suzerain
-
Posts
101 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by suzerain
-
-
Yeah, I think its worth questioning the use of open water as a park, but on the other hand, impounded bodies of water are actually owned and maintained by a government agencies in part for recreational purposes, whereas there is no entity charged with the maintenance of oceans, bays, etc. as recreational areas or for anything other than specific uses, such as the ship channel.
So if the Trust that conducted this study is trying to get a handle on the extent to which public agencies are actually doing something to provide recreational assets for a region, then Lake Houston is reasonably worthy of being counted. ...but it is a tough call. I could honestly see it going either way, or being prorated by some formula.
That makes sense, but how much of Lake Houston is maintained for recreational activities? It is also used for drinking water, and the recreation is an unintended byproduct the city makes use of (just like a bay or one of the great lakes).
The reservoir was created in 1953 when the City of Houston built the dam to impound a reservoir to replace Sheldon Lake, then the primary source of water for the city. The city sold Sheldon Lake to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for use as a waterfowl sanctuary and public fishing site.
The recreational area around the lake should be included, but the surface area of the lake should not be included. What about New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain (630 sq. mi.), or Tahoe, Lake Tahoe (191 sq. miles), or Salt Lake City (Great Salt Lake 1,700 sq mi.)? Like you said, you are entering into a murky area where you are trying to massage the data.
-
They also did not include the 5,000 acre Lake Houston Park mentioned in the article on that list. It would be the 14th largest park.
Man, then I am surprised that cities like Chicago, Galveston, or Miami do not kick our butts. They should include the surface area of their lakes and oceans as well. I am sure their per capita numbers would more than double.
It just seems like we manipulated the numbers to get better results. -
I am a probate attorney. I would not suggest doing a will on your own except if no other option is available. There are too many issues, even if you believe your estate is small and everything is simple. There are so many thing people mess up when they are on their own that they end paying for down the line because they did not use an attorney to get a will done.
One the best ways tools to get clients is to tell them the horror stories of people doing wills by themselves. I clerked for a probate judge and would see all the "pro se" people coming in with their wills and get upset when the learned of all the extra steps they must take because the decedent did not draft or execute thier will properly. It is a shame. They end up having to pay an attorney a lot more money because they tried to skimp on a will. Penny wise, pound foolish, I guess.
Even if people cannot afford to pay for a will there are plenty of local groups who will draft wills for those who cannot afford to. I do not care if people use me to get their wills done as long as they get it done somewhere. It makes life so much easier for their loved ones.
-
My wife and I walked by there on our way to the train station before the construction started quite a bit. It looks like they are updating the building. Looked pretty fancy. If I go by again soon I will try and get a pic of the sign.
-
1
-
-
What part of town is this in? It's beautiful.
Northwest
I believe it is along the planned commuter rail. They want to develop little minicities of more dense development along the path of the train to try and decrease the cars on the road. I believe another stop is in the Mueller airport and there may be one more that I cannot remember off the top of my head.
-
So you must know what midtown wants ? please don't say whole foods. Ha !
here is what TrophyProperty said in another thread:
I too live in Midtown. I bought my townhouse at a time when I was working nearby at the American General Center, was single, and was going out alot.
Fast forward two years. I am now living with my Fiance, work in the Galleria, and rarely hit the bars anymore. Living in Midtown is not the same for me. I think If I had been working in the Galleria and been living with someone when I was looking to buy I might have looked elsewhere. I love the area, but I also am concerned with the pace at which Perry and Urban Lofts have been developing.
I own a Perry, mainly because I could not afford anything in the higher price range, but I think they have really over built the area. I think slower development would be a better alternative in Midtown. With low interest rates, these builders are able to churn out the product way to fast and out pace the absorbtion.
I am terrified of the future. It is already hard enough for re-sales in the area. If interest rates spike we (midtown owners) may find ourselves with an over abundance of product and no willing buyers. If I were single and wanted to stay in the area I would be OK with waiting it out, but I do not want to raise a family in a 2150 SF Townhouse with no backyard. My fingers are crossed that I will not get caught in a bad period.
