luvtheheights

Does anyone know anything about the location of the old Pig Stand?? What is the property going for, are they looking to lease or sell it???

I can drive down any street in the Heights, close my eyes, hit the gas, and have a pretty good shot at crashing into a Mexican restaurant before hitting anything else. The last thing we need is another Mexican restaurant. If it's "Pappasito's-style" you're looking for, there's the El Tiempo on Washington or even Berryhill on 19th.

Good point, I'm just always pulling for and supporting new restaurants in the 'hood.

Don't know if it still is with all the acquisitions they have made, but you probably saw their corporate HQ. It is a rather unassuming building on Yale close to I10.

I saw what Htwon girl is talking about. It's not their headquarters. I almost looks like a "shack" they can move to different places for events (street fairs, special events, etc.). I can't imagine Pappasitos putting a restaurant there, although I would love it if they did!

. The Pig Stands here, and in SA and Beaumont, were the last of the old-time diners still left in South Texas.

You still have Yale Street Diner!!!!

The plan was always for a regular target with an expanded grocery section, not a super target. It has a coffee place up front (starbucks).

Like all other targets it serves the function of convenience. It seems maybe some of the visitors to this target were expecting a different store. It is built like any other target.

I live in the heights and use it for the function it serves. This is for kitchen and bathroom items that I can easily run over to target and get at fair prices. The expanded grocery section allows me to get OJ, milk, bread or other items that I run out of. It definitely is more convenient than any other place in the vicinity.

Overall this is a plus for the neighborhood.

On another note the demolition of the old warehouse on the north side of Sawyer heights is complete. As soon as the torn down material is trucked away the progress for the heights can continue.

Also, the new bank on the property is coming along just fine. It will be a fine building!

I drove by that area the other day and saw a sign that indicated there was going to be a bar b que joint there.

Allow me to explain some things...

The Houston Heights Association is NOT a homeowners assoc. Many members are businesses with ties to new construction. The Heights does not have a homeowners association.

Prevailing lot size- will keep out townhomes but will not keep out giant lot covering homes. And Sunset Heights tried to get PVLS and the Planning Commission denied them. Check the Chroniocle archives for a good report.

Deed Restrictions- To enact new ones takes going door to door and getting 75% signatures. We estimate it e takes 60-90 minutes to aquire ONE signature (distribute liturature, call agains, discuss topic, etc. ) That makes it a very difficult for any volunteer group. Why should there have to be a supermajority? We can legally elect a Governor this year with 20.00001 percent of the vote but it takes 75% and going door to door to get some changes in deed restrictions???? Has the deck been stacked against the citizen? Yes.

The Houston Planning Commission is a group of unpaid people appointed by the Mayor, usually in the develpment and construction business. Their decisions CANNOT be appealed. How can that be fair? How can that be democratic?

Save the Bungalows believes that the people who created and reside in a neighborhood should have some say over its future. We believe that planning should happen. What we have is whoever has the most money and gets there first does whatever they want - Planning by profiteers. What we have, in urban areas, is weak or non-existant deed restrictions, a deck stacked against us, no right to appeal. Meanwhile the developers get "one stop shopping"- Check Bill White's web site- he likes to brag on that as an accomplishment.

We think it not at all unreasonable to restrict a house as a proportion of its lot size. That is what we want. STB has no desire to be the taste police or enforce faux Victoriana. We think that restricting house size means that developers won't see the huge profits they get from starter castles and thus there will be an economic incentive to remodel and renovate. This is good in so many ways - it creates a stable neighborhood, when people think they know where prices are headed. It preserves mature tress, which are usually bulldozed to build the Hummer homes. And NO ONE at city hall will even talk about how flooding will be effected when all the green space is covered.

To pretend that the government does not engage in social engineering through economic incentives is naive. What the hell do you think tax breaks are?

I am getting a little tired of the misrepresentations that are being made. For one, I don't think there has been an influx of Hummer vehichles in and around the Heights. Second, can we stop calling them "profiteers" and call them what they are, capitalist. Thrid, I think that restricting house/lot size may hurt your case. Some of the remodels I have seen lately actually add more rooms on the ground level and eat up more of the yard/lot. If you are going to make a case for new construction having restrictions you better do it for remodels as well.

Lastly, my wife and I bought a new construction house in the Heights about a year ago (we lived in another part of the heights for about 5 years prior). We love the neighborhood and are committed to being here long term, that's why we bought a house we could grow into. Degrading what has been done in the neighborhood by calling homes like ours "McMansions" or "Hummer Homes" does not help your case with us or with many of our friends who own new homes in the Heights. We are not inclined to support you or your organization.