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ArchFan

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Everything posted by ArchFan

  1. ArchFan
    I wonder who's in line to be the next CEO? I would imagine that is not determined yet, but the personal preferences of people at that level have a lot to do with HQ relocations.
  2. ArchFan
    Kudos! :-)
  3. ArchFan
    Yeah, one wouldn't expect an expensive hotel to be built so close to the RR tracks. But ... despite that, the quiet-zone program seems to work pretty well in that neighborhood. The main problem is the traffic stack-ups when the freight trains roll through.
  4. ArchFan
    Anyone have a link to a video of Steve Allen's skit on "Eye Witless News"? Our local Channel 13 was apparently just one of many purveyors who took up the "EyeWitness News" premise. Allen's sendoffs of the exaggerations that went along with that genre were pretty funny!
  5. ArchFan
    For me, the most frustrating part of a situation like this is, that if we "just sit and wait", nothing will happen. Or else something will happen, but not what we want. It seems to me that, so often, interested people in the public sit on the sidelines. In that case, what ultimately happens is decided by another small group of people who are acting more in self interest than out of a concern for the good of the community.
  6. ArchFan
    I feel that Houston is underserved in the high-end luxury hotel market. Which seems strange. I mentioned this to a developer I know (who does other stuff here) who is active in Houston and he agreed. The St. Regis here is nice; although I have not stayed in one of the rooms, people have told me it is nice. Frankly, I think the other hotels in the Galleria area -- mostly from the 80s -- seem a bit run down and not up to snuff. A friend from NYC stayed at the Four Seasons downtown a few years ago and was not impressed, either. So ... I think there ought to be an opportunity here for investors who want to fund a state-of-the-art high-end hotel.
  7. ArchFan
    As I recall, some of those 2-story buildings along Richmond were projects that Gerald Hines did early in his career here. In any case, I thought they were pretty cool when I was a kid growing up here, before Greenway Plaza started.
  8. ArchFan
    I think that how fast these new apartments fill up will have an impact on the other new developments -- i.e., those announced, but not started. I hope Skyhouse does well.
  9. ArchFan
    Yeah, i feel the same way. I am not in the business, but I have to wonder how many of these projects don't happen because the developers can't get financing. From years of watching Houston real estate development -- albeit not being directly involved most of the time -- it has always struck me the these projects are usually subject to the whims of lenders from other places. While I'm sure there were lenders who lost their shirts providing financing here in the 80's, I think there are a lot more who have missed opportunities to grow their money here since then.
  10. ArchFan
    I vaguely remember the Chuck Wagon on Long Point. Can't remember exactly where it was, but I think it was close to the first Whataburger I ever ate at ... with the classic triangle shape. There was also a BBQ place nearby that I liked, which I think maybe lasted into the 70s. It was on Long Point near the intersection with Antoine. Also close to those places was the Prince's Hamburgers location on Wirt, just south of Long Point. I remember being fascinated as the price of a burger, as listed on their sign, increased from 12 cents, a few pennies at a time. This would be in the late 50s or early 60s. In those years, Weingartens was the major grocery store in the neighborhood, at the NE corner of Long Point and Wirt. Across Wirt, White's was a place to buy automotive stuff like tires and batteries. In the same strip mall was a Palais Royal or maybe Wiener's, a drugstore, and another grocery ... maybe Henke & Pillot. Later on, the first Pancho's Mexican Buffet I ever saw. I loved that place at the time, tho' I wouldn't eat there now :-)
  11. ArchFan
    I also miss Niche's posts. I agreed with some and disagreed with others. I'm usually the kind of person to hold my tongue when I hear posts I disagree with strongly on this issue or that, but they do make me think. It is good to read posts from intelligent people who can lead us to think about and perhaps to re-examine our own beliefs.
  12. ArchFan
    I thought the "South Canal" was just the current course of Buffalo Bayou, downstream of where White Oak Bayou joins it. Is that right? If its not, where would the current channel be in the rendering above? While I wish we wouldn't have to deal with the "Little Alcatraz" aspect of the island, I think the greatest benefit provided by the canal would be flood control. And ... perhaps it would not be impossible to make the banks of both channels attractive to people, especially once a lot more people live in the area who are free to move about :-)
  13. ArchFan
    I'm surprised no one has complained yet that all the beautiful young people in the renderings appear to be light-skinned Caucasians. As a geezer-in-training, I could complain that they are all young with great bodies. But, I won't. :-)
  14. ArchFan
    That's good news. How about the old strip center between the T&C office buildings and the Sheraton Four Points Hotel (or whatever it is now)? To me, it's been kinda creepy for awhile, especially after hearing about someone being shot to death during a robbery (or some such) there some years ago.
