Big E

Its Reddit. What do you expect?

Because they built the parking garages separate from the buildings.

Here's to celebrating 10 years of the most underwhelming development in Downtown Houston. Hip hip hooray.

The people who are being "displaced" are being paid for their property and being given assistance to move, so they don't need your pity. And the people living next to this project are already living next to a freeway, so this probably won't disturb them as much as you think it does. You can drop your feigned interest in these people you don't even know. Its not impressing anyone here.

This project far dwarfs, at the very least, the Hyde Park cap. The state is rebuilding around 15 miles of some of the busiest freeway in America's fourth largest city, in addition to building new lanes, burying existing and new ones, building new roads, rebuilding an entire interchange, building multiple caps, etc. and doing it all while disrupting existing traffic patterns as little as possible. And this is after years of studies, back-and-forth with local governments, public meetings, impact statements, and the like. And now the project is being held up by the federal government itself, without which it would have already started, and ninth hour local opposition. You say it shouldn't take 30 years. I say you know nothing of the bureaucratic nightmare that is building anything in America in this day and age. Funny you mention California; they are learning this exact lesson the hard way with their high speed train project. A better comparison would have been the Big Dig, which lasted from 1991-2007 for primary construction, but planning began all the way back in 1982.

Also, most of those islands are sinking back into the Persian Gulf, and aren't even developed.

Here is an article on this building in Culture Map Houston: https://houston.culturemap.com/news/real-estate/03-10-22-the-westcott-929-westcott-for-rent-memorial-park-washington-avenue-greystar/#slide=0 Also, this thread should really be renamed "The Westcott".

Will this stop the exodus of stores, tho'?

They would literally be throwing money away with how much this property probably cost to buy and pay taxes on.

Honestly, this looks like a really early design, probably not fully reflective of how the final project will look. I'm willing to give the benefit of a doubt until they show us a more "final" rendering. At least its taller than the old designs. That's a plus.

What every one is missing here is that, even if we switched to nothing but clean energy tomorrow, oil would still still be the most important resource in the world, because nearly everything we have was made with oil. Anything with plastic or rubber in it? Oil. Paint? Oil. it would be easier to name the things not an ounce of oil went into than to name thing that have oil involved in its creation. Oil companies like ExxonMobil will be fine.

I don't think its all that pretty from any angle.

My guess, the main reason its not being extended to Beltway 8 is because of the expensive ROW acquisition it would necessitate; there are multiple neighborhoods on both sides of the train tracks, and something is going to have to get taken out to get it to Beltway 8. By extending it to 610, they are offering an alternate way for people living in South Central Houston and those coming from the loop to get to downtown without forcing them to go all the way to I-45.

If this makes one thing clear, this whole idea the TxDOT didn't work with the city and local actors at all and ignored all outside input is a fantasy, pure and simple. TxDOT have been nothing but conciliatory. At one point, they weren't even building the caps, just making the freeway able to be capped. Now they are capping it themselves. They are also putting in detention ponds, rebuilding almost every bridge crossing, and reconnecting streets. Having seen this report, I have no complaints, about this project. I don't really see anything to complain about this. Its a net positive for the city.

I was merely pointing out what was there. I wasn't wrong; most of what's there is various studios and art galleries, and some converted lofts. Do you disagree with that? There are may be one or two restaurants, a bodega, other small businesses. I didn't say those things weren't there, just that most of the old industrial facilities had been converted into art spaces and lofts, others were abandoned or still being used for their original industrial usage. Do you disagree with that statement? I had already pointed out there was some houses in the area. There maybe more, but it isn't an amazingly large number. I meant to type "Okay you lived in Dakota". Its hardly relevant. The point is, you've established that you lived in the neighborhood at some point, which was the important thing to establish. Whether you live there now, or live there twenty years ago is hardly relevant here. The point is, you lived there. The New Orleans Warehouse District is the most famous such district in the country. Its basically what every other Warehouse District aspires to be. Its where the National WWII Museum is located. Lots of hotels, bars, restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, converted lofts, art galleries, museums, and even the farmer's market. The convention center is right along the riverfront in front of it, so a lot of convention traffic passes through it. Its what Houston's Warehouse District wants to be, but doesn't really hold a candle to it. I don't doubt any of that. Is it poppin off like Downtown or East Downtown though? Since this started up by someone bringing up the NHHIP freeway cap in comparison to this project, I think it only fair to answer that question honestly. Which one will actually have a greater impact? Which neighborhoods will see more growth, realistically? Which one will be more utilized? The Canal will have a greater effect on the city as whole for flood relief purposes, but for recreational purposes, which will actually have a larger net positive effect? That's not to say the Warehouse District is completely run down or good for nothing. If I thought that, I would say that they should turn the canal into a lake and dredge that entire area. I'm just saying this won't have the amazing effect some think it will. The surrounding area isn't the best, and everything else of note is on the other side of downtown from it, with the exception of the Main Street historic district, which is still blocks away. The presence of the jails and court complex will limit its impact, as will the abandoned warehouses and other abandoned buildings. The Abandoned buildings will be dealt with in time, the jails and courthouses are here to stay for the foreseeable future. So we should keep our expectations realistic about what this will look like and what it will be expected to achieve. I just want you to see things from where I'm coming from.

