ousider

check this out.http://the.ricethresher.org/news/2007/10/05/houston_hillel_exodus

Did anyone happen to drive home through Bissonnet tonight. Hundreds of people picketing with signs, lots of media coverage, helicopters flying overhead, peak traffic time........Traffic moving really sloooowly. These folks are VERY organized. GENIOUS. Who's brain is putting this together. My guess is this is just beginning. They're going to make this personal with "developers". It's something new everyday!

Where do I join the pro-developer protest?

Make yourself a sign and stand on the corner of ashby and bissonnet. Party of one.make yourself a sign and stand on the corner of ashby and bissonet. Party of one.make yourself a sign and stand on the corner of bissonnet and ashby. hire a lobbyist.

and getting "denser" as we speak.

if you ingore negative behavior it will eventually exstinguish itself

I think I misunderstood, the restaurant could serve alcohol, but the market might not be able to?

The Hillel Center being almost directly across the street from the NE corner of the proposed highrise is certainly within 300'. The highrise was planning to include restaurant and a small convenience type market. Their inability to sell alcohol could be a problem to lease restaurant space.

Isn't the Hillel Center at 1700 Bissonnet considered to have "church Status", could this possibly be problematic for them to serve alcohol in the building?

I read that the developers are planning that their market will be older residents of Southampton and Boulevard Oaks, who are tired of the upkeep on their properties. Jimmy Lyons who developed the Huntingdon also thought the River Oaks gentry would also flock. Wrong, they were angry too. It took a generation for them to warm up to the idea or was it that they were able to buy for sub50 cents on the dollar. The Huntingdon bankrupted Jimmy Lyons. The Federal Goverment was Bob Lanier's landlord for several years.

I fear for the developers. They apparently paid significanly above market for the real estate, that no other building options were feasible. They're portraying this project as a slam dunk, however I would not want to go up against these politically connected neighborhoods with significant resources. This could drag out a very, very long time.