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capnmcbarnacle

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Everything posted by capnmcbarnacle

  1. capnmcbarnacle
    Found some old Allison pics. The first is of the side door to the buliding along Montrose, a good ways up from Allen Parkway. The othes are the intersection of Montrose and Allen Parkway and Memorial. Gives you a good idea of what happens around there when big ones hit...
  2. capnmcbarnacle
    I've been by a numer of times in the past few weeks and while there is not any activiy on the site proper, the building at 1203 Dunlavy, where the construction/hiring office will be, has been full of activity. It appears to me that they are doing major work inside that building and they have also dug up the parking lot and set rebar for new concrete. Whatever is going on in there, it looks like they are settling in for the long haul.
  3. capnmcbarnacle
    My understanding was that this was funded as part of the bond issue for the new courthouse so I don't know what the delay is. I walk by often and haven't seen activity in a long time -- well over a year. This block can only be used as a courthouse. The Allen brothers granted it to the city for use of a courthouse and if the city tries to do otherwise, they will lose the property. Judge Eckels attempted to get the Harris County administrative offices moved there but was denied because, despite being Harris County Judge, it wouldn't satisfy the Allen brothers grant. The city decided the best way to use the building was to move the courts of appeals there, thereby keeping the land for the city.
  4. capnmcbarnacle
    Palms aren't native to Southern California. LA was simply trying to give their city a tropical feel. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/us/26palm.html
  5. capnmcbarnacle
    I can't beleive they got the utilities in under Bolsover. But at least they have 4 years to get a crosswalk done. At this pace that sounds rather ambitious.
  6. capnmcbarnacle
    FWIW, the rumblings I heard regarding Chuy's involved the Buffalo Hardware center as well as the center to the west with Rickshaw. Those parcels together are a sizable, if oddly shaped, chunk. I don't know the plan for the old tennis court section but I thought there was an earlier rendering with stuff on that. That whole area is changing so rapidly it is amazing. I think the building housing Avalon Diner and Westheimer Plumbing is toast too. Exciting to see if you ask me, though it is sad to see some stalwart businesses fall by the wayside.
  7. capnmcbarnacle
    I am a loyal Chuy's customer, have eaten there for 15 years, and eat there a couple times a month. I wouldn't follow them further out of the loop than Buffalo Speedway. Weird, huh?
  8. capnmcbarnacle
    I've been to the one in the Galleria. I like it a lot. Think Palm or Morton's but for fish.
  9. capnmcbarnacle
    I think that if they had used the original plan and made this mixed use with a residential componenet it would feel much better. It was designed to be part of that plan and when it is separated from the rest of the original it just doesn't feel right. If it had been designed as simply a shopping mall from the start, it might have turned out better. One of the big design flaws I saw is this -- when you walk at ground level from BAM toward HOB and wish to ascend to the second floor to cross over the street, there are only stairs. Why wouldn't they make these escalators?? If you really needed stairs, put them from the 2d to 3d floors. Instead, there were escaltors coming down from the 2d to the ground level in places, and up from 2 to 3 in others. If you don't feel like walking up the stairs, then you need to go down the block to the light, and jog back on the other side to get back in. I know this isn't the end of the world, but from a design standpoint I can't see why they did it this way.
  10. capnmcbarnacle
    So I stopped by the other day and took a look around. BAM was fine but I couldn't believe how huge the Thomas the Tank Engine section was. Casey Jr. was just lumped into the other train stories section. Maybe it was because it was empty, but the place reminded me so much of the Marq*e Entertainment Center it scared me. Empty, strangely uninviting, with piped in music. I'm sure it will get better but I can't say was impressed -- and I really wanted to be.
  11. capnmcbarnacle
    This is new to me. I know there were other sites along Allen Parkway and Dallas that had some digs a few years back-- the old elemntary school in Freedman's town and spots near the Allen Parkway Village -- but I've never heard of anything going on at this site. Of some interest though is the fact that the old black cemetary is next door and this area used to be an old black enclave of the city. It was outside of what was considered freedman's town and was more of a pocket that had development build around it. There is an old church and a couple of shotgun shacks left down behind the Gotham and Backstreet Cafe. And for what its' worth the mob in the Camp Logan riot in 1917 turned from Buffalo Dr. (now Allen Parkway) to Dunlavy (then something else) and down a street a block north of Dallas that goes right past Daily Review. But I digress...
