004n063

On 3/12/2024 at 2:53 PM, CREguy13 said:

If only McNair or someone else in this area could have a bold, visionary mixed-use development here.  This is general area is the size of Galleria/CBD.  So much potential

It'd need to be pretty much a whole self-contained/self-sustaining community, though. The street "grid" between I-10 and Hempstead is pretty non-functional.

10 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Interesting, I didn't know that southern parcel of land would still be open for development. I thought it was going to cut all the way through the Metro bus area. I hope another McKee style apartment complex is built there. 

Is the whole Metro facility there being decomissioned/demolished? If so, I completely agree - it would be great to enclose Sterrett.

On 3/12/2024 at 7:06 PM, hindesky said:

From Nextdoor.

That has to be the most positive and unambiguously cool Nextdoor post of all time.

4 hours ago, Amlaham said:

Dollar Tree plans to close 1,000 stores after taking $1.7B loss. Not sure if this will affect this location but it seemed a little relevant since they also mentioned they plan on shuttering stores in the coming years when their lease expires. 

https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/retail/dollar-tree-loses-nearly-2b-will-close-1000-stores-123306

Good. That lot needs to be redone with housing and street engagement.

10 hours ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

That makes a lot more sense.

But only if they're scrapping MS2.0, which I really hope they aren't.

2 hours ago, hindesky said:

It was built like this on purpose, in case of flooding only the garage will flood and not the apartments. Same for the McKee because it's even closer to Buffalo Bayou.

Ah okay. Makes a lot of sense.

The concrete masonry is quite nice, in my opinion.

Bicyclists: Hey, so it can get pretty dangerous out there for us. Maybe you could use bollards as modal filters to help calm traffic...

City of Houston: Heard ya loud and clear

I have two minor complaints about this project: nothing but garage on all the ground floors, and sidewalk interruption for the food trolley.

That said, I wonder if the design would make it easier to convert parts of the garage to GFR later on? The facade work is nice.

Also, the brickwork - especially on the easternmost building - is really nice, in my opinion.

On 3/9/2024 at 8:47 AM, wilcal said:

I'm pretty sure that if it is rebuilt that they can keep the building as it sits a foot or two off of the public street, but I'm annoyed by our building setback rules. Navigation is a major thoroughfare and will require a 25' setback if a new structure is built. That is basically the width of the front face of the building right along the parking lot.

So what does the city want built here instead? Surface parking?

Minimum setback requirements are dumb, minimum parking requirements are dumb. 

4 hours ago, hindesky said:

So the new mural is at the location I suspected, facing Fannin St. on the newly purchased building by Harris County. I talked with a woman overseeing all the murals and she said they are doing 8-9 more this time.

She also mentioned that some of the murals are interactive/immersive using the "Behind The Wall" app (Available for both iOS and Android phones). She pointed to the mural catty corner to this one as being one of them.

 

The artist for this mural is from UK. 

https://www.instagram.com/dface_official/

 

It looks a lot like local mural artist Micheal C. Rodriguez style although I haven't seen him posting any new one lately.

https://www.instagram.com/michaelcrodriguez/

 

 

I stopped by to check it out a few minutes. Pretty cool. 

But I also noticed ropes on the big blank south-facing wall above this. I wonder if there are plans for that a mural wall? It seems to me to be screaming for it.

I would hope for a Shell Select over an EV charging station, only because it would seem like too much of an oversight on their part to build an EV station on a (future) pedestrian street. I certainly hope that they don't know something we don't about Main Street 2.0.

On the other hand, if there is certainty around MS2.0, then a quick build convenience store is a smart play on Shell's part - safe, easy money on a plot whose value is likely to significantly increase in the coming years. Buy and build now, profit for a few years, and then sell it to a hospitality group in 2035.

8 minutes ago, editor said:

Does anyone see a way this can end up improving things?  Or are we looking at Main Street Market all over again?

Just now, IntheKnowHouston said:

Anything is better than what's there now which is a surface lot for parking. I hope whatever is built here will blend architecturally with the surrounding buildings.

It is a surface parking lot, but it also the site of one of the district's more striking murals.

An actual gas station would be a step down, in my opinion, though it seems an unlikely outcome.

A miniature Phoenicia-type market with a small patio fronting the mural, or a small night market/patio for the adjacent Hotel Icon would both be excellent uses for the parcels, in my opinion, but with Shell as the owner, that doesn't seem likely.

Does anybody here know anything about the diversity of Shell Oil Products' properties? 

Also, even if it just a convenience store, I don't think that's a reason to give up all hope. Plenty of good gas station taquerías in the city and Downtown continues to desperately need decent breakfast taco option. 

40 minutes ago, hindesky said:

I'm gonna guess it will simply be a convenience store especially if this part of Main St. is closed off to traffic. Unless Whitmire nixes the plans.

I sure hope so.

There is a compelling mural on the north-facing wall of that lot.

Has Street Art for Mankind put me in the position of supporting a surface parking lot? Dear me.

That is pretty cool. Looks like there will be a Bayou connection as well. Would love to see more park "fingers" come into downtown out of the Bayou.

16 hours ago, 004n063 said:

Something going up on the side of the Houston Academy for International Studies. I'll update in the morning. Figure it'll probably be done by the end of spring break.

Not a huge update, but a bit more clarity. Looks like pretty standard school fare.

Something going up on the side of the Houston Academy for International Studies. I'll update in the morning. Figure it'll probably be done by the end of spring break.

We shouldn't be pitting neighborhoods against each other when it comes to trees (or sidewalks, for that matter, Mr. Whitmire), but we also shouldn't pretend that trees are not a major equity issue in this city, to the point where it really shouldn't be something that depends on neighborhood coalitions working with nonprofits.

In fact, I'd say that this is really the only sort of project - already leafy and walkable location, relatively minor in scope - where that approach should be taken.

19 hours ago, hindesky said:

Looks like it will be brick but the top two floors might be stucco

The ol' Museum District standard

2 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Were you there? I was taking pictures

Yep, I was the chubby guy on the blue All City.

9 hours ago, bobruss said:

These are the kinds of projects that will really have an impact on our density and overall skyline. These smaller partial lot midrises that fill the perimeters of most other cities. For so long we have built primarily block size chunky tall buildings, but now maybe some of the quarter, half, and 3/4 size parcels of city blocks will get developed, which will give more diversity and density to the skyline. I think this is good.

I agree, but it's worth noting that this lot already had such a building until 2015.

Golly I love me some trail-oriented development.

Very last-minute notice, but there's a rally ride today at 10AM, starting at Regions bank. I think daily rallies might be needed. I'll head up there tomorrow as well, and every evening this coming week. Feel free to join.

On 2/27/2024 at 11:41 AM, j_cuevas713 said:

. dude you made my heart sink to my ass

He did go on a bit of a tirade about "anti-car activists" from the previous administration today.

If anybody from the ultra-pragmatist Turner administration is an "anti-car activist," I wonder what the guy would think of me.