brian0123

They will when the economy turns. Starting construction now will put them in a good position for when we start to recover in 2010.

Ha ha, I know. Although the guy was Vietnamese and his English was very hard to understand... so he might have said five...

I rode by again today and asked the guys (at 2901 Fannin) what they are working on. The guy told me it's going to be a new bar that will be open in 9 months.

I'm not sure. I noticed it the other day when I was on a bike ride. The place is 2901 Fannin (street view). They were carrying stuff in the door and I noticed that the inside was stripped to the studs. The building is attached to "Kim Marketing Company".

It's at Caroline and Dennis link Tuam and Fannin is being totally redone on the inside too.

I found the old flash file on their site containing the renderings. Go here to see it

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I noticed that they are working on the property next door. I've always found the two properties interesting because they just look creepy. So what's the story behind all of the junk and personal property laying around (i.e. the clunker cars)? Do you know what they plan to do with this building?

I took some pictures of this today. I didn't realize that this place was going to be so large... @ Milam near Tuam @Travis near Dennis @Travis near Dennis

I drove by 2518 La Branch (see Streetview) today during lunch, and there was an entire crew outside with power saws and hard hats. The past couple of days on my way home for lunch, I've noticed trucks at the place... so I'm hoping they are going to rehab it. Anyways... does anyone know the history behind this house (and the creepy one next to it)? There is an old metal sign out front that I assume used to advertise whatever store it used to be. I've always been curious about these two properties but could never find any info on them. Thanks!

It's still fun to do. Most people in Houston aren't figure skaters or hockey players that need a huge rink to go flying around. My wife and I tried it out last week and had a lot of fun just fumbling around on it.

Very nice looking on the inside. My wife and I can walk to your place from our house (I walk to Cali Sandwich all the time)...so I just now need to convince her to like Sushi

Yeah, the fact that it was Tuesday is what really caught me off guard. I didn't go in books a million last night, but noticed some people inside as well (not as many though). However, I was in there last Friday and there were a lot of people... and it seemed as if every girl in books a million was holding a yellow Forever 21 bag.

On a side note... last night my wife and I walked to the Pavilions after dinner and Forever 21 was packed. I'm not sure if word is getting around, or if it was a freak incident, but it definitely was a change from when it first opened and it was a ghost town. The line to checkout was almost out the door, the dressing rooms had a line about 15 girls long, and the entire place just had people everywhere. Unsurprisingly... Lidz was empty.

I was wondering the same thing. It's looking nothing like the rendering from earlier in this post (back in September).

Well, instead of speculating on the park... I decided to email the parks department. Their response was... The property at Elgin and Austin is a new acquisition, and at this time no plans have been made for development. It will probably be maintained as open green space. I live right down the street and was hoping for a new park. If they continue to maintain it as green space... does this mean that we can just make it a dog park on our own?

Have you been to the small little comedy venue on 6th street in Austin? A place that size would easily fit into the Pavilions.

You are dead on! I live in Midtown, and back when DG was being downplayed by some, I knew that if my neighbors and friends were excited about it... there must be plenty of others around the area as well. Sure enough, DG turned out to be incredible. I view HP as the same thing. Naysayers can complain all they want. All I know is that my wife and I, as well as our neighbors and friends, are excited about the HP and plan to spend a lot of money there.

I can't speak about the Houston House Apartments... but wanted to suggest that if you are apprehensive about them, why not look at Midtown? You would only be a couple blocks from the apartments, and will have the amenities of restaurants, banks, pharmacies, etc. within walking distance.

I live in Midtown and know that my wife and I will be spending a lot of time and money at the Pavilions. We live on the east side of Main (where there are a ton of townhomes) and have a lot of neighbors that have said they will be doing the same. Midtown continues to grow (i.e. Camden Travis is currently being built even in this crappy economy) and Midtown is full of 20-30 somethings with money to burn and a desire to be in a totally urban environment. For people like my wife and I... the Galleria is too crowded, feels like a boring suburban mall, and requires way too much driving/parking/walking/etc. in order to get to a particular store you want to get to. What is so great about the HP is that it will pile a bunch of stores into a layout that makes them easy to access, quick to get to, and is easily walkable.

You are 100% correct. I am in a band and yes, it's done to ensure that your fans actually show up to the show... Otherwise, they would skip the HOB show and just check out the band in a cheaper venue. Maybe the HOB in NOLA let's BB bend the rules, but any other band should follow their rules... and rightfully so. The only time I think the exclusivity agreement should be waived is when the HOB sells out and they cannot get another show setup while that artist is in town. That way, the artist still brings in $ to HOB, along with allowing more people to see them.

That is exactly what my wife and I thought of the place as well. Insane sky rings (especially scary on the third level looking down), awesome views of downtown, easy layout... an incredible design all around. We live in Midtown, and are ecstatic at how this place has already surpassed our expectations. When the developers were saying this is going to be a downtown changer... I was a little skeptical. Not any more.

I don't know why everyone is getting so hung up on the venue. As a musician and music lover, I only care to play/see shows in venues that have a good sound system and acoustics. I could care less if it is trying to be trendy, or if it is trying to look "authentic", or if it is someplace like Fitzgeralds or a run down warehouse. WHO CARES! Once you get in the building, the lights go down, the stage lights up, and you get to witness masters of their craft creating music right in front of you. Yes, it is not only about the music... it is also about watching musicians build that song right in front of you! If you want to stare at the damn walls of a worn down warehouse, or marvel at the things on the wall at the House of Blues... don't go to the concert and get in everyone's way! Instead, just take a tour of the place sometime later, and congratulate yourself for standing in a place you felt cool at. In the meantime, I'm going to keep paying attention to the music. Now, can we please get back on topic?

Woooooo!!!!! Thanks for the pictures. I might have to walk over there after work. I can't wait to see this area start filling up. BTW, looks like you work in the HCC building. Any chance your company is hiring programmers/web developers? I've been wanting to work somewhere that I can walk to instead of driving to!

Just curious, but do you all think the HOB will be a Warehouse Live killer... just like Warehouse Live was an Engine Room killer?

What you see on tv is usually a compilation of an entire day of filming... all strung together to look cool. In reality, they usually fall on their butts a bunch of times, and then act like champions when they finally "land" the trick. I know skating is difficult, but it seems to be the only sport in the world where you can fail so many times and still be considered good.