brian0123

Do you know what kind of grasses they have in there?  I worked on a LID (Low Impact Design) for a two block section of Darling Street in the Heights last summer that I think is still going to happen (Hasn't yet so I can't get too specific).  Anyway, it had more of a standard curb and sawtooth design but I'm curious as to how this one handled the downpour.

Contact the Midtown Management District. They'll be able to get the info to you. I know it's not just grass like Bermuda or St. Augustine.

Agreed, it should be slowed down. One lane each direction, left turns are only allowed at major intersections (w/ dedicated turn lanes), and a smaller hybrid bike/right turn/bus stop lane on each side (where space permits).

Agreed. Thanks for putting this together. I enjoyed getting to meet all of you and would love to do it again.

How's the parking situation? Street or do they have a lot?

I'll be there. Seriously though, who do I look for since I've never met any of you? I don't want to go around the place walking up to random groups of people asking them if they're my internet friends. I've never been to this place, so is there a certain spot/table you all will be hanging out at?

Why'd you stop writing innerlooped, I liked that blog!

Tons of work and time required, also bought a house and am renovating it. I might bring it back. I always laughed when people accused me of "making something up" for "the money". I accomplished a lot with that blog (Bagby street esp) so I may bring it back if I ever get time or decide to run for city council or something (I can be your urban voice!).

With all due respect I'm glad the city hasn't responded to you. You shouldn't be wasting their time asking about your personal property and what to do with it. I didn't email the city asking if I should renovate my house. Likewise, I wouldn't email them asking what color to paint it.

The city is very responsive (I know firsthand). I used to run a blog called InnerLooped and learned that most people at the city are awesome and hard working. They are insanely busy and can only spend time on matters that they have control over. They can't waste taxpayer's money by spending time to help you make a personal decision.

Also, HCAD values properties. If yours is too high... then protest it.

BTW, as a former Midtown resident... I'm curious to know what property you have in the neighborhood. The old ones that remain are pretty cool and should definitely be fixed up if they can be saved.

Looking on HAR there really aren't many options in the loop (actually zero in the Heights). The only thing I can find is in my neighborhood (not the Heights, but it's safer, more house for your $, and close to Rice Village and biking on Braes Bayou). There are a ton of families in my neighborhood as well.

http://search.har.com/engine/3406-Linkwood-Houston-77025-3716_HAR16759885.htm

EDIT: Just saw it says "no dogs". Maybe they'd accept a tiny dog?

Good luck with your search.

I think the city should help/encourage developers to take out several of those apartment complexes on South Main (and around Reliant) to put in more eating and entertainment options. It would create another entertainment district around the entire Reliant complex that would serve those visitors that don't want to ride on the rail to get somewhere (they could just walk across the street)... and could have a lasting impact as they are used year round for events at Reliant.

For the record, I have no issue with those who are less fortunate. I moved to the burbs because I preferred the quiet, the schools, and the general sense that I didn't have to worry about getting mugged. If that means that my experience is fake and yours is authentic so be it, although I'm not sure why city dwellers get to arbitrarily decide what's real. Given that the vast majority of the world lives under a significantly higher poverty rate than the US, I'm sure that they would find all of us to be living a fake lifestyle.

I'm going to guess that you don't have kids because you might find that your willingness to deal with certain aspects of urban life changes dramatically if or when that occurs.

By fake, I meant the "town center" type places that attempt to call a large shopping mall something else. I also meant the illusion that the burbs are safer than the city. I didn't mean to imply that you have issues with those less fortunate... I was just alluding to typical "white flight" whether it applies to you personally or not.

Also, I do have a kid w/ another one on the way. I walk to Reliant Stadium, my street has tons of kids on it who ride scooters and play tag up and down it (even afer dark), and during Halloween we have a group of about 50 kids where we all walk door to door. Yes, having a kid sort of forced me out of Midtown (more so for the housing stock), but my "urban suburb" is probably a very good example of the trends in Houston population stats (and will only continue as more families move back to the older, now urban suburbs).

