rci2145

My idea for a coffee shop there would be to open a New Orleans themed cafe with fresh beignets, jazz music, and even Community Coffee. The problem with Aperture is that it did nothing to set itself apart. I loved the space for doing work but their food offerings were horrible and you can get the rest of their stuff at Starbucks.

There was a different coffee shop there before Coffee Groundz that failed. Also, the original owner of Coffee Groundz sold the business to an Asian family who eventually remodeled it into Aperture.

I went to Aperture Coffee (formerly Coffee Groundz) yesterday and a note was on the door saying that they were locked out by their landlord for not paying the rent on their lease. It looks like yet another coffee shop in this location has bitten the dust.

New York City pays for one way tickets out of town. Not a bad idea.

I don't see what the past has to do with the argument. If you live in a residential area and you don't want businesses to open that attract bums, you have every right to voice your complaints. Who cares if vagrants used to roam and currently roam the area? People in any neighborhood should want the best living experience for themselves going forward. Neighborhoods evolve. The past is irrelevant, especially when you are talking about homeless people who don't own land or pay taxes. We all want the best for less fortunate people but there is no reason why an increasingly residential area like Midtown should have to brunt more and more burden.

We all know there will always be homeless peopl in Houston. But there is no reason we shouldn't be concerned when buildings that attract the homeless are built in our residential areas. Why not build them in commercial areas? Once again, I'll bring up the example of Uptown in Dallas. It's everything Midtown should have been.

The fact that Midtown homeowners bought in this area knowing about the vagrant issues does not mean they should not be concerned about current vagrants roaming the neighborhood. Many of us, (including me) thought that Midtown would continue to progress over time into a more and more pedestrian friendly and resident friendly area -- and it has. As residents we should continue to pursue our goals. We all know there will be vagrants but they should be controlled as much as possible. Unfortunately, the city doesn't care much. In Dallas, they cultivate urban neighborhoods. Uptown Dallas is light years better than Midtown Houston. It's too bad, because Midtown could have been just as good or better if we had smarter city planning.

Just to add to this dialogue. My townhome near Bremond and Helena was broken onto over the weekend while my girlfriend and I were sleeping. They took a bunch of stuff but thankfully we are ok. I have an alarm system but it wasn't turned on. My girlfriend's car has been broken into twice over the past two years as well.

I agree with above about the parks. The Superblock park looks like homeless paradise. I doubt there are going to be families with their kids dipping their toes in those miniature pools like they show in the pictures. A homeless guy passed out with a 40 in a paper bag is a more realistic vision.

Kylejack, I was referring to the rail between midtown and downtown, not between Midtown and the Med Center.

After reading the article, I think we should all calm down. From this distribution center, Meals on Wheels will deliver meals to home bound needy people. It's not like they will be passing out food to bums walking around on the street. Also, the building looks nice and will improve the aesthetics of the block.

The question is, why would they buy expensive land in Midtown when they can buy cheaper land elsewhere? I think the answer is, the light rail. Every time I've used the light rail downtown, it's nothing more than a transportation system for vagrants who don't pay. There are very few professionals who ride it from midtown to downtown. The light rail is also right next to the Greyhound Station. Because of this, the area around Main will always be dangerous and loaded with vagrants.

I feel bad for those who bought property near there. It's kind if sad that Midtown is the only pedestrian friendly urban neighborhood but is also the most most homeless friendly neighborhood.

I just emailed the mayor. Anyine here who owns property in Midtown should think about throwing a fit at these city planners. We are going to lose out financially big time because of this BS. EDIT: I just read the response above and have simmered down a little. I will post the Mayor's response as soon as I receive it.

Could anyone provide emails and phone numbers of people in charge? It's time to raise hell. If they really are going to turn Bagby into a 3 lane road, not one cent of my Midtown tax dollars better be put toward it. I literally decided not to sell my town home because of the proposed pedestrian friendly reconstruction. Now they want cars to fly through Bagby at high speeds? Are these people retarded?

After looking at the rendering, it basically looks like one city block with an open field, trees surrounding it, and some very small, shallow pools. I'm not expecting much from this as far as the park itself. The retail space will make the area nicer though.

How about tennis courts and a driving range? Midtown people are active, let's give them something to do in their own neighborhood. Normally, you have to drive to Memorial for these things and it's always packed.

Shutting the convenience store down is a start but they really just need to find a new place for the Greyhound Station if they ever want to clean up the area. It's one of the scariest places in the city and nobody wants to go anywhere near there if they can help it. I love going to McDonalds for breakfast every once in a while but I have to deal with people on drugs walking all over the place in front of my car, not caring if they get hit or not. I wouldn't dream of actually setting foot inside. They don't call that location CrackDonald's for nothing.

I live a block away and went there a few times. The food was pretty good but everything else about this place was obnoxious. The logo is awful, the aluminum addition looks cheap, and the tables were wobbly and sticky. I'm sure nobody here will agree with me but they should put in a Freebirds or Chipotle type of restaurant. I'd go there at least once per week. There are simply too many sit down restaurants in the area, especially Mexican. The Midtown young and busy demographic needs more quick, healthy food restaurants. I don't know why nobody has thought of opening a semi fast food burrito joint.

I would gladly but property values have plummeted a good 20% in Midtown over the past 3 years. In the rest of Houston, real estate has stabilized to pre-recession prices but not in Midtown. Check out HAR. Prices are listed 15% below what they used to be and there are no pending sales.

I've been to the one in Dallas a couple times. It's a cool and popular place. THIS is the type of bar we need in Midtown. This is exciting. They have all the 80's video games and ski ball. They also have an old Nintendo so you can play Tecmo Bowl and Super Mario.

Those look like good developments. I think I was in a bad mood posting all those comments earlier. I think I'm just bitter because Washington has so many nice restaurants now and I find myself going there all the time. My friend bought a townhome over there before I bought mine in Midtown so he seems to be looking smarter right now. But, as long as Midtown remains somewhat safe, I think it is the better bet in the long run because it is a walkable area, the parking situation isn't THAT bad, and we don't have a huge clubby feel that the Washington area has. When those clubs become uncool on Washington, it is going to be terrible down there. I don't think you can easily transition them into other things. At least Midtown is able to make the transition from trendy young clubber spot to a laid back hangout spot fairly easily.

I'm not sure what to think of "Cheerz." It definitely has more character than Open City. They are setting it up as a laid back bar & grill place (which is good) but it definitely looks tacky. Stucko exterior with painted on lines to make it look like bricks? Painted on windows? Just the name "Cheerz" is tacky. If you can't get the name "Cheers," just call it something else. Bottom line: it can't be worse than Open City but if it's owned by the same people, I'm not getting my hopes up. I hate writing so many negative posts but since buying my townhome in Midtown 2 1/2 years ago, I've only seen the neighborhood decline and I seriously regret buying here. Worst mistake of my life.

Midtown residents don't even want to use the train. I tried it for 3 days to get to work downtown. I was the only Midtown resident using it. The train is merely a way for vagrants to come into the area and ask for money. Nobody even pays to use the train. Every time I used the train to get downtown, I was the only one that paid! It's $2 (if you are honest) and you have to sit there and wait 10 minutes for it. Then it takes another 10 minutes to reach your destination if you work in the Theatre District. Why not get in your car and drive for 5 minutes and park downtown. It's faster and depending on your company's parking situation, it's cheaper. God knows it's a lot safer! The best thing for Midtown would be to tear up the train stop at McGowen and let it go by.

I think a trolley would be a disaster. I guarantee you the only people that would ride it would be homeless people and would make our vagrant problem just that much worse than it already is.