trusts in order to be built. typical investors are not ponying up money for most of the buildings in this category, that i'm aware. that said, i have seen residential condos with starchitects, but this too is rare.

so this is happening... http://www.wulfe.com/Realister/manager/Property/East%20Shore%20Place/PDF/EastShorePlace.pdf

the hotel is going to be a westin hotel: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2014/02/new-luxury-hotel-coming-to-the-woodlands.html

some feel she is overrated for several reasons, some politically incorrect (who cares right); some of her buildings appear on paper to be inspired and well thought out; highly sophisticated and progressive. i've heard that some of her buildings have not been well-received or implemented with the best workmanship. personally, i enjoy looking at them but have yet to experience one in person. yes, i too think she is a genius; however, creative genius isn't always suited for practical buildings. i think that buildings as art/sculpture seldom make good business sense.

more than a little disappointing. no turrets! the roof is different. is that the same property as the rendering?

i wonder if there will be a house of horrors or a freak show? bearded lady maybe? they will definitely need alcohol for it to be worth taking the kids; "sorry kids, daddy can't handle grand texas theme park without a buzz."

Uncivil discourse will be removed. Please use the Off-Topic threads to rant or go off. A simple statement of fact is all that would be necessary to make a point. Cursing politicians and "going off" is not appropriate here.

I'm responding to reports from earlier today: Thanks for keeping everything on topic HAIFers and bringing order even when mods are not around! You guys are the best! Please try to remain civil when corralling those who get off track. Unfortunately, I have nothing to offer on the international terminal at Hobby Airport and have not read entire thread: do we know what it will look like? Architects?

we could buy a unit and split the cost as a haif happy hour pad, but, we would all probably drink too much and miss a lot of work..

too bad. i had hopes for more towers around the park. i wonder if demand is such that, for some companies, it is more profitable to get something built sooner. or, maybe the market is such that people prefer hi-rise buildings downtown and uptown more so than the med center? it could be any number of factors. just thinking "out loud".

i get it. i understand that ir occurs, but i don't understand the logic behind it. Naming it Six Flags Fiesta Texas doesn't necessarily mean it's "Texas" themed; I haven't been there however. Do they have western themed things, like cowboy and rodeo motifs? When the "grand texas theme park" was looking at property at crighton road and i-45 in south conroe, nearby established neighborhoods were freaking out a bit. why build or stay in a 400K custom home if you're going to hear rollercoasters until 10 or 11 at night, and share the road with theme park people day and night. i'd be so out of there. theme parks are a hard sell and must be a handful to manage and keep profitable. i'm happy with theme parks in florida...for vacations. i'd rather not have them too close. the pleasure pier in galveston and the kemah boardwalk are more than enough; just passing fertitta's overrated neon abomination downtown turns my stomach.

....perhaps a "texas" theme park would be nice (i'm being sarcastic). it sounds as if they are considering many more options other than just a theme park. i'm not sure why everyone gets so worked up over theme parks; they are bad for property values. theme parks should be on islands, in rock quarries, or in unusual places. a theme park on galveston bay with a great view but away from neighborhoods and businesses would be great. on the far north side of town next to single family homes or the pasadena fairgrounds would not be my first location choices.

each time i see posts in this thread i get a little queasy; i loathe this project. it's been given way too much press and only because we do not have a theme park in houston and because they are naming it a "theme" park which it isn't.really. it's more like some rich guy's grandiose idea for a playground on a ranch. texas isn't a theme in TEXAS. we are IN TEXAS. japan can have a texas themed park. north dakota could have a texas theme of something, but texas is already what it is. moronic. simple minded (not in a good way). i'm sorry, but i hope this project doesn't happen. i'm sure the neighborhoods nearby are hoping the same thing. the grand parkway is going to breathe life into this part of the region but a "theme" park next door will ensure your home values stay low.

did the astoria have a large amount of sales prior to breaking ground? belfiore was practically sold out before it started going up.

moved...

excellent suggestion! adding to my amazon wishlist now.

as much as i like your idea, i think houston pavilions would have taken off if downtown could support a "retail mecca"; the demand just isn't there yet. with the hotel at green street, other hotels, new office space, and more residents downtown, the fickle retail space that already exists might get some motion. (add to that almost 300,000 jobs coming to the houston area in the next 3 years.....http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2014/06/27/houston-we-have-a-plan-to-fill-300-000-blue-collar.html) only when we see the existing space disappearing could we have our retail fantasies realized.

excellent work cloud713! i think you may need a new medium to expand on your ideas. you're having bigger thoughts and ideas than mere paper can contain! can someone suggest software or can we utilize functions in google maps/layers maybe? i'm not familiar with writing over a google map. i think circulating trolleys are perfect for certain applications; it would enhance particular neighborhoods near rail stops and you remove the "bus stigma" for some. it think this thread is going to do well. i can see other charrettes in our future.

i've had my doubts about this building. seeing it in person last week changed my mind. the original rendering and even the pictures above do not do it justice. it's really nice!

I think Luminare has a great idea. HAIF has the potential to grow in ways we have yet to discover. With today's technology and the excitement we are currently enjoying with Houston's booming development, HAIF may have the talent to become an idea factory. It may not be as far fetched as it sounds. Any other input? (I've pinned the topic to keep it at the top of Traffic and Transportation for now.)

i imagine i would like to see privately owned unique retail begin to pop up between rail and residential, but i'm not sure how feasible this is for downtown or anywhere inside the loop for that matter. property is too expensive and you really need steady cash flow to make it. it's great to fantasize about what kind of "retail" we want, but if it isn't likely to look good on paper, it doesn't matter. this is precisely why downtown/midtown/medical center/uptown developments need to make room for retail on the ground floor. the income needed for the property is provided by the major tenant/tenants (office/residential) and the retail is a benefit to the major tenants and the community. in my opinion, a smart developer would make space for retail and seek out the type of businesses that would enhance the lease experience of major tenants (office/residential) or expand on the property's brand. it is understood in mixed-use development circles that your property has to survive with or without constantly occupied retail space. the retail i'd like to see most downtown, retail restaurant supply/hardware store/apple-microsoft/urban, multi-storied target/satellite auto dealerships (audi/fiat/alph-romeo)/a vespa dealer.