brian0123

I'd imagine they probably didn't intend to lease that side and assumed someone eventually may rent a unit and they'll get some extra cash. If anything they probably just assumed those units are sound buffers for the rest of the building (which is probably nicer than this unit).

Nice to see this completed. They were planning it years back when I lived nearby. The one thing that still hasn't happened that they talked about then was a 10 story structure across the street. Apparently they were trying to get a Barnes and Nobles type anchor signed on before moving forward. Would love to know if that's still in the works.

22 hours ago, s3mh said:

Street layout and deed restrictions go hand in hand.  The north south streets in Braeswood have no commercial development thanks to deed restrictions.  People buying alcohol on the east/west commercial corridors are not going to cross through the residential areas because there are no businesses along the north/south streets.  In the Heights, the commercial corridors run both north/south and east/west.  People pass through the residential areas all the time to get from Shep to Yale, 19th to 11th, Heights to Studewood, and so on.  So, our neighborhood is wide open.  The dry zone limits the impact of this design.  Allowing beer and wine sales will mean that at a minimum 5 additional retailers (CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Sunny's & Michoacana) will offer cheap beer and wine within close proximity to residential development, schools, parks and playgrounds.  We have homeless people camping out in a number of locations in the Heights (under the Heights Blvd bridge at white oak bayou and over by the Sand Dollar thrift shop).  Someone reported on nextdoor that they saw a drunk guy fall off his bike over by Lawrence Park and hide in the dark.  A partial repeal of the dry zone is without a doubt going to increase access to cheap beer and wine to people passing through on the bus or on foot.  Transients will be able to get single servings of beer at Sunny's and go drink at Milroy park, or go to CVS and pass out drunk at Marmion Park.  All this just so HEB can have a second location in the Heights (word is that there is a lease signed for Washington Ave Waugh).  

So you're already experiencing problems despite the dry law, and are concerned it will get worse? The issues you describe sound more like law enforcement problems than access to beer. We had similar problems when I lived in Midtown and it just took repeated calls to HPD and city council to get it cleaned up.

14 hours ago, s3mh said:

The dry zone has saved the Heights from getting overrun with bars.  No one in the Heights will dispute that.  19th Street would have been what Washington Ave is today but for the dry zone.  

 

Neighborhoods with deed restrictions effectively have dry zones due to restrictions on commercial activity.  Thoroughfares like Stella Link and Buffalo Speedway have no commercial development in Braeswood Place due to deed restrictions.  That means that the neighborhood is effectively a dry zone because all commercial development is restricted to Holcombe and Braeswood.  In the Heights. our neighborhood is crisscrossed by thoroughfares with no restrictions.  Everyone in the Heights is not much more than at best a half mile from a commercial thoroughfare.  And those commercial streets blend right into the residential areas.  So, bars, restaurants, convenience stores, etc. have a real impact on the residential areas.  The dry area gives us the only level of control we have over those areas that greatly affect the quality of life in the neighborhood.  Developers will pack in as many bars, restaurants, etc. in the Heights as they can given how the neighborhood has grown.  Giving up any line of defense just so one grocery store can have its preferred location is not a wise move in a city with no zoning.

This prop has nothing to do with liquor sales though. My neighborhood is between a Fiesta, Randall's, HEB, Kroger, another Kroger... all that sell beer and wine. The difference between my neighborhood and the Heights (deed restrictions aside) is the street layout... which I would argue does more than anything. We do have liquor sales along Buffalo and Stella too (spec's is one of them). Even with that we haven't been impacted. Again, it's the layout. Heights is setup to develop more urban, just like Midtown. You all have tiny lots close together. Selling beer (or not) isn't going to change that.

On 10/24/2016 at 10:01 AM, s3mh said:

 

 If HEB came to Braeswood residents and asked them to give up their deed restrictions in order to put in a fancy new grocery store, people in your neighborhood would completely lose it. 

 

How is restricting commerce (preventing sales of a legal beverage) the same as deed restrictions? Is the "keep it dry" club saying that preventing beer sales is acting as some form of DR for the neighborhood?

 

I'm confused about what keeping it dry has accomplished to date. It just seems like a pointless law leftover from our great grandparents.

I don't live in the Heights but have always been confused about the "keep it dry" argument. The rest of Houston doesn't have a problem, yet the Heights acts like a problem will be introduced by allowing sales. I live in Braeswood, and we're not overrun by shady corner stores.

 

Also, don't try to say "oh it's keeping our neighborhood unique and special"... no, it's not. Your neighborhood is like any other older hood already, just consumed by Victorian themed townhomes. Midtown, East Downtown, that pocket of 6th ward off Washington, even Galveston... those are some unique places... and they aren't dry.

 

Again, I could care less how the vote goes since I never go to the Heights anymore, but I really find this debate strange like we're still in the prohibition era.

I like WOMH, but the impact on the surrounding neighborhood is wrong and a double standard. I was at Raven Tower watching a band (it's covered but outside) and while looking to the left I saw an apartment with a mom inside her living room... probably less than 100ft away. If this development were a biker bar/rap club/you name it in a better-off neighborhood, you'd have this place shutdown in a matter of weeks. 

 

WOMH can coexist... but they'd have to turn the music down some and possibly stagger some events.

This is awesome news. I've said it on here before and will say it again, S Main is going to be a prime corridor over the upcoming years. Tons of large plots of land minutes from TMC and NRG. If UT builds their campus, this corridor will be in the epicenter of young medical professionals and students who actually need to live nearby. The lack of good hotels in this area is also mind boggling.

54 minutes ago, Gator Purify said:

Good question, Purdue.  I drove past this building last weekend and was shocked to see the rusty clock still on top.  It also appears as though the building is still vacant.  Can anyone confirm?  Transwestern had plans to turn this into a tech hub, but I don't see any sign of that.

