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sidegate

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Everything posted by sidegate

  1. sidegate
    Rusty Hardin represents Mayor White's daughter in a DUI. Wins case. Hardin is retained by the neighborhood to fight the Ashby highrise. Mayor White acts with extraordinary speed to draft legislation that will stop the highrise. I'm sure these events are entirely unrelated.
  2. sidegate
    Looks like they're elevating the storefronts off the sidewalk by a couple of feet? not to quibble, since this beats a front parking lot strip mall by a mile, but what is the rationale for this? Flood abatement? Doesn't such a configuration to some extent defeat the whole point of a zero foot setback, ie easy access for foot traffic?
  3. sidegate
    good visual. google maps makes everything look a bit funny.
  4. sidegate
    the spec's wholesale store in that strip typifies so much that's wrong with a lot of retail development here. it's in a strip set back from the street to start with but then add in a blank stucco wall, totally shutting it off from pedestrian traffic. Nasty. Is that some sort of city ordinance for liquor stores? I agree, push the buildings up to the curb on Montrose & Westhemer, then parking above or in the back. I guess parking above would require some higher end, browsable stores - people aren't going to drive three levels to park their cars just to return a movie. Would that area support higher end retail?
  5. sidegate
    Pity there'll be no cafe on the first floor. Do you really need that much parking for a cafe? Where is Brasil's? And there's a couple of others on Westheimer that don't appear to have any. oh well, count our blessings as you say. I guess Empire's right across the road. With any luck it'll be some sort of hip retail a la Buff Exchg or American Apparel to encourage pedestrian traffic from lower down on Westheimer. And yes, hopefully this will be mirrored in the old architectural emporium lot and the martha turner building (boy is that windowless brick wall ugly right there)
  6. sidegate
    i've already stopped shopping at any BNs in protest. dunno if borders is any better but it's not BN so that's good enough for me.
  7. sidegate
    Actually there is - there's a related earlier thread on this topic here
  8. sidegate
    later at night it's a different story I'm sure but during the day, and especially on the weekend, it's a hive of retail activity. Evidently this has caught the attention of higher end retailers who are beginning to expand their footprint along those blocks. I'm anxious to see who will occupy the two vacant blocks on the north side on either side of Woodhead (one's already under development).
  9. sidegate
    Never ceases to amaze me how quickly houses disappear once those guys descend on them. I'm amazed they didn't just drive that caterpillar right over the trees.
  10. sidegate
    Reminds me of this article on Andres Duany in which he opined "[Houston] can't put two walkable blocks together". I guess he should spend more time on lower Westheimer....
  11. sidegate
    Check out the article on lower Westheimer retail in today's Chronicle Business section. Chronicle Business section article The last line is one the more insightful observations I've read in recent times: "And Lewis, the asset management executive, noted the value of having a group of such stores in one place. "People say walkable retail in Houston won't work in Houston because it's too hot, but it's more about environment," Lewis said. "Climate is just one part of environment. It's more about what you're walking past and what you're walking to. "If you're walking past little cafes and boutique shops and resale shops, you're going to walk as far as it takes you, but if you're walking to a parking lot, you'll wind up walking right back to your car."
  12. sidegate
    this is all very depressing, all the more so when you look at GHPA's new endangereddeco.org website and see just how long those buildings have been there and the thought that went to creating that space. how long does the mighty buck have to prevail here?
  13. sidegate
    what was also cool was the little restaurant patio on the sidewalk beside the hollywood, also gone now unfortunately....we need more of that stuff along that strip of westheimer...
  14. sidegate
    I know there's a bar behind the diner, but I thought the diner was a separate structure...maybe not...
  15. sidegate
    good post. i hate the way hollywood doesn't use the entrance on westheimer. it's a real downer to look into that big dark space and see pools of liquid in various stages of putrefaction, plus of course the odd vagrant taking a siesta. if they used that entrance, it would take care of the vagrant problem (at that location at least), plus really open the shop up to pedestrian traffic. but the way the parking lot which serves that location is set up, people would have to walk ten yards further to get in the store after parking their cars. this being houston, the car wins every time. plus, what's the deal with the diner opposite (the one that says "Eat Here". I used to eat in there after a night on the tiles many moons ago, but it's been completely dead for several years. Any plans for redevelopment there?
  16. sidegate
    i heard they were going to keep the current retail there, incl black lab. I sure hope so....
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