brerrabbit

Remember this ____ happens! I live in east Pearland at Dixie Farm Road and 518. Our neighborhood (Oakbrook) one of the first built on Dixie Farm Road about 16 years ago. As a result we had a sewer pumpimg station in our neighborhood. Since the further expansion of the area the City of Pearland built a massive lift station right next to the Chevron at the corner of Dixie Farm and 518 and removed the one from our neighborhood. On any given day depending on the direction of the wind you get that sewer smell at Wal Mart, Home Depot, Jack in the Box, or at the Chevron. It's a fact of life that when hundreds of houses are built in an area sewer lines are connected and it has to go somewhere. The presence of a smell does not mean the area is unlivable it just means life goes on. Any of the smells mentioned in earlier posts could just be randomly generated by a heavy morning or evening load.

Hearsay as in not acceptable in a court of law? There looks to be some pretty damning evidence in the actual report. I looked at and while I admit I have not read every word the report looks pretty dang complete. The guy in the Mets organization that supplied the stuff has copies of all the checks from the people he was supplying. He also said he hooked Clemens up while he was still in Toronto and then rejoined him in New York when the Yankees with a strong push from Clemens hired him as a trainer. The guy came to Houston in the off season to train Clemens and both Petite and Clemens up until today a least were still supporting the guy and singing his praises. But as someone else said it all means little or nothing because without an actual drug test to show the use of banned substances after the league put the rule in place in 2005 then MLB can take no actions. While these guys may be tainted they cannot and more than likely will not be punished by MLB. Now the court of public opinion is another story.

The final judgement on this guy is far from in and while I am a gun owner I doubt I would go as far as this guy did. A lot of folks here have also pointed out that use of deadly force in protecting property, either your own or anothers is allowed in the state of Texas. It's true the law is on the books but as the cop who taught my conceled handgun class told us. If you shoot someone to protect property he better have been holding a gun on you, because even though the law is there very few if any body gets off in a shooting claiming they were "protecting property"

I would imagine that it came with the property. If they got thirty acres it would seem it would be most of the area from where the bayou crosses under Belfort all the way west to where the first businesses and houses start across from Hartman. I am not sure if they had a formal annoucement you would have heard. I get these things because my good friend works for the park board and negotiates the deals. I have to be careful with what information I give out here because I hear about some things still in negotiations.

My Mother worked for Joskees for 37 years and I can assure you the live dobermans were not in Joskees. However according to her they did have live dogs for security at Sakowitz. I remember when I was around 14 seeing the signs on the windows. It stated that the store was protected by dogs. I'm not sure if they were allowed to roam free or if the company that had the security contract actually had dogs. Kind of like the HPD canine (K-9) patrol cars do.

Was owned by the heirs. Several months ago the Houston Parks Board bought around thirty acres right there. They had to get the owners of the horse stalls at the front of the property and a Mexican fellow that had goats on the back of the property to move out. At some point there will be a park built at that location that will eventually tie into hike/bike paths built along Sims Bayou like the project they are currently undertaking along Brays Bayou.

The tunnel under the mall went to all the stores. There were three entrance/exits. One was by 610/Holmes Road basically right under the bridge to the movie theatres. Another was next to the lower level of Joskees and looked like it went right under Sakowitz. The third and final entrance was behind the old Weingartens next to the bank. They all connected under the mall and had loading docks for all the stores. Also included in the underground portion of the mall was a bowling alley, Dentist offices, an auditorium, and several stores actually had part of their stores down there. Grants had a downstairs, Joskees had a lower level, and I think the banks vault was down there. Weingartens restrooms were also on the lower level. One of my favorite places was Mize's bakery and sandwich shop. It was a really small place wedged between Weingartens and the Bank. THey made great sandwiches and I ate there a lot when I worked at Joskees.

I honestly did not know there was ever a golf course there. The driving range however was there. There is to this day a narrow street that comes off of Belfort right across from Hartman. I think it has since been made into a one way street because it was so narrow. The driving range we went to was bordered on the west by that street, so I am sure that a driving range was there at one point. There may have been another one where the Krogers no stands but I don't remember it.

As I mentioned in my earlier post I can tell you where a lot of driving ranges were, and the location you mentioned was where one was. I don't think it was a golf course but I am certain there was a driving range as it was where my Father took me a lot of Saturday and Sunday afternoons to pound balls. It was in the late 60's when we went there.

The old Texaco Golf Course is an interesting story. Texaco has actually donated the site along with some additional land to the Houston Parks Board but because retirees were promised membership for life after retirement they are still using it as a golf course till those retirees permantly retire. There was a big fight right after the donation to maintain their memberships. But since it makes virtually no revenue the condition of the course is going downhill fast.