  12. capnmcbarnacle
    The building at 1203 was used as warehouse and storage. Maybe they are doing a few things to make it suitable for use as construction offices for the next few years. And I also saw them dropping off some graders and one of those nubby steamroller things this morning. So either this is a big project to resurface the parking lot of the vacant 1203 Dunlavy building, or they are fixing to get going.
  13. capnmcbarnacle
    Keep hope alive. I drove past this morning and the lot where UHlaw posted the photo above had about a dozen cars and trucks parked in it and there were new signs posted that said it was J.E. Dunn construction parking only. Now, despite seeing the cars and trucks parked there, I saw no people. I did not go by the offices/trailers that had been set up a few blocks away, so maybe they were down there. But I'm going to go out on a limb and venture that there were a number of folks taking a snoop at the property and having a meeting about it today. We've heard November start, so maybe this thing is really going to go. Either that or they were discussing the fact that everyone was fired. Time will tell.
  14. capnmcbarnacle
    Bummer about Osaka. The owner was/is super cool and that place was the best sushi in the city when it first opened. While it has been hit or miss the last several years, the super tuna and agadashi tofu were always killer. As far as the building goes, doze it. I always hated that they took the vacant lots that used to support the Westheimer festival and filled them in with classic Houston strip malls. Compare Westheimer west of Montrose to the east side. There is no comparison to the difference in foot traffic -- strip malls blow. I wish they'd fill it up with porn shops, tatoo parlors, and bars.
  15. capnmcbarnacle
    I heard the hotel was still a go -- was this W or Ritz? I forgot. As for retail, I heard "ultra-ultra high end." So I figure that means the inner loop will be getting a sorely needed Orange Julius.
  16. capnmcbarnacle
    That's what I heard and confirmed a couple of times. I heard that the tenants are still a go and that they were very confident this thing would get done, just that it needed to get pushed back. Heard that the size of the project made it hard to get financing through one or two major players and that it was a simple of function of having to go to 8 or 10 people to get financed instead of 1 or 2. The negotiations get slowed way down and closings get put off, etc. Once you are almost there someone who promised $100,000,000 will balk and say they can give you 50, and then you have to start again with a new party to make up the difference. But, on the good side, they were confident that the market here is solid and will continue to be. It's just a liquidity thing. I also heard, for what it's worth, that some retail tenants have put a freeze on new locations until this thing passes. They are planning on filling this place with "ultra-ultra high end" stuff and while these retailers want a Houston presence asap, they want to wait until the big picture settles a little bit before they do anything anywhere. I got the impression that everyone involved kind of agreed to take a deep breath. Like one of those scheduled holds on a Shuttle launch. He was also excited about the High Street project, even though it wasn't his. He thinks the two together will be incredible.
  17. capnmcbarnacle
    This thing ought to be great for out of towners. There is no tourist ghetto in Houston. No West End, no Riverwalk -- and while those aren't places locals necessarily go, they are great for out of towners who don't know the city and want to go someplace easy to find and prepackaged and ready to go. Pavillions is not the Riverwalk and is basically just a mall, but it provides something for the out of towner to do to kill a couple of hours while waiting to do whatever it is they came here for. The proximity of Pavillions to the Hilton, Four Seasons, Club whatever, even Doubletree, is a good thing. It gives the people who came in Friday afternoon for a Saturday wedding an option that doesn't involve a long cab ride somewhere else. It is a good time killer for the business traveller who is trying to get out of his room. It provides a bunch of good dining options for the conventioneer. I think I can say before it is even open that it is better than Bayou Place or the Shops at Houston Center. It may not be perfect and it may not draw tons of people from in town, but this is something downtown sorely needed. It may be a glorified mall filled with chain stores you can get in any other city, but the reality is that most Americans will go to something familiar first and that is why this place will be successful. Will it draw people from in town? It just might. I live in Montrose and I like McCormick and Schmicks. I'll probably come down here before the Galleria. I know I'll see some shows at HOB. It's hard to imagine going past 12 bookstores to get to Books-a-million, but you never know. Time will tell.
