Jax

I've seen lots of them in midtown, the museum district, and the east end. Can't name any specific builders though. I like the idea of having a rooftop deck a lot.

if you have a positive attitude, then your experience will be easier. just remember it is more of an industrial area therefore you will encounter things that occur in an industrial area. less retail, train traffic, etc. if you don't expect trains to leave the area, and don't expect borders to move in then you'll be a lot happier.

THe area where these townhouses is across the 45 from the "warehouse district", and the surrounding area is a low income residential area (3rd ward) with lots of empty space. It's near Emancipation Park right? It's not industrial at all, although the industrial area is not very far.

GOOGLE MAP

Hmm.. not a huge fan of the rounded stones look.

I actually drove through that hood on Saturday out of curiosity, and it was pretty sketchy. The neighborhood houses are very run down looking, and it seems to be a very poor area, although the town homes look fine. Have you walked around the neighborhood to check it out yet?

Are you saying that you trigger the camera and then stop, wait until it takes the series of photos, and then drive through?

How do you even know this works? Do you run red lights often? Did you already wait and see if you get a ticket?

The new building under construction in Midtown called the Edge has a few units that are something like $160 or $180k (but only a few of them) and they are fairly big single bedrooms. I actually checked it out a few weeks ago. It was still under construction but the unit I saw was nice. The lady told me it was cheaper because it did not have a skyline view or something like that. I won't be able to buy anything until I graduate but it doesn't hurt to start looking early.

I also noticed a small 2 bedroom townhouse on Wheeler near Wheeler Station that was under $200k the other day. Not too sure what it's like on the inside though.

Haha I'm just kidding, but I think somebody seriously offered that theory in a comment at the end of a Chron article I read.

I had a salad there once. No complaints, although it was a bit expensive. I guess it's hard to mess up a salad.

Nope, they called off the search and didn't find anything or anyone, which means that the ghost theory is the most probable at this point.

I still haven't seen the video that looks like it shows a person running. I'm surprised it hasn't shown up online somewhere since it was apparently shown on TV. The only "mysterious" movement I've seen so far is the door closing in the YouTube video.

so first there aren't enough options. then it is mentioned that there are numerous other options (not at street level) besides chipotle but "TCH food sucks." Should TMC limit it to only good restaurants?

My point was that even with the "numerous other options", including the TCH cafeterias, there still isn't enough. Obviously, the presence of the cafeterias doesn't invalidate my observations while eating in the TMC every week.

On a side note, the quality of the food in the TCH cafeteria is unfortunately very low. I don't recommend it.

Haha! Yeah, I guess that's why there are so many cavemen in NYC an San Francisco.

Cool stuff. It's places like the TMC that make it exciting to be in Houston.

Dont you people have leftovers to eat and football to watch ??

Not I.

I ate it all yesterday and I'm not into football.

the hospitals will dictate what goes in. i know tx childrens has a food area, st lukes has a cafeteria, smith tower,etc...but they all can't be accessed from the street. is this what troubles you?

I've never eaten at St. Luke's but TCH food sucks. Obviously the TCH cafeteria hasn't reduced the demand for restaurants in the area, otherwise the line-ups would not be so long everywhere.

I agree that the hospitals will dictate whether there is retail space or not. As I said previously, nobody is going to construct a free standing restaurant in the TMC. I'm just saying that I think they need to include retail space in their plans. We'll see how it goes. At least Rice is going in the right direction, as did Memorial Hermann with their new tower.

I heard something mixed use is possibly going to happen at TMC Transit Center and Kirby@OST too... Don't know all of the details though.

I think the new collaborative research center building with Rice - at the corner of University and Main - is supposed to have a large first-floor food court.

This press release says "10,000 square feet of retail space for a restaurant and shops".

You're right. And it's going to be very successful. This is what I have been trying to say. The demand for more restaurants over there is more than what Musicman would have us believe. I hope the CRC has some real restaurants, unlike the places on the Rice campus though.

many restaurants don't have the capital to build in TMC because of land prices and rents are high.

Of course restaurant owners can't afford to build a free standing restaurant building in the TMC, but many of the new developments will have the option of adding ground level retail space. I read in a 'master plan' document that Fannin and Main were to be the mixed use corridor of the TMC.

places like this are usually popular during lunch time but in the evenings, they close because of lack of patrons. when they can't make money all day, they can't pay the higher rents. hence, fewer choices.

Not true, you'd be surprised but these places aren't empty after 5 pm like places downtown. Hospitals are always open, and doctors work weird hours, unlike other businesses. I ate at the sushi place once at something like 8:30 or 9 pm, and it wasn't empty.

Jax i think you have it! it IS about opportunity, for the restaurant developer! when the appropriate time comes, so will the restaurants!

