Ross

I noticed this the other day and wondered what was going on. Besides the plants, several trailers are gone as well.

11 hours ago, Brooklyn173 said:

As someone looking to buy and move to Houston, I wonder why quality places like this are only residential. I think this would make a great condo for those with longer housing horizons.

Houston is not a big condo city. Too much money to be made renting out the apartments until a good return is earned, then flipping to another owner for a nice profit. 

12 hours ago, cspwal said:

I would love to see the boring machines be computer controlled, and then they just start making tunnels everywhere like giant moles

The [problem with that in Houston, and other parts of Texas, is avoiding drilling through the thousands of abandoned oil wells that have mostly been forgotten. The Railroad Commission has a few maps, but they are approximate for historical wells.

I drove by this yesterday after dropping off the kid for a robotics competition at the Energy Institute on Sampson. This looks good. I also drove by the site for the new Energy Institute HS building on Southmore at Tierwester. It's moving along as well, but I didn't get a picture.

18 minutes ago, bobruss said:

Thats funny cause when your in the suburbs or just about anywhere you drive in Houston there is retail from corner to corner on every street. What makes downtown and Midtown any different. The difference is that with all of the people living in much denser neighborhoods it would be much better for everyone to be able to walk to these stores or service related businesses instead of getting in a car. Just curious Ross, but  what do you do for a living that you're so against developing retail and promoting urban density.

Not that it's relevant, but I am a financial systems analyst with an accounting degree. My views have nothing to do with being against developing retail or promoting density, and everything to do with not forcing property owners to build something they consider non-economic. If a property owner thinks GFR/offices/etc is a good idea, that's great, and he should build it.

There's no retail in my subdivision, which is inside the loop, nor is there retail in any of the residential areas in any of the suburbs. The retail is concentrated on certain streets, with enough retail density to make it easy to get all your shopping done without going to too many different places.

13 hours ago, phillip_white said:

They had the option to put retail, office, or housing units on the ground floor.  It appears they believe retail is the most marketable.

That decision was made under duress - "which one of these awful options is the least bad for me"

12 hours ago, bobruss said:

Yeah just like Post property had to look at a bunch of ugly empty space. Oh thats right they've been full since it opened and its probably one of the most successful parts of midtown. If the developer creates a project that makes retail a positive space and not just an after thought i think it will be filled quickly.

More and more of the empty spaces downtown are starting to be leased and as more people move in more of the retail and service oriented businesses will follow. 

I dont  know how many times I have to say this until it starts sinking in, but unless retail space is developed into these block filling developments there won't be any reason to get out and walk six blocks to get to a store.

I'm  speaking to the future and the creation of a successful midtown on a broad sense.

Once blocks and blocks of development are developed without room for retail then what do you do.

 

 

Retail isn't required on every block - perhaps one out of 16 or 20 would suffice. After all, how many convenience stores and small restaurant, etc are necessary for an area the size of Midtown?

Post was successful because there wasn't any competition. If there had been other GFR, Post likely would not have built as much as they did. I trust the developers to determine whether GFR is economic, but the density is not there now, or likely ever, to support GFR in every development. Especially with the amount of stand alone establishments in Midtown.

Is the Planning Commission going to pay the developer if the retail doesn't get any occupants? Or does the owner just have to eat the cost of the ugly empty space.

I didn't see any structures on that lot in Google Earth going through all the years available. It's too large to be an exhaust structure, unless there are thousands of square feet of buried space

On Google Earth, there's no evidence that there was sign on it, but the shadows lead me to believe it was once taller. There are no houses on any of the historic aerials on GE. The strip center across 1960 to the West has been there since at least 1978.

Looks more like the base for a sign to me, but the pictures are not super clear

The space telescope is the coolest thing there. Really amazing piece of work. And, kudos to the scientists that are taking the time to hang out and talk to us regular folks.

2 hours ago, Texasota said:

Surface parking should also be taxed at a higher rate than commercial or residential property.

The law does not allow for different rates based on use. Presumably, a property used for parking is valued higher than an unused property.

7 minutes ago, BeerNut said:

Houston should encourage developers to use permeable parking lots

What!? Make them spend more money? That's so, so, so, un-Houston

I actually like that idea, assuming it doesn't create issues with subsidence, etc.

