GrandLakes

No... they're out of business. We do the leasing for Times Square, and Las Rosas is gone. We've got several interesting new tenants lined up and are working on getting all the extraneous signs down from GP.

Wow - I had no idea! Frankly, their new location was horrible. Not the actual location itself but the physical restaurant was not nearly as nice as their location on Kingsland and Mason.

Is the divorce comment a serious one?

Has anyone checked out La Vida Loca - they are in the old old Las Rosas location on Kingsland. It is pretty awesome - they have really done a nice job updating that place. Their outdoor patios are awesome.

Bman - in regards to your comment about "extraneous signs down from GP" - what do you mean by that? You are trying to get down all of the Las Rosas signs or ALL of the extra signs in the Times Square area?

Yeah Las Rosas didn't shut down the Katy location they just moved over to Times Square on Grand Parkway. The atmosphere is totally different now and frankly I don't like it even though I liked their old location. They are going after a different crowd now.

Well, I guess it will be nice to have a Discount Tire closer than I-10 and Mason or Katy Mills!

This is going to be the storm of the CENTURY!

While I agree that Katy does need more higher end restaurants - I do appreciate the chain restaurants coming our way too. If it truely is a Cheddar's going in I can guarantee that it will be packed every night. We are still missing a lot of the chains - Pappa's line of restaurants, Olive Garden, etc.

You have got to be kidding me. I love Cheddar's. Is this information 100% confirmed??!?

So the SW corner is a CVS. The SE corner is empty. The NE Corner is Westgreen Gardens. Dirt is being moved on the NW corner now. Any idea what is going in there? I would guess a gas station (I haven't driven by in a while...maybe it is clearly not a gas station based on where they are with the construction now...). Anybody know??

Yep. The NW and SW corners are both going to be exactly what you see now: huge retention ponds. When you lay that much concrete the water has to go somewhere...

My home was assessed at $192 last year and went up to $238 this year. Crazy, huh? Now, they are only taxing my on a 10% increase which is $211 but still...the market value of my home went up $45K in one year? They are crazy. There is no way I could sell this house for that amount of money.

I contested it last year and they came down. I am using O'Connor and Associates this year. You have to get it down because next year they will be able to increase 10% on the high amount from this year. This sucks.

How do you know that it has moved back to September or November? June is believable...September / November is a little less believable. Two weeks ago the parking lot was not paved...this past weekend it was finished. They are still moving forward - like I mentioned in my last post it just seems that they still have the "pretty" stuff on the inside to finish.

Do you have some other knowledge that tells you otherwise?

I can tell you one thing - that mall has been around for a long time. My mom is 56 years old and she went there when she was growing up. During the most recent re-model (a few years ago now) you could see where they were cutting into the walls...it looked like each re-model over the years they had just added a new facad (sp?) on top of the old one. So, during this remodel, they went in and ripped out three or four layers of old store fronts, walls, etc. and really opened the place up. It was amazing. There were even old windows in some of the hallways that had been covered in the past and they uncovered. They have done a great job with this mall. The only part they did not remodel was Sears. Supposedly Sears owns their building and land so the mall could not force them to renovate.

What other Wal-Mart on Fry road are you referring to? Somewhere North of I-10? I drove by the Wal-Mart on Grand Parkway - we actually went and shopped at the Kohl's. The Wal-Mart is no where near being ready to open. Don't get me wrong - they have made progress. The parking lot has been paved and striped and the exterior of the store is basically complete. One of the garden center doors was open and I was able to see inside the entire store - they do not have any fixtures (shelfs, racks, etc) installed yet. I would venture to guess it will take a number of weeks to install all fixtures, stock the entire store, train the new staff, etc.

i went here and i find it to be ugly. is it the joke? what where them thinking when they built this? everything seems to be bad in katy.

for me i live in the woodlands. it is so pretty. i am lucky because it is so much better. i am sorry but you know it.

i dont like the look and feelings of lacentera either, what a joke! woodlands so much better

Based on what you wrote here it sounds like The Woodlands needs to improve the English programs in the schools. Your ability to write is horrible.

