Javi

Still no tenant.

No one goes there anymore, and store keep leaving. I've said for several years that the place is dying. Hopefully this can turn it around.

Now all they need to do is get rid of LA Fitness and put the skate park back and the place will be full of people again...

You are quite wrong.

Plenty of people go there for all the main stuff (the club, restaurants, movie theater, D&, but that's mainly on nights and weekends. Having retail stores there was a bad idea from the start. I think the developers finally realized this, so they decided on this renovation to remove unused space and to open up the place a bit.

Saw T-mobile signage going up at the northernmost end of the new pad sites.

That has to be what they're doing. You can't possibly say the place was lacking for business. I've seen cars stacked six deep at the drive thru even late at night.

I think I agree with this. That building was woefully old. Seems that this is the trend lately with some of the fast food joints in the East End.

McDs, Burger King, Whataburger on Harrisburg all had older buildings torn down in place of newer ones.

that Cafe Adobe is nice because it is pretty often empty.

what? on the weekends this place gets really packed.

I was at Marq*E this weekend to catch The Dark Knight and was floored by the near-complete lack of tenants. I hadn't been there in a while, I guess, since last time I was at the complex there was a Coldstone Creamery, a cute little French coffeeshop (Vietnamese-owned), an EB Games, a Hot Topic, the A&W restaurant, another gaming store (selling D&D type stuff) and a few others. Yesterday? Nothing between Claire's and Cafe Adobe. The whole place looked like a ghost town. Even Dave & Buster's looks weary and tattered.

What is going on here? And can someone please explain to me why they're building pad sites when they can't even keep tenants in the main complex?

As I stated before, the "nothing" between Claire's and Adobe will become the new space for the Improv and Drink Houston. Everything between Drink Houston and NY Pizzeria will be removed and cleared (including the Drink Houston space). I'm not sure what's going to happen to the Pump It Up.

As for the ghost town feel - maybe. But the parking lots are always full of cars.

I did some asking around, and one guy told me that other than the BoA, the pad sites will have a Panda Express, a cell phone store, and possibly a Gap.

So there's another building being erected on the Silber side of the Marq*E - It looks like one of those pad sites where it can fit 3 pieces of retail. Wonder what it's going to be? And of course, the foundation is being set for the BoA branch

Passed by on Sunday and it looks like the building topped out.

So the Improv and Drink are just moving? I hope this center can come back to what I remember (when Vans was there). I think LA Fitness needs to go. Redevelop it into different stores, or bring in another large retailer.

Well yes, Improv and Drink are just moving.

I disagree with you about LA Fitness. I work out there, and that place is full of people during the week. It definitely has its use.

Well, I went to watch a movie there yesterday (sunday) and I noticed they had some significant chunks of the parking lot on the silber side fenced off. Is this supposed to be part of it?

Actually, a Bank of America is going up on the corner of Silber and the feeder.

Well, I figure sometime next year they'll clear out the space across from the Improv and Drink Houston, have them move to the other side, and then demolish the space. I'll take a pic when I can...

I work out at the LA Fitness at the Marq*E and noticed a new sign. So I come up close and notice that there are plans to redevelop the Marq*E a bit. It looks like they are going to demolish the space where the Improv and Drink Houston used to stand, relocated those two to across the walkway, and have it be more visible to I-10 traffic.

Construction is to occur in 2009.

Lots of people come to the Marq*E. But for the life of me, I can never understand why its retail space can NOT have 100% occupancy.

ICK. Really? Those seem very average and really don't fit the demographics of the area. Its more like a line up you would find out in the suburbs somewhere.

What's so ICK about it? Aside from Olive Garden, Gamestop, and Academy, none of those other stores exist in the general area.

I went to Disco Green with my wife on Friday evening on a whim. We got there around 9pm, and there were a good amount of people there. The park is well lit, bustling with activity, and of course the weather was great.

I passed by as I was visiting my mom the other day. That thing is ugly as sin - it won't last too long.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I'll be heading out there with the wife tonight for a nice little dinner and overnight stay.

Hey all. Looking to take the wife to a nice restaurant - along the seawall if at all possible. Is there one around? Italian is preferred, and seafood is out of the question.

I'm also looking to possibly stay there as well. Any recommended hotels?

Although I dont have much interest in the Harrisburg area, I would like to give worthy mention to some structures that deserve some recognition.

Here is more proof that Harrisburg was once a thriving and booming area in the day. At the corner of Harrisburg & Wayside there are 2 brick buildings that still stand. I always wondered when stopped at the intersection what the 3-4 story brick building is or was. You can still see the inscription on the front somewhere that indicates HLP? Not sure if thats still the case.

The building is an active telephone exchange office. If you're wondering why it seems empty the majority of the time, it's because the switches these days are automated, as opposed to the past, where people had to patch calls manually.

I was at the Almeda Best Buy and overheard the manager mention that they will be open another year. Of course i asked what about after that? He replied that their new location will be at Gulfgate Mall. They will be open Oct 2007.

