Big E
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Posts posted by Big E
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18 hours ago, BeerNut said:
Why do these guys even care? The Ion isn't even located in the Third Ward, but Midtown. I know that areas was historically considered the Third Ward, but that area hasn't been part of the "Third Ward" in over half a century at this point.
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13 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:
So the city hasn't even considered changing the minimum width?
Probably no more than its considered doing away with minimum setback requirements and parking minimums, or curtailing deed restrictions.
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11 hours ago, Houston19514 said:
The "new venue" is very unlikely to be intended for the symphony. The Master Plan was being put together in the same time frame that the Jones Hall renewal was being formulated, so I don't think the Symphony is what they had in mind. And I think the Symphony is committed to Jones Hall. More likely a replacement for Revention/Bayou Music Center. The new Live Nation venue at Post does not necessarily mean Live Nation would not also want to continue with another, smaller venue. (The Terminal will accommodate 5,000 people; BMC only 2,350, according to its website.)
Why would they bother having a second venue, which the newer venue is clearly meant to be a replacement for the first? There isn't enough of difference between 2,350 and 5,000 that that logic makes any inherent sense. Its more logical that the new 5,000 seat venue is a full on replacement for the older, smaller venue, made larger to accommodate bigger performances, while still being small enough that a smaller performance could make use of the space.
Besides, the new venue in the listing looks to be about the same size as Jones Hall itself, supported by the renderings we've seen, which currently accommodates performances with an audience of up to 2,912. Assuming it is for the Symphony Orchestra, it looks to be built to the optimal size for them, with a size large enough to accommodate up to 3000 people for attendance and have plenty of space for the orchestra's operations.
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17 hours ago, urbanize713 said:
How does that even fit the description of a TIRZ? Isn't it suppose to promote improvements within the district?
Apparently, by law, all TIRZ are required to allot a certain amount of their funds to developing "affordable housing" and they're free to spend that money and develop that housing anywhere within the county, even outside of their TIRZ. George Coleman has used this as a loop hole to buy up large amounts of land in the Third Ward, ostensibly to set it aside to develop affordable housing. However, truthfully, he's used it in his own personal crusade to fight gentrification by holding land in perpetuity, then deed restricting it when it does get redeveloped so that only low-income housing ever gets built there. If you wanna know why Third Ward isn't seeing large scale redevelopment, like Montrose, the Fourth Ward, and other such Inner Loop neighborhoods, that's why.
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2 hours ago, Houston19514 said:
FWIW, I believe design is very much underway. There's not really any reason to think it won't happen.
People have been talking about this since, what, the 40s? I'll believe its underway when there's a gigantic ditch in the ground.
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1 hour ago, zaphod said:
Blah, so why did they start on the Elysian viaduct then?
From what I can tell, the proposed Hardy extension would only lead to the removal of maybe 4 or 5 houses and a couple of likely to be disused industrial structures.
Given the concerns about the I-45 expansion the Hardy extension would have lesser impacts but still achieve similar goals.
Even if its completed as designed, the Hardy Toll Road extension will not achieve the same goals as the 1-45 expansion. Extending it will take pressure off the loop and the other freeways going into downtown, because traffic will be able to take the tollway all the way in rather than being forced onto the loop and then either 1-45 or 1-69 to get downtown. So, for commuters who already make use of the tollway, it will be a boon, and it will take pressure off the other inner loop freeways, but it will do nothing to alleviate the traffic nightmare and dilapidated mess that is 1-45 north of the loop, it does nothing about the Pierce Elevated, and it won't bury the freeway on the southside of downtown.
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10 hours ago, tangledwoods said:
the north canal bypass project will really help to prevent water backup around this area.
If and when it gets built.
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On 5/6/2021 at 7:03 PM, Ross said:
It won't be built on a viaduct, but on a berm with occasional cut throughs for animals and such, so many properties will be cut in half by a 20 foot high(or whatever it is) pile of dirt. I can understand why some people would be opposed. There are also people who just flat out do not want to move from land that's been in their family for generations, or has other non-monetary value.
