sevenmeadows

Why? Isn't my criticism just as much free speech?

Your criticism is, of course, free speech. As is ours.

As an aside, I find it humorous that those who scorn suburbia consistently find it necessary to be involved in suburb-specific posts. If Katy is such a waste land, why do urbanites spend so much time on its boards? I assure you, your fixation with suburbia is much greater than most suburbanites' interest in mundane details that go on inside the loop.

If you live near 1093 there is no nearby "free" highway that runs east-west. So you would be forced to add a considerable amount of time to your route and the additional traffic on the alternate (free) routes would make it worse for those who already use those routes.

Until not very long ago, there was no Westpark Tollway and people who lived near 1093 somehow survived.

If you want the convenience, you pay for it. If you don't want to pay a toll, then you accept the inconvenience.

I don't get a thrill out paying tolls, but without them the Westpark Tollway becomes so clogged with traffic it fails its purpose--to provide a more efficient roadway for those willing to pay for the convenience.

I prefer the congestion pricing. I remember how ecstatic I was when the free hurricane tolls ended. The increase in traffic during that period proved how bad things would be if the roads weren't tolled.

In fact, I think the tolls need to be higher because there are still traffic problems during morning rush hour. And by the way, no one is forced to use the tollways. If someone doesn't want to pay tolls, they are perfectly free to take alternate (free) routes. That is exactly how congestion pricing helps alleviate traffic problems.

The Greek restaurant (Santorini) is open. It's located in the inner part of the Villagio next to the fountains in the courtyard. It's a casual place--you order at the counter and they bring it to the table. Normally I prefer full-service restaurants, but the casual feel seems to fit its family-run atmosphere. The food was excellent and was a good value. I plan to return and would definitely recommend it.

The problem my husband and I had with Wings and Rings is the cheap arcade atmosphere that greets you the minute you walk in the door. Even when we're looking for a casual dining experience, grungy arcade is not what we have in mind.

We frequent many other restaurants in the area, especially Azzarelli's which is located in the same shopping center, but were just very disappointed with the atmosphere at Wings and Rings.

We have a faucet PUR water filter for the taste and purification process (something we would do regardless of where we lived). We don't have any other water treatment system and haven't noticed anything strange. I think you would be fine either way.

I wouldn't fret too much for most of the employees. The engineers and geoscientists at Anadarko (and everywhere else for that matter) have been barraged by headhunters. While maybe not the most fun activity, finding a job should not be difficult.

Accounting/finance is still strong in Houston as well. I'm not well-informed about the IT market however.

The Townhomes are NOT being built. The developer (Marcel) opted against building them and decided instead to sell off the back four acres to a different developer. The is going to be two more retail/professional office buildings, along with a Mexican Restaurant taking the pad site right on Peek Rd.

We're doing the leasing for both developers.

www.atworkinkaty.com

b.

Will the architectural style be similar to the Villagio?

Mexican (and other SA gangs) gangs should be DEPORTED at GUNPOINT. If they resist -- send them to the "great gangland in the sky".

Immediately.

*ahem* That's my position.

Who wants to vote for me?

One vote here!

Carmelo's is an excellent upscale Italian restaurant with great ambiance. It's located on Memorial a little east of Eldridge.

Wow, three stories of apartments above retail! At least it's walkable space for those residents, assuming the big store in the back is still grocery.

I'd love to see townhomes instead of apartments; pride of ownership goes a long way towards keeping a complex looking nice.

I had assumed they meant owner-occupied apartments, but now that I reread, I bet you're right. Being that we're not in NY, they'd probably call them condos or townhouses if they weren't rentals.

I would think that they'd have to charge fairly steep rents to keep the apartment population from detracting from the retail environment. I feel pretty confident that things will be well-maintained because La Centerra will lose its retail tenants if it goes downhill. Nonetheless, I would also prefer owned units to rentals.

That La Centerra thing is the same way then.

I believe the smaller size and general layout La Centerra significantly lessens the "mall effect." It gives a much more "family friendly" feel than a typical mall, and has not seemed to attract mall-type loiterers (at least not when I've been there.)

I do believe that the open-air nature of The Grand will help reduce the whole loitering element and mitigate some of the usual mall effects.

You are still going to be in traffic. The intersection of I-10 and The Grand Parkway is the only area where traffic will be. The Grand Parkway northbound will have a lot of traffic, too.

I think the idea is that south Katy residents won't be impacted by the mall traffic unless they're actually going to the mall.

I went into the Palais Royal at HEB for the first time this weekend (first time in any Palais Royal). It is just like a mini dept store. They have an Estee Lauder counter and a Clinique counter as well as a decent selection of fragrances. Clothes, shoes, purses. Name brands such as Liz Claiborne, Nine West and Anne Klein shoes. And cash registers at each dept, instead of at the front of the store. It will be nice to be able to run in and out and not have to fight the mall crowd.

This sounds a lot better than I had thought. It doesn't seem too bad now

Another really unique/high scale place would be La Centerra in Katy. It is lacking resturants so this might be the push they need, other than that the enitre complex is doing well.

http://www.lacenterra.com/

I would also recommend La Centerra. It is the new upscale town square type shopping center at the Grand Parkway and Cinco Ranch Boulevard. I believe Perry's is also planning to open a restaurant there.

