totheskies

Not necessarily. I'm thinking more like a college hang-out place than a bookstore. Coffee houses, etc. UofH might actually meet its goal of having all Freshman on campus by 2014. Once that class goes through, it's going to be a very different university. The culture is changing rapidly from its commuter-college ways. But we're still hurt by the severe lack of area retail.

I have instantly fallen IN LOVE with the No-Tsu-Oh festival!! We should bring it back, and incorporate the Art Cars!! We could have a short, nighttime parade that starts at Discovery Green, and ends at Market Square. It would be a great move to promote Houston Preservation. Anyone else interested in this? Seriously???

As someone who works full-time at UofH, it's really exciting to see so much activity. You can tell how much the new dorms contribute to campus. Now we really need to recruit some more area retail. More bars, an off-campus bookstore with amenities (we lost the College Store, but I'm thinking more like a full-service Barnes and Noble with coffee and lounge area), and late night places to hang out. Retail would be really great if you place it near Elgin and Scott. That will be the eventual meeting of the two rail lines.

So back to the hotel... I would argue that the demand has been there for a while. It's in the number of Conventions that have been lost to the GRB/ Downtown Houston due to a lack of adequate hotel space in the vicinity. More rooms close to the Convention Center means bigger conventions can come to downtown. It also means more conventions overall, as it decreases the wait time for attendees to have to wait on hotel rooms (checking in/checking out). Downtown Houston is still at a massive lack for hotels rooms in downtown when compared to other cities.

So it'd be Houston's version of "Mockingbird Station"?? That solves the major retail component right there. Factor in increased retail need from nearby Dynamo games, and you've got a good recipe for retail in the area.

Neither were Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans or San Antonio, but they do handle tourists quite well.

I agree that we shouldn't bank our whole economy on tourism, because it's not a primary reason that people visit Houston. No one expects us to do that. However, the city does very little to promote the things that we do have which could be of great interest to visitors. If someone comes to Houston and they are a big-time American Art buff, they'd probably want to know about the Moores Opera House at UofH. But if they come to town for some other reason and never find out, that's an opportunity missed. It's also an opportunity that is missed by UofH to promote it's school, or by local East End-area businesses to make some extra revenue for the day. To me what makes the difference is that a "true tourist" comes to a destination with money to burn, and they plan on burning it. It's a big opportunity that our city is ripe for. Don't take my word for it... check out the evidence. Houston ranked 16th in the nation for drawing overseas tourists (that's actually DOWN one spot from 2008)... http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2011/05/houston-16th-in-us-for-overseas.html A Chron article "Looking for fun? Tourists say it's not in Houston"... http://www.chron.com/business/article/Looking-for-fun-Tourists-say-it-s-not-in-Houston-1615260.php GLBT is a rapidly growing sector of the tourism industry. With Mayor Parker's election, the GLBT community is now well-informed about Houston, but it still ranks 22nd in the nation among GLBT tourist destinations. There's room for improvement there. http://www.communitymarketinginc.com/documents/temp/CMI_16thLGBTTourismStudy.pdf Again, no one is expecting us to become NYC or New Orleans overnight. We know that's not going to happen. But it's silly for us to just pretend like Houston's on autopilot and that no one cares either. If we took some simple, targeted initiatives, Houston's tourism appeal could improve significantly. Something as simple as better signage can make a difference!!

I disagree... tourism and a tourism economy can be a very I disagree... the tourism industry can be a very healthy part of an urban economy when managed well. It would be very easy to make Houston more accommadating to tourists without sacrificing the things that we already like about the city. Take the Gulf Building for example. Stunning Art Deco architecture that would surely draw a crowd, but it just operates as a whatever downtown office building, and it doesn't stay open for any extended hours. Same thing with St. Paul's church, the Esperson Buildings and a host of other historic structures. These are places that would definitely be of interest to people if we only lifted a finger to promote them, especially as they creep closer to being a century old. In particular with structures like the Gulf Building and the recently renovated Harris County Courthouse and Ideson Library, we as taxpayers spent a lot of money to preserve and restore these buildings. They are tourist-ready,and we should promote them as such.

Visited for what?? It's definitely not for tourism. If it were then we'd have a more tourist-friendly infrastructure throughout the city. This is a huge job creator that Houston continues to ignore.

