Ross

In the meantime, Chevron is paying taxes on the vacant land, about $637k last year, while the YMCA paid nothing. So, the property is generating more revenue for government, even as it sits empty.

On 7/16/2016 at 6:37 AM, HoustonIsHome said:

Well Houston is not SF.

And no one is advocating reducing supply.

In fact I am advocating increasing supply by leaving existing supply in tact and adding new luxurious supply.

The existing luxurious supply should,  as you say try to be more competitive by dropping price, but not as competitive as the existing lower priced units that keep getting demolished in favor of ultra luxury units.

It is easier to build new multifamily on the site of existing multifamily, rather than trying to buy an entire block from 15 different owners.

If the developers thought GFR would make them money, it would be included. Apparently they don't think it would be profitable, and it's their money that's being risked here. Want GFR? Build your own damn building, and quit trying to spend other people's money for crap you want for yourself.

19 hours ago, RTR Houston said:

Sorry to resurrect another old post but we have been looking at two Weekley townhome developments close into the city and this is one of our final three choices. The other choices being the Ryland/CalAtlantic (Reserve on Moritz) project directly across the street and another Weekley development on Hempstead called Reserve at Washington. This DW Village at Spring Branch seems to be doing pretty well. We like that the community also has Garden Homes and Estate Homes which should add to the value. The main drawback that we see is how tight they are packing them in there. We have a dog and would really like some green space but there will be very little. It seems the area between Bingle and Wirt and south of Long Pointe is doing pretty well. I am sure the school zoning helps. Any thoughts on this area long term? It has been 2 years since the last post so I would like to hear yalls opinions now. Also any thoughts on the other two communities is welcomed as well.

Have you looked at the Weekley development on TC Jester at Larkin, just North of I-10?

I had good luck in the past buying from the guys hanging out near Minute Maid. I don't know if they are still there. I bought great tickets below face value right at game time. 

Philippines. The word on the sign translates to "always"

Singapore? Malaysia?

There are CBRE signs up at the Bethel Church at 1107 Shepherd, or the block bounded by Shepherd, Durham, Center and Nett. This might create difficulty for the restaurant formerly known as Floyd's, since they use the church parking lot for their customers. Flyer at http://looplink.houston.cbre.us/xNet/Looplink/Profile/Profile.aspx?stid=cbre/houston&LID=19808539&LL=true&UOMListing=&UOMMoneyCurrency=&RentPer=PY&SRID=7484074448

The Interpose:

That's a pretty standard steel framed building shape.

12 hours ago, brian0123 said:

Houston has a ton of large fields that would be better than a parking lot in June. I can't imagine the heat.

Examples? 

11 has the best OTA signal at my compound here in Greater Timbergrove. 4 years without cable, and very happy with what I get from Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

Stage Stores is the corporate name, and the headquarters are here in Houston at 2425 West Loop South.

Whatever. Non-profits don't get to hold vacant land for long periods without paying taxes.

The changeable traffic condition signs are operated by TxDOT, not Transtar. Overall, I am pretty happy with Transtar, as are most folks I know. Especially those who don't use smartphones or apps.

Don't think so. There are lots of grass types here that are considered weeds. Dallisgrass, nut grass, Johnson grass, etc. Take a sample to your local garden store.

HISD's budget is $100 million short due to the Legislature not renewing the Robin Hood exemption, and they choose to spend money on renaming? Led by Jolanda Jones, one of the more divisive figures in Houston politics. One of the most stupid, moronic, and idiotic events ever, in Houston. I am not happy at all about this.

7 hours ago, ADCS said:

How long until the land is condemned then?

The Aga Khan Foundation sued HCAD last year claiming that they were erroneously denied an exemption because the land is a youth athletic facility. Really, that's their argument - a volleyball net and some alleged soccer fields make it a youth athletic facility. No telling when it will be resolved. I've never seen anyone using it for youth athletics, and we drive by there on a regular basis.

They lost their property tax exemption, and currently owe 3.5 million dollars in back taxes. 

4 hours ago, bedmondson said:

I hear that of a bar is being put inside the store here. Any details/confirmation?

TABC notice in the window, and a sign at the back end of the wine section seem to confirm this.

It seems to work a lot better if you use the unread content option, and then use the dot or star to go to the first unread message in a thread. I get the list of unread content pretty quickly, and loading a message isn't awful. This is on a Galaxy S5. Having said that, the sites I read that use the older version of the software look better and are faster.

7 hours ago, editor said:

 

Can you be more specific about "disaster?"  I looked at it on mobile and it seemed to work fine, though I'm going to try to cut down on the size of the ads for mobile displays.  

 

I'm using an iPhone.  Is this perhaps an Android problem?

I use an Android,  and the recent changes have greatly improved the mobile experience. Reducing the size of the ads would be a big improvemen, but load speed is far better now.

6 hours ago, Luminare said:

ADA strikes again...

What's your point? All facilities open to the public have to meet certain requirements to allow access by people with disabilities. Are you saying that's a bad thing?

The Kroger on 20th looks like that behind the Kroger generic facade. Not sure what it was originally.

That's the site of the old Sporting Goods, Inc, the most awesome hunting, fishing, and shooting store this town ever had. I really miss that place.

10 hours ago, ADCS said:

 

I think the biggest problem is that you don't reach impermeable bedrock until you're hundreds of feet down, owing to Houston's alluvial geology. This makes concrete tunnels much more expensive to build and maintain.

Bedrock is almost 30,000 feet down in this area, according to my geologist friends. That's to reach igneous basement. There are some pretty hard sandstone and limestone layers that aren't as deep, but this isn't NYC, where granite is pretty shallow, or exposed.

London is riddled with tunnels, mostly bored through clays. Current construction there uses seamless concrete, but the older tunnels used cast iron segments to hold the soil at bay.