With all that said I am thinking of re-doing the kitchen. I must be a lunatic.
It depends on what your idea of ideal is. There are parks a plenty within close proximity of Midtown for my wife and I to take our children to. Additionally, we each enjoy short commutes and receive two extra hours a day that would be taken by driving to spend with our kids. Coming home to take care of the kids is easy as well. We have an easy walkable neighborhood where we can walk to the grocery store or take the train down to the Hermann park, museums, the doctor, or events downtown and the stadium. Soon we will also be able to take the train to go to the Pavillions which will provide more family friendly entertainment without the need for driving.
Now, if good for families necessarily entails having a yard, then yes, Midtown is not for you.
-
they only charge thursday-saturday that i know of. there are plenty of spots on the street, as well as the Post garage, available on the other days.
I live in the area so I usually just walk so you may be right. However, I know a good number of the spaces in CVS parking lot at Grey and Bagby are leased out to a valet service. If they are making good money off this little side business then I would imagine it would be a harder sale for Midtown to discourage city block size parking lots.
-
Probably the "Dog Run". Watch out for those land mines!
I would think that would be well received by the people who live in that area. In fact, it is currently a de facto dog park. I see lots of people gathering in this space to mingle with their nieghbors and their four legged friends.
-
Here is some info on the second phase: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news...4/24domain.html
Developer plans minicity for second phase of the Domain in North Austin
By Kate Miller Morton
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The sleek, high-end shops such as Neiman Marcus and Tiffany & Co., scheduled to open March 9 at the Domain shopping center, stand in sharp contrast to the gritty industrial and commercial buildings around them.
But Endeavor Real Estate Group's preliminary plans for the 177-acre second phase of the North Austin development could soon change that.
Endeavor plans to replace nearly a dozen aging, low-rise buildings and sprawling surface parking lots with as many as 50 residential, retail, office and parking structures ranging from two to 26 stories. A 9-acre park, an outdoor amphitheater and hike-and-bike trails are also planned.
Ambitious and expensive, the development envisioned along Burnet Road would require the city to significantly increase the maximum height and density allowed on the land and could require public incentives to offset some of the cost.
City leaders seem largely supportive of the project, which could give a serious boost to the city's wish to transform about 2,240 acres of sparsely populated and largely commercial and industrial property in the area into a compact minicity with as many as 82,000 residents and more than 50,000 workers in the next 25 to 30 years.
"It will become a major catalyst for the creation of our second downtown," City Council Member Brewster McCracken said of the project.
-
Ooooh, gee, you know, I think I disagree with this one.
Well, what I mean the cohesiveness and development of an urban core. Additionally, they are addressing the issue that everyone cannot live downtown so they are creating other dense center around which development can occur. Such as the Domain, the Mueller airport redevelopment. All I know, is every time I go up to Austin I am impressed with what they are doing.
Attached is a poster of the projects under way or proposed for DT Austin. Well, it is actually a PDF and too large so here is the link
DT development: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/#emerging
The Triangle: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/smartgrowth/triangle_lg.htm
There is much more but I do have the time to find it right now.
-
WOW! Austins new Domain!
Check out this development in Austin, pretty nice!
Yeah, Austin is way out ahead on urban development compared to Houston, Also, this is north of Austin outside the main DT. I believe it is part of Austin's plan to have pockets of dense development along the commuter rail they are planning to build there.
Plus, this is just phase one of the project.
-
I get so confused trying to understand exactly what Midtowners want. After thinking about it I think that they should use Bellaire perhaps as more of model in trying to create the environment that I believe works. I think that instead of trying to be something that it is not and trying to adopt methods of growth used in other cities by people who may not have any understanding of Houston, that they should use a model like Bellaire which is very successful and is actually rooted in Houston. Drive through Bellaire and see what I am talking about. You will not see a bunch of bars, and vacant blocks everywhere. You will see an area that understands the importance of separating its residential areas from its commercial areas and rising property values that exceed many areas in Houston.
