skwatra

On 5/4/2016 at 11:14 AM, bobruss said:

Here is a link to a live cam that I just found out about for the new drawing Institute.

https://www.workzonecam.com/projects/gilbanebuilding4/menildrawing/workzonecam2

The live cam also has a link to a timelapse video on the top right that is definitely worth checking out. Very cool to see how the basement was done and built on to.

i had assumed they would add a "signal ahead" flashing indicator eastbound because of that curve. hopefully they figure it out before something catastrophic happens.

Lane closures were for CoH roadwork on W Gray. No signs of any progress at Dolce... haven't seen a worker there for weeks.

I'm not a fan of these metered lights but I do have a few observations. I haven't read up on implementation so this is based off what I have seen on my daily reverse commute up the Gulf. They have these metered ramps at several places, Broadway, Monroe, Airport (northbound) to name a few. Each of these entrances come directly after an exit with no light in between. In other words, to avoid traffic on the freeway you can exit Broadway and get back on without hitting a light. From what I have noticed, they metered ramp light is only active when the freeway is close to a standstill. Even if its flowing at 30mph with heavy traffic, these lights are not active. So there is never a need to punch the gas to get to highway speeds, since they are only active when the speeds on the mainlanes are very low. I don't think these hurt in any way on the Gulf, given how rarely they are active. The goal seems to be for people in the right lane of the main lanes to allow people entering from the feeder to come in one at a time. And what they do is keep people like me from getting on the feeder just to try to pass people on the main lanes, and reduce the amount of cars merging in to heavy traffic (i won't exit if i see the warning light blinking in the distance because i know it will take longer to get back on).

My brother waited in line for 3 hours in SF to put his refundable deposit down (i guess if you went in person you got earlier in the delivery queue).

If Texas would include this model in the $2500 tax incentive this model would be $35K minus $7.5K federal incentive plus a potential state incentive.

seems faded to me, like paint wearing off.

If I went there I would be passing two other Whole Foods to get there so never even considered it. But l see they have their own brews so may have to check that out!

Ok I'll stop hijacking the HEB thread now. Which I am excited about because we are planning to move to Bellaire in a few years once the kiddo's reach school age.

9 hours ago, BigFootsSocks said:

Whole Foods on Post Oak already claimed that title

Cool, I haven't been there and didn't think about the fact that it was two stories.

Does that mean houston will get it's first cart escalator??

Noticed the sign on west gray westbound just before Dolce is updated to say "Lane Closures April 4 to May 4" i believe are the dates. So hopefully that is for Dolce, though could be for Proguard working on the sidewalk in front of their location.

I do the reverse commute down I-45 daily. I get on at Allen Parkway (downtown) and go all the way to NASA Parkway, well past where you would have to exit for Ellington. As others have said, 45 near Beltway 8 is a bit of a mess, and I would like to say it will get better soon but there is always something going on. A common joke around NASA is "we can put a man on the moon but we can't finish the Gulf freeway!".

That said, the mornings aren't bad at all, I rarely have to slow down at the 610 interchange, and right now start hitting some traffic around Scarsdale/Dixie Farm/Clear Lake City Blvd but its not too bad - slows down to 30-50 mph for a mile or two because of the construction. I get to NASA which would be ~5 miles past the Ellington exits (depending on where you are going) in about 30-35 minutes. The afternoons are worse especially if you can't leave until 5pm (leaving at 4:30 makes a very big difference at the moment), my commute is about 35-45 minutes with slowdowns at Beltway 8, just before 610, then again downtown.

You should check out these tools as well on Transtar which is very telling (note the historical averages in 2014 don't have as much of the construction at that time as what is current but may be more "average" and good to look at):

http://traffic.houstontranstar.org/hist/historydata.html

As far as neighborhoods, Houston is going to feel a lot different from DC or the Bay Area (well depending on where in the Bay Area). Many people here could field specific questions if you have them, but my generic advice would be to rent when you get here so you can get a feel. There is so much sprawl that it can be overwhelming with no insider help and just quick trips. It really takes some time to explore and get to know the different areas. I live around Montrose now and love it, bike and walk quite about 8-9 months a year.

Is Post's GFR considered a success overall? The mainstays have been mostly constant, but the smaller spots seem to have turnaround and be vacant often. Even when Farrago closed, that corner location was vacant for close to a year. Meanwhile I've always seen apartment occupancy numbers in the mid to high 90% range.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for GFR, but many on here just complain that apartments just don't do it without questioning if it would be sustainable and profitable.

On 3/23/2016 at 0:58 PM, terra002 said:

You nailed it. This needs businesses at the ground level so this place can actually add something to the neighborhood. With all the residential nearby, and the school across the street, a cafe would be perfect here.  

They are adding something to the neighorhood - density (buildings and people).

Though I have vested interest in ground floor retail at this location (I live literally one block away), from this forum I've learned why it doesn't always make sense for investors. My understanding is that the cost for development goes up, extra insurance is required (ongoing), profit margins are lower, and vacancy rates are higher. This is comparing the retail space vs standard residential units.

Having apartments will help bridge the gap between the restaurants and bars just west of it (Skinny Ritas, Cecils, etc) and the main portion of midtown. And there are still other empty lots that can be developed in to retail, hopefully done smartly with a walkable urban feel and not strip centers...

shot taken a few days before Hindesky's when they were putting up the signage. I can't wait until they have this sidewalk cleared. Though no point since Dolce living looks like its going to be a while...

6 hours ago, Chi-Char-Hou-Dal said:

is this thing dead? sometimes I see like one worker - might need some HAIF'ers to come help hammer some nails.

hopefully he's not welding alone...

(too soon?)

Has this project been confirmed other than on the architecture firm's site? I assume this is the southeast corner of W Gray and Taft.

Previously the Good Neighbor Healthcare center was proposed there:

http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/27533-good-neighbor-healthcare-center-277-w-gray-st/

Any updates on this project? I found an article from Sept 2015 stating Bellaire City Council voted to give HEB that land it wanted for the new project (for free!?) contingent on HEB moving forward with the project, but found no commitment from HEB or forward progress.

YourHoustonNews article

I just tried "unread content" again, I hadn't tried the condensed button before i found the custom stream option. That works as well. I also saw that you can edit your stream settings with the unread option as well. overall this is very customizable and i'm sure 99% of users can find something they like as much, if not better than what was available before.

I personally am not a fan of the "All Activity" option, since it shows each topic activity, likes, pretty much any activity. Way too much content when I just want to see the newest topics that have been responded to (the old "view new content"). I did find a solution I like, under "My Activity streams" you can create a custom stream. I did so with topics only then when I went to it I changed the view (top right icon options) to condensed view. This gets me closest to the old view new content and I'm sure I will like it better over time.

That may have been her legacy during the Presidency, but with her passing you hear more about her support of Alzheimer's research, coping with her husband having the disease, and bringing it to the public eye.

Can a cigar bar be BYO?

 

In May 2013 the website started “crowd-promoted petitions” that allows a signatory to promote the petition by paying a donation of $5 to $1000 at the final stage of petition signing. For each dollar spent the current petition is linked as a related item to 5 other people who have just signed a petition. Change.org intends to limit donations to one per person, per petition.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change.org#Business_model

I ignored that part, and rather sent it to 10 people I know that bike and will probably sign. I assume the intent is to get as many signatures as possible then present to Mayor Turner, showing community interest.

done and done

FPSF announced their lineup today. They will be back at Eleanor Tinsley this year.

http://www.fpsf.com/lineup/