gazhomme

That says it all, been here 20 years and couldn't concisely verbalize what has changed in this neighborhood. Hey gazhomme, you going incognito or sending the nanny?

Good question. I might try the incognito thing. I'll stop by Buffalo Exchange and pick up an ironic t-shirt and a big pair of sunglasses that scream "whatever". We're not paying the nanny to drive our car to Walmart. Her job is to raise our kids to be shameful of their class through thinly-veiled stories of the glories of collectivism and amusing anecdotes and folklore from her homeland's indigenous people. The last time she went to Walmart the house stank of Fabulosa for 6 months, so it's only Target for her.

It's probably a forgone conclusion that any take over offer would be met with stiff resistance from existing property owners.

I can't wait till they open this thing up! Trying to maintain the facade of a BoBo is puting me in the poor house! I overpaid for my house, the city sticks it to me, the wife wants work done, the kids like Ralph Lauren, the dog was $3,000 (but we tell everyone it's a rescue) We just bought his and her Nissan Leafs, that I don't think will make it in Houston summers. So if I can save a few bucks by refilling my empty bottles of Leitz Reisling with Fetzer box wine you know I'm going to! Our fellow gen-x middle-aged lush nights really can't tell anyway, and quite frankly I've got bigger concerns after I overheard them mention "I wonder if they swing?" Uh, no.

Take the train and ride over to Bodegas taco joint. Their nachos have to be responsible for more Lipitor prescriptions than any other eatery in the area.

Rumour has it that Tilman is planning a multiplex across those four adjacent blocks that will rival his downtown aquarium project. Apparantly Greyhound's parent company has been under pressure from the DHS to move. I guess he wants to collect the whole set. Don't know anything about the Houston Club, though it could double as a splash pad of sorts.

If the mayor's office is serious about cleaning up those pesky unwanted homeless folks then all they need to do is award Landry's the exclusive feeding contract. That should pretty much take care of it.

Give it to the Houston Coalition for the Homeless/US VETS. They are doing wonderful things. When Allen Rosen wins the Precint 1 constables race he can add even more to the plan with his deep connections with Metro and US VETS. Think of it as penitence for carbon-based fuels.

They are going to poke holes in the concrete walls and insert windows. From what I saw of earlier renderings, it looked really cool.

The first floor will be the studio, and on the second floor there will be offices/art studios/etc. She said they are talking with various artists/galleries and the goal is to make the place like a hub for artistic people. They will have a 30 year lease on the place, and the lady said they are very excited about the new location and are working with the MMD on ways to improve the area (hence, the cafe).

Sounds fantastic. This sounds like the very catalyst that is needed at that intersection.

Hopefully the MMD is reading this forum and will install additional street lights along Tuam between Caroline and San Jacinto as this corridor is unlit at night. (I assume that patrons of the studio will be parking along Tuam at night)

The lot you describe might be for the new dance studio that is going to go in at this building right next to the empty lot. In fact, I just talked to the studio on the phone, and the lady told me that they might even have a cafe on one corner!

Hmm, hopefully its a "Mikhail Baryshnikov" dance studio versus an "Anna Nicole-Smith" dance studio!

The cafe on the corner sounds like a good idea.

This might be a first for Midtown in that for the first time the guy standing on a corner with a white towel will be a waiter.

That vacant lot on Caroline between Tuam and Dennis now has a large dumpster on it. It is one of those construction dumpsters that is used when a building is demoed. The problem is, there are no buildings on that lot. Very interesting!

This is 2910 Crawford. Is this up to code?

Probably not. This occurred before Ike, correct?

We wouldn't want them to use Ike as an excuse!

LOL, he is about a month off, poor fella!

Who knows, Chinese New Year is next Monday!

Did he look like Jimmy Stewart?

As you said, its a lack of zoning laws. If an artist wants to convert a warehouse into a studio and live in it as well, he is allowed to do so in Houston. Go on the annual Art Crawl and you'll see what I mean, warehouses all over downtown and the East End that have been converted into studios where people live.

Back in the 80's/90's I would crash at a friends loft after his band played at Downtown Grounds. While his apartment resembled a flophouse the lofts I've visited on the Art Crawl are night and day above what could be construed as a flop house. I think the point midtowntiger is trying to make is that they have it labled as a warehouse and may not meet the various city code requirements for a lodge or hotel.

Not sure what you are talking about. I looked up 4 lots across the street from this lot, and none went up more than $3000 or $4000. One guy's appraisal went down. No one increased more than 10% since 2004. In contrast, this place increased 50% since 2004.

Thats strange because I looked at 2909 Crawford and his land value jumped from $57,414 to $86,121.

