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bobruss

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  1. bobruss
    Here are images from yesterday5/4/14
  2. bobruss
    Captured this Sunday. Sorry about quality but this machine almost looks like some kind of snorting screeching biting predator.trim.63BF63F2-05DF-425B-864E-1E25FAD602EA.MOV
  3. bobruss
    For anyone who has not been on this site, you should go down and see the view of downtown, the property itself and the proximity to the bayou. I just think there is a much better land use than jail and courthouses. This site would provide room for residences in an attractive section of the bayou, especially if we could get Franklin rerouted to Preston or Washington. Larger infrastructure projects are tackled all the time. The county owns most of the land along Commerce and Franklin east of the courthouses, and could trade a property with the city so a new county/city mixed use facility could be built. It would be convenient to all of the courthouses and allow the Post Office site to become a positive space instead of another jail. Besides the Post Office site is not really that close to the courts anyway. This site intersects with Bagby. The courts are on Franklin and San Jacinto and farther East. Sometimes its more important to think about aesthetics and the future of the area and I just feel that it would be better served by a well planned mixed use development. We only get this chance once. lets not screw it up.
  4. bobruss
    That was probably one of the worst ideas. Thank goodness city council agreed. We already have someone putting out tacky concrete public sculptures and we don't need any more.
  5. bobruss
    Your right, but a few years back that wouldn't have stopped them from razing it on a Sunday, when no one would be around like another old historic building in that same area a few years back. I think the brick from it was used in one of Pappas's first restaurants. This is such a pivotal project along with the other market square hi rise that's proposed. I know the restaurant owners and retail have to be excited about all of this new residential to give them a boost. The theater district and the Sundance theater are also going to benefit from all of these new downtown residents. Definitely an exciting time!
  6. bobruss
    I like that they aren't getting rid of the old Cabos bldg. I ran the bar at night when it first opened a few years back. What a crazy place, and I've always loved that part of town. Once a few more high rise buildings get built down there, the Cabos building will be similar in setting to the original P.J. Clarkes in Manhattan , which is a great institution and one of my favorite places for a cold beer and burger during happy hour. This place rocks! Good oysters too.
  7. bobruss
    This is going to be exciting to watch this area develop over the next five years.
  8. bobruss
    In case anyone took my comments as negative. No I wasn't suggesting that the refugees from New Orleans were criminals. Just that we had sheltered thousands of people there before.
  9. bobruss
    Okay, I just had a solution that would solve two county problems Domed penal colony. "Astrojail" We already used it to house thousands after katrina. The county could consolidate all of their jails to the dome.
  10. bobruss
    Now now, its not quite that bad. I agree tear out Franklin and extend Washington along the backside, and reshape the hill. Hell they can tunnel under half of Boston, cover a freeway in Dallas build a flood wall in Amsterdam for the overall good of the community. This is not a big deal. If you have ever been to the post office you know what an outstanding view of downtown this is and I just think its a shame to give that view to a detention center. It would be very easy from that point to connect the North bank a the Post Office site to the existing buffalo bayou park and hike and bike trails.Take the vacant lots on the south east side of Franklin east of the courthouse and create a supercell for both county and city inmates. There is already a mini prison across the street from Minute maid in a little two story white brick building and a federal jail a few streets south. Just consolidate and put some of it underground. Build a park on top of the rest.
  11. bobruss
    There's a very good editorial in the Houston Chronicle today lambasting the city for trying to buy the Post Office property instead of allowing developers to do what the city has been shelling out cash for. Building up the downtown residential community. I'm glad they took a stand and I have found that the more people who respond to city hall and the mayors office about this site, it could sway their decision. Send your councilmen and mayor an email with your thoughts. It helps.
  12. bobruss
    That was a very nice image infinite Jim. A different view of Uptown with quite a few cranes in the shot. Can you pass on what your vantage point was? Thanks
  13. bobruss
    This is a small project going on at M. D. Anderson in Med center and thought I'd get a few shots from my Ipad.
  14. bobruss
    They're taking down the fence around this project and thought I'd take a few images since the outside is pretty much finished.
  15. bobruss
    McGowen offers many possibilities in the near future. For one thing it is a prominent East west street with huge opportunities for development and restoration of some interesting building stock and large tracts of vacant land. Its proximity to downtown and the fact that the street already has become a dominant location for many of Midtowns most popular restaurants and bars make it an ideal next strong area for expansion into the third ward. On another note our daughter and son in law just purchased a bungalow between Richmond and Alabama just east of Dowling and have totally refurbished it. They love it and the neighborhood has seen two other homes remodeled and sold for very fair prices in the last month. I truly believe that this is going to be a very hot spot for future change. I didn't think the Washington /Yale area could turn so quickly with all of the heavy industry and challenging conditions but that has been completely reversed in less than 5 years. The third ward is a piece of land that has gone back and forth for a long time and its time is now.
