gmac

40 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Sorry, no.  It's either stealing or it's not.  In this case, no one is stealing anything and there is zero indication of such.

I consider eminent domain by a private company to be theft. You don't.

I wish TCR all the worst in their efforts and look forward to a miserable failure of this fairytale project. I promise not to come to y'all's giddy party if this thing actually gets built 🤣

4 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Stop posting lies.

Lies? It's an opinion, like 99% of the other drivel people post on subjects that are contentious.

15 hours ago, Texasota said:

and out of that we get what might be the most important infrastructure project in the country.

Thanks for having your personal assistant drop by, Drayton.

"Let's go steal us some land!"

BTW, you can save all the hoohah about fair market price, blah blah blah. This is yet another billionaire boondoggle taking things from others and laughing all the way.

1 hour ago, texan said:

https://communityimpact.com/houston/cy-fair/transportation/2021/06/15/texas-central-signs-16b-construction-contract-for-high-speed-rail-project/

$16 billion contract signed with Webuild (former Salini Impregilo) for the design and construction of Texas Central's high speed railway. No word on financing from what I've seen so this just seems to be an updated version of the $14 billion design-build contract signed a couple years ago.

Apologies to Wimpy... "I'll gladly pay you in 2100 for a railroad you build in 2021"

On 5/28/2021 at 9:32 AM, thedistrict84 said:

Based on the building only being three stories and situated only on one side of the lot (towards the Columbia Tap Rail Trail and METRO line), it looks as though they are foregoing a parking garage. That's beyond disappointing. 

The parking lot and front driveway layout in this rendering is less than ideal.

"This 3-story, 93 unit Teen Transitional Housing Community"

Yep, need a huge parking structure for those transitioning teens

7 hours ago, Andrew Ewert said:

Libertarian ideals always go out the door when it comes time to charge the tax man instead of paying him.

That said, I couldn't care less. It's a great use of tax dollars, and whatever costume we have to put on it to get it over the finish line is fine by me.

Glad to know you're also fully backing the I-45 construction!

4 hours ago, tangledwoods said:

this is such a salty post and project title.  What did HCC do to you???  this building looks to be the very definition of vanilla ice cream.  Not bad, not good....  I for one am happy to see HCC being restrained and responsible steward of our TAX DOLLARS. 

I am a huge fan and former employee of HCC. I think they are a super asset to the community. I also think this is an ugly building, no two ways around it. The UH-Victoria building in Katy is at least somewhat interesting --

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/neighborhood/katy/article/Start-in-Katy-finish-in-Katy-HCC-to-open-16185310.php#photo-21006032

Some walls are up, lots of dirt work done, can't see it getting any prettier based on the Chron story. Then again, I guess as long as it works, it's sufficient. Just wish they had shown a bit of imagination like the UH building several hundred meters away.

Testimony before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials last week:

Carlos Aguilar (TCR): https://transportation.house.gov/imo/media/doc/Aguilar Testimony.pdf

Yep, they want to glom as much cash from the taxpayers as possible. Change of tune from their original proposal.

The second shot -- hideous design.

4 hours ago, Ross said:

I did some searches for Turkey Bend, and a number of Corps of Engineers reports showed up from Google books. Otherwise, crickets. Must not have been a big deal when it happened.

Work was authorized by a House Public Works Committee resolution on Feb. 17,  1950

55 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

That does make sense. This section from Sawyer to Studewood would be fine if there was just better pedestrian focus. If that means widening sidewalks or providing better access for pedestrians, then it could still become very inviting. But when you have sidewalks that look like an afterthought along Studewood, with no real connectivity under the freeway or along the bridge, it just looks like a big shit show. And the fact the developers didn’t build sidewalks along the entrance to LHD is just mind boggling. 

I certainly don't disagree with you about the crappy design and construction of sidewalks all over Houston. It's abysmal and inexcusable. I have a friend who is basically blind, can't drive (though he would likely not be any worse than 90% of the boobs on the street now), and has a heck of a time walking places because of the erratic nature of the sidewalks.

Compete against other cities? We have more people moving here than dang near any other city in the country.

That site looks very walkable. You park in the middle, you can hit up a grocery store, a home improvement store, a Target, and then nab some booze on the way back to your vehicle.

4 hours ago, hindesky said:

Sunday's Houston Chronicle has a story about the TSU library.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Opinion-New-TSU-library-is-a-beacon-for-school-16161163.php

I didn't know this but....

The building was designed by Moody Nolan, the largest African American owned and managed architecture firm in the country.

It's a very cool looking structure. Glad to see it built.

34 minutes ago, Big E said:

Except this isn't running through living rooms, but fields. Nobody's losing their house over this. When it goes through populated areas, it will follow existing rail corridors, and when its traveling through the country, no one's house will be in the way.

But the point is, you're taking their property for a private entity. Whether it's land or a building doesn't matter. Now if TCR was willing to pony up $100 million an acre, I'm sure people who are currently opposed might listen.

3 hours ago, Luminare said:

For the dim and true believers, yes its an argument. We also have to remember most of the "holdout's" aren't holdouts for ideological reasons, or those of passion, but because they believe their land is worth way more than market value, or they believe they can get more. Its like breaking a safe or a wall, all it takes is time and leverage. Media cover it to get clicks, politicians jump on the bandwagon to up their cred with constituents, but once leverage has broken the wall, media finds a better story, and politicians find another person to squeeze at that point its just the dim and true believers to stand in the way, and eventually they will become irrelevant as the winds of change blow them away as well, and they too fold.

Still bullish on this project. If it was able to weather The Coff, and it has, then it should be just fine.

Evidence that its doing fine.

I think I'll get together with a few friends and run a railway right through your living room. You surely wouldn't object to that, would you? It would be progress, after all!

That is not the building that was located in the zoo. That is the Julia Ideson building, I believe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Ideson_Building

17 hours ago, HOUCAJUN said:

This is great news for the area but am I being unreasonable in wondering why they didn't introduce this to the Houston area first over..... well you know.

Yes, you are.

5 hours ago, Big E said:

Then I don't really see what your problem is then.

 

This isn't a land grab in any real sense. The only land being taken will be for a railway easement, which isn't much land in the grand scheme of things and it would only ever be used for a railway. If the rail isn't built, the land remains untouched. I don't see how this would be anymore of a boondoggle than anything else the government would spend the money on.

The problem? Seriously? The infrastructure bill should focus on addressing current issues.

18 minutes ago, samagon said:

what about amphibians that don't want to go all the way around the land bridge?

They can shop at the GFR and take their chances after...

9 hours ago, Triton said:

By your definition, hasn't almost every single line of infrastructure at some point been a "land grab"?

I assume you're asking me.

By private companies using eminent domain? Sure.

10 hours ago, Big E said:

voice your displeasure at this trillion plus dollar infrastructure bill and the tax hikes they are trying to push through.

Nope. I think the bill is much needed to repair our crumbling infrastructure nationwide.

I just don't want to spend money on a fairy-dust land grab. You can bet I have already been in touch, since this boondoggle first came into being.

I knew the rascals who are trying to build that rail line would get their snouts in the trough. Why spend your own money when you can snag it from Uncle Sugar!

32 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

Have you looked at the application? Maybe it's in there?

On the smaller floorplans, there is this note:

***Essential Employee Program - Maximum income limits on this floor plan. Call for details!