 

I hope they keep the clock. It could be really unique if they fixed it up.

Any renderings on this? 

10 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

The VIP Suites at the top of the hill are not part of the adopted plan.

Great to hear. Thanks for the info.

I hate the 2035 plan grading of the hill and "VIP Master Suites". Totally kills the whole relaxing vibe of the park and looks too structured, stark, and something you'd expect in suburbia. Sitting on the lawn with "VIPs" hovering over you would feel strange. It's almost as if the board is now a bunch of old farts that decided that "hmph, those kids rolling around the hill and having fun distract from the entertainment, so let's put an end to that!"

I walk by there often at lunch and regularly see these people fighting, screaming, cursing, have knives on there hip... all with an HPD officer nearby and families trying to navigate to the zoo. There's no excuse for why the city has tolerated it.

I think they'll have to change something for Super Bowl because this weekend has shown that we've already outgrown DG for larger events like this. It was nuts Downtown and really cool... but they maxed out capacity quickly. Perhaps multiple stages around town is the solution?

My only fear with Discovery Green is that it might get too popular... to the point where the lawns are routinely fenced off to the public in order to accommodate private events. As for kid stuff, I bring my 4 and 2 yo down there all the time and they love it. 

Speaking of Nissan, quick update on my 2012 Leaf I bought the other month. So far it's the best car I've ever owned (and it only cost me $10,800 w/ 11k miles). We live in the loop and it takes care of 90% of our driving needs. No oil, gas, transmission to worry about... and it's a full size so there's plenty of legroom in the back row(I'm 6'2" and easily fit in the back).

 

After driving an EV, I've grown accustomed to the car being completely silent and find myself thinking other cars I get in are having engine problems. Charging is simple and fast since I installed a 220v (L2) charger on my garage... but I can also charge at any 110 outlet. As an example, I drove my Leaf out to my parents (30 miles to Cypress), charged using a 110 outlet for 7 hours, and drove back that night w/out range issues. Freeway speeds are what really kill range, so driving faster than 60mph starts to reduce where you can go. If you live in the burbs and expect to commute at slower rush hour speeds, it can go further cruising at 35 mph.

 

The #1 question I'm asked is how much my electric bill went up. I honestly haven't noticed a change since I charge 1-2 times a week, and it's the equivalent of running an electric dryer for 6 hours at a time. I pay about .09 cents per kwh for my wind plan, and average 4.2 miles per kwh... so it costs me a little more than 2 cents per mile that I drive. 

The electric car chargers are a nice touch that I'm glad they mentioned. There are a decent amount of EV drivers in the TMC with little charging options available.

These guys are going to make a killing on this tower. The demand for housing catering to med school students (and recent grads) in the S Main and TMC area is astronomical. The current housing stock like my neighborhood is too expensive and geared more for physicians and their families. There are tons of nurses and new docs commuting from all over who want to live nearby but can't find anything. I called it on here before and will say it again... the TMC/SW Houston area is going to be the next major economic juggernaut in Houston. Devs have been focused for far too long on Energy Corridor/Woodlands areas and have negelected to build housing and hotels in the TMC (all while TMC was humming along strong and not paying attention to oil).

The glass facade to cover the front boat look was genius.

Y'all are wasting your time yakking about the decision making process of the bureaucracy involved here. Can we get back to something that matters......like the WHERE of this whole thing?

What's the outlook for a single family home owner about a mile away from this proposed development? Is our sleepy little corner of the loop finally getting it's wakeup call?

Yes. Our property values are going to skyrocket. I live in Knollwood Village, and it's the closest single family neighborhood inside the loop to this. I expect my tax bill to be through the roof once this is built.

Sorry to revive an old thread, but is this area nice? I've driven through it and walk around some during the day, but that's no substitute for the knowledge of people living there. Any current or recent residents?

I posted above (former resident moved out in 2012) but still drive through there and hear from neighbors occasionally. I think it's gotten a little overpriced considering you can spend another 35k and get similar places in NW side of Midtown (or just in 4th ward) closer to restaurants. Good area, but night time gets different and you'll get occasional creepy dudes walking around so depends on your comfort level. Just go down there a couple nights after 8pm and see how you feel and if you are good with it.

Anyone else get a weird vibe from the "Sponsored Posts" on swamplot? I get it, they need the money to operate...but isn't a slight conflict of interest to play up these developers and projects and investors while reporting on the same groups of people?

I'm glad it's returned, so it's not like it's stopping me from reading it.

I ran a blog called InnerLooped for about a year. The $$$ was the biggest pain so I don't blame them at all. Bandwidth and time cost money, and ad clicks bring in hardly anything.

The affordability calculators are not necessarily wrong. It just ends up depending on what your priorities are. If you want to always have a new luxury car, go on frequent expensive vacations, retire when you are 50, etc. your "affordable" house is going to be lower. It also can come down to how well you are able manage your finances. I still have a hard time explaining to reasonably intelligent people why financing a sofa or fridge costs so much more in the end than just paying cash. What can really get you though is if that higher price is for more square feet because that means more cost to furnish and maintain.

I couldn't agree more.

-50 skip cable

-50 cheaper cell plan

-600 no car payment

-700 stop eating out all the time at $$$ places

-40 cancel the gym membership

Right there anyone can have an extra $1440/month of easy money. If you use it towards a mortgage of somewhere in town, savings shoot up even more dramatically.

This looks like every other midrise apartment building built in the city over the past couple of years. This is what I would expect to see for a hotel so I have no problem with it.

Just drove by. They're tearing this entire hotel down. So glad to see this thing gone.