My point with the thread is that we have lots of great things going on in Houston!! I was in NYC earlier this week, and yes, the city has lots of stellar sights and historical significance. But we've got some really great things too. If we did a better job at promotion, Houston could be a real tourism competitor.

Here's mine On the rail line... 1. Discovery Green Park 2. Gulf Building (Chase) 3. MFA H 4. HMNS 5. Neils Esperson 6. Houston Zoo 7. Minute Maid Park/ Old Union Station 8. Chase Tower Observation Deck 9. St. Paul's Church (though there's several beautiful old churches in the area) 10. Sam Houston Park Elsewhere around town/ metro 1. Space Center Houston 2. San Jacinto Monument 3. The Galleria 4. Waterwall 5. Galveston Strand 6. Galveston Pier (opening soon, but sure to be a big attraction) 7. Old Town Spring 8. Children's Museum 9. Houston Ship Channel 10. Kemah Boardwalk 11. Menil Collection 12. Bayou Bend Things that could/should be touristy, but for some reason are just off the radar... -The 1940 Air Terminal Museum -The Houston Fire Museum -The Villa de Matel

We all know that Houston is no hotbed for tourists, but there are some pretty cool sites here, and many become more treasured by the day. And slowly but surely, our tourism sector is growing. What are your Top 10 Houston Tourism sights and activities? For transit lovers, can you find a Top 10 in the vicinity of the rail line?

I clicked on this thread with the hopes of some "breaking news" pertaining to the U Line. This argument was a big let down

Is any retail ever going to go on West Dallas?? There's plenty of need for it.

Has anyone actually done a cost comparison for a grade-separated vs at-grade guideway?? It would be "more expensive", but definitely worth it. Ridership numbers for the 81/82 alone should justify that an "L" type system along Westheimer would be successful. It would be ideal to have that in combination with the rail that is already planned.

I'm quite torn about this too. The city has a vested interest in creating this ordinance because they have to clean up after the people when they on public grounds. I get that. But somehow an ordinance to be able to feed the homeless doesn't seem like a good idea. I would rather they create an ordinance to encourage the churches/organizations to help clean the area after they're done, or pay a service fee to de-fray the costs. It shouldn't be illegal to feed the homeless.

Hey everyone, Just wanted to share that I've started my own blog... http://texasleftist.blogspot.com It covers, national, state and local politics, and a few other things. Check it out, and I'd love to have your feedback!!

The Exxon building has always screamed "Residential" to me. Huge windows, very apartment-like design. This could be a very successful conversion project.

MetroRail and P&R are tough to compare on a per-mile basis, and at present they serve different purposes. MetroRail is only 7.5 miles long, but I'm sure the average P&R trip is at least twice that anyway. More people live in Sugarland or Katy than live within a walkable distance of the rail line, but at the same time, a lot more people live in Central Houston that don't own a vehicle at all. It's an apples to oranges comparison in my view, but we should be investing in both. Of course the other elephant in the room... you get what you pay for. If we had grade-separated rail, then it wouldn't interfere with street-level traffic, and could move people more efficiently.

Parking in the Medical Center has become abysmal. Many more people are getting Q Cards for that sole purpose. But METRO is also working to align more routes into the rail line, so I think we're starting to see the benefit of that.

It's nothing special, but I just wanted to some information about my band The Collective Racket. We shot a music video in Downtown recently. If you're curious please check it out along with our other videos!! Here's the video...

WHOA they have music there??? How cool is that?!!

Forever 21 has mass appeal. It's a not a super high-end store, but on the same competitive field as Old Navy (which would have been an even better retail choice for HP I think) and draws a wide spectrum of shoppers.

So I take it you don't ride the 50, 52 or the 30 very much?? I've been on each of those buses and seen 4 or 5 Foever 21 bags on them at a time. 2nd and 3rd Ward know about Houston Pavillions, and the rail lines are gonna make for a faster trip.

I've been now 3 or 4 times, and I just totally love it. Agreed, the first floor gets a bit bunched up in the pita/ deli section, but aside from that it's an amazing addition to Downtown. Store layout feels a lot more like a European grocer than anything in the states. The second floor may be small, but that's where the really good stuff is... mega-sized cans of hummus for $2!!