1 hour ago, tanker61 said:

Mackie Dee Avenue in Magnolia Park.  First time poster.

In the 1913 map of Houston, present day 76th street was called Mackie Dee Avenue.  It ran north from Harrisburg Blvd to present day section of Avenue P, ran west for one block and then north on present day 75th Street to the Turning Basin of the Ship Channel.  The Central Park/Magnolia Park Map verified this.  Around 1950, the street names were changed to the names of today.  I have spent countless hours online trying to research and find out who Mackie Dee was with no luck. Never had the time to visit the Texas Room at the library to get serious.  Anyone ever heard of this road or of Mackie Dee?

Some more info at https://www.flickr.com/photos/rkimberly/4995896189

Reference to Mackie Dee Oil and Investment (may get more info from Texas Secretary of State records) https://books.google.com/books?id=H39DAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=mackie+dee+houston&source=bl&ots=jsAE1v_Tu1&sig=RUH95c8q1T5Ga8Ly2Cn5oQ5qQbI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiKw7a-vubRAhXBRiYKHXKqC6IQ6AEINzAF#v=onepage&q=mackie dee houston&f=false

There's a mention of a Mackie Dee Barnett in the July 17, 1904 Galveston Daily News society news for Brenham. In 1906, there's a marriage license where Mackie Dee Barnett married a William Mayfield in Ft Bend County. In the 1910 census, they live at 415 Emerson Street in Houston (one street North of Westmoreland), the husband is a newspaper editor.

That's all I could find right now. The items with no link came from ancestry.com

40 minutes ago, samagon said:

went cycling this morning around the area.

 

in addition to the closures, lots of streets have been reduced to 1 lane surrounding the GRB.

 

Rusk, Capitol, LaBranch, Austin, Polk, Dallas. And a few more. I'm assuming that's just going to be weekends?

Street closures are full time through Feb 5. Here's the map http://www.housuperbowl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/road-closures-sm.pdf

20 hours ago, Ross said:

I was told I will be taking the kid and a friend to the NFL Experience at Discovery Green on Saturday. Oh joy. A day with a couple of 14 year old boys that hear less than my nearly deaf great-grandmother. It's made somewhat easier by the fact that I was able to prepay to park for 8 hours at the old post office site for $14, which is close to the special circulator buses they've laid on for the event. Let's see how well that works.

I prepaid for parking at the Post Office, which I probably didn't need to do, but it was the cheapest option, and guaranteed me a space. We walked over to Louisiana and Franklin and caught the Orange circulator, which is free. We didn't do the NFL Experience, it costs actual money($35). We stood in line for about 2 hours so the kids could ride the Future Flight. They enjoyed that. The rest of the stuff was semi-interesting. The best thing to me was the full size display of the Webb Space Telescope, which is definitely worth seeing. The music stage is impressive, and sounds good with the recorded music they were playing. Food was really expensive, with any sort of entree costing $10+ - that's for hot dogs too. A bottle of water is $4.

I was told I will be taking the kid and a friend to the NFL Experience at Discovery Green on Saturday. Oh joy. A day with a couple of 14 year old boys that hear less than my nearly deaf great-grandmother. It's made somewhat easier by the fact that I was able to prepay to park for 8 hours at the old post office site for $14, which is close to the special circulator buses they've laid on for the event. Let's see how well that works.

2 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:

I don't understand the "Calhoun" references or issue with the name.  Please explain?

John C. Calhoun, a VP of the United States, a South Carolina Senator, and the Secretary of State who supported Texas' admission to the US, was an ardent pro-slavery figure, which makes him controversial.

12 hours ago, bobruss said:

I think the city should move forward with some kind of fines, and retribution to the owners of this property  for allowing it to fall into such a pitiful condition.

If nothing else they should be required to clean out all of the old drapes, graffiti, and anything that is visible to the eye. It wouldn't be nearly as bad if they would just clean up the crap blowing in the wind. I know I'll hear from some building owners who don't think that government should have any control over private property but when it is so glaringly dangerous and unsightly, there should be something that can force these long distance landlords from having a pigsty in downtown. The city should use the ordinance that allows them to tear down abandoned apartments to do the same and then sue the landlords for demo cost.

The owners of that building are here in Houston...