HOKEDED ON PHONIXS WERKED 4 MES!

Yeah - I hear you on the deadline. I know that has come and gone - I am just trying to use this as a lesson for going forward. When you say foundations are cheap to repair - what does that mean? $5,000? $10,000? I forgot to mention that the walls were badly cracked too.

On houses like this is it possible to bring a contractor in before you buy it in order to get a ballpark estimate of what the repairs are going to cost?

I came across this property:

http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...mp;backButton=Y

I went by to check things out. It has a sign on the front door that basically says 'enter at your own risk' due to the fact that it has been infested with mold. The foundation has ovbious issues because the brick facade on both sides is cracked. Badly cracked. The interior needs the obvious cosmetic work done - paint, flooring, fixtures, kitchen work, etc. The exterior landscaping needs cleaning up and some work. The pool...well, I guess drain it and see what you have to work with.

The average selling price in this neighborhood is around $120,000 to $130,000. What price would you buy this home at? Is it even worth trying to fix? The houses around this one are very well kept - this one is the eyesore on the block.

I have never flipped a house but have considered doing so. Or, buying a house, fixing it, and renting it out. Can you get insurance on a house that you are flipping? How does that work?

I drive by the building every day - I have not seen the neon lights in a while (and I did see them a while back). To the East of the building (between the building and Gessner) is a new hotel going up (they are working on the third floor right now). It is a Shearaton. The crosswalk is already up across Gessner - my thought is that it will connect to the Sheraton. So, in order to get to the mall from the new tall building you will have to walk through the hotel first. To the West of the new 35 story building is a parking garage. The parking garage is being constructed between the old, original Memorial City Hospital that faces I-10 and I-10 itself. This is where the traffic for the new building will be directed.

Well, the Kohl's finally opened last Sunday (April 6th). We went in a walked around - it was nice. Just a typical Kohl's! The Wal-Mart looks like it is getting closer but they still have some work to do before it will open.

Homegoods is going in next to the Target on Westheimer Parkway, right? Don't they (Hobby Lobby and Homegoods) sell similar crap (I mean stuff...)?

This is unbelieveable - I didn't know it was out there. We live in Grand Lakes and our house is on there. My grandparents house is on there and every car in our entire family is in their driveway (even one that is brand new) meaning that the google car drove by on Christmas Eve a few months ago. Unreal.

I think if we all give it time and don't judge the look until it is complete we will all like it...it is kind of like saying you don't like the style of a new car when all you have to look at is the frame...

I think if we all give it time and don't judge the look until it is complete we will all like it...it is kind of like saying you don't like the style of a new car when all you have to look at is the frame...

I think if we all give it time and don't judge the look until it is complete we will all like it...it is kind of like saying you don't like the style of a new car when all you have to look at is the frame...

Hardly, a single hospital does not a medical center make. The traffic will be hellish in that area as it is.

Well my friend, I guess Memorial Hermann's CEO is wrong about it then too:

I think everyone is judging this structure too fast. I look at it everyday from my office window. Driving by it at night, I can see that they are working on some cool fiberoptic lighting effects from the crown. The cross walk will allow family of patients to easily walk from the hospital / hotel complex over to the mall with out a car. This area is the next medical center of Houston. Give it time - it is going to be great.

Number 5 looks like it could be Morton Ranch.

I had no idea anything was planned for that area. It would be neat to see it happen. It seems like a lot of these big projects are delayed for some reason...La Centerra is open and I guess phase two is underway...the villagio at westheimer parkway and peek is open now, but the "mall" on the north side of I-10 by the JC penny is delayed.

Who knows!

I like Denny's over Ihop...but would be fine if neither opened in that spot.

I drove by HEB yesterday - the carwash appears to be open. The light were all on and the tape that they had across the entrance is gone.

They won't lose money on that carwash...I mean they will eventually make their money back on the investment. There are not any other carwashes near there, and people that fill up there are using it because of the convenience and price (again, nothing else is close)...so, I bet it does just fine!