Another option would be the Villagio on Westheimer a little east of the Grand Parkway.

Both are new upscale shopping/restaurant environments near neighborhoods w/average and median household incomes greater than 100K.

Living In Seven Meadows I would have loved to have seen a 24hour fitness, blockbuster, Best Buy, Bed Bath Beyond. Lifetime charges to much and has to many children running around. The HEB shopping center seems to be catering more to the stay home moms in the area with Palais Royal and now a hobby lobby. Do the same people that shop at Palais Royal also shop at Hobby Lobby? Was there a study for this? What's next a $1 store or Payless Shoes? Is this shopping center going to be a copy of the one on Kroger Shopping Center Fry & 1-10?

I, too, would have preferred something better than a Hobby Lobby, although I think that a grocery store shopping center would not work with many retailers I would've liked. I still think a bookstore could've done well but I agree there are better locations for it. Honestly, I can't figure out why one hasn't signed a lease with La Centerra. I actually am glad we didn't get a Best Buy. I think it attracts too many loiterers and I'm sure it would increase traffic more than a Hobby Lobby.

I can see where Hobby Lobby would be frequented by women in the area. However, I really doubt that many residents buy their clothes from Palais Royal. According to its website its "specialty is bringing nationally-known, brand name apparel, accessories, footwear and cosmetics to small towns and communities throughout the U.S." It's basically a smaller selection of department store brands. Why would Katy need this when there are stores with large selections in close proximity? I suppose other locations are still in business so there must be some market for this sort of thing. I don't see myself becoming a frequent shopper however.

I wouldn't worry about a dollar store or payless shoes. I can't imagine that the demographics would even remotely support them.

What is up with the whitey sucks thing? And only you are one saying ppl are jealous, its not like south katy / cinco ranch area folks aren't allowed access to the mall. Its less than 10 minutes drive up.

I agree completely. Someone seems to have a real axe to grind.

And frankly, many south Katy residents (myself included) are GLAD that the mall is going north of I-10. I can get to the mall within 10 minutes, but avoid having the additional traffic and crime that a mall can attract in my own backyard.

On a positive note, I do think that The Grand being an outdoor mall will somewhat help reduce the "hanging out" and will attract more actual shoppers vs. teenagers looking for trouble.

Neiman Marcus is definetely going at The Grand Mall.....and high-end townhomes are going to be a really good idea in the wonderful Morton Ranch Area.

I don't think the area for The Grand and Grandeur Park would be considered Morton Ranch. It's barely north of I-10 along the Grand Parkway.

Does anyone know if Neiman's is actually in talks with The Grand developers? I know that two "upscale department stores" are expected a couple years after Dillards, Macy's, etc. are built, but I'm wondering if any real talks have begun or this is still in the complete speculation phase.

Hobby Lobby, Big lOts its all the same crap.

Well, I'm not saying Hobby Lobby is something to get terribly excited about, but it doesn't have the cringe-inducing nature of Big Lots. There is a pretty big difference in the type of store. I still would have preferred a Borders or Barnes & Noble though.

I heard today that a Hobby Lobby is going in next to Palais Royal.

I wouldn't think that a Kohl's would go next to Home Depot since there would be another one just a couple miles south next to the Wal-Mart. I'm hoping not anyway.

I echo everyone's sentiments on the Big Lots. What are the developers thinking??? In fact, who is the developer? I plan on writing an email to complain about this potential tenant choice.

Construction is starting on the spot next to Palais Royal.

Any ideas about what will be going in next to Palais Royal?

I don't think anyone questioned whether the guy is a hard worker or wanted to provide for his family. The fact is he knew the deed restrictions attached to the house when he moved in and agreed to live by those rules. In the short term will a service van here or there will not cause any problems, but keeping the nieghborhood nice and neat is what perpetuates the great schools and neighborhood this guy so desires. If you allow this, who to say a long haul trucker can't park his semi cab in front of his house for a week while waiting for his next run? Take a drive around the Katy area and venture into some older neighborhoods like the first sections of Cinco and them compare them to other subdivisions that don't enforce deed restrictions.

I agree. Everyone knows the deed restrictions when they move to a neighborhood. If they're not enforced, the neighborhood loses many of the elements that made it desirable in the first place.

I haven't seen this posted on here. I really like the potential for this development. Very nice looking.

Thanks for posting this. Do you have the link to the website where it's located? I was wondering if I could get a larger blow-up of the picture since some of the retailer names are difficult to read.

I am fairly new to home ownership and I know that Katy ISD is responsible for the majority of the property taxes I will pay for 2007 (or is it 2008...I know I will get a bill in December). When is the rate announced? It was supposed to be $2.00 last year but it was something like $1.85.

Does anyone know?

I checked at the Katy ISD website but they did not have the tax rate for the 2007-2008 year listed yet. For general planning purposes, I would use last year's tax rate as an estimate for this year. I can't remember how far in advance we find out the tax rate. Maybe someone else will know.