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Poverty-on-the-rise-in-Houston-suburbs-4529783.php Link specifically for Houston.

Thanks, this illustrates my point from earlier. You all can argue all you want about how the burbs are growing and feel great about how you escaped the big city... but the long term reality is that suburban growth will be increasingly from poorer and immigrant demographics (esp here in Houston). The suburbanites will gradually be confronted with the fact that their neighborhoods (or ones nearby) are changing. School resources will become more strained (i.e. the inc in school enrollment #'s seen earlier in this thread), servicing those that need the help will grow more challenging (esp as they spread out further), and transportation and growing crime issues will only increase. Again, there is nothing entirely wrong with this because it's just the reality of the world we live in. I deal with this stuff in the city and am fine with it... the difference is that you can only run from reality (and build fake suburban eutopian cities) for so long.

Thanks for the recommendations. Some neighbors recommended Southampton as well so we may have to check them out.

Recent report about poverty increasing in the suburbs. While not talking about Houston, it highlights the fact that immigrant and lower income families are now taking up housing in the suburbs. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/nyregion/suburbs-are-home-to-growing-share-of-regions-poor.html?hp

NPR also had a report this morning about this study saying that aid organizations (which have forever been focused on serving rural/urban areas, are having to readjust to serve the suburbs).

In Houston, yes... the population shifts to the Woodlands/Sugarland/etc. do have higher income people there... but those places are still "new" and are outliers. I would bet that the trends around the country are also happening here (the higher cost of housing in the loop is pushing people to the burbs). Go to any European city and you tend to see the same trend has already happened there.

Anyone have recommendations for an innerloop daycare center preferably near the Rice/Med Center/West U/Braeswood/Meyerland/Bellaire areas (SW innerloop)? It would need to be a full-time place (up to pre-k works) with infant care as well. Other recommendations in the innerloop that aren't too far from there could also work.

I haven't been paying attention. That's a pretty awesome lineup. I've always skipped this event, though, because I sort of got tired of the whole summer concert thing in Houston (esp after several Warped Tours). Social Distortion would be pretty awesome. I thought they blocked off a lot of the trails and stuff so it would be hard to get near a stage?

Awesome. I may be able to actually make it. However, Momma always warned me about meeting folks from the internet. Who should we look for when we arrive? A sign? Name tags? A group of overweight dudes with mustaches, candy, and white vans?

While I don't agree with this poll... perhaps Houstonians would feel safer if the city decided to have HPD actually patrol neighborhoods instead of setting up speed traps? I always grew frustrated seeing several HPD cars looking for speeders along West Gray instead of patrolling Montrose/Midtown. I could care less if it burns more gas.

I wasn't defending "separate but equal", but it wasn't all bad. In perfect 20-20 hindsight, we can now see that It had the effect of upholding cohesion in the black community in ways that today's schools seem unable to do.

At first I thought you were joking, but umm... huh. I can't tell now if you're being serious or trolling.

If you want to live near an industrial something, go for a bread factory

True, or fortune cookies. When I lived in Midtown I was a block away from the fortune cookie factory on Caroline. Friggin awesome smell when they were cooking them.

Are you sure you didn't mistake the smell of roasting coffee with a refinery?

I was looking past Gus Wortham golf course. I believe there is some stuff right at 225 and 610 and I'm guessing that's what I was smelling. I was referring mainly to the Far East End (if that's a term).

Really, I think the growth on the east side of the innerloop is stunted due to the refineries. I looked at some property on the east side of the loop, but the wind blew an interesting smell my way and I said nope. Even so, there is tremendous growth south and southeast in Pearland/Alvin/Clear Lake/etc.... so not everything is north/west for the burbs.

As for places like the Woodlands, I look at them as fake cities. Yes, they have several major employers and a couple impressive buildings... but remove that and you just have a big mall. It's a place where everything is planned and catered around employees that work in those handfull of businesses. It's a great concept, but if you lose/hate your job at one of those businesses... your SOL if you can't find a job next door or you just deal with the commute to energy corridor or Downtown/Galleria.

