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capnmcbarnacle

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Everything posted by capnmcbarnacle

  1. capnmcbarnacle
    Some recent photos. I'll go out on a limb and say I think this is going to be pretty cool.
  2. capnmcbarnacle
    There is a chase bank across the street where the Ale House used to be. I guess this is going to be a drive thru.
  3. capnmcbarnacle
    For what it's worth... I was downtown last Friday with a couple of folks from Southern California and had some time to kill so we stopped off at the park and walked through to get a drink at the Grove. I didn't say anything about the park at all, and I immediately heard a bunch of unsolicited comments about what a great park it was, etc. Had a bottle of wine on the patio at The Grove and watched One Park go up. It was great. It was a perfect place for some out of towners to get a little different view on Houston. They also remarked about all the construction going on down there while other places are slumping. I'm glad we have this place. It's a great addition to the city, especially downtown.
  4. capnmcbarnacle
    From today's Chron... Another Main parcel When Hines announced plans last year to build MainPlace, its 46-story glass tower under construction downtown, it also said the company was looking to buy another block nearby for possibly a second new building. Though the Houston-based real estate firm isn't discussing plans, it has finalized the acquisition of the parcel on Main Street between Texas and Capitol. It's the site where developer Tracy Suttles was for years floating a high-rise condo building called the Shamrock Tower. The project was supposed to have been completed in 2006 as downtown's first new residential high-rise in more than 20 years.
  5. capnmcbarnacle
    Can there be too many? As long as they serve samples, I say no.
  6. capnmcbarnacle
    Niche -- please say you aren't sure. In the original drawings and the first set of revisions that were released yesterday it looked like those surface lots were actually roof parking. I hope that they are. There is a lot of good activity going on in the neighborhood right now -- I think this place could help it reach a critical mass. I don't want to be a doom and gloomer. And as an edit... I don't see driveways for those lots. And they have structural thingies (architecture term) at the corners. I want to believe, dammit!!! Edit again.. I noticed you said spaces, not lots, Niche. I'm accustomed to thinking lots. As you can tell, I'm architecturally shellshocked.
  7. capnmcbarnacle
    A Frenchy's chicken, Amy's Ice Cream, and a Specs.
  8. capnmcbarnacle
    This phase 1 appears to encompass the same land as the original phase 1. The original plan also shows phase 2, which still has the apartments on it. I wouldn't say this looks all that different to me. I know they have a variance scheduled for May 22. I think this is still looking very cool. Hope it works out. What we need now is a pedestrian bridge over allen parkway at Dunlavy. I know I could walk down to Waugh, but it would be nice to be able to cross without recreating a game of frogger.
  9. capnmcbarnacle
    There is a pic of it at post #32
  10. capnmcbarnacle
    The strip center has more than 13,000 square feet. I'd love to see someone do something cool with that property though. I think it is one of those second hand shops that might have apartments in back. I need to walk by and look when it cools down.
  11. capnmcbarnacle
    If you think urine smells bad, then yes.
  12. capnmcbarnacle
    As much as I would like to see the Texas Tower preserved, it is a shell of itself without all of the deco features that used to adorn the top of the building. 99% of the time I'm a knee-jerk preservationist, but I guess I feel like Texas Tower has already been dismantled -- at least the exterior. I have never been inside of it so I can't say what's there. I hoped for ages that someone would find something cool to do with it but I just hope that Hines or whoever follows my first rule of architecture which is that if you must tear an old building down, replace it with something as cool or cooler.
  13. capnmcbarnacle
    I looked at this area from this angle yesterday and just want to make the following observations about the building. I think the Texas Tower is gone. What appears at first glance to be the Texas Tower, on the northeast corner of block 69, looks more like the back of the old Post-Dispatch building -- now the Magnolia Hotel. The Magnolia has that same L-shape. As far as I am concerned, the Texas Tower is gone in the rendering. As for this building being L-shaped, why would it be if the Texas Tower is gone? Allow me to engage in rank speculation but when I first see this rendering, the building looks more like a T-shape. With the gentle curve on the facade that forms the top of the "T", you could have fun with the angles from the structure forming the base of the "T". You could have some pretty cool facdes and plazas along Main and Texas. But regardless of what goes here, I'll always miss that McDonald's that gave one the experience of stopping off for lunch in downtown Grozny.
  14. capnmcbarnacle
    They are in there everyday doing all kinds of stuff. I don't know enough about construction to give any kind of definitive answers but here's what I have observed... Disco Tower dug a big hole and then started putting in massive rebard and piers. Hines 47 never really cleard out the entire hole but worked with and around the exisitng structures already there (and they also have to make sure the Stowers building does not fall) and have also drilled a bunch of rebar and piers. From what I see everyday, Hines is doing about as much as Disco, it just doesn't appear as dramatic to the naked eye.
