Big E

On 12/17/2022 at 6:31 AM, editor said:

Except that Houston does need a stadium, as illustrated above.

Illustrated how? What illustrates this? Houston has a stadium for every major league in the U.S., numerous college stadiums, high school stadiums, etc. Who needs a stadium, and why couldn't they just build one themselves?

On 12/17/2022 at 6:31 AM, editor said:

Once again, supporting a car-focused society strangles progress.

This really has nothing to do with cars or automobiles. The stadium is already surrounded by hundreds of parking spaces. adding a few more means nothing.

On 12/17/2022 at 6:31 AM, editor said:

  Too bad the county-owned building isn't being used for the best interest of the public that the county is supposed to represent, instead of a small set of private millionaires.

It being county owned is irrelevant. It has no purpose and serves no uses. Its a money pit, which apparently no one who actually lives in the county cares to actually put money into. 

On 12/17/2022 at 6:31 AM, editor said:

Funny how the 15 largest stadia in America are all older than the Astrodome, yet they still keep chugging along, and aren't left to rot and embarrass the city.

All of those are college stadiums that get regular use and have permanent tenants in college teams that aren't going anywhere, with the exception of the Cotton Bowl, which at least gets regular event games in the form of the Red River Showdown, State Fair Classic, and the First Responder Bowl, even if it lacks a permanent regular tenant.

On 12/17/2022 at 6:31 AM, editor said:

Just because it's a dome doesn't make it any more special or fragile than other stadia.

And yet you are arguing against tearing it down?

The fact of the matter is, nobody really needs this stadium as a stadium. Its why nobody is using it now. Houston has so many venues, it could successfully host the Olympics, and not have to construct many permanent new ones. 

Nobody can do anything else with the stadium, because the Rodeo and Texans would veto any business taking up their parking during their respective events, and no business could operate there year around because of the issues with those two groups.

The only thing that can, realistically be done with the stadium is to tear it down and pave it over with more parking, because that's literally all you can do with it.

Its one of the last traditional domes still standing. Why? All the other ones got torn down. Texas Stadium? Gone. Georgia Dome? Gone. Only the Superdome is still in use, and they are desperately trying to renovate it because its showing its age. This one should be gone, and, frankly, its an embarrassment that its still standing.

28 minutes ago, cityliving said:

Beautiful Fall evening along the Buffalo Bayou.

It'll be finished...someday.

5 hours ago, steve1363 said:

There should be more outrage over the Astrodome just sitting there than a few months delay of a walking trail opening.  Besides it will allow more time for the prairie to fill in.

If someone had some dynamite to just blow it up, that would be nice.

9 hours ago, samagon said:

you're right, there is going to be new area opened up to potential green space where I-10's current ROW exists, but I'm not aware of the city, or state proposing that the vacated area becomes accessible park area? all it says on the available segment 3 view is 'surplus ROW'.

and the width of existing ROW is somewhere between 200-320'. the new ROW width will be between 370-500', and while the old segment crossed the bayou at more or less a perpendicular, the new freeway will cross that area at a much more oblique angle, which will provide for a much larger footprint. anyway.

there's potential for things to shake down just right, and there will be accessible park area in what is removed of that old TXDoT ROW, and what's left that's not part of the new TXDoT ROW.

They haven't stated what they are doing with the ROW, which leaves the door open for something good to be done with it. Just moving the freeway will be a boon for the area because it will give that whole surrounding neighborhood a little more room to breathe. couple that with the canal they are planning to build and redevelopment of the bayou shore near downtown, and they can do something really nice with it all.

On 11/30/2022 at 11:31 AM, Howard Huge said:

The tallest building in Texas/this side of the Mississippi belongs in HOUSTON dammit. 😡

The one thing I don't get is why Austin of all places is seeing this massive supertall boom while Houston struggles to get 50 story towers built...

On 12/1/2022 at 10:47 AM, samagon said:

it isn't though. look at the screenshot from the project plan, overlay on the image from google earth, sure there is a bit of parking lot, but most is very green.

 

it's also true that there is a lot of green space that will be created when the alignment is shifted north, which might make great parkland, but it's just very weird that you would suggest that the shift of the freeway location isn't taking away any greenspace, when it so clearly does. and to answer your question from a few posts up, I'm not proving anything, just pointing out that your statement is false. 

You are only looking at the bayou. I've moved on from that. I'm talking about the large parking lots that are already fronting the bayou in this picture, which will be what will be taken out once the highway is moved. The bayou is just a small part of the land the new freeway will cover when moved, and, as has already been pointed out, the freeway already crosses the bayou right next to that location, so nothing of value is really lost. You're just trading one area of underutilized greenway for another.