He said they are going where the pile of dirt stands now (behind HEB, Marshall's etc.)

I happened to pass by Gulfgate, and did take a look at the new Best Buy building - from what it looks like, it seems to be opening SOON as opposed to October.

Right! It's one of the best things to be built in that long overlooked area in years. Kind of reminds me when I visited San Diego on several occasions. Has that terra cotta old Spanish style appearance. Even the landscaping is nice, palms and colorful bouganvilla cascading over the sides. Sadly the train will cutoff those leaving and entering. No one would ever know there once was a Prince's Drive-In restaurant there once.

The Prince's Drive-in restaurant I remember was on Wayside and Avenue T (or Ave. U).

I thought the location you are thinking of was a hardware store.

Back to the original topic. The 2nd pic, the shopping center closest to the railroad heading east near Wayside. I'm glad that thing was built. For years (maybe a decade?) there was nothing there. While I might disagree with the plaza name, I do hope that there will be some businesses that do move in.

I know a few remember, but there was a Walgreen's on main and rusk (or walker). I'm glad they are coming back.

I was meaning on the east side...Wayside/Navigation area..Tapatia on Richmond is actually my fave restraunt...all day happy hour Wed and Mojito night is Thurs. Actually looking for places closer to home...Tia Marias in Baytown, hands down, has the strongest margaritas I have ever had.

There is the original Ninfa's on Navigation near downtown.

The nearby Merida restaurant is good for their breakfasts. Their breakfast tacos are great. I've been going there since I was a kid. Can't say a thing about lunch/dinner as I've never been at that time.

The Mucho Mexico on N. Wayside near I-10 gets a lot of business. Food is alright, I've been there only once.

If you happen to be around during lunch time during the weekdays, go to Irma's on Chenevert (near MMPark). Great food there. Only open during breakfast and lunch (6pm on astros weekday games).

Mango's Grill on Harrisburg/Macario Garcia is overpriced.

El Charro on Harrisburg/Milby is good for late night eats.

Greetings. Former East Ender here, Central Park Neighborhood.

I still have virtually all my family from there. Mom still lives in Central Park, Grandmother lives near Canal & Lockwood, Grandfather lives near the Maxwell House, Uncle lives near Leeland/Lockwood, and my in-laws live near Dumble/Eastwood.

So I grew up there, and now visit pretty often (as I don't live too far off!)

Hi there. The wife and I stopped by yesterday at about 5:30 pm. Started our walk from Tranquility Park (next to City Hall), and walked to behind Hobby Center, where the Pedestrian Bridge lies (and is open, not scary). We took a walk all the way to the Aquarium (there is a still-locked entrance from the trail), viewed an Easter Gay-friendly function and walked back to Tranquility Park on the streets.

Observations: The trail looks great - no pictures yet. Some great pictures of downtown can be taken from the pedestrian bridge. Freeway noise is there, but it's so far up that it can easily be ignored. Graffitti exists - but it looks like it's being sandblasted for removal. Saw some of the blue light placement - looks like it's going to be great. Many lampposts litter the trail, it's going to be well lighted. The water is still dirty-looking, but other wise the walk will be a great place to be, and will serve as a scenic alternate from City Hall to Wortham Center, the Aquarium and Bayou Place.

As a long-time resident of the East End (Harrisburg/Wayside), I feel that I can comment specifically on the immediate surrounding neighborhoods. I'm a pretty new poster/long time lurker.

The Harrisburg retail corridor needs some updating. There are some retail around the 6600 block of Harrisburg that reside in pretty old buildings, but some can easily be updated to have it look great. Some of the buildings, however, just need to be torn down. A lot of "Bus Tour" companies (basically, a bus from Houston to Mexico) seem to litter the area as Hispanics frequently go back to/from Mexico to visit family, send money, etc. While it is good business to those in the area, it is pretty unsightly as these type of companies don't like to keep their areas clean and modern.

In the mid 90's, the area was rampant with gang activity in 2nd/3rd ward, and the Central Park/Magnolia area. Since then, however, it has been reduced to a trickle as it ultimately becomes pointless. Neighborhoods are pretty peaceful now as compared to ten years ago. You can still see large congegrations of Hispanics in homes with loud music, but keep in mind that it is usually a party, as they like to celebrate lots and lots of things.

As for the homes themselves, there are many, many houses still standing from the 1920's-30's etc. I currently live elsewhere, but I predict this area will become something like the Heights. There are many houses that need a bit up updating, but they can come at a really good price, considering the proximity to downtown. The proximitity to everywhere else, for that matter. Easy access to I-45, I-10 and 610, which allows one to get around pretty quickly once you learn the streets.

Retail: Upper class retail is non-existient. The area is littered with lower retail, with thrift stores and dollar stores having much of the clout in the area. It is my opinion that Kroger needs a signature store in the area (in which I think they could make a killing) as the Cullen/Polk location center with CvS is old and run down. However, some of the resturants around are excellent and have been established for a long time. Merida, the original Ninfa's, Champ Burger(try it, you'll love it), and many of the Mexican Resturants around are also good.