Hugh Stone

Reading posts in this thread has started to become the online equivalent of sitting in a traffic jam. It's just as exciting. But eventually, traffic will start moving again and we will arrive at our destination.

I can't wait for the entire Grand Parkway to be completed. It's not like that patch of weeds is something of beauty. If you walk about a mile west of where the Grand Parkway is you can still meander in that flat, ugly wasteland if you want to for a few more years. This is Greater Houston - not the everglades. Build up and sprawl only makes that side of town look better.

I count 40 floors on that rendering. 40>35!

Why would they build a highway when there is no one there?

...for the people who are going to BE there in 10 years.

...and for the people who want to go from the new Exxon Campus, Woodlands and Spring to Katy, Cinco Ranch and Sugarland without having to get on a super crowed Sammy/Beltway 8.

Houston is one big stadium museum. Lots of important ground breaking stadiums in this city. If there is one thing Houston should be given credit for and should make the most out of, it is our remarkable collection of stadiums. One more good reason to SAVE THE ASTRODOME! It keeps our collection in tact. Houston is second to none in this category.

Is it too late to build a retractible roof over it? It looks like it would be an oven even at night.

a real theme park, away from hundreds of homes in established neighborhoods, with a decent concept wouldn't bother me so much. focusing on "texas" themes? for god's sake. i grew up in texas and we are texas themed to death. the rodeo, rodeo/fairs, country music, cows, trains, oil........all old news and super boring. i dread the future promotion of such a place included in the woodlands marketing materials! ".......and nearby grand texas theme park". oh my.

put it in pearland or pasadena please.......or even galveston (love you galveston, but you're a tourist town). why tear down forested areas for a theme park when there are tens of thousands of empty, cheaper acres elsewhere.

If they are going to tear down forested areas anyway - to build housing developments, strip centers, car dealerships or warehouses (which North Houston has plenty of... then I would prefer a theme park in that spot. At least a theme park will allow the masses to use the forested area for recreation (assuming they don't completely clear cut it - which I too would be against). I personally don't have a problem with using Texas themes for Texas tourism. Some of the things, like that ranch area, could be interesting for people (like me) who never came anywhere near a farm or ranches.

Apparently, it is a monumental task building a theme park from scratch. At this point, I don't think the Houston area can afford to be too picky when it comes to large theme park - as we have NONE now. Successful theme parks usually evolve and expand to stay in business over the years. If Grand Texas starts out modest, there is always hope that it will grow into something great. Six Flags over Texas and Magic Mountain both started out very small and even a bit cheesy but evolved into great theme parks over the years. The key and the hard part is getting one started in the first place. Houston is losing a lot of revenue which could be staying right in our own metro if a theme park is built.

I'm not Niche. I guess we will know how high the Exxon campus buildings will be when it gets closer to completion. Those cranes look mighty high for 4 story buildings.

lame lame lame!!! i heard about this project but didn't know the details. it's as bad an idea as earthquest. blech!!!

Why are Grand Texas and EarthQuest bad ideas? Don't you think that Houston could use a big theme park or two? A lot of people in Houston are spending their theme park dollars in San Antonio and Arlington when they could be spending it right here in the Houston area. I hope both parks are built.

A rendering is not a contract.

uh... what in the Universe is that?

That is the new Omni convention hotel in Dallas. It is built right next to the convention center. Imagine how ridiculous that must have looked in the early renderings to some people. But now most people in Dallas brag about their new eye candy. It really is a spectacular sight when you see it in person. I noticed that Omni is one of the companies interested in building the new convention center hotel in Houston. I wouldn't mind something like the Dallas Omni in our neck of the woods at all. I would certainly trade our Embassy Suites for it anytime.

I hope they build something like this.

Signs of construction? I hope this project gets built.

In theory, I should be happy that Post Oak is getting knitted together with nice, modern, walkable retail. (It's one more opportunity to show up all the fashionistas in Dallas.) In practice, I wonder who needs all this new retail space. There can only be so many high-rent boutiques. Wealthy Mexican nationals, perhaps?

I hate you.

I loved visiting but I hated living in SF. It was cramped, hard to get around and uncomfortable. It was beautiful, but it meant nothing to me and at the end of the day, it wasn't worth the money or the trouble. It just got stale after a while. Visiting is one thing, living there is a completely different experience.

I preferred Houston, because Houston keeps changing and growing and things happen here. There is an energetic vibe in Houston that is missing in SF. Maybe it's all the growth and growing pains. Maybe it is the constant look to the future. It's cool to be apart of a city that grows and expands as opposed to one that is firmly established and seems to care more about the past than the future. The people in SF fight change more than any place I've ever lived. SF is nice, but it's done. Houston is far from perfect, but there is this wonderful sense of hope and optimism here that I love.

Houston is like raw clay you can still do something cool with. SF is a beautiful ornamental vase that you can only look at and admire.