  15. ArchFan
    "Highland Oaks" has a good ring to me. Which probably means it would never be adopted by any developers :-) I think its good for place names (or nicknames) to to tell people something. In this case, it would tell people that its adjacent to 2 areas that are already well-known and well-established. To me, the name "River Oaks District" fails because it seems to imply that its located farther east, like San Felipe @ Kirby. I think OliverMcMillan and their branding consultants goofed a bit on choosing that name, but its only a minor goof.
  16. ArchFan
    Its interesting to see these old photos that illustrate how man has changed the landscape. I recall seeing old photos in the area of Bellaire near the old Texaco labs that depicted a treeless, rather barren landscape, sparsely crisscrossed by roads paved with (I think) oyster shells. OTOH, there were other areas that were naturally wooded. The pine trees in Hermann Park are the remnants of the pine forest there. IIRC, the TMC was carved out of land originally intended to be part of Hermann Park. Also, awhile back, in another thread, I was surprised to see old photos that revealed pine forest in the east end, more or less in the vicinity south of the turning basin. So ... while some areas have been converted from treeless prairie, others have been stripped bare and populated more sparsely with other types of vegetation.
  17. ArchFan
    I was almost ROFLing about that, too! How about "Mountainview Lodges" or "Coral Isle Cabanas"?
  18. ArchFan
    Still, whether it's natural or not, that stretch of the bayou has scenic potential. I'm kinda worried that it will wind up not being developed to its highest potential, in terms of being a community asset.
  19. ArchFan
    I like the idea of trenching the RR, tho' I don't know how easy it would be now that the adjacent drainage canal is trenched. However, I'm sure the RR would not want to pay for it and I doubt the taxpayers would want to pay the whole cost, either. So, as much as I hate to say it, I expect we'll be stuck in the usual Houston conundrum ... i.e., we'll suffer through it, and after decades, we'll wish we had bitten the bullet and done it now.
  20. ArchFan
    The downtown Foley's was a lot more fun, even though not as upscale. So many departments with such a variety of things that one could not find available in a single store elsewhere. At Christmas, the moving mechanical displays in the street-facing windows were fascinating for kids.
  21. ArchFan
    I remember visiting that store with my mom when i was a kid. The Sky Terrace Restaurant sounds familiar, but I can't remember any details. I do remember the Young Men's Shop and I think they had a salon for women to have their hair done ... I think I waited endlessly for my mom to get out of that. I also have a brief memory of visiting the Nieman Marcus store on Main St. and being impressed. When I visited the flagship store in downtown Dallas in about 1970, I was even more impressed. Perhaps today it would seem tacky and pretentious, but it was fun for a kid to get that feel, kinda like being transported into the movie "Giant". The Battelsteins on Shepherd was pretty nice, too. I'm sure they had a downtown store as well, perhaps next door to Nieman's.
  22. ArchFan
    Well, I suppose by now we can assume no one will be killed or injured by this demo. That's a relief ...
  23. ArchFan
    I think it's an interesting idea. They generate about the same amount of revenue (on the order of $600 million in 2012, with Metro's being a bit more). However, ~90% of HCTRA's comes from tolls, whereas ~90% of Metro's comes from taxes. It's interesting: both revenue sources come from the pockets of individuals, yet if I wanted to lend money to either one for infrastructure development, I would naturally prefer HCTRA. Like most people, I'm had ongoing concerns about the competence of Metro's management. The fact that it's been a revolving door hasn't helped. On the other hand, HCTRA's management isn't covered at all by the local media. Which leads me to this: competent management is probably my highest priority, however, I am also concerned about corruption. I don't really know how these two entities compare in those regards. Perhaps the public would benefit by merging them, but in any case, I think we would also be well served by having a brighter spotlight focused on their operations.
  24. ArchFan
    Well, I asked my friend who is connected to some people in the Houston Japanese community. He said the program he knows about (and has visited several times) is at Glenchester, which has a "Japanese school" on Saturdays. I understand that a big reason Japanese ex-pats send their kids there is to keep them connected with Japanese culture. Apparently, they give the kids homework that is harder than what they get from going to American school during the week, so they don't like that. :-) The families mostly live in west Memorial, although many have moved to the Cinco Ranch area. They sometimes shop at the Korea-oriented H-Mart on Blalock @ Westview, but for certain Japanese things, their only resource is the Daido store on Westheimer @ Wilcrest. He also said that he was impressed by the display of kids' work in the "Japanese area" of Glenchester, compared to that displayed in the rest of the facility.
  25. ArchFan
    On the topic of a super tall residential building going up in Dallas, this doesn't seem viable if the ~50+ story former LTV tower is converted to residential use. That's a really big building and would come onto market sooner, which seems like it would pull the rug out from under another developer trying to put up a huge new tower.
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