Houstonian in Iraq

Unfortunately your stats don't mean squat to retailers. It is a generally accepted rule of thumb that it takes a base of 10,000 residents in an urban/downtown setting to support general retail. The sad fact is that daytime population is meaningless because the people are there to work and not shop. They will eat and buy stamps and run small errands (tunnel businesses), but they do not make significant purchases such of soft goods (clothes) and certainly do not buy appliances and furniture.

Everyday retail will not exist nor thrive until Houston reaches that magical number of 10,000 residents. These retailers will not (and should not from a business standpoint) take the risk of opening a store in the urban core when they can plop down a cookie cutter store with the stock design, stock sq ft and stock clientele in suburbia and make a nice profit. They only open stores in urban areas such as Chicago and NYC because that is where the population is.

I don't like it, but these are the rules and Houston has to play by them.

Hence the reason everyone is rooting for more residential in DT. Residential in the form of the pavilions or that Fingers project, and Days Inn(renovation) ect. More residents equals to more retail, happier happy hour in downtown, things to do and a thriving city center. The potential is there and we are in the process of seeing this happen

This is a bit off topic. Don't recall an open thread so I'll post it here

I noticed the other day that there is a sign on a grassy lot along the rail that says something like future site of Fire Fighting Museum. Is this still what they plan to do with this land. The plot is somewhere near the Greyhound(not positive) on the right hand side if heading to Reliant.

did anyone take any photo's ??

There is a picture on the chron site, the photo sequence is pretty cool

http://www.chron.com/#_self

Oh, now the date change to September 15th. Then, its going to change to this winter, then back date it until next year.

This is another ring around the rosie project.

That everyone was your periodic pessimistic comment brought to you by none other houstonsemipro .

Anyways the latest was that it would be late summer. September 15 is still late summer. Mind you and all the other nay sayers, that these are dates that people heard about not anything solid from the company so they might change again. Based on the companies history and the amount of resources invested so far I still think it will be a GO no matter how many delays and set backs and will think this until officially scrapped.

How bout this if this goes through you and all the nay sayers can buy the rest of us drinks at the HOB at the Houston Pavilions. If it doesn't we will buy yall drinks at the HOB at the Houston Pavilions

no, they didn't. but it's normal for engineering firms to call about future projects with vague information about start dates and such. don't worry, if i talk to them again i'll pry for more info...

Good going Shiner....welcome to the forum

I have been away for a while during the Holiday season, but is the outdoor ice skating thing still done? It use to be on Main street around '97 where that new building now stands(I think) don't know if they relocated it or cancelled the whole thing.

Thanks, looks like a serious project on their hands.

Hope they pull it off.

^close to the HPD HQ^

sorry if those are a bit too close for what you asked for

Great pictures like always Montrose but I think the last one is from outside of Municipal Courts main building located at 1400 Lubbock. The HQ is at 1200 Travis Street. Sorry to nit pick

Thanks for the pics......keep posting

Jillian's is gone? Dang I thought that place was doing good?

I believe Jillians got bought out by Dave and Busters back in '04. I think all they are really doing is changing the name

That sounds like a logical reason. BTW, what is "AA"?

Sorry, AA is American Apparel

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...merican+Apparel

Why does it ***SEEM*** that projects in downtown Houston dont seem to prosper? Ive seen so many clubs and resturaunts shut down there. Is it that people in Houston dont want to go (or even live) downtown or what?

I think it is because of lack of residents living in downtown, hopefully this will change with the finger development and pavilion residents and more residents in uptown and the museum district.

It can also be because people in an around the city don't know anything about downtown hopefully this will change with the new park and Houston Pavilions. I have friends that never been to downtown or haven't been to downtown in a long time, some have a misguided notion that it is dirty and crime filled.....I'm usaully the one walking friends and family members around enlightening them. The reaction is usaully "wow I did not know that" or "it's changed since the 80's"

As for clubs and restruants. Clubs come and go thats the biz. Restruants do too if the food or service sucks. I would like to see downtown add more businesses other than clubs and restruants, clothing stores electronic, super market ect. to make it more appealing to visit and live. This is why we're cheering for AA and the pavilions and such to open.