Maybe its moving to the River Oaks District?

Okay, you live in Dakota. The building across the street is the William Street Lofts. Got it. That's, what, two buildings? A few other warehouses appear to have been converted into studios for various uses: Sanman Studios, Studio 713 recording studios, Mother Dog Studios, Hardy and Nance Studios. Some small art galleries. Most others are either abandoned and completely boarded up, or in industrial usage. Ultimately not a lot of residential uses, but the type of post-industrial uses you expect of former warehouses. I already mentioned that they were building what looked like a new apartment building on the far eastern side of the neighborhood. That seems to be the only real major development. Yes, they can, but I don't see this neighborhood as being quite there yet. It not like the Warehouse District in New Orleans. It will probably never be there considering its size and the hard physical borders (the freeways, the bayou, the jails...).

Where exactly did you live? Next to the bus depot at Dakota Lofts or William Street Lofts? One of the few homes near Rothwell? Or maybe you lived in Near Northside, which actually stops at the rail tracks on the other side of the freeway? Or maybe you lived in downtown on the other side of the bayou? Only the houses on Rothwell and the Lofts are actually located in the Warehouse District, and a few old houses and some industrial buildings-turned-lofts don't make it a thriving neighborhood. There appears to be one apartment complex currently under construction, on McKee St., on the far other end of the neighborhood.

Not sure how a canal could make an area filled with jails and warehouses uglier...

The danger is part of the thrill for them, along with the risk of getting caught.

That's what I'm saying! I don't know why people are expecting this grand park design for what is basically a large drainage ditch! Its a canal first and foremost people. The design looks like a real basic one, like an early rough draft of what they want. It will probably be better designed when they actually build it, but to expect this to be something on par with like the Riverwalk in San Antonio or Chicago riverfront is insane. We should be happy they are willing to gussy it up at all.

While the area west of Emmanuel is mostly warehouses and surface lots, East Downtown itself is undergoing redevelopment and gentrification and is far more along with that process than this area north of Buffalo Bayou is. Also, right on the other side of the cap park is downtown itself, and part of the purpose of the cap park is to stitch downtown and East Downtown back together, and it will be the centerpiece of the Sports and Convention District. That area north of Buffalo Bayou is entirely industrial on one side, then a bunch of prison facilities and the Sheriff's department on the other, with a massive bus depot in the middle. Its separated from Near Northside by 1-10, and that separation isn't going away when they reroute the freeway and will only get worse when 1-45 is routed along the same path. Immediately to the south of Buffalo Bayou is Harris County's courts and administration buildings which kill any street life or redevelopment potential of the area just by virtue of existing. Its one saving grace is that Main Street/Market Square isn't that far away to the north, but the area on the other side of this complex is a sea of parking lots. That's what I mean by no man's land. Its literally in a part of downtown that nobody will frequent, either visitors or residents.

Its A LOT different! Lets start with the fact that its in the middle of a freaking neighborhood first, and not no man's land. It wouldn't be a waste of space; it be a flood diversion canal, which is its actual main purpose. Any other use is purely secondary. There's a difference between being off a freeway, and literally being surrounded by freeways and nothing else. Maybe so, but as of now, its basically an industrial area. And the only major change in store for this area is the rerouting of freeways for the NHHIP. Not exactly going to be a boon for local development while construction is ongoing, though moving the freeway north away from the canal should have a positive effect on the area. True, but how many people want to go to a park literally right next door to a prison complex? If the Prisons, courts, sheriff's office, and prisoner intake were moved to a different location and that area of bayou frontage redeveloped, it could be a nice area. As of now, it just doesn't have that much going for it.

Who wants to go to a park surrounded by warehouses, freeways, and prisons?

So what? The fact is it benefits someone, and thousands of someones at that. And no it won't just benefit them either. It benefits anyone who uses that freeway, including people who live in the city and commute north, national international and state traffic, regional traffic in general, etc. Well, at least you are honest about your selfishness. Its not going to endear anyone to your side of the argument, however. You have no right to tell other people how to live. Can they? Maybe they can't. Maybe its something that can only be done by rebuilding the freeway to accommodate the changes? And even if they could, its honestly irrelevant. They are doing it as part of this project. I don't, and never said I did. I'm just not disingenuous, and won't pretend that what's being lost is some great, insurmountable loss for the city. Why do you hate commuters so much? You are contradicting yourself now. First, you say it only benefits commuters (which isn't even true, but I digress), but now you say there are no benefits. Pick one and stop talking out of both sides of your mouth. Based on what exactly? Once again, I don't know what you are using to prognosticate but you should stop before you are made to eat crow when these things do in fact eventually happen.