Additionally, I think a lot of what I have read and heard is a bunch of smoke and mirors especially after reading the Houston Chronicle's articles Midtown doesn't seem to be this hot bed of activity at all. I think it is an area that is going through change, but lacks real direction. It sounds like there is some type of internal conflict between groups being unable to agree on the direction Midtown should take. The articles basically state that development is way behind and that there are many city blocks that have yet to be developed. Sometimes it sounds like Midtowners believe that they are going to build a new downtown or something, that makes no sense at all. I think it is because it is a small neighborhood perhaps trying to do too much. It is downtowns neighborhood and it took up the slack for a while during light rail construction taking place downtown. Now, it has become this neighborhood and downtown being completed will certainly assist its growth, and hopefully it will get back on track in terms of direction. It sounds like Midtown really does want a friendly environment with people walking around, etc. and not an alternative for businesses seeking to go downtown and into a real central business district, which downtown is. I have noticed fewer businesses making poor long term decisions about opening their businesses in Midtown lately and selecting to make more of a long term choice for their business in downtown now that it is starting to come back strong. I think that less businesses, bars, clubs, parking congestion will actually give this wonderful residential area a chance to do really thrive and do well with downtowns commercial growth supporting it and attracting more residents to the area. I also want to ad that drug stores are probably good for any neighborhood to have, so there has to be some bend here. The fuss over the drug store really stood out to an extent as one sign of conflicting views as opposed instead of hearing about not wanting to have a night club in an area to increase parking problems and having beer bottles and drunks walking in your driveway and lawn. What do you think ?
Midtown and Bellaire are two completely different animals like mentioned above. I think there needs to move compact and dense development considering it is sandwiched between DT and the Medical Center. It needs to be something different. It needs to be an area where there are people who do not want to live in another suburb transplanted into the city; especially considering its location.
We do not rules that allow only construction of large singly family homes. The costs of those homes considering the value of the land would be astronomical. Plus, no one who would want a home would not want the amount of traffic going through the area. For people to live there, and given the amount of land available, it has to be more dense development, it has to be denser and more mixed development.
Also, it seems like the residential is developing on either side of Midtown and the commercial is going to be located in the center. I think it is a good way for the dev to happen. It keeps the activities that will draw people to Midtown close to the rail.
BTW, regarding all the CVSes and the Walgreens being built, I would like to know what % of income of the CVS at Grey and Bagby is made from the parking fees they charge. Six dollars a spot considering the amount of traffic they get almost every night I would think it would be a substantial amount.
-
I am new to this list but I could not resist replying. I am amused by the questions raise about the impact of the Whole Foods market in Blvd. Place. THe national press, namely the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, have published several articles on developers who solicit Whole Foods to take space in their residential/office/retail developments, and the postive impact Whole Food's presence has on sales/rental prices and the speed space is rented.
As far as the appropriatness of a grocery with a little deli in a major mixed use project, take a look at the massive project at Columbus Circle in Manhattan where a "flagship" Whole Foods anchors the project, which includes upscale retail and restaurants, as well as residential and office space. The dining/take-out section in this Whole Foods makes Eatsi's look like the food counter in the corner Mini Mart.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. If anyone ever goes to DT Austin look at the impact the Whole Foods has there. That grocery store brings so much foot traffic and basically anchors that area of DT. Additionally, residential is happening in that area. The good thing about Whole Foods is they make the store a destination. This is why they are so successful. In Austin around lunch time, there is a ton of traffic in and out of the store. Not to mention the concerts occurring there, and the push of the stores to become a part of the neighborhood.
As for the stores being more in demand in 2005, go to the store on West Alabama and see if the demand there has slacked off. My wife and I have to wake up early on the weekend just to be able to ensure we get a parking spot. I just wish they would build in Midtown!