My prediction is about a year max from the pavilions and park opening, downtown will be a much bigger attractiion to everyone

Sounds like we got taken on the renovated Juvenile Justice Center or maybe the bugs just need to be worked out

But weeks after the justice center opened, some juvenile judges are questioning whether the county and taxpayers got a good return on the $58 million spent to renovate the old Criminal Courts Building

Chronicle article

Way to go 'Stros.

Win 2 out of 3 against the Rangers. Let's keep it up

I guess I really never looked at the plan this close, but this whole development is huge. I thought it was just going to be from I-10 to Spring street at the furthest. Now I know it's as far as Crockett

Anyone else cringe watching the Stros play the Giants this week. They got killed. Lets hope this is not a sign of things to come. Hopefully Roger comes back and the Astros can get hot.

More like massacred. I'm still really optimistic. Unfortunatly I havn't been able to view any of the games, so I really can't say what their problem might of been.

By the way, the city has to do something about the power lines. What a visual blight. Is there any plan to redo the road here? If so, this would be a good time to address this problem.

Agreed, I mentioned in another thread that the power lines didn't loolk that bad compared to other areas in the city......this is one of those areas. There's a thread about utility lines

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...&hl=power+lines

A comedy club would be nice. It's kind of embarassing that when comedians want to play in Houston there's no place for them downtown.

Yeah I was thinking the exact same thing. It would also add to the variety of entertainment in DT

maybe its built on an ancient indian burial ground?

Sounds like a job for the gang

i noticed cranes over towards the hardy rail yards recently. i was on 59 heading north towards the loop. i don't know of any other development between where i was and downtown. am i correct in thinking that these cranes are at the hardy rail yards?

btw, i pointed them out to my dad, told him about the hardy rail yard project and he remembered having his railroad apprenticeship at that location when he was 16. he is 69 now.

I wouldn't be able to tell you if this is the Hardy rail yards or not. Some people see the UHD construction and think its the hardy yards though. I would think if it was the yards that there would of been more hoopla.

Has anyone heard anything lately on the yards?

So The Park Shops will be cut off from the Downtown Park directly, but will have a high-rise in front of it? Does that help or hurt The Park Shops?

I was expecting at first that The Park Shops would be a boundary to the Park (partially because of the nake "Park Shops"), because they're revitalizing the Shops.

Yeah there will be a building between the Park shops and the new park. This could help, I believe the new building is suppose to have ground retail. So it can can connect the park to the shops then the shops to the Pavilions(about a block or two apart)and have a nice shopping district.

This has been discussed in other threads for a while, I would just like this to finally take off. Yeah I know loads of planning is involved, I'm just a bit anxious. It sounds great

Completion date is '09 for this and '07 for Houston Pavilions, with ground breaking only a few months apart. I'm sure there are other factors involved but two years difference

Oh well as long as it gets built

that is the one business that seems to be doing okay...tropioca, a bubble tea place.

I agree that you would THINK that it would be highly successful....so, are we thinking ghose then?

I forgot my camera today...will have to snoop tomorrow...

Either a ghost or a curse

Has anyone taken a walk through the commerce tower recently? What was once at thriving tunnel stop is closing down faster than you can think of what to get for lunch! Starbucks - closed. Salad place, mexican place, Luthers - closed. Stallones - closed. Topz - doomed (no one is ever in there). Expensive candy shop - 2 months tops. And the condos they try to sell/lease. Totally empty. My office looks right into the, and only 1 or 2 are occupied.

What is it about this building do you think that is not allowing it to prosper? The location is central, the building is nice.

For the life of me I couldn't remember what building this was so I looked it up

Now I remember, this is a pretty swanky place according to their website. I really can't see why it doesn't appear to be doing as well as you say. Is that street level potential corner still vacant?

This ole tune of the park being overrun by the homeless is played out.....

Why?

Remember Bum Central.....otherwise known as Root Memorial Square? Since its rehab, the only people that inhabit the park are those who play pick-up games there on its court, like myself on occasion.

I havent seen a bum straggling this park not once. And that park takes up only a city block and doesnt have near as many amenities as this park has.

So if they cant even take over their former stomping grounds, what tells you its gonna happen with this new park? Nothing...nuff said.

I agree Root memorial park was a huge bum jamboree. I remember driving by and saw what looked like a festival then I noticed everyone there was a bum.

Root park did bring down the bum population there I'm sure this park won't be a bum haven either. Bums are a fact of life we will see some ......wait a minute....yeah that's it ....... I just got over it