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"One example is Houston-based retail developer Rain Hollow, which is working on a small-scale retail project at North Main and Quitman Street. The development involves the renovation of an existing building that already houses a long-term popsicle retail tenant, as well as the construction of a second building. Both will have upstairs private office space. In addition, the developer is converting two shipping containers into a coffee shop on the adjacent corner." Where they talk about putting more money in the building and adding a coffee shop to some shipping containers adjacent to it.

Relevant article: https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/neighborhood/houstons-near-northside-is-still-going-through-a-transition-107254 They aren't wrong when they say the bones of the near north are perfect for capitalizing on and making it into a much more dense livable, walk-able, commercial and residential environment. It's too bad (depends on your view, its also more opportunity) that - for now - most everything past Hardy Yards and to White Oak Music is basically dead with spotty barely afloat strip centers from the 80s and dilapidated buildings with a few regular homeless people camping out front on the other-side of the rail. Hopefully that White Oak Development draws more attention to that otherwise forgotten portion of Main. One of those buildings is talked about in the article, evidently they're putting more money into it and a coffee shop. What gets me is in short bike-able distance maybe even walk-able ... Between The post office renovation into basically a mall UofH Downtown expansion Neighboring the Heights Future bikeable Neighbor to East River Easy to bike to Washington etc. Warehouse district under dev Future North canal with 3 planed walk-able connectors on the I-45 plan to DT Bike Path's everywhere Two local breweries Downtown is just right there I seriously have to question the leadership of the Near North-side Development district... What the hell are they doing? This place should be an easy sell, even the crime data is about the same as everywhere else. It will be surrounded by large development. Constantly fumbling about with Hardy Yards I guess that Austin real-estate group that Houston dev pawned it off to is none too moved to get much going? Did Covid kill those Aggie Developer's complexes? Even still 2 bars and no movement on comercial... The most brilliant idea the executive director can come up with is 'well they need some washaterias' - oh-hell, really??? That's it? Thats your VISION.? They need some coin operated washingmachines stores? The neighborhood has-em thanks though... Does she step out of Greens Point often enough to realize modern apartments come mostly with washing machines and dryers? I wonder about those Austin owners still, are they the ones holding out or they just can't sell it? It's been a decade now and just now seeing progress trickle in. Maybe I'm just impatient... economic plan of the century 'we'll build some washaterias' Dry cleaners, sorry. Still besides the point..

Right, isn't that do to the many DT bayou bends that are soon to be turned into the (presently funded, but in que with i45 build-outs) north canal? No hydrologist either but if that sharp bend always caused flooding and backups in and around that part of down town what does it mean for east river area when the kink in the hose is released? Other than the phase five bend most looks pretty straight so I'd hope nothing much would change.

Damn, I thought I saw on at least a couple of their last proposal maps the greyhound lot highlighted for demolition, maybe misread it.

