lockmat

Those are some pretty big boxy looking houses.

some info from bisnow.com

Under the interlocal agreement, funds from both the city and county will be dedicated to “ensure $1M annually for support of ‘homeless’ initiatives (for every $2 raised by the COH, $1 will be provided by Harris County),” and two new TIRZes were created. Tina tells us the mayor created the zones (one in northeast downtown stretching from Austin to 59 and a large one encompassing the Reliant park area, including the Astrodome and the old Six Flags land) at the request of Harris County but has stated the city won’t participate financially in them now. The land will be turned over to the Dynamo on October 1 for construction.

http://www.bisnow.com/houston_commercial_real_estate_news_story.php?p=7976

1. I would assume that there would be discussions at the board meetings of the TIRZ and Management District to determine the level of interest and to prioritize this project with other potential projects that they could otherwise take on. That may have already happened; I don't know.

2. Low Impact Development. They're trying to decrease the footprint of imperviable ground cover in order to make stormwater runoff less of an issue. Unless they actually can come in at a lower cost than traditional methods, it probably doesn't make sense to bother with it in the Buffalo Bayou watershed east of downtown, though. Downstream flooding is already minimal.

3. Shenzhen is a large city in China, one of our "sister cities". We've supposedly established a garden dedicated to Shenzhen along the proposed route of the promenade, located here because there used to be a "Chinatown" here (even though it was mostly Vietnamese).

4. HAIF would have to sponsor an obligatory happy hour to Lucky's Pub in "the NEEWD".

Thanks, Niche.

I think the TIRZ have their own websites. When I have a chance, I'm gonna see if they keep minutes of their meetings and see if it has been mentioned. This is something simple that could cause a spark that I'd be willing to pay tax dollars on.

Has anyone suggested renaming near east end to: NEEWD, I know it is kind of suggestive, but it retains the history of the warehouse district name, and near east end, but makes it a short 1 syllable word!

how would u pronounce that?

almost half of America no longer pays anything at all in Taxes.

consumption tax

1. So now that they have a stylish .pdf on their website, what is the next step of an area/district when they come out with something like this?

2. What is L.I.D.?

3. Here is what Shenzhen is I guess http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenzhen

A fair bit of thought and effort was expended on this wet dream...and it seems a whole lot more achievable than some of the stuff that the Midtown and Downtown Management Districts have come up with over the years.

Does anybody have the inside scoop? Is there any momentum for this?

A dream it is, but I love the idea. What are the chances they can get developers and architects and the city (to shut down another street) to buy in to this promenade idea?

I like how it leads right into the stadium.

Pretty cool, found anything of major interest yet?

Do other cities have similar digital records?

Knock out a wall or two and make it a park like the Bethel Church project.

what is the Bethel Church project and how do they park?

Do you have a link? What does it say is our problem?

This from today's Guardian:

Does anyone know what might take its place? (Hopefully, nothing beige or any other shade of brown.)

Found this in the original posted chron article:

William Daigneau, M.D. Anderson's vice president for operations and facilities, said the building will be replaced by a pair of clinic buildings.

I'm not sure how big those normally are.

Makes sense now, thanks for the explanation.

Yeah, that was pretty dumb...even for these guys. Lenders on projects this large do talk to one another. And waging a PR war against one is a pretty effective way to get blacklisted.

I would guess money is more important than friendship to these banks, no? If it's a good deal, I would think another bank will sweep them up once the economy is up and going again.

Does anyone know what might take its place? (Hopefully, nothing beige or any other shade of brown.)

I was hoping/expecting something of at least the same size, wouldn't y'all think the same?

HCAD ownership history says it is owned by Univ. of Texas System Cancer Center, which doesn't give me much of a lead to find any kind of a rendering I don't think. And if demolition is coming up soon, I would think they might have some renderings somewhere already.

My guess is something with a mix of glass and brown stone.

hcad: http://www.hcad.org/records/details.asp?crypt=%94%9A%B0%94%BFg%84%91%83zqj%8El%87tXwXW%9E%99%A2%D3%89%95%C2e%7CU%8A%7C%86%C0%AB%A8%AD%86%5E&bld=1&tab=2

The article in post #1 says he wants to build a public garage. That just means he's going to allow the public to use it, but for a fee, right...as opposed to a private garage just for his businesses? There's no way he would build it and just let anyone park in it for free, would he? He sounds like he's for the greater good, not just there to make a buck.

this totally sounds like one of the dumbest ideas ive ever heard of in my life haha

I absolutely love this idea. I doubt it, but I really wish someone would pursue this project.

