uncertaintraveler

Thanks for the all the answers.

After reading all of the posts, it seems to me that instituting a "quiet zone" in the manner suggested by SSullivan would be the best answer.

Additionally, kgb434, I'm not sure interstate commerce rulings actually protect train companies from being regulated by cities. Although, ideally, a city would institute regulations prohibiting trains from operating during certain hours, I see no reason why a city's police power couldn't apply to, at the very least, prohibiting the blasting of horns at certain hours. Certainly a city has a rational interest in protecting the health (i.e., sleep) of its citizens.

Also, might the concept of nuisance apply to? Even those who "come to the nuisance", such as those who move to an area knowing the existence of the nuisance-causing activity, can sometimes shut-down the disturbing activities or actor.

I'm just trying to come up with some ways houstonians can fight back to keep trains from ruining their quality of life, or sleep.

Which one is the Texaco building? Is that the same as the Heritage building--the one that is intended to look like an aztec/mayan temple?

Orion condos sell for $500 per sf? That's got to be a misprint. $5.00 maybe, but not five hundred...

Has anyone heard of any units being offered for sale yet?

Not sure if this rant should go in this forum in another, but why does the city allow trains to rumble and blow their horns through town in the wee hours of the morning???

In the Memorial/Heights/Waugh area, you rarely hear trains during the day--maybe once every two weeks. But between midnight and five a.m., and especially on Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday, sometimes it seems there is a train passing through every 30 minutes, each one blowing their horn constantly. I rent a place a good mile from the tracks, but I can still hear them as if they were coming through my living room.

Given the rise in development in this area, I'm surprised the trains haven't hurt the housing market. I'd love to live in the area, but there is no way I can justify spending 200K, or more, on a place and have my sleep interrupted by the trains...

Anyone know why the city hasn't cracked down on the trains, or instituted restrictions on the time of day (or night) when trains can operate? Or, alternatively, anyone know of who I should contact to start such a crack-down?

Thanks for the information!

Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, but I'm new and still learning the ropes here. I've also done some searching of past postings, but I still can't find a direct or concise answer to my question.

I'm wanting to buy a condo (preferably a flat, and preferably in a high or mid-rise), either inside the Loop or near the Galleria--ideally something in the Midtown, Memorial or Allen Parkway corridor, or around the Galleria area. I'm in no immediate rush to buy anything, but if I could get something by the end of 2005, that would be great. However, it seems (to me) that almost all the development of mid and high-rise buildings are for apartments.

Does anyone know of any new condos that are being built or any apartments that are being converted to condos?

Also...and please don't laugh...but does anyone think that it is realistic to find a 2 bed/2 bath place in these areas for around $250K? With a view of something other than a trash heap?

And...are there any other up-and-coming areas I should consider? I work in downtown and I do not handle traffic well. I consider anything longer than a 15 minute commute to be a deal-killer.

Thanks.

Thanks Talbot. It appears that this place has a lot of extremely useful information on living in Houston....

The developer is a group of two guys, who allegedly focus only on high-price "luxury" places, but have never built anything in Houston. They do all their research using focus-groups...asking people what they would want, and then building something close to it. The dark-glass everyone talks about are the highest priced, and biggest condos.

The place is supposed to be pretty modern inside. Ground will be broken in April, nothing completed until April of 2006.

Prices seem high though, but it could just be me. 170K for a small one-bedroom, 249-275K for the bottom-rung two bedrooms. It all works out to around $190 a square foot, without any "real" garage!

Does anyone else find that to be a bit high-priced?