memebag

I'm not making something clear, but I'm not sure what. The post you responded to was trying to say that if the land was turned into a mall, the city would get more benefit if it hadn't subsidized it. They get to collect the taxes regardless of their subsidy. I wasn't talking about a scenario where the land wasn't turned into a mall.

That's assuming HP (or some other mall) wouldn't have been built without the subsidy. If it's such a profitable idea, why did it need subsidizing?

Only if the project shows a profit for its backers. That should be their risk, not mine. And if the city gets its money back in tax receipts, it would have gotten more without the subsidy.

I haven't seen anyone make an argument like that. Are you missing the part about the city subsidizing the new downtown mall?

Are the people who want more retail downtown the same people who would use that retail? Or are they people who will feel better just knowing it's there?

Can we describe the set of people who want more retail downtown? Are they people who live downtown? Work downtown? Visit conventions? I spend very little time downtown. I've lived and worked in Houston for over 40 years and less than one of those years was spent working downtown. When I was there I didn't feel a need to go shopping, except once when I got to work and realized I had forgotten to put on a belt. The lady at Macy's said they sell a lot of belts to people in that situation.

Was it different before I arrived? Did everyone here belong to the "we" that wants more retail?

Who is this "we" that wants more retail? Am I the only citizen who has way more retail than I need?

Dang it, I was going to use that quote in my sig! (Google says that word is used 191 times on this forum, btw.) I think I know the economic impact of a retail mall. Why does that mean taxes should subsidize this one? If the mall will make money, then why does it need a subsidy? If the mall won't make money, then why are we subsidizing a mall that can't show a profit?

I take it you disagree?

Amen. We have plenty of malls. If a downtown mall makes economic sense then there's no need for a subsidy.

I worked in an office building across the street from the Galleria through most of the 90s. Most of the cubicles next to windows had binoculars. We got the number of the pay phone at the bus stop on Westheimer. We would call people up while watching them and mess with their minds.

Yes. I miss it.

Basketball must have been really different back then. What were the sticks for?

Tha was "The Magic Pan". I miss it.

I bought my first D&D books at Nan's in the Galleria. It was the first the first store I'd ever seen that sold role playing games.

Nope. Farrell's was down in Galleria I, next to the ice rink.

I haven't thought about Sam Houston bookstore for a long time. That wasn't just decent; it was amazing. I found Aleister Crowley's "Magick in Theory and Practice" there, which surprised me beyond words.

Me too. I saw it with my dad at the 2 theaters in Galleria II. He talked the ticket seller into letting us in after it started. I still think it works better if you start with R2D2 and C3PO on Tatooine.

I don't know which one is you, but that's the 4th Doctor on the far right!

I think it was caled "Archie's Joke Shop".

Anyone want to start a pool on when the first complaints about "gang bangers" ruining HP shows up on The HAIF?

True, but most of those cell phone stores will fail pretty soon, leaving a space that might be occupied by some family with a grandmother who makes some amazing foreign delicacy I've never heard of. I'm just little Mary Sunshine today.

I don't get excited by Target, Arby's or Panda Express, but some of my favorite restaurants and stores are in strip centers. Today I had some really good mexican food at "Taqueria 100% Michoacana" in a little strip center on W. Airport. The amazing "Himalaya" is in a strip center. There's a store that sells imported Russian products in a strip center near my house. The strip center is a fact of life. It makes economic sense to share walls and parking.

But we might view them like we view tourists. They may have never visited downtown Houston before. Perhaps giant video screens will entice them to stay once their "trip" is over...