Timnwendy

Also be aware, the street lights on the south side of the street are mounted on the telephone poles (yes, the very poles that were moved south a few feet to allow the street expansion). There are no telephone poles on the north side of the street, and who knows if the electrical service for it is in place.

Most likely this will end up being handled with permanent metal poles, just like the other big streets in the neighborhood. It just takes a little time: Just two years ago, remember, this was just a narrow country lane with ditches that flooded in those heavy rains of Spring, 2007. Such great progess since then!

I agree, great observation.

Agreed, it is a nice new toy.

This issue of lights might be addressed after the Shadowcreek Marketplace complex is done.

The developer has begun staining the fences along the streets. The stain color is a mocha/rust and looks fairly good (IMHO). You can see the early results on the fences along Southern Trails Drive, over by County Rd. 48.

According to the Town Center's leasing plan it will be a Vitamin Shoppe. YUM!!

Oooh, competition for the GNC there. Good.

This is all pretty well documented. You can read about it on Wikipedia.

Please don't tell me you actually believe what is posted at Wikipedia is accurate.

Sources from inside Newmark and from without are telling me that the company is actively soliciting for a buyer, and hopes to transition their properties to the new buyer as quickly as possible, in order to avoid delays and stagnation at its many subdivisions in the GHA. That all sounds good, but we'll see what transpires.

I just got a call back from a representative at the Alvin ISD. They say the land parcel they purchased for a future school is, in fact, the vacant land between Southern Trails and Kirby Drive.

Looking at a map, I suppose it is still possible to carve out 70 acres between Kirby Dr. and the eastmost section of Southern Trails while still giving 20 acres for the new Lowe's project at Kirby and 518, and allowing for the other 9 acre parcel that Zann has for sale right next to the ST entrance on 518. But just barely.

Many of my neighbors and I are happy about this purchase. We could have done alot worse than a school next door. Now we must hope that the AISD doesn't get greedy and resell that land later, when it really appreciates in a few years. If they are even allowed to do that, I'm not sure...

I have a call in to the Alvin ISD to get the scoop on the exact location of this purchase. Hopefully, they will call back today or tomorrow. If I don't hear back from them, I will call the city of Pearland and try digging from that angle.

The news announcement of this is here. It's not really clear just where this location is at yet, but it might be between the Southern Trails subdivision and Kirby Drive. If this is really the location, I'm not sure what that means for the proposed Ridge Rock subdivision that was supposed to go in there, or for the Lowe's at Kirby Crossing project. If anyone can dig up more about this, please post here.

There is a breaking news event that Newmark Homes and Trophy Homes (both owned by TOUSA) will be closing up operations in Texas. News items like this one have been surfacing this week.

Since Newmark and Trophy were the sole builders in the Enclave section of Southern Trails, this most likely will put the breaks on the Enclave's growth.

I just get ticked when I see the city spending that kind of money on a project that wasn't guaranteed. Maybe they can get the $250K refunded, but maybe not. The money could have gone to something much more directly related to Pearland, for example, buying extra police cars so every patrolman could have one.

The city responded to our request for speed limit signs on Southern Trails drive. There are now 30mph speed limit signs posted at the entrance to Southern Trails Drive at 518, and at the entrance to it from County Rd. 48.

Looks like this won't be happening anytime soon, and the city could be out $250K. Read this article about the current status, from the Pearland Journal website.

Wayne Dalton garage doors are good. I couldn't believe how well mine stood up to Ike, but of course it was wind-rated.

Here is the latest update on the new fire station to be built next to the new water tower on Kirby Dr. next to the Pearland towncenter. I'll continue to report project updates in this thread. The project updates may come as file attachments, pulled from the monthly reports.

Fire/EMS Station #5 - Kirby Drive

Location:

Near Kirby Dr Water Tank

Estimated Completion Date

January 2011

Project Details

Construction of approximately 9,500 sq-ft. Station to house 9 personnel from Fire and EMS, including dorm space, kitchen and dining area, day room, offices and exercise room. Also included are 2 apparatus bays, gear storage, medical supplies storage, electrical room, work room, scba storage and hose storage.

Project Justification

Due to population growth, residential development and commercial development taking place in this area of the City, additional Fire and EMS services will be needed to meet federal and state guidelines.

I found this Inside Fort Bend blog entry that gives an update on the expansion, as of Feb. 2009. To me, it still seems like things are going bad for the opponents of the expansion.

I just searched the news release archives at the Lowe's site and could not find any announcement for a Lowe's slated for Kirby's Crossing.

Did I just miss it? I looked back all through the 2008 news releases too, but nada.

If the neighborhood already has very low crime, why do you need a deterrent?

Because we want to keep it that way.

I think the OP is talking about being scared of crime. If there's a neighborhood crime watch, neighborhood crime is the likely cause.

I was talking about being scared of watching neighbors. Mind your own business, neighbors. There are plenty of legitimate reasons for those sounds to come out of my trunk.

No, I'm not scared of crime. My subdivision has very low crime. I am a bit worried that the signs might scare off potential buyers.

My neighbors and I are not so naive that we think the signs will make us crime-proof. However, the signs can be a deterrent. We'd like to have that deterrent, in addition to our watchfulness and patrolling, to add to our arsenal of tools.

Does the placement of Neighborhood Watch signs in a subdivision help or hurt home sales?

I have been searching for empirical and anecdotal information about this topic, and decided to solicit input from you HAIF'ers. I especially look forward to reading comments from those of you directly involved in home sales

Some of my neighbors have tried it, and liked it. Wendy and I have yet to go.

Interesting video, thanks for sharing lockmat.

Not to get the whole "East Pearland vs. West Pearland" debate going here, but it's clear from the video that Pearland leaders are focused on only marketing the west side. I guess the reasons are obvious.

Our Neighborhood Watch program is off the ground. Our HOA supports it, and we are officially sponsored by the Pearland Police Dept. We have set up monthly meetings at the rec center.

Just wanted to share this to those of you who might be looking for a home on the south side of Houston, within easy commute of downtown or the med center, where the residents are taking an active role in their neighborhood security.

On Wednesday of this week, landscaping crews began planting trees in the new medians between Kirby and Half Moon Bay/ST Drive.