maceo9903

cost increases exponentially per floor.

So like I asked, why can't 2 or 3 firms that were going to build 2 or 3 30 story towers, join together and build one 90 story tower?

As for oil, most people are anti oil these days, so I dont want Houston to be realized solely for that. I want some good publicity for this great city for a change.

There is no way on God's green earrth I would ever have the time to do that! LOL!

^^^ Exactly. Dont get me wrong, I know Houston has it's gems like BoA, Texaco, and Penzoil. Those are buildings that skyscraper geeks like us know. I want something that the average person who dosen't give a flip about buildings can see on tv and go, that's Houston. Like Spaceneedle=Seattle, TransAmerica=San Francisco, Sears Tower=Chicago, and as you said Arch=St. Louis.

This my sound like a dumb question, but if none of you mind, humor me. With all the new towers proposed, what keeps these firms from just building one or two 80-90 story towers?

Houston needs at least ONE iconic building and I think that is a way to do it. Im all for density, but I think you can make density by putting stores, bars ,or what have you in DT. Also, with the sudden willingness to build residential towers DT, the density will come. So again, I ask, why not 1 maybe 2 80-90 story office towers?

Second, what keeps developers here from desinging something iconic (just in design, not height) here in Houston. We have more than enough boxes. What wiil it take for someone to come in and just totally redefine the Houston skyline?

Yea... and it's great that it's all going to be north of Williams which anchors the skyline on the south side of uptown... will make the skyline look great when looking at it from the east, say from the Chase Tower.

Those were my exact thoughts. I too loved that it is going up on the north side of uptown for that exact reason.

Thanks guys. I appriciate your help. It has been a long time since I have been here and Im just trying to get up to speed on things. I won't make being lazy a habit, but 36 pages is a lot to go through!

^^ NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Dear building,construction, and development Gods, he did not mean that last comment. Clearly, he does not know the error of his ways. Please grant your mercy and forgive him!

God...please show your mercy on West Houston traffic this weekend!

I know this has probably already been stated on here, but I have a question and I dont have time to look through all 36 pages. So hopefully you guys will help me out. I know there was an 11 story building planned for this. I think it was residential which I know was scrapped. Does that mean the 11 story building wasscrapped as well or will that be the office element?

This is absolutly wonderful! I cant wait for this to break ground. It is going to be something to see another building of that height in Uptown after Williams has stood alone for so long. This will do alot for the Uptown skyline.

Why not put this where it is needed and wanted most....like, I don't know, maybe a surface lot in downtown???

^^So maceo9903. It's good to see you like Houston but curious. What does Houston have that Atlanta doesn't. As far as i know Atlanta has trendier developments, better mass transit, and hills.

Houston has better shopping, dining, and arts/theatre scene. You have better museums too. All of those things are on a world class level and they are not on that level here in Atlanta. Atlanta is a lot of media (mostly hip hop) hype. Houston has more substance. We do have better mass transit though and we do have hills and Houston dosent. But you have the beach and we dont. For MY money, I'll take the beach! Hope that awnsered your question.

To all of those who will surely have something to say about me getting off topic, my apologies. I logged on to see if anyone had any pictures of this event. It sounds like it was a success. Hope to see some pictures soon!

Rather than hijack yet another thread to Dallas, start another topic in the Dallas section, or read some of the existing topics, where I can assure you it has been beat to death.

My apologies then. It was in no way my intention to "hijack" a thread to Dallas. Also, Im rather new here so I did not know that the questions I posed were unoriginal. I just wanted your opinions on this because I want to move to Houston very badly and I just want things to be able to convince my wife to relocate. So, again I hope that you will accept my apologies.

Why on Skyscrapercity and Skyscraperpage?

Because I defend Houston alot on both places. Ive never lived in Houston but have been several times. I was absolutly floored the first time I went. I was not expecting what I saw. I always had this image of cowboys and rednecks because thats all I ever saw on t.v. and when I did hear something of Texas, it was always about Dallas. So, anyway, Houston does not get the credit it deserves (especially on those sites) and I just want that great city to shine. Plus it will give people a great night time shot of the city's skyline.

Also, I have 2 questions for you guys. I promise Im not trying to start a flame war or bash anybody. I just want to know what people in Texas consider Texas' largest city to be. Houston or Dallas? I know Houston's population is roughly 2.1 mil and Dallas' population is roughly 1.2. But alot of people say Dallas is bigger since its metro is 6 mil to Houston's 5.5 mil.

My second question is why does it *APPEAR* (and Im an outsider looking in) that Dallas gets the trendy developments first. They've got a massive rail network, an intermodal facility, and it seem that the Pavillions cant get off the ground (let alone the Hardy project) while Dallas is making great progress on Victory. These are just honest questions and I hope no one thinks Im trying to start anything because if you have read anything Ive posted you know I love your city. Also sorry for getting off topic. I just didnt want to start a whole thread on these questions.

