wernicke

New info on the 3100 Post Oak location has been posted here on Swamplot.

EDIT: Just noticed that there is no new info, sorry! But the 3100 Post Oak site should have its own thread in Going Up, no?

I'm not sure if this is being discussed in another thread, but St. Arnold Brewing Company is moving from its warehouse location off 290 to 2000 Lyons Ave. north of DT:

Here's an exerpt from HBJ article:

The craft brewer, established in 1994, has outgrown its current facility in Northwest Houston, said Brock Wagner, co-founder and chief executive officer of Houston-based Saint Arnold.

"Our current location has served us well and has helped us accomplish a lot by making great beer, but we have run out of space," he said.

Redevelopment of the new facility -- a three-story building dating from 1914 located at 2000 Lyons Ave., north of downtown -- will take a year and cost about $6 million.

The new brewery will feature refurbished beer-making equipment purchased from a German monastery and ultimately will allow for a more than 400 percent increase in brewing capacity.

Just noticed on Crosspoint's website that they no longer have Starbucks listed as a tenant at the corner of Louisiana and Elgin. Every slot is available.

24 hour website offer for this location is 24.99 "initiation fee" (ahem... BS), 79.99 "administration fee" (ahem... BS), and 44.99 monthly dues.

Thank You Jan and Dan.

Yea... I wish I was a billionaire and could give millions to good causes that help the Houston community. The Duncan's do seem to be very prolific philanthropists.

EDIT: Just when I was having such good thoughts about Dan Duncan, I find out he is hosting Dick Cheney to raise funds for the Republican Party: Cheney to Visit Billionaire's Home.

I catch the rail at Ensemble/HCC most days and have been wondering about this land forever, one of those prime empty blocks sitting on top of a rail stop (like McGowen). And extending to Holman it includes the abandoned building w graffiti and the converted surface lot further north.

The architect mentioned: Cannady Profile. To be honest I don't like anything that he has ever done, as posted on his site... although Jones Plaza looks ok, but it is always empty.

Seriously, this is the stupidest BS on the part of the accusers and the company for folding like such scared little PR wimps. She looks like she's wearing a regular scarf!??!!? WTF.

Sounds very interesting... I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

Here is a Chronicle article on the grand re-opening being held this weekend.

They are now planning on renovating this building for a Buffalo Soldiers National Museum:

Chronicle Article

Looks pretty freaking cool... Houston doesn't have anything like this. Phase II seems pretty sweet too. Hopefully the trend continues.

This project reminds me of West Village in Uptown Dallas, except somewhat larger it seems.

It is kind of funny to go back to the original posts on The Collective from 2005... seems like they have been Collecting funds with plans to start soon for 3 years now. Whatev's.

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

Yea... I was the one who posted the exact figures several days ago: 8.8 mil from the city, 5.5 mil from Harris County (out of nearly 200 mil total for the project)... do you really think the increased tax receipts from this development and future development spurred by the project will not eventually compensate for this investment? Seems like a basic cost-benefit analysis to me, and I would side with the city's decision.

Baldwin Park seems really nice...

Instead of the sign, they should have just put some big LCD screens up...

This thread has become a joke over the past few days.

I... I... I... Me... Me... Me...

I don't want any new development DT because I never go DT and no one I know goes DT... that is the dumbest argument in history against development. Kind of like the I would never use rail so why should they build rail comments.

I don't think it looks that great either... that corner is starting to look cluttered.

And I think it is strange to name a building with a 24 hour fitness and a tenants-as-yet-unannounced street level "The Mix @ Midtown"... seems cheesy and amateurish IMO.

These panels look great... hopefully they incorporate the same sort of colorful art into all the new rail stops too.

Too bad we can't do subway in the most congested areas... but, alas, it is too expensive. I agree this does take away some of the attraction to light rail.

How much do you guys pay/expect to pay monthly for a membership at 24 hour? The flier they put on my door (that had already expired when I received it) was advertising no sign-up fee and $45/month... I notice the offer on the website is not nearly as good of a deal. I would like a membership if I can get one for 40-45/month.

Well, I would assume a $450 million convention hotel in a building the size of the astrodome would have amusement park-like features... like the Gaylord convention hotels (You can almost see them doing something like the Gaylord Texan).

I just don't see this having a significant negative impact on revenues of the Texans or HLSR, especially not out of proportion to the benefit to the city and county.

I think it is funny how worked-up people seem to get about the convention hotel...

HLSR and Texans only have events going on for what, less than 2 months total a year? We are going to "protect" those 2 months by prohibiting the development of a $450 million convention hotel in the beloved Astrodome? As far as cost-benefits go, this seems like a no-brainer to me (although I am still skeptical this sort of convention hotel would be totally successful).

The amount of money CFISD gets from the state per student is less than what it takes to educate each student. So actually, every time they add more families out on 290 the deficit increases. To me this is a by-product of our state's (Perry/Craddick's) horribly misplaced priorities...

The problem is further compounded by the fact that Houston is absorbing huge numbers of immigrants from Mexico, which places a large burden on school districts that haven't figured out how to deal with teaching a non-English speaking population (they have tried keeping them Spanish only classrooms, phased Spanish to English classes over a few years, dropped them right into English only).

Also, how is it that one of the richest states in the country, with a budgetary surplus of $10 billion is close to last in public education (and also close to last in citizens with health insurance)?

I agree with the recent sentiments... HP is only good news for downtown. Yes, it would be cooler if there was a nice condo tower, and if the office tower was 24 stories instead of 12 stories. But hell, Houston is one of the few cities that has a construction boom continuing through the recent financial market disruption. City-wise, we're lucky (thanks to energy/oil).

The City "threw in" an "$8.8 million development grant from the City of Houston, and $5.5 million from Harris County" (Source). So about $14/170 million was funded by local government. I think with the additional tax receipts, and indirect future receipts by promoting new development, this will pay itself off in a few years.

More completed version of the story posted earlier here:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5777804.html

Yes. Street level on the entire outer portion of the building has windows.

Not quite. The "flagship store" has fabrics, custom furniture, etc., for the home. The one-story store across the street has what is arguably the best selection of wearing apparel fabrics, trimmings, sewing notions, etc., in this part of Texas.

I find the new larger store something of a disappointment. When it first opened, it was touted as being comparable to New York's fabled ABC Carpet & Home. Unfortunately, it has never achieved that distinction.

So are you saying the approx. 10000 square foot decrepit High Fashion Fabrics store at 3101 Louisiana, directly across from their 125,000 square foot building would prevent the owners/developers (High Fashion/Crosspointe) from including the lot as part of a multi-block Mix-use development? I don't think so.

I am still have a hard time believing The Mix signs are anything more than a marketing ploy, personally.