skooljunkie

thread regarding HPD storefront and this ^

I wonder if this would have a shared parking component for neighboring businesses if and when this got built. Wasn't the shared parking district thingy approved a few years back for this very area?  More parking availability could entice greater infill on other small lots nearby. Of course, that would just help tack on a 31st space for all of us. 

4 hours ago, Triton said:

Wish we had a lot more transparency on where road projects were going to occur, who was funding it, and what the project itself entailed. Feel like Rebuild Houston is a great source but their interactive map has been down forever.

It's basically in this map now...https://cohegis.houstontx.gov/cohgisweb/houstonmapviewer/

The Public Works layer has several road layers in the "active eng. and const. proj" folder: contracted overlay, inter-local, roadway, sidewalk, etc.

8 minutes ago, Twinsanity02 said:

Do you know how the estimates on population for the Houston Metropolitan Statistical area are arrived at? I've noticed that the numbers are sometimes revised the year after released.

Correct. The annual Population and Housing Estimates are revised going back to the last decennial census with each "vintage" released. Data can easily change from year-to-year--the City of Conroe is a good example. They approved a lot of annexations before the State started micromanaging cities a few years ago. So if you look at the 2015 release and compare it to the 2018 release, the 2015 population estimate is about 10,000 higher in the latest release. I'm not sure what other reasons there are--likely variables such as new housing that the Bureau wasn't aware of so they go back in and alter the data just a bit.

Demographics is a big part of my career (snoozefest), so I did a little typing tonight. First, based on the Downtown District’s list of residential properties it seems as if they are using Census Tract 1000 as the “core” geography. It’s basically the freeway donut hole all inner loopers consider downtown.  As several pointed out, prisons are in fact where the “non-household” population comes into play. Prisons are considered group quarters and are separated from the estimates of households. The 2017 ACS estimated just over 1,586 people living in group quarters in Tract 1000. The DT district estimates a 1,931 non-household population which technically falls within the margin of error. (I believe this a good estimate because the 2010 Census states there were somewhere around 2,400 in group quarters (which likely includes homeless shelters, etc. that may not all be surveyed annually). Hotel guests do not count into population estimates unless the property is something like an extended-stay/rental/RV Park.

The Downtown District either creates their own population estimates or hires someone to do it for them since only 2017 estimates exist at this low geographic level and thousands of new units have come online and been leased since.

I’m skeptical about the household size multiplier of 1.71. In 2010, this census tract had an average household size of 1.31. In the 2017 ACS, that number went up, but it was still only 1.40. Now, I can’t estimate it without determining how many new units were 1-bedroom and 2+, etc. (frankly, I’m just not going to spend the time to do that for this post!) In middle income suburbs with high numbers of children, a 1.9 to 2.1 avg. HH size is typical in multi-family so I remain skeptical that downtown has 1.71 even with all the new units, but it is possible. If the average household size is inflated and it’s actually 1.40, the total population would be 7,396 + 1,931 for a total of 9,327.

As for gender in Census Tract 1000, in 2010 there were 2,283 people living in households. Of these, 1,472 (64%) were male. The prison inflates this stat if it’s not removed from the equation.

Sources!!  Table DP1 (2010 Census); B26001 & S1101 (ACS 2017);

Signs up at main building + the lot across Harvard:

5 hours ago, Visitor said:

To the north of what? Any specifics on the streets?

I see some light blue retail on the ground floor of the north-easternmost building. I do like how it all connects to the street grid. New signals better be added as density increases around here or traffic is going to be a monster. I believe street reconstruction begins sometime in the next 6-12 months on all those neighborhood streets connecting to the north.

The green buildings are unique for sure. I question the maintenance aspect more than the bugs and rats though. I have had fist fights with roaches and a honey bee invasion in my non-green building so it can happen anywhere in the city. I’ve seen rats living in fig ivy along walls for sure. All good points and all should be considered frankly. There are ways to control all these creatures though, and it shouldn’t stop us from being creative with design right? Just get creative with solutions at the same time. Or we could channel cable news and lose in life. 

Site work where the towers are planned adjacent to 100 Waugh:

2 hours ago, Angostura said:

 

No, it just gets replicated. Driving west on I-10 from the city is like watching a tape loop. Every 7-8 miles or so the same set of big box stores repeats.

I'd go even farther...the entire Texas Triangle is fast becoming a series of strip centers, parking lots, and beaver-themed gas station supercenters. Our frontage roads create a frightful sight from Leander to Baytown, Prosper to Boerne, and all places between. Build, baby, build!

This project should really stand out strong. The new tower on West Gray in the River Oaks Shopping Center is now popping out over the treeline and really stands out when driving over Buffalo Bayou. These will add to that.

So...the vacant lot/parking lot at 100 Waugh near Dickson St and the Memorial on ramp is being dug up. It’s Day 2 of activity that appears to be storm sewer or utility installation. No pics yet—don’t shoot! This is the lot that was the construction worker parking lot for the mixed use building with HEB. 