Somebody PLEASE take pictures of this event next weekend and please post them here but especially on places like Skyscrapercity and Skyscraperpage!

I told him I was going to criticized him, and I did partially answer his question. I like to call what he did the lazy man's approach to searching, or not searching, the forums for answers to the projects.

First off, I dont live in Houston so I dont really have a way of finding out. Secondly, Im not lazy. Ive already read all of those threads. The info was stale. I was trying to get word of anything new and if they were a go or not.

Sorry, AA is American Apparel

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...merican+Apparel

Oh, ok. I was in downtown Houston in 2003 or 2004 and I seem to remember someting like a Randalls down there. Is it still there or am I insane because people on here keep saying downtown needs a grocery store.

I think it is because of lack of residents living in downtown, hopefully this will change with the finger development and pavilion residents and more residents in uptown and the museum district.

It can also be because people in an around the city don't know anything about downtown hopefully this will change with the new park and Houston Pavilions. I have friends that never been to downtown or haven't been to downtown in a long time, some have a misguided notion that it is dirty and crime filled.....I'm usaully the one walking friends and family members around enlightening them. The reaction is usaully "wow I did not know that" or "it's changed since the 80's"

As for clubs and restruants. Clubs come and go thats the biz. Restruants do too if the food or service sucks. I would like to see downtown add more businesses other than clubs and restruants, clothing stores electronic, super market ect. to make it more appealing to visit and live. This is why we're cheering for AA and the pavilions and such to open.

My prediction is about a year max from the pavilions and park opening, downtown will be a much bigger attractiion to everyone

That sounds like a logical reason. BTW, what is "AA"?

Why does it ***SEEM*** that projects in downtown Houston dont seem to prosper? Ive seen so many clubs and resturaunts shut down there. Is it that people in Houston dont want to go (or even live) downtown or what?

Basically, though, there's very little that available in Houston that is not equally available in Atlanta.

I agree and I disagree with this statement. I think on the surface, we have more of what tourists would like to see. As the average citizen of one of these cities goes, I think Houston has more to offer. You said so yourself that the arts scene here is "pathetic." Houston's is wonderful. So are their museums and I know I've already said it a hundred times, but the food there is the best I've EVER had! The shopping in Houston beats atlanta and I just like the overall disposition of the people of Houston. I think it is a wonderful city that dosent get the credit it deserves.

I was startting this thread to get some new info. Im intrested in a few projects in the area. The Intermodal Station, Hardy Rail Yards Project, Westcreek Project in the Galleria area, the Downtown park (not the building by fingers, but the actual park) and the Buffalo Bayou restoration in particular. I have read the threads concerning these projects and most of them havent had activity in a while. So Im wondering if someone can tell me if these projects are a 1000% go or what. If they are a go, have they already started or when will they break ground?

I went back to the start of this thread and Im going to give you the truth on some of the things citykid stated. I really beleive that when we gets here, he will find that the grass is not greener on the other side. I think he is in love with all the hype atlanta gets and wants to be in a city that is in the spotlight. I may be right, and I may certainly be wrong. Either way, to each his own.

About Marta. If you think its great, its not. The state wont fund it and they continually have cut service and routes. Trains dont leave on time and the busses are sometimes 10 minutes late. It takes some people 2 hours to get where they want to go even if its only 15 minutes away. Dont beleive me? A local weekly paper called "Creative Loafing" had a great article entitled "Waiting for a Ride" in the middle of April. Check it out. Alot of people beleive that racial motives are behind why Marta is so underfunded. Marta was origianally planned to run in 5 counties. Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Clayton, and Gwinnett counties. The latter 3 voted against it because it would bring "poorer" people (code word for black) into their negiborhoods. Ridership is also not what citykid portrayed it to be. The train does get good numbers going north from 5 points to the Doraville station (Doraville being the terminus going North) during the morning and afternoon commutes, but that is it. Any other time you can be in a car with about 10 other people. There is a lot more foot traffic in Downtown atlanta than in Downtown Houston. You have to remember, they dont have the nations largest tunnel system under their streets either. All that foot traffic citykid spoke of leaves Downtown atlanta with the workforce. Undergroud Atlanta is just like the tunnel just on a smaller scale. It is not open past 10pm. The only think in Underground atlanta that isnt in the Houston tunnel system is a Hooter's. Underground atlanta is more of a tourist attraction as I have not met one person yet who lives here that makes plans to go Underground atlanta during the weekend. Houstons tunnel is more functional and serves more of a purpose. There is nothing like the Main Event going on in Downtown Atlanta.

