roadrunner

It's not their fault there's no retail or office above the restaurants and they're doing what they can. They placed the buildings as close as possible to the sidewalks and streets. I would say that's pedestrian friendly; more ped friendly that Chili's 50' back from the street.

We should be more critical of residential and office not being ped friend imo.

That area of Houston won't ever be pedestrian friendly. The clientele is too wealthy and the houses are too large and spread out.

In the grand scheme of things, I think HAIFers should stop worrying about things being pedestrian friendly. 95% of Houston wont' ever be pedestrian friendly, and as long as developments are providing enough parking and offering attractive architecture, I don't think there is more you can ask for. Washington is never going to be ped friendly, Uptown will never be ped friendly, and Upper Kirby will never really be ped friendly. However, these are three of the most happening neighborhoods in town and they are interesting in their own way.

The pipe dreams of taking the light rail (which probably won't happen on Richmond or Post Oak for at least another decade) to dinner or to go shopping need to disappear. I'm not trying to be a debbie downer, but that's just not what Houston is, and I for one actually like that.

Yeah there's nothing pedestrian friendly about this. I doubt you'll see Tillman Fertita walking down River Oaks Blvd to go grab some Italian food.

However, it will be more dense and ultimately more attractive to the eye. And in Houston, that's all that really matters...so I'm excited about it.

That would be excellent for that part of Midtown.

There is something going on in this lot. Not sure if it's related.

Yeah, probably just taking their time because of the economy. No need to rush it, although i think construction costs are supposed to increase beginning second quarter of next year. That's some good news at least. (i am going by what Forbes Mag. says in their Sept. issue)

m.

I would think they want to finish by March 2011 in time for the Final Four.

The piano bar has been open for weeks now... I took a good buddy there after a concert at HOB.

How is the business at Pete's? I would guess that place would be absolutely dead on a weeknight.

Who will be the future retail tenants in this development? And when is that buildout supposed to happen?

Just to keep you guys informed. We received notice today that our Exterior Rendering will begin next week Aug. 31st. We are crossing our fingers. Its been a LONG wait!

The renovations will start next week?

If that's true, then this is great news. The southwest corridor of Midtown has really been overhauled over the last 12-18 months.

What is frustrating is that I think there is a 90% chance we spend the next 5 years talking about this but nothing happens either way. It's almost like the Dynamo Stadium.

I keep opening this thread just to laugh.

Is there ANY nightlife neighborhood in Houston that this board likes? It's definitely not Midtown or Washington. I guess everyone here hangs out in the Village.

Cyclone Anaya's?

Completely forgot about that place.

Now it needs a sports bar.

Crosspoint is building out an old building a few blocks north on Louisiana in what looks to be a new Mexican restaurant. There is a sign for "Luby Tequila's". I went to the website and it looks like a small chain up in the panhandle. There is also a page for locations showing their future Midtown location.

Nice addition to the area. It surprises me that El Patio has been the only Mexican food restaurant in Midtown for so long.

Perbacco in the Penzoil Tower is a hidden gem. Really great, affordable italian food. They are always open and packed for lunch, and I believe they just started opening for dinner.

It's a great place to go before or after a play.

This surprises me because I am/was a member and it was always crowded.

The building isn't in bad shape, but I have no idea what could possibly fill it now. Maybe a renovation would attract some commercial tenants, but there are much more attractive options in the area.

I hope it doesn't sit vacant for years, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

I haven't been by the site in weeks. Is construction in full swing?

That Bally was way behind the times. The ellipticals didn't even have little TVs on them.

Wait...what? What about my membership there? I never received any notice.

Wow. That is by far the ugliest thing I have ever seen. It nearly compares to our Federal Reserve building

You obviously did not play Sim City 2000.

Does anyone else find it interesting that Starwood has no presence in downtown Houston?

Did we ever hear results out of the bid for the state funding tier upgrade?

It looks like Crosspoint is doing some remodeling to one of the older buildings a few blocks away, I think on Milam. This is one of those building that has had renderings up on the wall for a long time, so maybe they are going forward with them. The renderings make it look to be a restaurant or bar.

Incentives with an expiration date can be used to encourage particular projects, however if these were implemented uniformly to all projects then market prices for land would only rise on order to restore market equilibrium. The subsidy intended for all developers (on its face, a bad idea) would be captured by all owners of developable parcels. Depending on which parts of the City were or were not considered eligible for such a program, there would probably also be supply-side market distortions resulting in some pretty bizarre patterns of urban growth.

As for the Sonoma project (which Randall Davis is no longer involved in, btw), I don't believe that the City ought to be subsidizing housing for wealthy people. The retail component, maybe, depending on the net fiscal impact. But the retail component doesn't represent the bulk of the taxable value of Sonoma as it was proposed.

Randall Davis is not a part of the Sonoma project anymore? Has the scale or plan changed?

Now there are even more equipment and bulldozers on site. Does anybody have some surprising good news?

this has been said time and time again... HP is nothing more than an outdoor mall with an office component, and part of the retail is being converted to for office use for the potential tenant. this is the park shoppes pt. 2 with a HOB and a bowling alley.

incredibley underwhelming and completely disappointing for 3 prime contiguous and subsidized blocks downtown.

To be honest, I don't consider this disappointing. If you look at the entire east side of downtown, it is pretty much one huge public project to bring in more tourist/convention business. Considering Houston struggles to attract private investment for projects like these, the only way this can happen is with help from the public. Ultimately, you have to look at it as a long-term investment for the city. Going to Astros games at MMP is a much more enjoyable experience now (not counting the team's performance...) than it ever has been. I think most people would agree with Rockets games and concerts at Toyota Center. I don't know this as fact, but I would have to think Houston is becoming a more attractive convention destination with all of the growth around GRB, especially with businesses cutting costs in this economy and the overall affordability of Houston.

And then the real payoff comes when the city gets events like the Final Four. If the city can impress hosting a large event like this, more will likely come, and in the long run this means more money for the local businesses.