Vaughan

They broke ground on the new brownstones a few weeks ago. Whereas the sign outside the complex used to list them from the $800s, it now lists them from the $600s. I still can't imagine buying a place with a view of the post office parking lot for that kind of money, but I suppose that price is competitive with single-family homes of comparable square footage in the area.

The idea that City Centre is far out is ludicrous. It's 15 miles from downtown, which in Houston terms is not that great a distance. It's still well within the city limits. At 9 a.m., it takes me 20 minutes or less to drive from Kimberley at the Beltway to downtown. And it's not even like the area was the middle of nowhere up until only recent times. Many of the surrounding neighborhoods were built in the late '50s. Maybe for people who moved here from much denser Northeastern cities, anything outside the Loop seems like BFE, but having lived most of my life in Houston, hearing that part of town described as far out sounds strange.

As for the convenience of being able to shop, make appointments, eat out, etc. in the area, I'll take the convenience of the Memorial and I-10 corridors over more crowded, urbanized areas inside the Loop or anywhere else.

Ha! 15 minutes? 3:30 AM doesn't count.

You don't get out much, it seems.

Demographers have ways to do this. I'll do a little research.

I bet the time it takes to do the research is longer than it takes to drive the whole 15 minutes from downtown to City Centre.

Interesting. Too far out for me to drive to just to look around... Looks nice though. Is this area the demographic center of Houston or the Houston Metro area? I find this difficult to believe. This certainly does not appear to be from looking at some maps. Perhaps this was inferred from the 2000 Census. I'd be interested to know what the latest Census reveals.

Too far out? It's a 15-minute drive from downtown.

Tenants have moved into a completed building of CC. Most are facing the Beltway Feeder.

You mean the recently completed building with AT&T in it? I don't think that's part of City Centre. It's a redevelopment of part of the existing Town & Country strip malls. City Centre is only to the north of Queensbury.

I think you missed the point....We arent talking about demographics...of course the area is great.

I was referring simply to access. You have 2 huge freeways surrounding it and currently the only 2 feeders into the development are the little post office curved road (t&c ln) and the one leading to escalante's (t&c blvd).

So my main point was the bw8 feeder going N to 10. IF construction doesnt change before cc opens, this is not a viable access point. Just sucks they could not acquire all the land to 10. Once the roads are finished (yes i believe they will be one day, but not before this centER is ready), it would be ultimate to have I10 and BW8 feeders pull DIRECTLY in , as well as the aforementioned back roads.

The Katy Freeway construction is ahead of schedule and is supposed to be substantially completed by fall 2008, including the intersection of I-10 at the Beltway. Much of City Centre probably will not open until mid-2009 at the earliest. The addition of another lane to the northbound side of the Beltway leading up to the Kimberly/Memorial exit should help as well.

Nonetheless, once all the road and City Centre construction is done, it will probably be similar to driving in the Galleria area: congested at lunchtime, on weekends and during the holiday shopping season, relatively easier to navigate the rest of the time.

Does anybody know what the plans are for the large plots of land on the northwest and southwest quandrants of the intersection of I-10 at the Beltway? The Katy Freeway plans suggest this land will remain vacant, but it seems like rather valuable real estate.

Drove by this weekend and noticed that there is a temporary building in the parking lot of the post office. Looks like work is going to begin soon.

They're in the process of refurbishing the inside of the post office, which previously looked something like a prison. In any event, the part of the post office across the street from the back of the brownstones is a loading dock, so there's not much they can do to the outside to make it look better.

Driving by the area, I took my usual view of the Hospital under construction when I looked at the old Hotel (Renaissance hotel?) and saw that it at a "Four Points" logo on it now.

Is this thing already open and when did THAT happen? I always thought that building might be demo'ed or another use of it would be done.

A sign out front says the renovated hotel will open in late March.

who the hell is gonna buy those townhouses? the frames are already up, if the project stays at this rate, move in date will be just in time for 1.5 more years of construction all around you.

the street they face is highly trafficed now...just imagine when the 5-7+ more buildings get finished.

maybe im crazy but i never imagined my $500k+ townhouse being positioned between 2 huge shopping centers and a row of restaurants, bordered by the 2 biggest landing strip freeways in texas. with only 5 friends beside you to share in the misery

and yes i realize this sounds IDEAL to some, but i cant get into that mold. the conjestion would annoy me to no end. at least with high rises you can be in the middle of it all and still Above everything

You forgot to mention the lovely view of the loading dock at the post office across the street. At least it's convenient if you have something to mail.

I'm glad about McCormmicks too. Not really crazy about another Flemings, which seems to pop up in all these "market street" places.

I'd love to see a Berings pop in there. If its a "lifestyle area," a great little hardware store would be a great addition...and for West Houston too. Houston also needs another Central Market, but I don't think they are planning any real ones around Houston at this point.

This whole area seems to be coming to life and its so neat to see. Now if only someone would get ahold of Memorial west of Kirkwood and spiff it up. They have started at the corner, but they need to keep on going.

Since Whole Foods and Central Market aren't likely, what are some other upscale grocery possibilities for City Centre?

Curious whats real city life?

Being at the mercy of public transportation or circling the block forever trying to find a place to park your car, paying through the nose for small living spaces, lugging your groceries and anything else you buy several blocks to where you live, shopping in small, crowded stores, foregoing a backyard.

Of course, anyone pining for that experience is free to live in any number of places that feature these charms rather than trying to turn Houston into one.