Houstonian in Iraq

The Pavillion on Post Oak will be demolished and not longer.  The existing shops there will be incorporated into Boulevard Place.  Once this happens, there will be one pavillion named place and that will be downtown.

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Good, That place has potential. Right now it's just a fancy strip center. Houston has enough of them we should just stop building them from now on and just promote pedestrian friendly mixed use development

You lucky bastards .....I can't even catch the Astros on TV anymore. At first AFN(Arm Forces Network) was carrying games becuase of there last season then Stros went into there slump and AFN didn't want to show a team that wasn't a contender for a championship(which is what they do). I'm hoping with enough wins they will bring them back.

Right now I just get my Astos coverage online or highlights on ESPN(AFN)

i'm not down with notion of midtown or downtown getting all the projects. if this were some podunk town that would be one thing but given that houston is huge, development like this is perfectly fine. i don't want a city of two million to have to congrate to the "village center" for shopping and entertainment.

I agree. But it's not just these two areas, there's also Greenway plaza, Greenspoint, TMC, Westchase, that people want see developed. In hopes that these developed areas will bleed into more parts of the city to eventually better every part of the city.

We need to start somewhere. Having too many fronts all at once will just disapate any development. Having one or a handfull of solid foundations to focus on can encourage development throughout

Golly, that development looks huge, it most be covering more land than I thought. Does it cross San Felipe? I can't see the Verizon store in the pic

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It does look huge. I work just blocks from there(when not deployed). I can't recall What is currently there now?

why are developers so focused on bringing retail to downtown?

downtown needs more easily accessable grocery stores imo

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I think when people say retail they also throw in grocery stores in that catagory.

One to two grocery stores should do the trick. Much more non-grocery store retail is needed to attract more people. Attract people with much of what they need, then it makes it easier and more appealling to live there, visit and entertain. That's what most people on these threads want to see. Start with the different city business centers and see Houston Flourish.

Downtown is just one of them.....and retail is what is lacking to attract reidential and business

it's called decentralization folks.  houston has become so decentralized now, that downtown is not even the center of population or activity anymore like traditional cities.  the fact that houston is so spread out as far as amenities makes visitors feel that they are in the wrong areas at times as far as entertainment. becaue a city of Houston's size should be more active than it currently is, specifically in the core, and edge cities such as uptown and the tmc kills the potential that downtown could have.  i know it's hard to understand if you are not familiar with urban planning or design, but it's the truth.

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Yeah I know. I tell people all the time. "Houston's great, but you need a car becuase it is so spread out and you need to know where to go"

Lowbrow Posted Today, 02:48 PM

If they worked more on mobility in the uptown area I'd like it about 50x better. They should put an underground tram between the galleria and this beast. Hell, I'd use it just to cross westheimer.

I agree. Don't see too much activity becuase it is spread out, easy transportation(such as a tram) will allow people to make those across uptown moves easier. Maybe get rid of all those parking lots. Put an underground lot or centralized garage(free up that space for retail and or pedestrian traffic), put away the cars so people can walk

InnerLoopOnly Posted Today, 02:47 PM

I think Houston can be a city that supports several districts of density in its borders. I don't think we should look at Uptown gaining at Downtown's expense. If it does not make economic sense to put a development in downtown, then it should not go there. I want vibrant developments, not rotting shells of concrete and glass that will sit vacant. That being said, I think downtown's best days are ahead of it. It may not get the high rise residential we want now, but with better transit options comming to downtown, such as the rail, and better retail options it will come.

Agree with this aswell. I tend to lean more towards Downtown becuase it needs the most help(with retail and residential) and it's cetralized

The plaza is the centerpiece of the courthouse complex.  The function of the plaza is to hold an underground jury assembly area, with tunnel access to each of the four (5?) courthouses.  It will replace the crowded and inefficient assembly area currently in use.  Of course, it will be landscaped with the fountain.

Given its importance to the overall complex, as well as the fact that it is the least expensive item, I can't believe it would not be built.  The county says the jury assembly area is expected to open 1st quarter 2006, so the next few months should see some activity.

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Cool Good idea for the plaza, underground jury assembly and a cool pedestrian area. Now if going through the plaza would be the only way to get to the underground jury assembly area there would be loads of pedestrian traffic there everyday

Yeah it's going to be a couple of years at the least, there going to have to almost completely rebuild the team.

What's worse is that the Stros farm system has always been so strong through the last 10 years. Unfortunately it's now seen it's better days.

