Houstonian in Iraq

I am interested to know how many posting here about what downtown needs to entice new residential actually live downtown. And if you don

Thanks Montrose. I always look forward to your pics.

This really is a great forum with great members!

Before HAIF I was Homesick

After HAIF the homesickness has magically gone away

Thanks guys

i'm not too impressed with the design, though. looks like 7-story strip center...

A rendering thought you guys might like to see...

Doesn't look like a 7 story strip center anymore huh. Thanks Tex

I think more retail would work if there were more of a selection...people wouldn't have to hurry home to find a gift, they could do it at lunch or in the evenings to avoid rush hour. Just my opinion though, I've no facts...

I agree, I find myself going clear across town to shop sometimes. If downtown had more of what I was looking for at the time I would go there even if I don't work or live in DT(that's just me....and some people I know)

Some people had brought up that DT was dead even during the day in the middle of the week. When I went walking around while I was there I couldn't believe how many people were walking around and at the train stations. If I had my camera I would of taken a picture to post. It was more than one day too.

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

Right. I check my credit report every month for five bucks. Now I might just get it for free. My info has been floating around for years and I just take it upon myself to check up on it to make sure it isn't being abused. I am a bit concerned but not much more than before all this happend.

Yeah I got my letter a couple of weeks after the story first broke out. What it comes down to is that almost everyone's info is out there and that who ever posseses is capable of doing all sorts of things with it. I believe that the most that the govnt will do is pay for everyone to get free credit checks for the rest of our lives.

Elected officials everywhere are ticked off too, becuase it includes them. At first it was believed that it was just a small portion of vets, then their families aswell, then now current troops and families so yeah this is pretty huge. The info isn't just SSNs but addresses, phone numbers, and other info too.

There is still a search for the missing laptop(reward offered). That the thief might not know what he has. All this because a VA employee took home his work laptop. There wasn't any rules saying he couldn't at the time( that's changed and heads are rolling)

That's all the info I know from when I was back home. Haven't really followed it lately.

I don't keep up with the latest pop culture but someone please tell me we are not becoming known as the rap capital of the world.

Months ago I saw something on either VH1 or MTV here about Houston being the next hip hop /rap ceneter. So the word is out and spreading. No need to worry, I'm sure as Houston name spreads people will see Houston for everything it offers and not just one demographic

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

Cool looks like the bayou park passed it's first test. I'm sure a lot of people were hesitant about pumping that much money into a park that could just be washed away.

...The park, designed to withstand periodic flooding, appears to have passed the test convincingly.

"Nine days later, the new park's broad, winding trails and lovingly tended vegetation were under water, submerged in a rapidly rising bayou swelled by Monday's torrential rainfall.

It was an important test of the long-planned, $15 million park.

.......We didn't lose a single plant," said Scott Barnes, the conservation director for the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, the nonprofit group overseeing the bayou improvements....

article here

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

Sounds serious guys. Everyone stay safe.

I'm confident that most if not all fellow Houstonians are seasoned vets when it comes to storms and high waters and will see this through as always

Man I was looking at pics and forecast........looks like Houston is in for a real pounding. Wish I was there, it's been a while since I been through some serious flooding. Growing up in Htown, it was always exciting, my parent's house never got flooded(the street next over always did though).Hope no one takes on any real damage. Everyone stay safe, don't do anything dumb like go swimming into a colony of fire ants.

I will never darken the door of a blockbuster ever again....I had switched to Cactus several years back after block buster consistantly had such a terrible selection...and repeatedly charged for late or missing movies which were neither late OR missing...

after cactus closed we gave in and subscribed to netflix...it's been good so far and their selection has more in it than i could ever imagine. (but i have to say that after our trial time was up, movies in our queue all of a sudden stated "long wait" and that sort of thing...i think there is a conspiracy in there somewhere)

If i want a movie for a particular night and my next netflix is in the mail, the little dvd vending machines at grocery stores and various places are pretty cool too....

but never will i go in a blockbuster

When I was in Barcelona we needed some late night viewing(the TV channels were crap) I signed up with a 24hr rental place( it was like a bank vestibule but with 3 machines{ATMish} that allowed you to choose from a huge selection from the back room. Just add money to your card, select movie, machine spits it out and go). The guy there during the day said that Blockbuster went bust in Spain due to video piracy, but they were able to survive due to there low rates, huge selection, and 24 hr access. Later we found several of these places here in Manchester.

I

I won't bore you with all the numerous exciting projects and transactions

Bore us...that's what we're here for . But I can see why you don't want to let the cat out, if it doesn't start by next month the nay sayers will surface and you will be left to defend "wishful thinking, ideas that will never happen......"

Regulars know that largeTexas is pretty reliable, it will take years of nothingness to bring down my optimism in this city. Just a matter of time

yes, someone please post a picture or few...

i am upset that i missed it!

(would have at least liked to have seen it from afar)

Yes please. Missed it by a couple of days. No one I know took pictures

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.

You are a horrible human for not reminding of traditional British breakfast. Perhaps i should be as mad at myself for not remembering.........beans, yuck!!!! Too bad the Turkish donor kebab shop isnt open at this hour :(

LOL

Traditional British food sucks.(Brits will tell you that) good thing they have adopted food from countries they occupied.

I recommend eating at Nandos(I usually go with Lemon Herb). If you

In person it is even more apparent that the freeway supports should be painted.

Maybe if enough people write in to the buffalo bayou partnership at info@buffalobayou.org they might do something

Don't forget about the

Thanks, looks like a serious project on their hands.

Hope they pull it off.

He definitely says "light duty" not "like doodie".

"Back to work...but doctor he's dead! Like Doodie"

I'm never going to watch this commercial the same without thinking of you

I was reading through the Chronicle online and saw something on my old High School. Well, it was more about my old principal. I just thought that it was cool that the High School for Engineering Professions (HSEP) was mentioned.

The engineering program