Golfcrest CC. It was located south of the 610 loop between Broad and Telephone. The streets in that area still have the golf inspired names like Golfcrest, and Fairway. By the way those names were taken to Pearland with the course. Barnett Stadium which is a HISD complex is located on the old site. Its also the location of an HISD Bus Barn. Golfcrest moved from that location to Pearland around 1971. Up until not long ago they still used the old club house for the transportation offices for HISD at the bus facility. Others that are closed but not repurposed yet would be Clear Lake Golf club in Clear Lake. It went public when Bay Oaks opened and has since closed for good. Another is Friendswood Golf Club which started life as Sun Meadows CC in Friendswood off of FM 528. Its closed and has been for several years. In other discussions on this board Gus Wortham which is still open was once Houston Country Club until it moved to its new location off Woodway. It was one of the first in Houston. I think Golfcrest was like the third and it was opened in 1926. It was the home of the New Rich in Houston that were not able to get into Houston CC. I hear that till this day getting into HCC is difficult unless the family has been arounf Houston for several generations. Thats all I can think of off the top of my head but I am sure there are more. I can tell you where a lot of driving ranges were that have closed but thats a different story.

I know for sure that Pearland Parkway flooded at leat once between Beltway 8 and the bridge over Clear Creek. A friend and I tried to go home that way and based on the two trucks that were flooded out on the high water we decided to seek and alternate route. That is a long way from LOHG down Pearland Parkway granted but I know for sure the area at the beltway infront of the new construction there does flood.

Based on only one really heavy rain I have seen since it was developed I don't think it floods. That being said Pearland Parkway between Beltway 8 and LOHG does flood. So much that we were unable to get through to go home the last time it rained really heavily. The overpass along that stretch of Pearland Parkway crosses over Clear Creek which is notorious for flooding. They have built multiple retetion areas to help but the water still comes up. All of the lakes in the subdivision are built such that they are retetion areas in times of heavy rains. SCR has a lot of lakes and they are the retetion ponds for that neighborhood. You have to remember that as they fill up the bowl gets bigger so they can hold a lot more water than you think.

I don't have the total breakdown on the money donated to Discovery Green by donor but was lead to believe that at least some of the money came from trusts that are operated in the city. These trusts are not looking for recognition nearly as much as the corporate donors. They have a fixed amount of dollars to give each year based on the returns they make year to year. These are the dollars that I feel are wasted on one big project. Also I agree with TheNiche that the development is not a direct result of the park. Remember the developers will do projects that they feel will make them money and a return on the investment. With or without the park downtown occupancy and the market for downtown housing will drive the developers actions, not the mere presence of a new park. Finally maybe I'm just a more spread the wealth kind of guy but I think that sum of money could have gone a long way to increase quality of life in a lot of places rather than just the downtown area. It's probably also driven by the fact that my good friend works for the Houston Parks Board which is a non profit organization that raises donations to aquire and develop park space throughout Houston and that a lot of projects across the city are being delayed because of a lack of funds to proceed. Granted the dollars will come again next year and they will move forward on the stalled projects but it just makes it harder when one nameplate park sucks up so much money. At least the new skatepark is moving forward with the help of the Jamail's $1.8 million donation. Kinder could have got naming rights to that one and it would have cost $8.2 million less than Discovery Green.

Without getting into all the back and forth on the issue, I offer only this. Projects like Victory Park or for that matter the new park being built in Houston in front of the GRB are nice, but are they really worth the price? Not just in terms of dollars but so many dollars on one project. Cities like Houston have a pool of resources to pull on each year. These are the corporate donations and endowments that are there to improve the quality of life across the city. A very good friend of mine works for the Houston Parks Board and I know that the downtown park sucked the life out of a lot of parks projects in Houston because it took $80 million off the table for other projects. That $80 million could have been much better spent in smaller projects at sites all across the city than dumping into one one block project in downtown. As far as regulations go, no doubt Houston has lagged the country and it has casued problems. However at the same time it has created a unique city. Houston is something you have to experience to fully appreciate. Its not New York, or Chicago. or LA. It's something quite unto itself and thats what I love about it. I like the mix of old and new, tradition and non traditional. I was born and raised in this town and have seen a lot of change over my 48 years here. Some good, some bad. But isn't that the case anywhere you go. Developers will do things only when there is money to be made and no amount of regulation is going to force them into doing non profitable ventures. Because of this and the lack of zoning Houston's administration has to walk a fine line when looking to the future of the city. I freely admit that I don't have all the answers but given all the acknowleded and perceived problems I think we have done a decent job overall and hope we will continue to do so into the future.

