wernicke

Well that's why I made it real easy and linked the plan in my post above. Here is the link again. If you look at the rendering, it has a pedestrian street cut through the center of the development (that would likely lead back to Travis) and mentions a park at the southern edge. Looks pretty pedestrian friendly to me.

It is not local, but a Joe Muggs Cafe/Coffee shop is inside Books-a-million. Oh, and the Gap sucks.

Here is the HAIF discussion of Camden's proposed plans for the site. Here is the Ziegler Cooper page with renderings of the proposed development. While I agree there should be more park space, I would much prefer the development rendered on the Ziegler website for this location... it would be a much more effective and exciting use of the land.

I'm saying light rail in Houston is an inevitability, whether you like it or not, and that investing now makes a lot more sense than waiting longer (it will undeniably be more expensive the longer we wait). And while the TMC was expanding previously, the light rail has certainly had an impact. Texas Childrens' just built a 1500+ car garage at the Smithlands stop to provide parking for their massive expansion projects along Fannin. The Methodist Inpatient expansion is massive, undoubtedly these employees will ride the rail. Would a simple bus shuttle from the surface lots that are already full have been feasible to move the tens of thousands of people who have been added to the workforce since 2004? Unlikely without adding significant congestion to a highly congested area. Unless you have rode on a jam-packed double car train into the TMC during rush hour, I think it is hard to appreciate the rail's impact on mobility in this area.

I disagree... since the Red Line, we have seen an outright explosion of development in the TMC (where there is no parking and employees are reliant on rail to get to work), we have seen Houston Pavilions and MainPlace pop up on Main St, citing proximity to rail as a valuable asset, and, although Midtown has not lived up to expectations secondary to speculative land grabs and price gouging, I am quite confident that transit-oriented developments will eventually pop up here (they are proposed at the McGowen and Ensemble/HCC stops). These things take time, particularly with difficult credit markets. You cannot build rail, and expect within 5 years all of these private developments to emerge... these are long-term investments. And are you saying the cost of metal/materials/labor is not going to increase in the next decade or so, which is the time-frame we are discussing??

To me, the University and Uptown lines both seem to be the next "lowest hanging fruit". The other lines serve populations dependent on public transportation and although they may not yield the same sort of ridership numbers, in time, I believe these lines will catalyze private development along the rail that will provide lasting benefits for Houston... And the goal should be to invest in an interconnected system of rail, looking to the future as Houston's core becomes more dense (and the development of commuter rail will eventually tap into this system). Also, in the coming decades, I think grade separation at problematic areas could be revisited... but it is better to build the framework now at a lower relative cost than building later.

I love riding the rail. And the small taste of Metro's bus transportation I got after Ike was not good. People may pooh-pooh rail bias, but it does exist and for good reason.

The store looks good... they went with an industrial interior design. I just hope there is enough seating for people who study/read at bookstores (I couldn't tell from the windows). It has a soft opening this Thursday right?

Nice trivia, TJones... some fantastic scenes.

There is a lot of content on VP linked on the posted article too. A lot of the comments on the article are very negative... seems the locals are a little restless with the way it has panned out. VP needs some active park space like DG, in addition to cheaper restaurants/pubs/apartments. There's really nothing to do there, and all the condos in the area start at like $500K. It has definitely been dead the few times I have gone to explore on a trip to Dallas. Some of the buildings look really cool though.

I have been several times. The collapsed grotto and the preserve make for great scenery. And the pool is cold at all times of the year, but tolerable when it's hot outside.

This is an additional location, their 3rd. I think a 4th is going in somewhere else.

I definitely think Dallas St. from GRB to Main St. should be made into a pedestrian friendly corridor, and the city should encourage (incentivize) development of hotel/residential/retail projects. There are 5 blocks adjacent to Dallas between HOB and Hilton/DG/GRB just waiting for it...

Just walking around, the blocks between HP and Hilton/DG/Toyota have such huge potential if they are used correctly... I would want hotel/luxury apts/condo/retail in the 30-story range or above.

Took some pics of HP today.

I got bumped off at Rice U stop on Friday and immediately experienced a replay of the Metro's inadequate 700 bus substitute after Hurricane Ike. Think a large mob, few buses that do come by are full (or the driver will not open the doors despite adequate standing room), and general frustration.

Subway down Post Oak Blvd. Connect Uptown line to Downtown near Memorial w/ new rail. Redevelop strip mall across from BLVD place to office/apartments/condos/hotel. Get the proposed Deyaar and Ritz buildings done at proposed heights. Bury the West Loop...? Would never happen, but could be cool.

House of Blues is a music venue, Planet Hard Rock are restaurants with memorabilia.

Actually, HOB has a lot of shows at very reasonable prices... matisyahu and blues traveler starting at $25, bob schneider at $18.50. But you are going to pay if you wanna see Jay-Z, BB King, etc... which is expected I think. I think HOB will be fine. The 20 restaurants... I'm not sure. Also just FYI, if you look at the commercial/office brochure on the site, it has a few more places plugged into the layout (a bank, T-mobile, etc)

There will be 3 stations, with the new main station near the Lake Plaza currently under contruction...

Wow... a lot of restaurants. Hard to believe there is a demand for all of them. The "100 Days of Escapades" sounds interesting...

Attell was supposed to open on Friday, the 10th, but cancelled. HOB opens this Saturday with Cowboy Mouth.

I wish I had 2 tickets. House of Blues Concert Schedule and Jay-Z prices. There are some good shows coming.

Just drove by again tonight... they have been putting trees in, no palm trees thankfully. They also put in the House of Blues sign... and lit up some of the blue lights. Looks good... of course they are opening in 4 days.

But not many places with the amount of high traffic volume that 24 Hour Fitness brings to the building...