roadrunner

did that place have restaurants and other attractions like House of Blues or a bowling alley? You just named retail stores so I'm just wondering.

It is right off Broadway, which has several chain tourist restaurants. There was a HOB right next to it, but not sure if it's included in the development or if it's considered by itself.

So completion by Spring 2011? I am sure they will push to finish by the time the Final Four gets here.

Recently I was in San Diego and visited Horton (sp?) Plaza, which is basically their downtown version of the Pavilions. It was fully occupied. It had a Macy's, Abercrombie, Banana Republic, ice cream shop, etc.

And still, it wasn't extremely exciting and I don't think HP ever will be, either. After one visit I never went back and instead spent time in the Gaslamp District and the Pacific Beach area. The only time I went back was when I needed to get a pullover from BR because it was chillier than expected at night, and the only reason I went to that one is because it was close to my hotel.

My thoughts out of this whole experience were that the Pavilions are not going to be the destination people expected them to be. If they are ever able to climb over 50% occupied they will be a nice attraction for convention and business visitors from out of town. But even then, after one or two visits those people would realize that Midtown, Highland Village, Galleria, etc. have more to offer.

Just my .02, none of which is groundbreaking insight.

I hope that in a few years, the entire DG area will be surrounded by high-rises..

Well there's only one block left....although it's a pretty large block.

I like the tower but the base is just blah. I understand its a parking garage but still, it just kinda kills the tower. It just doesnt fit in with the rest of the project, with the base like that it kinda looks like a dead end street thats not very inviting.

There's really no point in getting worked up over the design. We probably won't see this for at least 5 years.

too bad they're cheaply built.

The amusing part is that this complex's rents will probably be the high end of the Midtown apartment market, which is already ridiculously overpriced anyways.

Like someone said before 'typical Houston'.

Minute Maid and Reliant are both world class sports facilities. Toyota Center isn't bad, either (although it is inferior to other new arenas I've been in). I guess the city is spoiled with its stadiums. Either way, I've significantly lost interest in the Dynamo Stadium. I guess it will be good for the East End.

Well there is a trailer and a couple of a bulldozers on the site now. Along with a little gravel.

They also put up a permanent wooden fence along Morningside. I don't know what any of this means.

It's amusing that a lot of us got worked up over this stadium, and the owner is touting it as "nothing fancy". I mean, then why even do it? Just keep negotiating with U of H to play at Robertson.

Hey y'all, remember this one?

I wonder what the latest scoop is?

EDIT: found this, not sure what it means, if anything...

(page 30)http://www.metrosolutions.org/posted/1068/...5_08.217939.pdf

Another parking garage at a critical downtown intersection. Exciting.

I don't know, but I just hope it doesn't sit vacant for another decade.

I agree on inside festivals but I think he wants to host as a permanent residence for cultural activities, not just a backup. Or did I miss that part?

If he's saying that, then I think that is an even worse idea. Festivals and other similar cultural activities are not meant to be indoors. The return the city would get for the money we put into it would be nowhere near worth the investment.

Letter from Judge Ed Emmett:

http://blogs.chron.com/thelist/2009/04/jud...rve_the_as.html

Restoring the dome to be used as a backup for weather conflicted festivals is a waste. Plus, who would really want to go to a festival inside the Astrodome? The best use for this is easily the studio idea.

I was showing a coworker my hood today using Streetview and noticed something interesting on an old picture of the superblock.

Link

First, what year do you think this was taken? Reef down the block doesn't exist yet (the bldg hadn't been renovated).

Second, on the sign on the superblock, there appears to be a rendering of some big building "Coming Soon". Was this just a rendering for something across the street, or were there plans for the superblock awhile back that failed to materialize?

It was a mixed use Camden project that never happened.

Well this blows. I don't think a "stimulus package" would be the answer, either. That land is too valuable to sit vacant for that long. We don't need city dollars to pay for another half-built Allen Parkway version of the Pavilions. Just wait 5-10 years for the right thing to come along.

Hermann Park would be a nice spot.

The rendering's colors don't match and look unpleasing. However, infill is infill, I'll take what I can get.

Don't we all dream of the day the Red Line gets dense from Midtown to the Museum District?

I'm going to hold off my opinion on this since all we've seen is a little thumbnail rendering of it.

What, I thought this was just a "test" bridge when i first saw it.

Sorry, i truly love Hermann Park and the Conservation Society and all they do, but to me this looks not so great for a million bucks?

If this is the much vaunted "Tiffany Bridge" then sorry its a SIGH from me... I thought it would be much more pretty, ornate and grand looking, not some steel thing that looks like something like the Core of Engineers would fling up in a logistical flooding emergency. Where is the "arched" design in the bridge as above in first post???

Or maybe I'm just not looking at it right????! I hate to criticise when its better than nothing, I just think the Park deserves more.

Someone please tell me I'm wrong and this thing looks awesome.

Confused

I'll try to check out this weekend, but yeah I agree. That looks pretty underwhelming for the amount of money spent on it.

I think if Houston's convention business downtown continues to grow, in the long run this will be fine. It's definitely not a tourist destination or anything (not really sure what is in this city), but it still will be a nice little nightlife complex to complement GRB/DG....similar to Bayou Place and the Theater District.

It was kind of hard to imagine this being a success based on the timing and the current economic environment.

What about the block next to this one that has what looks like an old bank? Does the Holocaust Museum own this property?

Bringing it all full-circle: http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2009/...ringing_som.php

New restaurant opening this month in the Museum District (on Caroline at Binz) called Bodega's Taco Shop. Should be interesting.

This place is open now and I tried it out. It's pretty good. Very similar to Chipotle and Freebirds. I'll be going back.

I do not.

The 3 rooftop gardens (2 habitable and 1 with a reflecting pond) with blinder walls will be interesting to say the very least. This is a quality 100 year building, built to exacting (1/64") standards, and the amount of effort it takes to get projects like this built is a war of attrition for architects.

How many buildings in Houston of recent can you say that about?

Considering it's still just a plot of grass, it's pretty boring.

Those images look like they were created on a 1999 computer program. I love the random motorcycle.

hi

Well that is nice looking I guess. Kind of hard to tell.

Really, as long as it isn't gated in like a garden complex then I will be happy.