As someone who must follow housing activity very closely, affordable housing--in particularly tax credit housing, is rarely even proposed in areas with high land values. It doesn't make economic sense. When it happens, there is usually a larger mix of market rate housing mixed in and the squeaky wheels with media connections get loud. I'm a strong believer that it should be mixed in better and the way the system works now is not the best. With that said, over the last decade, most affordable housing has been located in the hodgepodge suburbs lacking municipal government or large HOA/civic support. Neighborhoods in southwest Harris County (Fondren/Hillcroft/Orem corridors) are very opposed to new affordable housing. These neighborhoods aren't incredibly wealthy but they have a strong community voice. They usually get what they want. 

Cool, wilcal!  Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Yeah, Jackson Hill is heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists. It's a flurry of activity in the evenings as people go to and from the park. 

I might as well start filling out the 311 forms now because that directional sign in the Washington median will no doubt be on the ground more than upright. More medians are needed in the area. Crossing on foot and bike gets more difficult as time goes on and the population increases. This median illustration--that don't impress me much. I spy ample space for land barge curb-jumping.

A bike lane north of Washington sure would have been nice...but yeah. Looking south, bike lanes on Jackson Hill are needed more than Patterson in my opinion. Patterson south of Washington is narrow and sleepy.  A sidewalk on the city-owned land at Cleveland Park would also be nice--we'll see if that happens. I've been asking District C to place this 100-foot stretch of sidewalk on a CIP list for years now. Crickets. That block of Jackson Hill is easily one of the most used pedestrian paths in Houston, and everyone has to dodge tree roots and walk in the busy street when it's muddy. 

With all the nearby vertical construction, Target's advertising team should paint a bullseye on the roof.  

Crude car pic from Hempstead, which is also under construction!

My eyes are not seeing a north-south street connecting to Woodhead in this rendering. The original plan had one.

1 hour ago, Luminare said:

 

I would be for the European model only as far as recycling goes. Thats a trip you won't have to make all the time. Trash is another story. This is from my experience living in a small town in Germany for two years. It would be a huge hassle if it were trash. Would be nice if they had large bins for recycling. Its way more efficient and gives the right kind of recycling more notice (even though I'm not much into recycling. In that model its more efficient and therefore I'm for it.) What needs to happen is that we go back to alleyway trash collection. Collecting trash in front of a property is incredibly inefficient, and storing trash in the front is not only a waste of space, but its ugly. This will only get worse in some sense with these regulations because through my interpretation it will eventually lead to "blocking" townhomes into a essentially a "unit" instead of them designated as single entities in themselves which will lead to less cans, and instead large dumpsters for each "block of townhomes" or "unit of townhomes". Of course where are they going to place these? In front of the townhomes, facing the street and in full view of everything. We have all these alleyways in town and aren't using them and its a waste of space.

Totally valid points, Luminare.  Regarding alleys, my neighborhood doesn't have them. Perhaps a re-imagining of trash collection, much like Metro did with the bus system, should occur. As I always say, the City cannot continue to increase density without upgrading streets and changing the way things have been done just because "it's always been done that way" --- but I digress.

This topic includes so many items all too familiar in my neighborhood in the Washington area. I really wish the City would consider a European style trash system in very dense neighborhoods--maybe they could even throw in an organic material tub. The current system's inefficiency in dense neighborhoods is off the chart imo. The amount of trash/recycling cans along the extremely narrow streets is just pure comedy--and gets funnier every year as more homes are built.  My can gets skipped whenever a construction truck parks across the street at the very moment the trash truck comes by (It happened this very week). Come to think of it, it's usually an AT&T truck since they absolutely get off on tearing up the same stretch of "sidewalk" every few months.  Anyway, I'm sure finding locations for neighborhood waste tubs would be a challenge, but geez, I'd rather occasionally walk a few blocks to the trash rather than deal with that damn rolling waste bucket that doesn't get picked up half the time. Hell, I'd have more space in my garage too.

The property I live in has tandem garages. The housing cost was most definitely kept down due to this and it's not much of a hassle once you get used to it--one of those give and takes.

Looks like part of this tract is being sold for 200 more apartments/TH rentals...likely the vacant parcel between the current apartment building going up and Larkin St...

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/04/22/houston-developer-to-buy-land-near-washington-ave.html?iana=hpmvp_hstn_news_headline

Quote

 

Houston-based Urban Genesis, the developer that selects small tracts of land for more boutique-style apartment buildings with fewer units in popular locations, is buying land for another project near the Washington Corridor.

The company plans to close this week on 2.3 acres near Summer Street and Studemont for a new 200-unit project called Co-op at Summer Street, expected to break ground this summer.

Co-op at Summer Street will have about 150 apartment units and 50 townhomes, said Matt Shafiezadeh, who oversees strategy and investments for the group.

 

$20 bucks on some soil being shuffled around, a strip center being developed then abandoned, and the rest going dormant indefinitely. 

I’m in BB Park a lot and often have visitors asking me the location of the nearest toilet. Their kid is usually doing the pee-pee dance when I inform them the closest public toilet is basically downtown.