This is what the wiki said about Mount TrashMore:

Since its opening in the 1970s, it ranks as the most popular park in Virginia Beach, with attendance of over one million visitors a year.^[

More info on La Plaza de Midtown, today.

Parra Design Group hopes to break ground on La Plaza de Midtown, a mixed-use project on the corner of McGowen and Austin, this year.

...waiting for the retail sector to pick up before building.

Camilo tells us Houston's transit corridor ordinance has a problem: It lacks a comprehensive parking plan. A city committee is working on one, and he thinks the city might need to erect a garage along the rail line.

Camilo says he originally planned to use the land for residential purposes, but as Midtown developed, he realized it had more commercial potential, especially because it’s close to the light rail. Parra hasn’t gotten financing yet

source: http://www.bisnow.com/houston_commercial_real_estate_news_story.php?p=7902 (rendering also posted there)

official website: http://www.200west72.../The_Corner.php

more photos (none of the other side of the building): http://ny.curbed.com...eview_today.php#

the roof top terrace is very nice.

The thing I like about it is that it's forward thinking but restrained and classy. It's not like some crazy post modern design. It's not super tall but tall is not necessarily more beautiful.

The thing I like about the positioning of the open exterior is that it faces the corner of the intersection and all viewable sides, and it seems like "open arms" to those passing by and has a welcome feel to it. I think it would still be nice if it were just a box with the same unbroken vertical design, but the breakup really adds a nice soft punch to it.

I really like where you would like to put it...I too think it would fit nicely there.

Also...I've never seen it in person, I just saw it in the newsletter I posted. Thanks for the real photo.

And one last thing. I don't necessarily think it's the most wonderful design ever. I just stumbled upon it. I wasn't sifting through different buildings trying to find my favorite. I just like it.

photo by Ben Hill

Preservationists tried for years to save it. But retrofitting the old building is prohibitively expensive and more land is needed so more cancer patients can be treated in efficient new buildings. And now it’s time for the Prudential Building to go. The building is being fenced in, dismantled and will vanish forever in 2011.

http://culturemap.com/newsdetail/04-05-10-big-heads-and-busted-buildings-prudential-goes-astrodome/

This condo building recently openend, and I just really like the design. It's sleek and not over the top "modern." Who what of thought just a change of direction in lines and a bit of indention could make it look so nice?

Something like this would be perfect anywhere in Houston.

Some stats on it:

20 stories

Designed by Handel Architects

196 rooms, from studios to 3-bedroom

an Andres Escobar-designed lobby with a 1,754-crystal chandelier; a 200-SF “decompression room,” and a 10k-SF landscaped roof with a misting wall, BBQ area, outdoor movie screen, and fireplace seating for up to 20. And tenants won’t go hungry—the 48k-SF retail space occupying the sub-cellar to second floor will be home to a new Trader Joe’s, Bank of America, and others. The building has already won numerous awards, including “Best Apartment” from CNBC’s ’09 International Property Awards.

http://www.bisnow.com/new_york_commercial_real_estate_news_story.php?p=7814

It looks unfinished, right? The top of it

there is a new sign on the corner "announcing" the development, so maybe this thing will actually get going. fingers crossed.

They are taking bids online for construction work.

Where did you take this one?

I took these today:

They're trying to get it to come here, and apparently it's a huge event. Maybe some of you are familiar with it? Anyone ever been?

A delegation from the City of Houston, along with its tourism arm, the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GHCVB), is in Qatar seeking support for Houston’s bid to host the 21st annual World Petroleum Congress in 2014. Houston, the fourth largest city in the US, is in competition with Moscow and Bogota to host the prestigious event, the 2011 edition of which is scheduled to be hosted by Doha. “If we can get the 2014 World Petroleum Congress to come to Houston, we feel that the centre of the petroleum industry will have met in its two most important capitals one right after the other,” GHCVB’s senior vice president of tourism Jorge Franz said.

“The World Petroleum Congress 2014, which is expected to bring 9,000 people from across the world, would have an economic impact of over $25mn for Houston,” explained Franz who described both Doha and Houston as energy capitals.

“Business from Qatar is very important and highly valued by the City of Houston,” stated Abashawl, who expects a doubling of daily flights between Doha and Houston, given the increased growth in passengers, on account of stronger business and social ties between the two cities

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=352513&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16