Sugarland will never become a huge "jobs center" due to the painful commute times to IAH and Hobby.

Katy/Energy Corridor will grow until it starts to turn like Greenspoint did. There are just far too many large apartment complexes that are "newish" along it that will deteriorate quickly.

My money long-term is Downtown/Galleria and the Medical Center. If I had a crystal ball I'd predict that the area around Reliant Stadium will also grow one day.

I'd love to hear someone explain this data in the context of the common perception that people are moving out of the suburbs and into the urban core.

First, the urban core is a WAY smaller area compared to the suburbs (and even then, you should probably only look at west of 288 within 610) and the places it is growing are mostly from singles/couples (vs families in the burbs... hence the school enrollment stats).

Second, this report does not show demographic and income changes within these areas. If it did, it would most likely show that the suburbs are being filled with tons of middle and lower income families (nothing wrong with that), while the urban core is filling up with higher income singles/couples/ and now familes. In other words, white flight is sort of reversing. It's at a point where it can't really go any further out (unless one day La Grange becomes a suburb of Houston )

When people like me say the urban core is growing, I typically mean that areas that were lower/middle income and were full of older/widowed people are now becoming vibrant communities again. Personally, I grew up in the burbs, moved into the loop, and first witnessed Midtown (in a period of 5 years) spring huge new apartment complexes and add thousands of new residents. Then, we moved over near Braeswood and are now renovating a house and raising our young family in it. The neighborhood has more kids in it than it has in a long time, and it's like the suburbs in the middle of the city. More families move in every day... and thus, people like me say the city is growing based on personal experience.

Yes, the burbs will always grow faster. The question is what kind of growth will it be and will current residents like what they see as their neighborhood changes?

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/sarnoff/article/Buildings-new-skin-aims-for-sleek-look-4487900.php

 

 

 

 

 

That was fast! 30 to 60 days?!

I drove by yesterday and there were crews working in it. I was in shock considering I lived in MIdtown for five years and this place is finally getting renovated AFTER I move out. This building was always one of those places I hoped would be fixed up... I'm so glad to see that happening instead of a wrecking ball.

I know that there's a lot of midtown love in this forum, but I have to question whether Midtown is really living up to the hype or is it just a neighborhood that's getting some growth because of the general growth rate of the city? This isn't meant to be a trolling question, but an honest one. Uptown is booming, the city is focusing on developing residential Downtown and there's a lot of focus on potential growth in the East End, not to mention that there's still huge growth outside the Beltway. Is it possible that Midtown has peaked?

First, how can something have "peaked" if it's still getting "growth" (despite where the growth is from)?

Second, I lived in Midtown for five years and loved every minute of it. It's probably the most "real" place in this city where you are exposed to everything, everyone, and every culture. It has African American institutions like The Ensemble Theatre and The Breakfast Klub... street signs in Vietnamese (and awesome restaurants), homeless, yuppies, musicians, museums, mixed use, old mansions, gays, straights, families, walkability, live music, clubs, light rail, parks, graffiti, (i.e all good, bad, and everything in between thrown into one neighborhood).

Midtown was just designated an Arts and Entertainment District by the state. They also have a huge new Collaborative Arts complex coming, the superblock being developed this year, more huge complexes coming, and more to come around the Continental Club. Even non-profits are growing and renovating (or building on empty) lots. Saying the neighborhood has peaked just doesn't make any sense.

Yes, other parts of town are also growing. Uptown for high-rise living. East End from Dynamo Stadium. Outside the beltway for cheap housing. In fact, I think Midtown's growth will only accelerate as more people move outside the beltway and our freeways (and the overtaxed suburban infrastructure) become permanant parking lots.

NDA? Are they afraid someone's going to steal their idea? How lame is that :unamused:

Agreed. I was confused by the NDA logic as well. Aren't the meetings public information anyway?