Except NOBODY IS MOVING. As you said, there will be cuts in the berm for things to pass through. Its no more disruptive than your average railway. In fact, because of the cuts in the berm, it will probably be less disruptive. It will definitely be less disruptive than a highway or road. There is no real reason, no good reason to oppose this, at all.
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17 hours ago, gmac said:
But the point is, you're taking their property for a private entity. Whether it's land or a building doesn't matter. Now if TCR was willing to pony up $100 million an acre, I'm sure people who are currently opposed might listen.
What @cspwal said. This is a rail easement. Nobody's land is being taken here. Hell, most of the people opposing this project are probably just salty they didn't have more land to sell to make more money. This won't even disrupt the property around it, since it will be built on a viaduct that will allow everything from vehicles to animals to pass completely unimpeded underneath. No property owner loses on this deal.
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8 hours ago, gmac said:
I think I'll get together with a few friends and run a railway right through your living room. You surely wouldn't object to that, would you? It would be progress, after all!
Except this isn't running through living rooms, but fields. Nobody's losing their house over this. When it goes through populated areas, it will follow existing rail corridors, and when its traveling through the country, no one's house will be in the way.
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On 4/29/2021 at 8:09 PM, jmitch94 said:
Is there anything that followed up on the stair collapse? Didn’t three people die in a major structural failure? I feel like things got back to business super fast.
Heck, nobody's posted any pictures of the site in well over two months now. How's construction going? How far along is it? Does anybody know?
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On 4/6/2021 at 11:31 AM, gmac said:
Nope. I think the bill is much needed to repair our crumbling infrastructure nationwide.
Then I don't really see what your problem is then.
On 4/6/2021 at 11:31 AM, gmac said:I just don't want to spend money on a fairy-dust land grab.
This isn't a land grab in any real sense. The only land being taken will be for a railway easement, which isn't much land in the grand scheme of things and it would only ever be used for a railway. If the rail isn't built, the land remains untouched. I don't see how this would be anymore of a boondoggle than anything else the government would spend the money on.
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17 minutes ago, gmac said:
I knew the rascals who are trying to build that rail line would get their snouts in the trough. Why spend your own money when you can snag it from Uncle Sugar!
They aren't ones the pushing for this. The federal government are already trying to spend this money. Nowhere in that article does anyone currently associated with the project push for federal money. And look, Biden and his cronies up in Washington seem intent on spending that trillion dollars anyway. Don't want them to? Contact your local representatives and voice your displeasure at this trillion plus dollar infrastructure bill and the tax hikes they are trying to push through. And if the bill does go through, if the government wants to send money to this project, let them; they'll spend it either way, so it might as well go to something with a chance of succeeding, rather than some other boondoggle.
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14 hours ago, felt38 said:
the east end will not be adequately connected to downtown.
I would like to know what you think the city/TXDOT could do to adequately connect it then?
On 3/15/2021 at 11:24 AM, samagon said:to pick an out of business electronics retailer (fry's) as your lone specific example, it actually cheapens your argument.
I picked out that Fry's because its generally indicative of the types of businesses we are talking about here; the types of businesses you can find in any strip mall in Houston. I mean, I guess I could have picked the nearby Panda Express...or the Chipotle...or the Starbucks...or the Chili's...or the numerous car dealerships...or the Gamestop. These are the types the businesses that nobody on HAIF would give a crap about in any other situation, but because they are being torn down for a freeway, suddenly we're supposed to care. And, the fact is, after the freeway is finished, they will be replaced by similar fare within a year.
On 3/15/2021 at 11:24 AM, samagon said:and areas that have never healed even 30 or 40 years after the freeways originally trod through their backyards, we're just going to scratch that scab right off by making the gash in the community even bigger.
Look, the freeway's already there and its isn't going anywhere. Any damage that could be done to those communities has already been done decades ago.
On 3/15/2021 at 11:24 AM, samagon said:people who are friends of those that are going to be moved (probably to a location that is too far away, because these areas are getting to be too expensive for them to consider living there any longer), churches that will have the same problem, they won't be able to stay in the area and serve for community they have been a part of for so long. the greater impact is tens of thousands that will be negatively affected, not just the ones who are being forced to move.