I know Biggio and I can tell you that theres not a better class of players in the majors.

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DONT lose faith just yet.....We're coming back!! We just passed up the Brewers, now only 2 games behind Chicago. Currently #3 in our division. Their is still I believe 81 games left in the regular season. Hope I have'nt spoken too soon

Well semipro said september and HOUCAJUN called them and they said October, so lets just say fall.

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Ohh yeah

We should make this forum really intresting and start placing bets. I would of lost a ton on the "Sham". We shall wait and see on this bad boy.

I have have 0015 my time........HAPPY 4th OF JULY EVERYONE!!!

Nothing... we're just passing the time until they announce groundbreaking.

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Which is when again? Still waiting on BPII and Sakawitz renovation(new store), and Houston Center to progress( how's that coming along). It seems like forever, then again everyday here is a Monday .

Everyday gets me closer to my leave date Whoooo! Whooooo! Just a month and a half to go .......anyways.....when is groundbreaking?

Yeah I meant the one on the right. On TV there weren't any cranes so I figured the outside was done or close to it.

That sucks about the plaza was looking foward to it, sure hope your sorce was wrong.

Anyone know the status of this place? When I was back in town I use to pass by this place all the time. While watching the Astros on TV I would see it in the background. It looks complete.

Have they started on that plaza up front?

What's the status on that juvenile court or is it jail? I believe It was an existing building they were renovating.

I've looked through pass threads, couldnt find anything(didn't look hard though).

I'm sure y'all would know.

Did the Walgreen's on Main have a liquor section?

I used to shop at the last remaining Walgreen's with a liquor section in the country, on 55th St. and Lake Park, Chicago, IL.  That place was Ghetto with a capital 'G'.  You would see the bums hanging around outside at 10 AM, with bottles in brown paper bags.  They would drink in the daytime before heading to work at night, panhandling college students.  There was also a grocery store next door with a basement liquor section, and enough customers in that neighborhood to bring good business to both.

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Nope didn't have a liquor section. It was kinda small about 40ft(three ilses) by the legnth of a DT block. Good thing they didnt I would imagine that there would be way mor bums around there.

Ahhh... Weiners.....they reallly sucked. I use to entertain myself by getting lost in the clothes racks. I remember the one we went to had bullet holes in the front windows...guess some one disliked them more than I did.

I remember the Palais Royal on Main St. and the GAP on Main, and the Walgreens and Woolworths(still around in the U.K.) aswell.....the memories

Has anyone seen today's paper yet. MLS might be moving into the Astrodome. Check it out here

Sounds like a good deal for the Dome, the city, and MLS

It is still in the design stages. Everything should be ready by this fall in September. Stay tune.

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Cool Hopefully I'll be home for it. Who knows though Looking foward to it. Anything solid though? Ground breaking date?

I'm totally out of the loop out here. The way y'all are talking about the Houston Pavilions it looks like a GO. Is there any development yet? Have they broken ground? Put up fences? Gotten rid of those damn surface lots? Signs? I'm just anxious about all this as most of y'all are. I just want all this to happen already not just this project but BPII, Sakawitz, the Sham, etc.....

All I can do is wait for y'all to post stuff or read it in the Chronicle... Oh well

I have to say I am disappointed.  I would think further entertainment options would be a natural fit for the second phase.  The Aquarium restaurant is right there. I do think something is better than nothing and it is an eyesore currently.

Putting in office space seems like the easiest thing to do.

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I agree on having more entertainment based stuff there and it's better than nothing. Maybe after it gets cleaned up and foot traffic picks up and downtown livens up(in a few years) Something more entertainment oriented can sneak it's way in.

Bayou Place: Phase II - Developer Daivd Cordish has decided to put 50,000 square feet of Class A office space atop a paking garage of the same size in the remaining vacant portion of the old Albert Thomas Convention Center, which has undergone transformation into Bayou Place. In addition, Cordish will provide tenants with another 200 spaces in the nearby underground garage. Located in the heart of the Theater District, Bayou Place II also has access to the underground tunnel system that holds a myriad of restaurants and retail shops beneath downtown Houston. Cordish mention, " I'd be very surprised if Phase II doesn't lead to something else. I'm very high on Houston."

Renovation work at Bayou Place II will begin within 45 days, and complete in 2006.

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Sounds great.....about damn time . A bit skeptical All we can do now is wait......44 more days to go. Where did you get this info from? Do you know when in 2006 it's suppose to be complete??