citykid, (for whatever reason) seems to like freeways and (and seems to think) that congestion is somehow cool. At least that is my perception of him so far. citykid, atlanta freeways are not bigger than Houstons. The connector is only that big because 75 and 85 merge into one going through Downtown atlanta. Im sure the same would be true if 45 and 59 in Houston were one road in downtown Houston. Houston's population seems to be more evenly distributed thus spreading the traffic around better. Most of our traffic goes North in the evening and South in the morning because most of our population is in the north part of the metro. That pattern holds true on all of our major freeways (I 75, I 85, and GA 400) North of I 285. An oddity about atlanta is that during rush hour you can make better time going through the middle of town than you can on the Northern part of I 285. I live in gwinnett county (which is norhteast of town on I 85) . If its 5 pm and Im in Cobb County or somewhere west of I 75, I will get to 75, head south into downtown, and get on 85 from there and head north. Doing that saves me more time than I can tell you rather than driving the 12 miles between 75 and 85 on the perimiter (the loop). We only have 1 bypass (loop) to your 2. Another reason traffic may seem worse here is because we dont have those "feeder" roads that you do to that help keep some of the traffic off the freeway. We also dont have the big city streets like you do so that people dont have to take the freeway. Quick story. I was in Houston once and there was a bad accident on 10. I wanted to get to 610 so I could get on 59 going southwest and get to my friends house. Anyway, I wanted to avoid the traffic. So I rode Gessner all the way from north of I 10 to Missouri City. It was 3 lanes on both sides the whole way! Try finding roads like that in atlanta. Houston has several roads like that too. Westhimer, Richmond, Bissonnet, Beechnut, Belaire, Fondren, and so on. They all take traffic off the freeways. If you are caught in a back up here, you have no choice but to grind it out as we simply do not have the many options of roads to choose from like Houston does. atlanta has its city roads, but they are mostly 1 lane in both directions and they twist and turn so much that you just better know where you're going. Then they have lights that back traffic up on these 1 lane roads so badly that you were better off just dealing with the congestion on the freeway.

atlanta does have it's tourist spots like citykid pointed out. CNN, World of Coke, Georgia Aquarium, and MLK's house are all nice. But, except for the Aquarium, how many times can you go back to these places? You can only take the World of Coke tour, CNN tour and view MLK's house so many times. citykid may go to these places like 2 more times, but that is it. Now the Aquarium is really cool and something you can do over and over because Im sure the exibits change there. Houston may not have the Worlds largest aquarium like we do, but arent there 3 in the Houston area? Dont you have the Downtown Aquarium, The one on the Kemah Boardwalk, and Moody Gardens? So, again I think Houston can hold its own there. Houston's Museums are world class, your Performing Arts and theatre are world class, the Houston Grand Opera and Symphony are world class, the dining there is world class, and so is the shopping. Houston just has more to offer a well rounded person than atlanta does. As Ive said before, if you're into the strip club thing, and Im not, then come to atlanta. Other than that, Houston is a better city than atlalta everyday of the week. It wont be long before citykid discovers this.

I had a six hour layover in Atlanta the last time I went back to Houston. I jumped on the train and walked around town. Honestly I really haven't come to a conclusion on Atlanta, I'm sure there is plenty more than what I experienced

Maceo, I was just wondering what your take on Atlanta is pros and cons and how they compare to Houston. We have heard from other folks but I'm just curious what you have to say

Edit: just found this qoute I see what your take is, just wanted to know details

Don't mean to put you on the spot

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I just ran across this today. I cant sum it up any better than worldlyman posted. He said it all. Also, hate is a strong word. I dont hate it here, but as I said, I think Atlanta gets to much hype and Houston to little. Houston has better museums, the best food Ive EVER had, better shopping (isnt the Galleria like 325 stores while the biggest mall here has 220) and a better night scene (if you're not into the strip club thing which Im not). The job market there is better and I just think that the overall quality of life is better there. I have been trying to convince my wife to relocate there for a few years because she is in the medical field and I know about your famed medical center.

This may be off topic, but Im also a menber of SSC. You guys are talking about how long it will be before Atlanta surpasses Houston in metro population. They think Houston metro is only bigger than Atlanta metro by 200,000 and that we are growing so much faster than you and we will pass you in 2-5 years. I know that the metro of Houston is more like 400,000 bigger and Houston is growing just as fast, but people (SSC members) just wont beleive that. They swear Houston is only 200k bigger. Can someone help me prove this?

chill...shamrock is dead and there are other threads on this forum about hardy and the intermodal station...you just have to look

Im sorry I seemed rude. I just really want to know whats going on. Ive read most of the threads. I just wanted to know if these projects were a definite yes or not. Im just really excited about the possibile Intermodal Station, Hardy Rail Yards and this Park Tower as I see them having a profound impact on Downtown along with the Pavillions. I think they will reshape the way Downtown is developed.

To HoustonianinIraq, thanks for the private message with the help. I appriciate your help.

Is anyone going to awnser my question from my last post?