  16. bobruss
    From a very good source this projects site work will begin on Monday. Just received street closure permits.
  17. bobruss
    Depending upon the tide I have seen pretty good size motor boats come up and dock at Allen's landing. They just have to be careful for low tide. I had some customers at Cabos, that would come up from the bay and I also think a few years back during one of the boat shows they brought up a couple of boats for publicity. I know that they use skimmer boats to fight the litter on the surface. I wouldn't suggest trying to go any further than Allen's Landing though.
  18. bobruss
    In another thread I suggested that perhaps the jails could be moved to another part of town. They could still be in downtown so it would be convenient to the courts, and the attorneys and law firms would still be close. Why not put them under ground. Build a large facility on the counties property but out of sight. Then we wouldn't have the visible stigma of the jails and the buffalo bayou plan could be carried out and have much more land on both sides of the bayou to work with. Even if we could just get back the north side of the bayou that would be fine. The south side has fully developed with the courts and penal buildings but there is still room on the north side if these facilities were relocated. I understand why it was done there in the first place but it seems like there could be a way to make this property available for a much more rewarding use than housing criminals. We don't need a Rykers Island .
  19. bobruss
    They are beautiful!
  20. bobruss
    I think its a shame that some of Houston's most historic and unique landscapes are devoted to the housing of criminals and courthouses. The beauty of the area is totally lost to Houstonian's, so that our justice and penal system can operate. Surely there is a more suitable location for all of this to be carried on somewhere else. I mean what were they thinking when they decided to locate everything on the bayou. And not just on one side but both sides are now heavily influenced by the courts and housing of criminals. Most of them are owned by the county and I think they could find somewhere farther west to create a new court and jails center. Since everyone likes to proclaim that the new center of Houston is somewhere west of the galleria lets move it out there. That way it would be more convenient for all of the citizens of west Harris county. Then we could repurpose all of that property along both sides of Buffalo and White Oak bayous downtown for residential, retail and recreational uses closer to the city center. It would also make it feasible to continue Buffalo bayou park east thru downtown to the larger tracts of land along the Bayou that could eventually become the foundation for future growth on the East side of downtown.
  21. bobruss
    Speaking of Apache, has anyone heard any rumors about this project. I've read in the business section where they have sold off several large tracts of leases recently and altered their direction in plans for the future energy wise but I haven't heard one word about what I think would be a very nice addition to this stretch of Post Oak. Can anyone shed any light on this project.
  22. bobruss
    I don't care how tall they are. I just hate the thought of having residential areas downtown with nowhere for people to walk to, without retail on the first floor. I just think about places like Manhattan where every block are shops and restaurants bookstores cleaners. I know everyone gets tired of hearing about ground floor retail, but if it is not planned in the design in the first place they wont be able to put it in later and then everyone will still go to the garage and drive somewhere for conveniences that should be located within walking distance. Thats how you build up a sense of community. If we really want downtown to work were going top have to get people who live and work on the sidewalks. Now I'll get off my soapbox. One last question who owns the parking lot right across from bank of the Southwest (the Block)? Why isn't someone planning a tower there. Its the logical spot for a super tall and it would be the icing on the cake.
  23. bobruss
    I saw a crew out taking soil samples at lunch time today! It exciting to see so much activity East of Main. Once all this construction is done the east side is going to have an incredible view. Unlike the West side which is beautiful. but doesn't appear to have much depth or infill. Kind of like the sets in western movies if you understand my point. On the East side you can see all of the medium size building with the wall of talls in the background. This will be a beautiful view of Houston. Here's a shot I found of the East side of downtown circa 1959, when they were first building the Eastex freeway. You can see all of the small warehouses and two and three story buildings that used to fill all of those blocks before Texas Eastern came along and bought up the big chunk of east downtown that is now Houston Center. Click on image for detailed image.
  24. bobruss
    I just drove by the site during lunch and by the looks of it today I'd say by early next week they'll have this thing down.
  25. bobruss
    We used to own a home on Ashby between Sunset and Rice and was there when they built the first 3 story townhomes east of Ashby on Bolsover then the complex on the south side of Sunset. Then they added the midrise medical clinic a little farther east. Actually the Ashby high rise and everything on the east side of Ashby is not in Southampton. I was made fully aware of that when we sold our home on the east side of Ashby. We were told then not to expect Southampton prices because we were'nt in the true bounds of Southampton. Its a beautiful neighborhood and very protective. That's why I was surprised when the Southampton was announced and there was no clamor since it's just on the western edge of Southampton. Twelve stories, same kind of noise factors, and traffic, and not one angry monster building billboard. I guess it depends on whose house its looming over.
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