Depends on what your looking for. I personally like all the amenities offered on the newer west side of Pearland but would not consider living there for anything. I live in east Pearland and can drive across town to enjoy the shopping and dining but return to the relative calm of my neighborhood afterwards. There are areas off of Dixie Farm Road that offer houses in your price range with mature trees and good access to all the amenities Pearland has to offer but without the rapid growth. The other benifit of living in east Pearland is more options for getting out of Pearland to go to work every day. We have easy access to IH 45 and the Beltway and are not forced to use 288. We have lived in Pearland since 94 and love it. There seem to be quite a few houses available and given everything going on in the mortgage industry today I am sure there are some good deals to be had. I did read the Fannie Mae has just declared the Houston market as distressed so that means mortgage lenders are having to look harder at making new loans so that will decrease the number of available buyers. Should you want help looking for a home I would recommend two realators. They both work for Remax that is located on the Northeast corner of 288 and Beltway 8. One is Teresa Riddle and the other is Kathy Warfield. They are both very good and both grew up in Pearland and know the market extremly well. They also have the advantage of having seen Pearland go from a population of less than 10,000 to its current level of over 85,000 plus the unincorporated areas. They know a lot of the history which can count for a lot when looking to buy pre owned homes rather than new inventory.

A friend just had his Mothers roof redone in the same area and it was a flat roof. He used a company called Above All Roofing and was pleased with their work. You might try them.

I don't think it will be much an issue in a lot of those places because municipal ordinances currently allow liqour sales within thier borders. I know you can buy it in Surfside, Angleton, and Freeport. There are not enough people outside of those areas to really care beyond that.

Pearland at 100,000 and no one has even talked about it so no I don't have any idea when or if it will change. As clearman points out as long as the stores are near Pearland in Harris county no one seems to be to concerned. And since a lot if not most of the population of Brazoria county lives in the northern section around Pearland its not to big a concern. Added to that the southern parts of the county have muncipal laws that allow for liquor stores there and I don't see anything that will lead to a change.

According to the article County Commisioners will canvas the polls November 14th and after that wine can be sold in the stores as soon as the businesses have the right permits. As far as the Specs at Beltway 8 and Pearland Parkway that can happen anytime they build it since that location is not in Brazoria County. The county line is just south of there where the bridge goes over Clear Creek. This election was not holding that up at all. The laws still do not allow for liquor stores in Brazoria County so we still have to travel for the hard stuff.

The Southwest corner of Beltway 8 and SH288 just North of all the Shadow Creek Ranch growth.

A friend of mine called me from Dallas the other day because he had read the article and thought it was ridiculous that the City would put exsisting structures that had been approved in the past into an area that was reclassified and therefore completely destroyed the value. I agree that its ridiculous that the City would enact such a law. Unfortunatly because of the development of Houston as well as other areas of the Gulf Coast and all across the country for that matter we have imbedded billions of dollars of value into real estate that should have never been built. Galveston is a perfect example. Development has spread the length of the entire island and the seawall does no protect the majority of the new developments. People are building five and six hundred thousand dollar houses in areas where technically nothing should be built. The only reason people are willing to do it is becasue they can receive highly subsidized insurance for those structures. Let the free market system work and make individuals who make bad decisions pay the actual cost of the insurance and overnight no one would build in these places. Now I am not suggesting that the current issue falls into that classification, and I think that houses that were built long ago when flooding was not an issue in an area should be given help with insurance and those areas should be grandfathered into regulations. Unfortunatly, the system we have lived with for so long has allowed subsidies and now when ever a regulating body tries to right the wrongs of the past so to speak then people get upset and property values decrease.

I concur with the previous poster that its hard to compare all of Pearland to Sugarland based on only Pearlands west side. I will concede that if you are looking for a planned community then you might have to rule out east Pearland though. There is very little in the way of planned communities east of highway 35. I have lived off of Dixie Farm Road between 518 and 35 for 14 years and we love it. A lot of the small town feel has gone away but still we have not faced the unheralded growth that west Pearland has encountered. The good news for us is we can enjoy the dinning and shopping out west but we always get to come home to a less busy area. Highland Ranch of Meadows or whatever its called is the closest thing we have to a planned community over on our side of town. Its off beltway 8 at Pearland Parkway. The other advantage is transportation. We are close to IH 45 and have Mykawa, Telephone Road, and Highway 3 as alternatives to downtown. We are also close enough to the beltway to make going east or west relatively easy as well. As far as schools go Pearland is in a state of rapid change and opend a new high school this year called Dawson, and plan another high school in two years. Dawson meets this year and next at the old ninth grade center on Bailey Road but are scheduled to move to their new campus on Cullen when this years Sophmores are Seniors. At that time the old ninth grade campus will knock down the walls between it and the building that is Junior High South currently and that will become the third high school. Zoning is not worked out yet other than Dawson is mostly Silverlake and the surrounding areas and the current Pearland High is the rest. West of 288 everything is Alvin schools but the good news is that they have an elementary in SCR and are almost through with a Middle School there as well. Those kids from SCR attend the new Manvel High School which is on highway 6 not far from 288 to the east.

Not sure but it sounds like your talking about the old Alabama theatre that was at Shepard and Alabama. It was next to Cactus records and then became The Bookstop. I have not been by there in a while and heard they were closing the bookstore. That was where we used to go see the midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

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