-
I got a response from the Midtown Management District. Here is the scoop:
Pate Engineers, Inc.
Project Status Reports
Midtown Redevelopment Authority
2/15/07
Design of Parker District Street Reconstruction Project
(Albany, Helena and Baldwin from Tuam to McGowen)
This project involves reconstruction of 9 blocks of primarily residential areas with a few commercial tracts. The Parker District Project includes 2600
-
http://www.houstontx.gov/cip/07cipadopt/vol1/tirzlist.pdf
I found this trying to figure out what this was. It looks like street reconstruction.
Suzerain
-
http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/heights/news/4610776.html
Does anyone have any idea what the "Parker District Project" they reference in the article is? That is my area of Midtown and I have not heard anything about this before.
Suzerain
-
I remember the commercials but never thought anything else about it until recently...
I was at Astroworld in the early 90s and used this thing called Yak or Yack....it was somewhat of a computer but it let you call to other computers and you could look things up. It was an early edition of the internet but very few people had it....
What was the concept and does anyone have links to any sites?
I had one of those when I was in elementary school/junior high. They would sell them at the mall. It was basically a counsel that allowed you to chat with other people. That is the only use I remember. You could go to different chat rooms and talk to people in the Houston area. I actually got a date from using it. And, believe it or not, we went to Astroworld. Good stuff. I guess I was ahead of the curve on internet dating
-
Hey Guys,
I am a couple of years out of UH Law and have been working at a probate firm here in town for the past couple of years. I am thinking about moving out of this area of practice and moving into the real estate field. Obviously, development and real estate issues are of interest to me since I have been coming to this site since before the server meltdown allowing me to become member #3. This site even got me through some slow days while attending law school!
My current firm is moving to the Dickinson area and I live in Midtown. So, the move is not optimal for me.
If anyone one has any advice or can help send me a pm and I would be more than happy to share my resume. Thanks for any help you guys can give.
-
You may also want to check out what is happening east of downtown. There is a lot of development going on over there. It is all the spillover from the high demand to live in town for those who cannot afford the high price of downtown.
Next in line: Condos with restaurant
Thirteen new projects in two years bringing new residents to the area.
By Shonda Novak, Claudia Grisales
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, October 27, 2006
Another condominium project is headed for East Sixth Street, extending the wave of residential development in an area where warehouses and vacant industrial sites are being replaced by trendy lofts and shops.
In the two years since the Pedernales Lofts opened in East Austin, a dozen more condominium or apartment projects, with more than 900 units total, have been started or announced, as developers take advantage of the area's lower land prices to meet the demand for near-downtown living.
http://www.statesman.com/business/content/.../27/27east.html
suzerain
-
Talk about extreme makeover. I had no idea so much was on tap for Austin.
And this is just what is on tap for downtown. To me, the most amazing thing going in Austin is the transformation east I-35. The number of midrise lofts with first floor retail is remarkable. There is a lot of debate going on regarding the gentrification of the neighborhodd (which they are trying to combat by requiring buildings to require a certain number of units affordable to those make 80% of the median income). It is becoming a completely different city.
It looks like they may actually meet their goal of having 20,000 residents living downtown. Quite remarkable.
-
anyone get water in their homes from the rain today...specifically midtown?
Midtown where I am at is still pretty dry. It has been raining a lot but there is not really any pooling or flooding going on. I drove down to Clear Lake where I work this morning and the south side of town is really bad. When I got the opportunity to get on a feeder and not get flooded, I got off and turned around and came home. I guess we will get to see the effectiveness of the drainage improvements the city made and hardiness of the plants along the Sabine-Bagby Promenade.
-
wow, what a difference the sabine to bagby section makes. i wonder how the improvements will survive flooding.
this addition is excellent. the freeways are a bit much to take, but the attempt to recapture the bayou despite the freeways is as good as it can be (imo). one exception might be to do something with the support pillars and maybe music, at least in some areas during certain time of the day or night.
overall, it was great to see so many people and families out. i hope that it will be utilized regularly, day and night (not just by the homeless).
i did see one homeless guy with his 40 ounce, sitting in the sprinklers near the aquarium. it was hot, so...more power to him.
did anyone else go? what were your impressions?