9 hours ago, TXK said:

I think the argument, at least in the context of the bayou greenway, is that the new alignment cuts into existing green space along the bayou and removing the current alignment between I-45 and Elysian won't add much green space back because there are parking lots/streets underneath I-10 already, unless they're going to be removing some of those. I can anticipate a similar argument for the Pierce Elevated - if a park is built there, it would either be on top of the highway, so the existing concrete structure is still there, or it'd be limited/broken up by all of the perpendicular streets. I'm not sure if those arguments have been made in a very clear way by anyone involved, but that would be my good faith interpretation.

 

I hope that this project proceeds because the highways around downtown are a mess but even though I think it will be a net positive for city, I can respect that every change may not be a positive one. Loss of green space is a tough trade off for any development project, not to mention one this size. I also can barely keep up with this project on HAIF so I sympathize with the average person trying to process all of the information (and am very impressed how all of the rest of you are able to keep up with this so well!).

I mean, in the end, we aren't losing much. Its still crossing the bayou, just in a different spot. Any land the highway vacates can be redeveloped, and most of what the new highway will be covering is existing parking lots.

18 hours ago, samagon said:

🙄🙄🙄🙄

 

I'm not sure what you are trying to prove. The freeway is already there. You can see the current alignment in the picture. They are just moving over not even a mile.

8 hours ago, jadebenn said:

Don't be too sure.

How a park designation could derail the I-45 expansion

This makes absolutely no sense. There is already a freeway over that part of the bayou. What do they really hope to accomplish. 

6 hours ago, mattyt36 said:

Classic cutting off one's nose to spite one's face as I am sure no one has a full appreciation of the real (i.e., feasible) alternatives.  Not to mention where were all of these people, what, 10 years ago, when the planning process started?  At the very least they should have the burden of presenting an actual, preferred alternative to advance start a meaningful dialogue.

However, Turner is by all appearances for it, the GHP is for it, I am confident Turner will be able to "herd the cats" when it comes to a City Council vote, if any.

Hidalgo is the wild card.  It remains amazing to me that Mealer didn't make this a centerpiece campaign issue instead of going on and on about crime--it would've diluted some of the crazy for the moderate voting block.

If Turner is really for the project, then he needs to start being more vocal and shooting these bad ideas down before they start.

Me, I'm not torn up about what was torn down, so much, as what was planned and never came to fruition. Its the lost potential that bothers me more than anything else. Which is why I really want this Discovery west project to get off the ground and succeed. That potential is still there, and what Skanska is promising is one of the most exciting projects I think downtown has seen in years

9 hours ago, Ross said:

For a large portion of those decades, any buildings constructed would have sat empty, as demand for space was not enough to fill them.

That's largely only because the Oil Bust tanked the economy, which is also why those buildings weren't built in the first place. In a world where those buildings were built, it would have to be a situation where Houston's economy didn't collapse in the 80s in the first place.

6 hours ago, LosFeliz said:

I hate this thing. If it were downtown, uptown, or TMC it would bother me much less but the Museum District has a much more human scale than those other areas filled with massive garages and wide streets. The garage mahauling of Houston spreads. 

At least in this case, I think the garage being particularly obnoxious is intentional.

9 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Sorry to go further off course, but these posts made me curious. From the linked rendering, Here are the blocks and what is on them:

• First City Tower
• Two Houston Center
• LyondellBasel Tower
• 4 Houston Center/Shops @ HC (2 blocks)
• First City Parking Garage/DT Club
• Four Seasons Hotel
• Fulbright Tower
• Houston Center Garage 1
• 5 Houston Center
• One Park Place
• Vacant Block (Discovery West)
• 1550 on the Green/Embassy Suites
• Discovery Green (approx 6 1/2 blocks)
• Hess Tower
• Parkside Residential/Hess Parking
• Marriott Marquis (1 1/2 blocks)
• George R Brown (approx. 6 blocks)
• Vacant Block (6 Houston Center site)
• 2nd Vacant Block north of HC (may have been part of Houston Center)

So of the original Texas Eastern/Houston Center property, it looks like we are down to 2 or 3 blocks that remain to be redeveloped.