  18. capnmcbarnacle
    Thought I'd pass along some info I heard regarding this project. The story is that this project is going to go forward, but it's going to be 2 years down the road. The tenants and others lined up are ok with the delay and there is a basic problem with the financing people being able to come up with the money the had committed to providing. I also heard that BLVD place will not have the hotel or condo tower straight away either. The long term plan is to do it and the construction will allow for them to be added later, but there are some financing issues on that project as well. Don't shoot the messenger. I think this is a good source for what it's worth.
  19. capnmcbarnacle
    A "trolley" is the name for the wheel that runs along the overhed wire, or the name of the pole that touches the overhead wire. Those kinds of trolley cars eventually became known as "trolleys." So a streetcar, tram, or lightrail could actually all be types of trolley cars as long as they are powered by the overhead wires. "A Trolley Named Desire?" I don't know. But now I am starting to think that our light rail tram system is actually a trolley. I think it sounds cooler actually. "I took the trolley to the gun show." "I got wasted and had to take the trolley home." "I can't believe another person turned left in front of the trolley." I think I'll try it for awhile.
  20. capnmcbarnacle
    So is the apparatus that runs on St. Charles in New Orleans a tram or light rail? Sometimes it is in the neutral ground making it light rail, and sometimes it shares the road with the cars, making it a tram. Is that right? Should Tennessee Williams have called his play "A Tram Named Desire?" I just don't know anymore.
  21. capnmcbarnacle
    Found a blurb in the Press that discusses a November start date. I did see all of those construction trailers off of Dallas this weekend. It is substantial -- looks like they plan on being on that site for awhile. Regent Square Update in Houston Press
  22. capnmcbarnacle
    I love developers. Someone explain to me how a static location like the corner of Morningside and Bolsover can be ubiquitous, meaning that it also exists everywhere else at the same time. But I have to admit it makes the intersection sound really important. More important than just saying "where Nit Noi used to be." I think I'll file this away with the realtor description of a house in Encino, CA, and how it "looked down on the twinkling lights of the townspeople."
  23. capnmcbarnacle
    There is a thread somewhere but I couldn't find it... In the 1600 block on the north side there is a lot that had been slated for condos a few years ago. The owner is working with the people who did Hotel San Jose in Austin to build a 75 room boutique hotel in that spot. The renderings looked pretty cool. Nancy Sarnoff mentions it in last week's Chron here.
  24. capnmcbarnacle
    Not at all. I have my criticisms of the both buildings, but I am absolutely psyched that these buildings are setting a standard for the street by building to the sidewalk instead of fronting the street with a parking lot. These are way better than the strip malls east of Montrose. While I don't think either are astounding on their own, I'm happy to have them. And as for the hair salon, form has to follow function at some point. And people have budgets. I'm not sure how else you dress up a a salon that needs 2000 square feet. Given the alternative of a strip mall -- which I know was proposed by the architects and soundly rejected by the owner -- I'm happy with what they did there. I don't think it's suburban architecture that you find in Pearland if only for the fact that its owners have lived in the neighborhood forever and worked to get a variance to build close to Westheimer to help spur a more pedestrian friendly place. If the hotel gets built across from Poison Girl, there will be no question that the prevailing buildings go to the sidewalk and it ought to make getting variances easier. I think we owe these builders a debt of gratitude for putting up with all the BS, and spending the money it took to buck the trend and try to build with the neighborhood in mind.
  25. capnmcbarnacle
    Don't be so oppressive toward the newcomers. Shouldn't a man be free to live in a turreted Bexar-meets-Bordeaux ranch chateau among an "ecclectic" mix of shops and restaurants without the constant sight of what Homer Simpson called "lousy beatniks?"
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