brian0123

Why is demo the talk now? Can't we push the county to do the UH student's "skeleton" idea?

I swear this has to be the slowest built building in town right now.

I often wonder how long it will take before the Med Center begins to influence more development south of the bayou (even along South Main). They already have smaller offshoots like TIRR Memorial at S. Braeswood and Kirby, but w/out room to grow north due to the park, I would think chunks of land along S. Braeswood (or the rundown apt complexes near Reliant) could eventually turn to something that better serves the Med Center.

I always thought they should put these places out east near the ship channel. Lots of industrial w/ little to no residents to disturb. Easy access in and out for buses/transit. Almost everything is already fenced to keep people out, so you can make a well-controlled area with better security for everyone.

I'm confused, I thought the rodeo purchased the land for parking? Are they the one's selling it now?

I finally was able to check out the new halls the other week and was blown away. The Egyptian hall is insane (I wasn't expecting so many mummies) and the paleontology hall also blew my mind. I loved the evolution part where it shows our family tree. I always liked the HMNS, but the new exhibits are definitely "tourist worthy" and put the HMNS on a whole new level.

No, but yes. I live in a neighborhood that I can walk to Reliant. My impression is that Reliant wants to bring bigger concerts/festivals of the multiple stage variety, but have had to spill over into the "Green Lot" for now since it's the only other option they have where you won't melt event-goers' shoes. Even at the final four events w/ band like Kings of Leon... Discovery Green served as a so-so place for the large outdoor concerts... but the park was bursting at the seams, parking/getting in and out was horrible, and the lawn was pretty much mud afterwards. I'll say it again, but my belief is that officials think casino gambling is close to passing here in Texas. I think officials are trying to save the Dome that would make it usable for this purpose in the future (hence no indoor ski-slopes/stripping the thing down/etc. but just preserving the shell and making it a large indoor space). Ed Emmett has even said that the dome will be saved so that future "proposals" can be easily implemented when that day comes.

This event highlights what the suburbs are already going through (and will continue to see increase). It's a fact that lower income families are flooding the suburbs as land in the city gets more expensive. This pattern is occurring everywhere around the country (and has already done so in Europe). Spring was a nice HS back when I was at Cy-Creek, but it sounds like they have a serious gang problem now. Give it another 10-15 years and I believe you'll see problems even crop up in the Woodlands, Sugar Land, Cinco Ranch type areas as well.

Isn't a spaceport the last thing you build in Sim City before a huge hurricane comes and wipes it out?

Is that a monorail in the renderings?

As a former owner in East Midtown, I'm glad to see the section in the SE seeing more development. To me that was one of the major trouble spots. The other problem isn't necessarily the shelters, but the flophouses that are interspersed in the neighborhood. Those are the places that are unregulated, people just come and go all the time, and they throw trash on nearby properties. Close those down and the east side would get a lot nicer. You are correct. The only loitering that will occur is what MOW allows. I think this is better than the empty lot that was there... I just wish it meant more tax revenue for the neighborhood.

Thanks for the links. Yeah, I live in Knollwood Village (Braeswood Area) and was hoping to learn about possible improvements along the bayou within loop 610. I was hoping for a dedicated trail bridge instead of having to cross on Buffalo Speedway.

So I'm a little confused about long term plans for Brays Bayou after the recent vote that will expand greenspace and parks along our bayou systems. I've emailed the city (which just added me to pointless email list), I've found a website for the Buffalo Bayou Master Plan, but I can't find anything that talks about how this vote will impact Brays Bayou. Is there a master plan for it somewhere? I did find a website from the Flood Control District called http://www.projectbrays.org/ but that looks geared towards flood control improvements by 2014 only.

The problem is that they end up coming off of Midtown's tax rolls. Then, crime calls tend to increase around them for complaints on vagrancy, loitering, traffic, panhandling, etc. Midtown's Constables end up fielding extra calls because of these places (which comes out of Midtown taxpayer's pockets), yet the budget to hire extra police hours has decreased. I don't think Meals On Wheels here will be a magnet for crime, but I do think that it could attract vagrants that will want to target the workers/visitors. If Meals on Wheels has to keep calling the police, then they're taking man hours away from Midtown residents and businesses that are paying taxes for the extra protection.

What what what?!?! Go to Tacos A Go-Go over Chipotle (they have a big burrito as well). The vietnamese places in Midtown have better coffee than Starbucks (Midtown already has one anyways)... also give Double Trouble a try. Midtown has a ton of better options than the places going into this location.

Can someone clarify the ski dome idea? Would they be on real snow, or a fake/plastic type of material? I keep hearing about this concept but never heard more details on it and how it would work. I'm still in favor of stripping it to the frame and making a park under it.

I never understood why people care about what happened in a house prior to the owning it. If someone had died in my house, it would probably serve as a converstation starter at parties. Even if ghosts were real, am I'm supposed to worry that one would return to haunt me even if I had nothing to do with their parting? And if it's possible for a place to be haunted... that would be an awesome money maker because I could rig webcams throughout and charge a monthly subscription for access. I'd be a millionaire in a month.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.