This is the case for literally any major infrastructure project that requires ROW or imminent domain. Its not necessary a unique argument for not pushing forward with this project or ignoring its merits.
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2 hours ago, Texasota said:
Fair point. The exact numbers I saw were:
58 houses, 433 apartments or condos, 486 public housing units, 340 businesses, five churches and two schools.
So 977 homes, 340 businesses, 5 churches, and two schools. That still sounds like a pretty substantial negative to me.
While lamentable in some aspects, none of these are insurmountable issues. The schools can be replaced (and I suspect that, if they are public, there are already plans to move or close them), the churches can be moved, the house and condo owners can be compensated and moved easily enough, and the apartments are filled with renters who will simply rent somewhere else. The hardest replacements would, theoretically, be the businesses, but I suspect most of them are strip retail (like that Fry's Electronics), older hotels and motels, restaurants, gas stations, and the like fronting the freeway, most of which is also relatively easy to replace and most likely will be as new freeway frontage is opened up.
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On 3/12/2021 at 1:04 PM, j_cuevas713 said:
I feel like the negatives don’t outweigh the positives with this project.
The only negative I'm looking at is this getting kicked around ten more years. Just get started so you can get it over with already.
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6 hours ago, iah77 said:
Cost is literally a synonym for risk tolerance, and yes for most small developers going bankrupt is something to advert lol. I think we can all agree that the city does not make it easy and encourages bad design.
In what way exactly (other than mandatory parking minimums) is Houston more egregious than any other city in America? I was under the impression that the city was generally more permissive than most cities when it came to permitting.
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16 hours ago, BeerNut said:
Man, this entire project has become the clown show to end all clown shows. This really is Houston's Big Dig.
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On 2/24/2021 at 1:17 PM, Triton said:
Not sure why this one wasn't posted. This makes Phase 2 very distinct from the one we've already seen around Discovery Green.
Looks like there may be a third, taller building behind the wrap around in this pic (check out the very top of the building).
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On 2/13/2021 at 11:35 AM, zaphod said:
I noticed Veritex has their name on a small 70s/80s looking office building a couple addresses to the east of where they are moving.
I wonder if an outcome of Covid and work from home might be that as companies sign leases in these new buildings, some of those really old small office buildings in areas like this could be torn down and redeveloped as multifamily. Like, I could see that clump of old low-rise commercial between Bingle and Home Depot in this same general area being a perfect spot for some kind of low profile mixed use development.
I keep seeing similar sentiments expressed in other threads, but has there been any large scale move in any American city to tear down large of amounts of older Class B or Class C low rise office buildings and replace them with anything else? From my experience they just stick around and look unassuming forever.
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Just now, hindesky said:
Yeah, but why aren't they doing anything while they have full access to build them? The southbound one does go over the train tracks but the northbound one doesn't. Maybe that wasn't part of their bid?
My guess: nothing is being done on that because that is specifically part of the Hardy Toll Road extension, which would make it Harris County's issue (they maintain the toll road). The viaduct replacement is probably being done by the city of Houston.
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5 minutes ago, hindesky said:
The are 2 of these, one on the southbound side and another on the northbound. Seems to be doing zero work being done to finish them. Hopefully they place some kind of hard barrier near them or someone is going to be the newest Evil Kneivel on the northbound side.
I think those will be the freeway entrances/exits to the Hardy Toll Road extension (when it gets started, whenever that is.
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22 hours ago, BeerNut said:
What kind of amateur hour crap is this? They've spent how many years studying this project and in the ninth hour, they are this far apart?
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5 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:
Wait so that hotel will get demolished for this?
It will wrap around the existing hotel building.
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WestMont: Mixed-Use Development Coming To Montrose
in Going Up!
Posted
Not a big fan to be honest. I would prefer a much denser development, especially if you take into account the property immediately behind this corner lot which I think they also own. Get the street in-between removed, and you could build something really impressive.