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004n063

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Everything posted by 004n063

  1. 004n063
    I'm also fond. That little neck of West Main feels like a quiet residential street in an actual city, and this building contributes to that.
  2. 004n063
    Sorry what?? Do you have a link or source? Would be amazing if true.
  3. 004n063
    I love the project and all, but honestly, I laughed a bit at "easy Metrorail connection to CBD". Unless this project includes some serious pedestrian infrastructure beyond the property lines, it's actually going to be a really annoying walking connection to both the rail and, (though I'm more optimistic about this being quickly remedied) the Brays Bayou trail. Not exactly too far from the TMC stop, but definitely not a pleasant walk. I hope the district has a plan for this. Would hate to see this become yet another car-centric wolf in pedestrian sheep's clothing.
  4. 004n063
    Finally, a rendering that doesn't minimize the presence of other buildings nearby. Never understood why so many renderings do that - so much nicer to see context.
  5. 004n063
    This post needs a trigger warning. I knew it was satire the whole time and my blood pressure still rose.
  6. 004n063
    Anyone have a rendering of the streetscape upgrades on McKinney?
  7. 004n063
    I appreciated her being honest about the likely gentrification effects of the project. I think she's right that a large project like this - especially if they can ultimately get a full scale grocery store - can be as transformative of local income levels as it probably will be for local rents. But that could just as (/much more) easily not happen as happen. Based on what she said, it sounds like they're trying to be intentional about that, but while I'd love to see those efforts succeed, I remain skeptical. Some things that could maybe help with that: -Higher all-day frequencies for buses that connect ER to 5th & 2nd Ward neighborhoods (and/or a Jenson/Lyons rail or BRT line). -More or a focus on protected bike routes from the north and south (plus bridges). -For office tenants (and the Johnny Rhodes concept), partnerships with neighborhood schools (and the HCC campus on Drennan) to create (paid) internships for students. -Make plaza space free or very cheap to book for food/market stalls. -Include a variety short-term-leasing retail/service spaces, including for things like dance & exercise class studios. -Seems like a great place for a music school + instrument shop. Obviously, Midway is under no obligation to do any of this. But it would make me happy if they did.
  8. 004n063
    Do you mean below? The picture above your post is from across the street.
  9. 004n063
    I would guess one of the lots next to 200 Park Place near all those super fancy shops off Westheimer. I base that on nearly nothing at all, but you asked for guesses.
  10. 004n063
    Ah okay that makes sense.
  11. 004n063
    Yikes...shouldn't this lot have walkable places exemption from parking minima?
  12. 004n063
    I live near this building and every time I walk by it, I'm more convinced that it is the most subtly weird building in the city.
  13. 004n063
    Put the garages there, too.
  14. 004n063
    I think "fancy development promotional" is my least favorite writing style. "upscale elegances"
  15. 004n063
    I love the unassuming contiguity in this neighborhood.
  16. 004n063
    I'm partially with you. I really appreciate that Houston doesn't have an overly robust preservationist culture. Historic buildings are nice, and historic neighborhoods can be nice too, but too often what holds them together is aggressive NIMBYism. Houston is all about dynamism and continuous change, and I appreciate that about the city. Also, Houston was very much a one-industry town when the oil bust hit, and it's nonsensical to downplay the affect that had on demand overall. But I also tend to think that the antiurbanism of the 1950s and 1960s (not just here, but across the US) helped set up the collapsing urban economies of the 1970s and 1980s. In other words, while the teardowns may have made sense in their individual contexts, the macro trend of suburbanization and urban divestment had already proven itself to be fiscally unsustainable for cities, and I do think the city of Houston could have been more proactive about maintaining a walkable downtown.
  17. 004n063
    That last one really shows how far the city has come since that notorious late-70s parking desert photo. Still a ways to go, but man. For reference:
  18. 004n063
    The look of it, yes. The character has been changing steadily for about fifteen years.
  19. 004n063
    Last I heard, it's going to be a new project from the Eight Row Flint group.
  20. 004n063
    There was a rather heartbreaking picture of the Eastex freeway under construction in the East River thread yesterday. The massive parking desert of the 1970s-1990s was apparently contiguously urban in the 1940s.
  21. 004n063
    I would love to see more trailfront bodegas, outdoorish coffee shops, taquerias, etc., not just here but along the Harrisburg and especially Columbia Tap trails as well. Atlanta's east Beltline has made an evangelist out of me.
  22. 004n063
    Moreover, parked cars have to pull out through the bike lane. The downtown Bagby cycle track is lovely, of course, but it took a long time and a lot of money to build, only to give us a single kilometer. I think the Austin St. and Waugh/Commonwealth styles are the way to go. Nothing fancy, broadly safe. Just don't do it the way they did on Lawndale, ..
  23. 004n063
    Yeah, luckily I think Caroline will remain relatively slow south of Webster, but I really hate lanes like this because they feel simultaneously obligatory and less safe than taking the lane.
  24. 004n063
    Biked onto the site today because the barrier from Meadowglen is down. The site is huge, with several new streets. I am glad to see it fill with housing, but I have to admit I am a little annoyed to see yet another (presumably, though not currently) gated community go up on the west side. This development pattern is a big part of why this part of Houston is really hard to get around without a car.
  25. 004n063
    Here are some pictures of the basically-finished product. Some thoughts: 1) The sidewalks are great. 10/10. 2) I love the emphasis on trees and vegetation. It'll be a while before we get shade from them, but as the street develops, it'll only get better. 10/10 3) The recessed parking and unprotected, semi-door-zone bike lane on the less-shady side of the street are not huge problems right now, especially since the generally excellent Austin St. corridor is only a block away. But it still feels tacked on and potentially problematic as the development intensity increases. 5/10. All in all, I think the city has done a pretty good job with this redesign, and would take fifty more just like it around Midtown and Downtown in a heartbeat.
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