It seems like we agree to some extent then. I'm just saying that now is an appropriate time, with all of the new developments having the opportunity to add retail/restaurant space, which I believe it's needed.

it is lunch time jax, many places are busy.

You keep making comments which seem to be attacking my ideas, yet your comments don't really detract from what I am trying to say. Of course some people will eat at their desks, but that doesn't really change the fact that the restaurants are busy. Of course life is hard, but that doesn't change anything. Of course restaurants are always busy at lunch, but when they are so busy that some people have to wait 30 minutes and can't even get a seat, that's a sign that market will support more restaurants.

most working people don't have time to stand in line for 40 mins like you do jax.

Then why are there so many people standing in line? Maybe it's not most of the workers in the Med center who walk to lunch, but it's enough people to make it crowded and warrant more restaurants in that area. Keep in mind its not only working people waiting in line but patients too (although looking at the amount of scrubs in line, there's a significant number of doctors/nurses/med students). It's not like everybody eats at their desk every day. Even if 1% of the med center employees didn't have time to pack a lunch on any given day, that would still be enough people to make it crowded and warrant more restaurants.

As I said before, whoever opens the next restaurant in that area is going to make a fortune. Despite what musicman says, there are still lots of hungry people in the medical center at lunch time, and there will only be more with the new maternity center, pediatric center, the new Methodist outpatient center, and the Rice collaborative research center within a block of Dryden station. Plus everything else that is going on in the med center. I highly doubt that all of the employees and all of the patients and students at all of these new facilities will eat at their desks/beds every day.

Musicman: Why do you always have to be so argumentative? Do you work in the medical center or do you just like to argue? It's not as much about "life being such a struggle" (although I wouldn't mind more eating options), as much as it's about the market having an opportunity for somebody to capitalize on.

Yeah the sidewalks are falling apart in parts of this area, and seeing how they are used more often than a lot of sidewalks in Houston, it would be nice to see them fixed up.

Musicman thinks everybody can just drive somewhere every time they're hungry.

I think the med center has some decent restaurants, just not enough for the volume of people. Long lines aren't necessarily because the food is good (musicman made a comment about being surprised people are lining up, because he doesn't like Chipotle) but because the options are limited. When thousands of people are hungry and driving isn't an option, and there are only a few places you can walk to, its going to get packed. The next person to open a decent restaurant at Dryden station is going to make a fortune. Let's just hope it's something better than McDonalds.

There's currently one residential building on the TMC campus (Laurence H. Favrot Tower) which is only available to doctors and students. I know a lot of people who live/lived there. It's kind of old and not such a great place (besides the location),and I think it would be great if there were more places like that for international students and visiting doctors / interns / residents in the hospitals/universities.

A lot of people move there because they don't know Houston, don't have a car, and basically want the convenience of living on campus. Despite being old and out of date, the occupancy rates have to be extremely high. If there was a more modern apartment building on campus for TMC people, it would be extremely popular. And it would give visiting doctors/students/interns/residents a better impression of the TMC.

Edit: 

Laurence Harrison Favrot was highly successful: 

Superintendent Williams Brothers, Tulsa, 1925-1929 - Vice President 1930-1931.

President Apex Construction Company, Houston, 1931-1936.

President Latex Construction Company, Houston, 1937-1950.

General partner, President Houston Contracting Company, 1950-1961.

Member of the Board of Governors William Marsh Rice University.

Board of Directors Texas Medical Center.

Trustee Saint John's School.

In the 1940 Census it shows him living at 2201 Mimosa Drive in River Oaks.

vibrant isn't the first word that comes to mind.

It's supposed to show the contrast that can be seen in virtually every part of Houston. Any place which is vibrant also has some ugly randomness mixed in as well.

I see. I wonder then what will happen to the space between the maternity center and Texas Women's Uni. It's prime space so I can't imagine it staying empty for long.

Maybe, but you're missing the point. My point is that there are few restaurant options in that part of the med center for the number of hungry people, which means huge lines. Maybe somebody should open a taco stand.

Wow, cool! I'm sitting in an office right now in TCH looking out the window at the rubble from the old Crowne Plaza. It's clear that the Maternity center is going to be across the street from where I am, closer to the St. Luke's tower (the one with the two spires), but where is the neuro center going to be? It looks like there is a lot of room between St. Lukes and Texas Women's University, and from that rendering, the maternity center is only going to take up a fraction of it. So maybe the neuro center will be between the maternity center and Teaxs Women's University in the other half of the ex Crowne Plaza lot.

It's amazing how long it takes to dig some of those foundations and build the parking garages. The Methodist construction took an incredibly long time before they got up to ground level. Same with the Rice CRC.