I was there and I thought it was great to see so many people out there. Hopefully, the word will spread and more people will use the park after hearing about this event. People just need to realize the park is completely different than it was. People need to realize the Bayou can be beautiful and can be a destination.
On the weekends when my wife and I take our dog to walk down there, there are always a lot of people who are running, strolling, or biking. With the constant influx of people into the city, comes more of an emphasis of the quality of our surroundings. Hopefully, this momentum will continue and the rest of the Bayou will get fixed.
I agree something eventually needs to be done with the pillars. Trash just collects around the pillars and junks up the bayou. I would like to see them painted or soemthing to beatify them. I did really like the way they did the lighting. It did soften the impact of the freeways.
I will do my part and my wife and I are going to join the Buffalo Bayou Partnership and do what we can to see the plan come to fruition.
-
I used to live in Midtown and always passed by the Kirby House. Does anyone know what business or organization is there? There is no signage at all.
Probably some secret society planning to undermine urbanism in Midtown
I went to a fundraiser there a couple of years ago. At that time it was a law office. I would assume it has not changed since then. I do not remember if it was one firm or a bunch of attorneys sharing the office space. It was pretty nice inside
-
Amen, brother.
A lot of people on this forum wish that Houston would be more like Uptown Dallas. That would be a disaster. Uptown Dallas is attractive in many parts, but it is just so sterile. There is very little demographic diversity and very little architectual diversity. Other people I know have said the same thing.
Remember what Philip Johnson said: "I like Houston. It's the last great 19th-century city. Houston has a spirit about it that is truly American, an optimism. People there aren't afraid to try something new."
Keep it up. Don't become Dallas, don't enact zoning. In other works, keep blazing the trail. Stay Houston.
I don't think that a lot of this can be attributed to Houston following its own spirit. There is not a whole to Houston that I have seen that it can be said that this city has that others do not. A thriving downtown on the bayou where trade occurred and the residents lived used to be this city. I do not think talking about enacting zoning and learning from other cities causes this city to lose its trailblazing spirit. Rather, I think Houston has lost that cutting edge spirit. I go to other cities and see so many more places that are unique to that city and form part of what it means to live in that city...Houston, not so much.
I really want Houston to succeed, but I do not think Philip Johnson would decry zoning. How is Houston more unique by having suburbs extending 50 miles away and 16 lane highways and traffic all hours of the day because you have to drive everywhere.
Houston was the city of the 20th century. My fear, and due to the anathema to zoning fed by developers who want to the suburbs and easy and quick turnaround on their investment, is that Houston will become more of symbol of mistakes and missed chances. There are some in this city who want to change this. I think Mayor Lee Brown (and I am not usually a fan of his) hit it head on when he said that the city has to consider planning, increasng quality of life, and creating an urban alternative because young college graduates and other more educated persons through out the country do not want to come to Houston.
I loved growing up here. I hate that my wife and I consider moving elsewhere because of the flaws here in Houston and the fact that they seem to get worse. For example widening I45 through the Heights. The city needs to fight battles to keep Houston from being more and more eaten up by highway with less and less housing in the inner core, lest the only trailblazing this city sees is a greater exodus to further and further suburbs.
Projects like this give me hope that, at least in some areas, Houston is getting its act together and seeing that a strong urban core builds a city, builds its identity, and allows for more than one lifestyle choice in this city.
Suzerain
It just seems like we manipulated the numbers to get better results.
Greenest cities? Surprise
in Houston and the Environment
Posted
I could not find that. So, under that rationale, is all of Lake Houston considered inside city limits? George Bush Park?
Plus, if you look at the numbers, Houston is fourth from last on expenditures per capita of all the cities listed. So we have a lot of land but do not do anything with it.