1 hour ago, VinnyVincent said:

No I don't really see where you are going. See unlike some of the "experts" commenting on these threads; I actually live/commute not just in Houston, but on 290 and 288 daily.

Even AFTER they had 290 ripped up and started paving... it's taken them longer to simply flatten out the surface than it has for the 288 crew to pave the entire road.

 

290 required far more work than 288 just to get ready. There were right of way issues and acquisitions, and the need to keep the freeway open while building the new lanes, which requires massive amounts of extra work. It's a good thing you weren't here when I-10 East was being rebuilt in the 70's and 80's, because it made 290 look like a cakewalk.

1 hour ago, VinnyVincent said:

I guess that's not an issue 1.4 million a day is the kind of money these guys paying the bills will be making...

 

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Toll-road-authority-doubles-as-bank-for-county-4083949.php

HCTRA would have had the same issues as TxDOT did on 290 with a contractor going bankrupt and being removed from the project. That set that particular stretch of road back by about a year, as the issues were resolved with the bonding company and the search for a new contractor.

Why build a single 100+ story building when you can build several 50 story buildings for less money. Going higher costs more per floor. And, Houston hasn't hit the density that makes su per tall buildings economic

7 hours ago, VinnyVincent said:

 

 

It sure is a shame that some people in certain areas aren't even able to simply live in a city without having to take that city to court for trying to rip them off...

You don't sue the City, you sue the appraisal district that sets the values. The City is just along for the ride.

Every time I see Critical Mass, my immediate thought is they should all be arrested for traffic offenses, and their bikes impounded. Recently, HPD has been pretty good about stopping them every so often to allow cross traffic to go through. Critical Mass does nothing to further understanding and tolerance for bikes.

What property taxes are being diverted to roads? Harris County always spends money on roads, that's one of the functions of a County in Texas.

The HCTRA financials will spell out any loans made - that's stuff is a required disclosure in a footnote somewhere. Reading footnotes is mandatory for financial statement understanding.

If you live in Grimes County, I don't want to hear complaints about commute times. You did that to yourself.

I live inside the loop. My house, and the houses around me are all valued pretty close to market value. Some people are willing to exert more effort taking the appraisal district to court. I'm not, since it would not make any difference.

7 hours ago, VinnyVincent said:

Dude there's crack houses across the street. No reasonable person is going to move their family into that house.

Those aren't crack houses, they are old, poorly maintained houses where poor people live. There are very few crack houses. Those houses are probably going to disappear soon, as they are all owned by the same company. The location is just a few blocks from UH.

7 hours ago, VinnyVincent said:

BTW what are the property taxes like on those houses? Outrageous I'd imagine.

FYI they are now diverting tax money from the appraisal district into road construction too...so you guys enjoy paying your inflated property taxes that everyone has been noticing the past few years.

They just passed that which is why they have been going up so much.

For the 5 lots along Tuam with the small houses, about $10,000 last year http://www.hctax.net/Property/TaxStatement?Account=0171580000002

The appraisal district doesn't collect taxes, so your statement about them being diverted is meaningless. Tax rates hven't really gone up, but property values have, which has increased taxes

30 minutes ago, Triton said:

 

Sounds like not enough money is even raised from tolls and especially not from the gas tax either. Appears a majority of projects require federal funds.

Exactly, and the feds don't fund a lot of roads that are needed.

8 hours ago, VinnyVincent said:

LOL you must not be from Houston either.

 

I have a girlfriend, who has a daughter and I'd like to not risk them getting raped when they are walking outside to get the mail.

That neighborhood isn't as dangerous as you think it is.

20 hours ago, VinnyVincent said:

I have a little experience in reading financials. I'm not a financial analyst or anything, but I've looked at quite a few back when I was trying to make some money in the stock market.

 

From what I understand it is VERY easy to manipulate a financial statement that is audited.

 

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental-analysis/financial-statement-manipulation.asp

 

But do you know what makes it even easier? When you have the amount of money, power and influence that HCTRA has.

The site you linked to is aimed at corporations, which have more ways to state their financials than a government organization. My 30 years of accounting experience tells me that the HCTRA financials are not manipulated. Government accounting rules do not allow as much leeway as corporate standards. Besides, there's little incentive for HCTRA to lie.