While the total value did not increase much this is just a game HCAD is playing. Up until last year they left the land values alone and upped the improvement value. Now mysteriously improvement values have plummeted from one year to the next while land values have jumped. Its so obvious what they are doing.

And while it does stand to reason that the value of land inside the loop would increase, HCAD does not appear to be applying the same standards to the properties that I identified.

I might be wrong, but I know that when I protested my 30%+ increase in land value the guy at HCAD said that all properties in my area would see their land value component jump by this amount or even higher.

The run down 4-plex house at 2818 Austin street actually decreased its land value by almost $100,000 for 2008. All the homes around it received the typical 30% range increase.

What

Gee, and there are about 25 folks that registered to vote using 2910 Crawford...

And 3 of those voters are registered offenders.

^I don't get the 3410 Montrose link

Neither do I. Maybe he lives at that location as 1980 Post Oak is an office building. What is interesting is that one of the other partners at that law firm is Malcom S. Morris, one of the board members of Stewart Title. 1980 Post Oak is also Stewart's HQ's. Stewart was the firm that designed the HCAD website, and has had close dealings with HCAD over the years. I smell a rat!

Speaking of the flophouse on Tuam and Crawford... is there anything we can call about (code violations, etc.) regarding the huge hole in the building that is now covered in plastic bags (on Tuam side)? It looks like someone drove a car through the wall.

Call 311. I'm not sure if it is best to direct it to City Code Enforcement or Neighborhood Protection.

I did some research on HCAD regarding 2910 Crawford. (The flophouse)

As most homeowners are aware HCAD changed their tactics this year and drove up the price of land values vs. improvements. People in Midtown found their land value increased by an average of 30% from the previous year.

Take a look at the stats for 2910 Crawford:

http://www.hcad.org/records/details.asp?ta...t=0191360000003

This jokers 2007 to 2008 land value went from $374,900 to $395,000 for his 12,500 SF lot!

This is what, a 7% increase! The guy is only paying $9,993.85 in taxes on a 12,500 lot.

Click on "Nearby Addresses" and you will see that all of his neighbors witnessed their property increase in the 30% range. This is absolutely wrong!

The other strange thing is that 3410 MONTROSE BLVD , the address of INTERCITY ENTERPRISES (the flophouse owners) is also the address of La Colombe d'Or Hotel!

Strange!

Ross, if you are still monitoring this thread who did you contact originally to protest the low HCAD value assessment?

When we first moved to midtown numerous people slept in the empty field at Dennis/Caroline every night because they had shelter from shrubs, low limbs, etc. We called the cops a few times and even met one out in the field and you know what they said "look, this area is a lot better than it used to be". Didn't ask the bum to leave or anything.

You would think that with the Genesis Learning Center next door that the cops would be a bit more focused on what people are doing on that lot. My kids go to the Country Day Montessori and you better believe I checked out the local surroundings before signing them up. It's a shame that they (Genesis) cannot lease part of that property and utilize it to expand their playground or add a temporary building. (I'm sure their are dealing with space constraints at that location)

The City operates a "paint bank" for use in graffiti abatement. It is available to property owners. Don't know how this is controlled or how much info must be given.

This is good to know. With the rate that graffiti is appearing the city's Paint Bank is going to need a government bail-out!

The 527 Spur/59 outbound tie up has been hit hard with tagging. I guess the key is to grow more ivy.

Maybe the city should give away some sort of Kudzu-Ivy hybrid. That would like grow to cover graffiti in less than a day, right?

If you make an excursion to paint over tagging on private property and are caught, chances are you will be told to stop it, as opposed to arrested for trespass or criminal mischief.

That's what I thought. Odds are theres not a DA in town that would accept charges against someone painting over graffiti or picking up trash. The media would have a field day on this one.

....There are also programs that allow neighbors to 'adopt' bus stops and esplanades. It cleans up your hood, and it saves tax dollars....

... but beautification issues can be addressed individually. Like the homeowner who complained a few months ago that the City should be mowing a 3 foot wide strip of grass...why not run the mower down that strip yourself?

All fantastic ideas. RedScare, if I

My husband cleans up the trash in the field on Caroline and Dennis weekly. Last week a home owner from the other side of the fence had the nerve to come over while he was picking up trash and ask what he was doing. He was furious that my husband was behind his house picking up trash. They had words and my husband finally told him that he was trying to make everyone's property look better because some people are too lazy to do it themselves.

Wow!

I know the field that you are referring to. If I am correct this is the one that has homeless camping on it 24/7. This field is directly across from the Bristol Center that I took photos of.

It

This thread is awesome! One resident complaining, and all the other residents saying, "WTF?"

What

...seems a lot of those "nuisance factors" ... were there long before midtown's invasion of 20-something college 2.0 types...

And before the nuisance factors there were residents who stopped caring. This is not a "chicken or the egg" debate.