  15. capnmcbarnacle
    The only Lawry's I've been to is the original one in Beverly Hills and it's different from Morton's and the other steakhouses. It's all about the Prime Ribs that they serve. If you like Prime Rib, it rules. None of these other places can sniff it. After The Stables and Allen Park Inn closed down, I don't even know where to go to get a good prime rib anymore. Sigh.
  16. capnmcbarnacle
    Here is a blurb from N. Sarnoff in the Chron. Basically confirms some tenants we've heard earlier. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/busine...ff/5732193.html Real estate developers slay me. A pizza parlor is a "gourmet pizza eatery" and while there are 3 bars listed, none of them are content to be just bars. We have a martini bar (and there is only one real martini dammit, two if we allow for the vodka martini), a wine bar, and a gastropub. I wish someone would find a way to develop a gourmet watering hole.
  17. capnmcbarnacle
    There are variance request signs for the portion east of Dunlavy that claim a hearing is happening April 24th or 28th (I already forgot). But I have to think that if the developers are thinking this thing is dead, they wouldn't be moving forward for approval to scrape the other 300 units that are generating income. Once upon a time someone from Regent came on here and said one of the reasons for the delay had to do with the fact they were going to be able to build faster than anticipated and pushed the date back for some reason. Is there any possiblity that they are waiting to clear out the whole property and do it all at once instead of in phases? I'm not a real estate person, just a guy that likes buildings. I'm curious as to your opinions about whether there is any benefit to proceeding this way.
  18. capnmcbarnacle
    I've been there twice and as far as I'm concerned the restaurant is not a destination restaurant yet. Good food, crap service. I think they have a lot of kinks to work out. BUT, if the park is really your destination and you want to eat at a pretty good restaurant (the bar uspstairs on the balcony is cool too) then go for it. Don't expect Cafe Annie and you won't be disappointed.
  19. capnmcbarnacle
    Let's see. There was a girl reading by the lake, who I later saw heading to the Hilton. Two grandparents with a grandson sailing a boat in the lake. A couple of people who I pegged as tourists. And me. Oh, and about a dozen guys working on fountains, etc. It was a beautiful morning, and the view from the hill near the convention center is pretty sweet. And to think, it's basically a glorified roof for an underground parking garage. The more I think about what used the be there, the prouder I am of the powers that be for getting this thing done.
  20. capnmcbarnacle
    I played hookie for an hour this morning and really like the park. Of course there are things to nitpick, but I won't do that here. Anybody anywhere should be pleased to have a park like this dropped into their CBD. I will say that there is a lot of stuff packed into that space but I'll trust in the landscape architect's reasons for designing it the way they did. For a park that will primarily be used by people taking breaks from conventions, or getting fresh air from the hotel, or hanging out before a game, I think they nailed it. Compared to a park like Memorial, it is a totally different animal. This park is not about exercise, it's about going to a destination to partake in an activity (like bocce ball, the sport of tomorrow). The combination of gardens and lawn space is nice, and one day I'm going to sail a little boat in the pond even if I look like a creepy person doing it. I think they did a great job.
  21. capnmcbarnacle
    Thanks for the info. Bummer. It was like culinary anthropology.
  22. capnmcbarnacle
    What happened to Felix? It looked open to me awhile back.
  23. capnmcbarnacle
    I think they obviously are off of their timetable a little bit, but they might not be getting hammered sitting on vacant land. I recall an early article about this development stating that the compnay has owned this place a long, long, time. If they own this land outright and aren't paying a note on it somewhere, they might not be losing money. They also have all the units that are stll east of Dunlavy and South of Dallas. So while they aren't generating as much money as they were, I doubt they are sitting there hemmorhaging money while waiting to get started. Just a thought.
  24. capnmcbarnacle
    I had a friend who had an unhealthy obsession with the Fajita Tower at Jalapeno's. He knew that, technically, he shouldn't have enjoyed a stack of crispy tortillas, fajita meat, melted velveeta and shredded lettuce, but he couldn't resist. He dragged me there all the time. As an aside, if you compared the four "Mexican-inspired" restaurants that have been on that intersection of late -- Chuy's, Taco Milagro, Jalapenos, and Armando's -- you'd find four pretty distinct places. Certainly a more diverse four Mexican restaurants than you'd find on an intersection in, say, Cincinatti. And for the record, I am really, really, psyched about this development. Even though I kind of insulted it by comparing it to West End in Dallas. But if they put a Planet Hollywood and dueling piano bar in there, I'll be back with guns blazing.
  25. capnmcbarnacle
    Word. I keep picturing West End in Dallas. It reminds me of the sarcastic thread somewhere on the board with the "mediterannean-inpired upscale steakhouse concept." Chain restaurants are bad enough. Chain bars make me want to cry. Really, are these restaurants better than Jalepeno's was? Musicman, care to chime in with your thoughts on Jalepeno's fabled "Fajita Tower?"
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