Jax

Cool! Uchi and Hay Merchant are amazing and is brining a lot of traffic into this part of Montrose. I hope it is something good!

I took this on the weekend.

This is really sad.

Here's a better picture I found online.

I find Berry Hill's fish taco quality has gone downhill at the Montrose location, but it's still good at the (original?) Westheimer (still in Montrose) location.

Yep. I have a nice view on my roof from the west but I'm kind of bummed I can only see a tiny sliver of MainPlace. Hopefully the net building to go up will make an impact on my view!

Ummm, I'm not so sure. MainPlace imo actually kinda gets lost in the shadows. We need a more visible tower to go up. Ok, maybe not need, but it'll be nice. Plus, chase is so big, I think surrounding it with shorter buildings will only magnify it.

One thing I don't like about the Houston skyline from certain angles is that it doesn't appear very dense. there are a bunch of towers that can be seen from west on Buffalo Bayou but it looks like there is a lot of space between them. So even if a building is in the shadows, I think it only enhances that view, even if it's not the most prominent. I guess Main Place is a bad example though because it can't be seen from that angle.

Also I just realized that Chase doesn't look like much from this angle either.

Houston Skyline Panorama by J-a-x, on Flickr

Haha. I didn't see it glow yet. I didn't realize it was just officially open now. I know the building has been open for some time (at least the skybridge and the floor with the cafeteria and Wells Fargo bank).

Threads merged.

This is great to see. I didn't believe it would actually be renovated, I thought the signs were just there to make us feel less bad about the abandoned building, kind of like the stories about the old Days Inn...

http://swamplot.com/eatsie-boys-taking-over-kraftsmen-cafe-space-in-montrose/2012-03-19/

I'm looking forward to checking out the new brick and mortar Eatsie Boys restaurant. The location is great and I feel like Kraftsmen is a bit boring, so I'm looking forward to the change. Having a new place I can walk to is always nice too.

The temperature felt fine to me, but I kind of like it a bit warmer inside than the average Houstonian. The tinting on the glass was more than I expected. It would be interesting to know how much it costs to air condition compared to a regular roof.

I could see workers of many different ethnicities inside.

I checked the new Apple Store out today and it is pretty awesome. I'm SO glad I didn't have to walk through a mall. The parking wasn't even bad (maybe I got lucky). The glass is pretty heavily tinted so I bet that will help with keeping it cool.

Looks like it. How close is this to the other "Mix @ Midtown" building? By the way the other "Mix" building seems to be doing really well and it's cool that they are expanding that concept. In my opinion, MIx was built just the way new retail in Midtown should be built. The sidewalks are nice, the entrances are on the sidewalk, and the parking his hidden away. I have actually never used the garage. I either walk there or park on the streets nearby. Anyways, I hope to see more like that in the neighborhood.

I removed "cancelled?" from the title since the project is now moving forward again.

Threads merged.

What's going up behind the Texaco. Something for the veterans housing? Reinforced concrete... Looks pretty substantial.

Here's the thread: http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/26000-construction-at-richmond-and-59-offramp/

Is this just a proposal or has it been finalized?

It constantly smelled of rotten eggs and dumpsters. We are all better off.

Agreed. I never ate there.

Yeah so much potential. I'd also be interested to hear what's going on with the Skybar building. I noticed they have an actual security guard sitting at the front entrance which isn't something you often see with abandoned buildings in Houston. That building is already setup for street level retail and seems like it could make some nice offices or lofts, but I've heard it wasn't well maintained over the years. Maybe that needs a new thread though.

Oh wow this was posted on Swamplot shortly after I posted about this block:

http://swamplot.com/...ale/2012-03-08/

I think there was another thread on here about this somewhere but I couldn't find it so I started a new one. I noticed Schlotzky's Deli in the strip center on Montrose and Westheimer is now closed. That just leaves Speck's, Half Price Books, and the Chinese place I think.

Somebody told me once that the owner was not renewing leases because there were plans to redevelop the site but there are "for lease" signs in the windows which leads me to believe that might not be the case.

With all the activity on Westheimer (El Reyal, Hay Merchant, Underbelly, whatever Mary's and Ruggles are being tuned into, Uchi, etc), it sure would be nice to have something cool on this corner instead of a mostly empty ugly old strip center.

I know the building has some historical value but to me it's just an eyesore now, and I'd rather see something on the site that doesn't have a huge parking lot in front so that it could match the vibe of the surrounding businesses.

Anyways, I think this corner has a lot of potential (and I can walk to it in about 10 minutes from my place which is a plus), so I wanted to see what people on here thought about what might happen with it in the future.

Here's a random photo of this photo from 2006 when I first walked by there on foot after moving to Houston and before I had a car. I almost forgot there used to be a Blockbuster there.