Of those properties listed, First City Tower, Two Houston Center, Lyondell Basel Tower, 4 Houston Center, First City Parking Garage, Four Seasons Hotel, Fulbright Tower, and Houston Center Garage 1 were the only buildings built that were part of the original Houston Center plan (5 Houston Center wasn't built till the 2000s, and is very different from the building which would have occupied the space in the original plan). The original building planned to carry the "4 Houston Center" name would have been a 53 story building, but it was never built; the name was given to the current building carrying the moniker instead. It was the only building to actually be named and have its height revealed prior to cancellation. Of those original 32 blocks, that's just 9 that they managed to ultimately develop. Alongside the Bank of the Southwest Tower, this is one of the biggest disappointments in Houston's real estate history (which still produced some great skyscrapers anyway, which shows how even a ultimate disappointment can enjoy some success if its ambitious enough).

On 10/28/2022 at 7:14 AM, Nate99 said:

Even older photos show the Frost Town neighborhood surrounding what is now MMP, with Annunciation Church's steeple sticking up among a dense cluster of two-story homes, not unlike the one that Annunciation quasi-restored/reconstructed as offices. 

I'm not sure how far the original Houston Center sky city concept went before everything went bust, but at least in renderings it stretched way out in all directions. Maybe some buildings were demolished for that along with other dynamics shut down the east side of DT. Houston kept growing, but that part was abandoned.  

At least 32 blocks were demolished to make way for Houston Center. If completed as originally planned, it would have been one of the largest private developments ever completed. As things currently stand, a lot of the land cleared for it still hasn't been redeveloped.

You know what would actually be a good candidate for this? 800 Bell, aka the ExxonMobil Building, aka the Humble Building. That building has been practically empty since ExxonMobil moved out, and, if I remember correctly, has no major tenants. Its long touted renovation hasn't happened, probably because of this. Converting the building to residential use, or some form of mixed use, might be the most logical way to move forward at this point, since I doubt a building that old is going to get a marquee tenant anytime soon, no matter how much its renovated.

On 10/20/2022 at 3:56 PM, Avossos said:

How about the Binz building?

Its ugly. How do you feel about it?

Keep in mind, Clayton Homes is a mold infested mess subject to flooding, and its demolition has been in the cards for awhile now, whether the freeway was going to happen or not.

7 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

I was told the research floors have been placed on hold.  Harvey will be finishing the garage and then wrapping the exposed rebar forms.  One of the tower cranes is scheduled to come down in a few weeks.

This is never getting finished is it?

20 hours ago, Ross said:

The comment on I-45 lanes was in response to another comment that said that TxDOT would never give up space where it could build more lanes. Well, if the train was going to be successful, the need for more lanes  would go away, since the number of riders would reduce the use of the freeway.

This rail line's relative success or failure will not effect TxDOT's decision to expand I-45. There is a whole lotta factors that will determine that that this rail line will have no effect on.

1 minute ago, 77002er said:

Next question .... how will the cancellation of this project affect the proposed BRT link along I-10 as future transit demand along that route was predicated on the Texas Central being built. Anyone still wanting to get to the Galleria from downtown/Medical Center will still be able to use the "University Line" (a less expensive buildout) so why build spend the extra funds at this time?

 

This project isn't officially cancelled yet, so kinda putting the cart before the horse.

Seems like a bunch of people who have gone out their way to delay, if not kill this project, complaining because the project has been...delayed.

On 9/29/2022 at 10:02 AM, hindesky said:

"Kendall Miller and his family businesses, Tanglewood Corp. and WMJK Ltd., have opened a swanky sales center in Uptown Park listed their condos 1661 Tanglewood project for sale, but lawyers for the Tanglewood Homes Association say their fight against the 33-story tower is far from over."

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/lifestyle/home-design/article/Lawyers-on-both-sides-of-Tanglewood-tower-say-the-17473069.php

I love it when losers in court battles always say "We'll appeal to the Supreme Court!" Anyone with two braincells will tell you that the Supreme Courts appellate jurisdiction is largely discretionary and they, more likely than not, they won't take your case. Its the legal equivalent of a Hail Mary.

On 9/29/2022 at 8:06 PM, 004n063 said:

That said, I would love to talk implementation details too. In the case of NHHIP, I think the most consequential as-yet-unanswered question is what to do with the land and structure of the Pierce Elevated. What are your thoughts? "Sky-park"? Demolish + greenway? Demolish + develop? 

Well I've always been partial to the demolish + develop camp. I've always said that the land should be sold and the proceeds used to help develop the freeway caps. But that's just my personal idea.

19 hours ago, samagon said:

only problem here is that Matty isn't interested in any kind of open discussion, so making it look like 004n063 isn't interested in discussion through a funny meme is disingenuous. 

You are the last person who should be talking about people being disingenuous. 

2 hours ago, Luminare said:

Fulshear is basically what Cypress was like 30-40 years ago. At least from looking at old Satellite images and talking with family members.

The difference being Fulshear is incorporated, and Cypress isn't.