Do we know if the i45 project is still slated to demo the station? People aren't wrong, it's a huge blight, Houston, like Austin, is unfairly put in the position of having these ex cons as well as a shuffled about homeless population in nation wide game of hot potato simply dropped off here with no prospects or housing, no plans, etc. these are people with a record of not so great prefrontal activity, drug addiction and mental illness and criminal records that knee cap their ability to get things back together. Its a backward recipe for disaster. They're immediately met with ... not a social workers ... but a literal enclave of drug addicts ... a perfect trap for them. Another thing to add is it's well known in Texas that other non-profits in other cities rather cynically use everything from state grants to local tax money meant for taking care of their homeless to buy them bus tickets to one of the big cities. Most of small city Texas and surrounding states cities do this. There was even an article about an unfortunately perfectly legal scheme which spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in Lubbock, not on taking care of their homeless, but funneled to religious non profits that then took the cash and cynically housed the homeless for a couple days then literally shipped them off to Dallas, Austin and Houston. We are talking thousands of people over the course of a year. I drive past or take the rail through this place on the daily. I've seen it all there, naked crazy people, guy masturbating in the middle of the street, dude pooping on the side walk, people tweaking out, guys pounding on my window for change, harassed on the rail for change, see them getting into fights weekly, doing drugs in the open, and this is all just me in transit through the situation - just a momentary glimpse of that bus station fueled dystopia. The drug dealers I see always visit at the same times, they make there way over there at dusk and dawn on their bicycles and deal right out in the open not even trying to hide anything. Theres a second enclave that's grown larger along the same road over the past 2 years and that's the one right next to that scuzzy pay by the week looking motel by the Rice innovation district, it shares the same patterns including the punctual drug dealers that make the rounds on their bikes. They're building a bigger halfway house complex in midtown too, but as was stated previously there already are many many halfway houses in the area most of these people in these enclaves aren't in the same part of the process as homeless people go, if they even want to change or aren't stuck in place due to mental illness as well as addiction. Unfortunately I see this as a state/national level problem I don't know how to solve it, because the cities themselves only shoot themselves in the foot for allowing the bus stations to exist while building the homeless infrastructure at the same time, they invite these cynical cities to parasitically offload their own population onto ours by the literal thousands all while having the gall to pretend like it's for other reasons they don't have homeless problems.

As a side-note, but perhaps it has more to do with it as a long-term trend... Why does it seem like north-side management is in particular completely inept? Just compare their website's to midtown's, it's beyond embarrassing. They can't sell themselves at all. It's a train wreck. Seriously think we should set up a coup. (maybe I am just pissed atm...)

Do we know if they do any mixed development? Looking at their website I don't see a list of past projects. Never mind. They have a list of apartment properties after looking for awhile didn't spot a mixed use... damn. Hopefully they have more in mind for it than just apartment spam. Although that many apartments insures that the neighboring mostly abandoned warehouses get flipped into something commercial. What about see attached, is that our only hope of something that isn't an apartment? Or is that already planned too? (also anyone else constantly running into stray dogs in this area, holyshit people put your dogs up, have 311 on speed dial)

It's a giant ugly eye sore in it's new ROW, basically. That sums it up. If you walk out there and actually measure out where the road will be it's going to block what is now a really awesome view and turn it into a really trashy one. That does suck. I've seen no data to support the claim that it's currently 'dangerous' (I've been to meetings wherein Txdots made the claim, but again - a salesman's concern trolling bare assertion), but I have that it's simply to cut a couple seconds off travel, and it will probably turn a big swath of nice park into the next hobo encampment, other than that - no, the furniture warehouse or whatever that is won't be much of a loss and the road wouldn't be all that bad except for how raised it'll be to go over main and the light rail, without a single doubt detracts from the major appeal (or what could be) of that area outside it's proximity to DT. The new connectors to and from Near North into DT will be really nice, that's the only win for the northside. In the long-term if other projects are handled correctly, like the 140-180 million now dedicated to the north channel dig and construction, then even the top half of Jail house island could be a neat feature for the area. Overall I think the area has a lot of promise regardless.

Theyre digging on the other fields this morning as well. Thats almost all of them save for the one adjancent to the abandoned parking lot?with the fence around it. But walking on the field about a week ago next to the fenced off area i notice they had fresh stakes in the ground and utilities had sprayed the lines. Does anyone know if the rest of the sites are going to start building out/breaking ground soon or are they just early surveying phase to see whats possible? As for I45 thing, its a collosal waste of money but dont expect the city to put up any real fight, downtown finally gets pierce elevated a gaint noose around its neck taken off and the otherside, while getting destroyed in the nearterm, will be buried. This means much of downtown is reconnected to its surrounding - this is great for downtown. Its without a doubt part of the built in political back scratching of this project. The north side definitely gets the short end of the stick, well have to wait and see how ugly it really is and how much of the adjancent park is destroyed. But its not getting significantly changed, too much in it the city has wanted for decades now.