gene

Went last night to House Of Blues...loved the restaurant, food was better than average and service was friendly...the venue was amazing for Ghostland Observatory...although you have to take the elevator or escalators up to the 3rd level outside just to get to the box office which was kinda kooky...especially for those that drove up to the front wanting to "run up" to get their tickets....only finding out they have to find parking to do so since the front is reserved for valet etc... pretty inconvenient, but again, excited to have a House Of Blues in Houston. (my best friends band has a yet to be announced show there in dec so i am stoked about that! see avatar for hint haha!)

also i saw the space for Cork, just so you know this is an awesome wine bar...they have one is clearlake that offers great wine, food (even food from local businesses can be ordered and delivered to your table by onsite staff for that purpose)...and great live music through the week...the space is huge compared to their clearlake location and in the 1st level.

as far as something that would be nice to have in this plaza, they need a good internet cafe...i work in travel and people visiting always ask if there is such a thing here near the galleria, so i can only imagine it is needed in downtown as well.

Oh, now come on, y'all. Enough with this Pappasito's foolishness. Y'all know there are much better Tex-Mex places in town (that also cost a lot less money and aren't as full of loud parties and screaming kids) than Pappasito's. You're killing me!

If you're that desperate for Tex-Mex in the Galleria area, there's a Ninfa's right there on Post Oak (marginally better food than Pappasito's) and a Los Cucos on Westheimer (marginally better as well). Paparrucho's on Sage does a good happy hour. La Tapatia on Richmond ain't bad either. Then again, looking at all the options I've just listed, I guess the Galleria area isn't exactly the place to get great Mexican food. Maybe a Pappasito's would fit right in with the mediocrity.

oh my gosh please tell me you are kidding?!

los cucos and ninfas better than pappasitos?! not in my book!!! yikes!

if you had said Lupe's it might not have been as blasphemous!

yep

linens and things is closing!

the banners are up and at 10 to 30 percent off, they are still more expensive than target or walmart

anyway...please let it be a pappasitos coming to the plaza or the area.

working and living just a block away from a pappasitos would be a dream come true haha!

just wanted to say that i went to the opening with the mayor and "skate celebrities" etc in attendance and it was a great time and the park is way cool!

everyone should go check it out...even if you dont skate it is fun to watch those that do...

Hi yes, my company moved out 2 months ago, a little ahead of schedule since we found a great new location...and from what i have been told, the bank ONLY will move across the street (with no drive through of course) to the plaza for 3 years until the new bank building will be built NEXT DOOR in the empty lot... with the current bank lot being built on as discussed above.

awesome

thanks for the updated pics!

i drive by there everyday and its great to see an overview instead of a side or through a fence view!

i think alot of the woodlands residents have always just wanted a store but for some reason it hasnt worked out...

i think i remember some petition to bring one in a couple of years back or something

yeah i had those insurance questions myself...maybe because its funded via donations? not sure

and i bet it was the jamail brothers and friends skating this past weekend...supposedly they cant stay away and who would blame them!

its at memorial drive and sabine

it's only one of the largest and coolest world class in ground skateparks in the US!!!

i think its going to be incredible to have this in houston...although it seems to be finished in may the grand opening seems to be june 1st 2008...from pics, it looks to be nearly completed for the most part except landscaping and perhaps some sort of building if they decide to build one for events etc...

skaters from all over the country will come here to skate and hopefully lots of events and competitions will take place here!

Taken from Houston Chronicle Feb 2008:

Feb. 7, 2008, 11:10PM

SITE NEAR DOWNTOWN

Skaters are eager to flip, spin and slide

Still being built, skateboard park has a spot for all experience levels

By ROBERT CROWE

Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Standing near the construction site like a couple of eager 13-year-old boys, Jason Kendall and Richard Sellers could not contain their excitement upon glimpsing the epic skate park developing near downtown.

"It's absolutely incredible; it defies description. It has so many features," Kendall, a 37-year-old Houston native, said Wednesday while his buddy used a cell phone to snap photos of the smooth concrete bowls, ramps and pipes.

These old-school skaters, with a sprinkling of gray hair, stopped by the site Wednesday to sneak a peek after hearing that the 30,000-square-foot park, one of the country's largest, is starting to take shape. Houston already has six public skate parks, but the seventh will be in a league all its own.

"I'll be here opening day," said Sellers, 36. "This is world-class without a doubt. ... This is what Houston needs."

Construction on the Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark on Sabine Street near Memorial Drive could be complete by the end of May. A grand opening is set for June 1, weather permitting.

The state-of-the-art park was funded with $2.5 million in private donations.

Construction began in October after attorney Joe Jamail donated $1.5 million to the Houston Parks Board in honor of his wife, Lee, who died last year.

For all experience levels

Three years in the making, the park started as a grass-roots fundraising effort by the nonprofit group Public Use Skateparks of Houston. The Parks Board donated an estimated $4 million worth of land situated along Buffalo Bayou in the shadow of Houston's skyline near jogging trails and a disc golf course.

"We expect this thing to draw people from all over the country," said Trent Rondot, Parks Board project manager.

The lighted park will include five areas with concrete terrain for all experience levels. A street skating area will greet skaters before they approach a series of bowls and half-pipes that become more complex, with some steep drops of 9 and 13 feet.

The 20-foot cradle, a spoon-like structure that extends from the expert bowl area, is the largest in the world, Rondot said.

Outshines the rest

With its bold design, expansive size and skyline views, all other skate parks in the Houston area pale in comparison, Sellers said.

"The thing about a concrete park is it's all about the flow," he said. "You can drop in once and never have to get off your board. You'll be able to surf this concrete."

Nearly half of the construction is finished. While peeking inside the site, Kendall and Sellers noticed scuff marks that some skaters have left on the lips of the bigger bowls.

"That's from the designers," Rondot said. "They get to test out the park."

Sellers said that because he does not have health insurance he rarely skates now. That will change when the park opens this summer.

"My wife won't let me skate so much," he said. "I think she's gonna have to live with this one. I'm gonna have to do something to pacify her because I'm probably gonna live here until next Christmas."

robert.crowe@chron.com

interesting

it MAY be just a rumor

i spoke to someone at whole foods headquarters in austin and they said their "in development" site is 100 percent current

and like someone posted, it is still listed

i was told that the old marquee was torn down due to mold and then the land sold so that makes sense...they did place down a sprinkler system and now grass is covering the lot that is now surrounded by fencing.

worse i hear my building just across the street was just sold this past month for 4 million and i will be asked to move soon

looks like mccue will be high rise central soon enough but finding it hard to believe that all these places will be filled...

yep thats the building...and yeah i said at the corner but its nearly the corner haha

sorry!

2200 post oak blvd the 7 story compass bank building that is sand/beige/tan colored

it is coming down and supposedly a residential highrise may come up in its place and next door on the empty lot may be a new 3 story compass bank building so am i told

we shall see

love the pics and updates!

keep them coming!

ps...they have not renewed leases in the old compass bank building at the corner of westheimer and post oak (2200 post oak blvd) and it seems most of the tenants will be asked to leave by summer or end of year...

bye bye ugly building...you will be missed!

Hi gene, and welcome to HAIF.

thanks so much!

hi everyone

long time reader, first time poster

thanks for all the good information.

i live on mccue and work on post oak so i have been closely following this thread as i will live and work just 3 to 5 minutes walking distance from this new development!

i am really excited about the new BLVD Place project and it has been great to see the work actually begin

although i work in the travel industry i have no idea which hotel will be in BLVD Place but i am hoping for a W Hotel or similar...i think it would be a great fit.

take care

gene