The Great Hizzy!

its actually one block south of the block that walgreens is going in on. thats the walgreens in the corner of the image.

and yeah, large texas is scooping me!

This explains the "new retail" sign I saw on this lot some weeks ago. Good work, LargeTexas. You're coming in from all angles now.

Those developments stick out like a sore thumb when looking at the beuaty and architecture of Uptown Park, Montebello, Villa D'este, and 1200 Post Oak, etc).

Now see this is interesting because a lot of people on this site think that Uptown Park's design is cheesy and uninspired. Some would also say that the Montebello and other new residential highrises are kind of blah as well. Some would also tell you that some of the older developments have more character.

Funny how tastes differ so completely from person to person.

I'm a big anti-litter guy, Danax, so your efforts are really appreciated. The level of litter in Houston is unacceptable, and I think the level is as high because we don't do a good job of collecting it and then discouraging such actions in the future. People are lazy to begin with so you can't expect the overall population to not litter without there being a certain amount of outside motivation.

Those pics are great, too. Keep us posted.

Amegy took over a lot of the branch and office locations held by Southwest Bank of Texas. You'll note that they took over the building on Main Street caticorner from the METRO Building.

What are mere statistics when you can merely whine and complain about a suppose failure? It's more fun to scream, "Woe is me" and then see how much attention you get.

$8.65?!?!

Thanks for the info and the link, HR. It's an intriguing location, that's for sure. Personally, I think that section of downtown could use a convenience store. They'd probably do pretty well on Thu - Sat nights. It would also help promote the idea of more residential projects in the area.

The strip center on 6th seems doomed to fail due to poor design. Nice looking building but not enough parking.

That would explain why it has struggled to garner tenants since its opening. I agree that it's a decent looking building.

Do people on here realize that it is imperative to place retailers that are not found all over the metro, so people can have a reason to go to downtown?

I think this is critical. There has to be an added incentive to go to the Pavillions DT, particularly on weekends. Not only are we talking about eateries but we're talking about consumable goods, too. Having unique stores that offer at least decent merchandising is important. It's why the Galleria and Uptown are distinguishable from, say, Meyerland or Memorial City.

Even Gulfgate has a bit of a niche in their area of town. Where's their nearest realistic competitor?

Meanwhile, you have an opportunity to appeal to the new jack urbanists in Midtown, near North, West End and the East End as well as to the young, hip hop crew found on nearby campuses such as UH and TSU (Rice has its own niche in The Village, but you get my point).

Also, I enjoy reading the unfounded pessimism that rears its ugly head on this site. No perspective at all, which on the one hand is ridiculous, but on the other hand shows passion at least. It's better than the person who is indifferent and has nothing to offfer.

There's a Whataburger in the tunnels now?

Pretty good site. Does a solid job of trying to sell the area.

Thanks for the info, ENGcons.

At least now we know who starts this acronym crap.  Maybe they should start a new program to rename John Tuschman.  It will be DouBa, short for DoucheBag.

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LMAO

What an awesome article in that it continues to put the spotlight on the city's effort to make downtown a focal point in Houston's social and cultural evolution. To pay homage to what our brow-beaten friend, Velvet J, has been pushing, I'd like to see the Chronicle adopt a "Downtown Report" that comes out every Friday or Sunday, to keep downtown in the spotlight and to help advertise what's already on tap and what's coming soon.

If any of you folks from the Chronicle are reading this thread, I hope you take such an idea into consideration.

I believe someone included pictures of the Denver Pavilions a while back in this thread. The design seems to be very similar to what's proposed for the Houston Pavilions, though it looks as if maybe the Houston Pavilions will have a slightly neater pedestrian corridor. Also, I think the residential component planned for the Houston Pavilions seems to be a tad larger but I could be wrong about that.

Uptown has become large enough to where singular projects don't necessarily have a large visual impact on the skyline. Take the Calpine Tower DT. It's a fairly large tower (nearly 500 feet) but unless you were well familiar with the shape of Houston's central skyline to the point of being able to distinguish individual buildings, the skyline's appearance hasn't changed much after its completion.

That's now becoming the case with Uptown. From a distance, the addition of a one or two new highrise condos/apartment towers won't have an immediate visual impact. Up close, however, you'll notice greater density at the street level, something that Post Oak Blvd could really use to help it stand out more to the pedestrian.

Red Scare,

Are you sure the $450 million doesn't include the construction of the shops and restaurants as well? If so, we may be looking at the hotel costing maybe half or less of that. Still, $200 - $250 a night is expensive but not quite as galling.

The Texans don't have a lot of good offensive line depth but I'm hoping that moving Riley to the starting LT spot will prove to be a better move for the offense long term. Wand just doesn't have the footwork to play the outside. He might make it as a guard, though.

Also, the secondary didn't look good Saturday night either, but it was mostly Demarcus Faggins, who was beat on two touchdown passes, one of which he should've intercepted. The first team defense didn't rush the passer very well either, but I think some of that is because the zone we tried to play wasn't very effective and give Collins a lot of quick spots to hit.

Offensively, I really like the way our first team has looked all pre-season, and I agree that Morency is good looking back. He may make Jonathan Wells expendable (either he or Hollings).

Sloan Thomas looked good at WR also. I hope he can make the team but I doubt it; a lot of depth at the 2-4 spots.

"Great," he said "but I'm moving to the Westin Galleria tonight. I walked around for an hour last night and couldn't find anywhere to eat that wasn't either empty, looked like it might take forever, or had thumping music eminating from it. Plus, there's no bookstore to waste some time in".

Speaking of bookstores, I still say the empty parcel at the corner of Travis & Commerce (across from the Spaghetti Warehouse) would be a great place for a Barnes & Noble.

Exactly. Indianapolis and San Antonio are consistent draws for the Final Four (as is/was the Superdome) for that very reason.

The Beck's Prime in the Tunnels is ALWAYS busy during lunch. They have to give the customers numbers after they order, and the wait can be as long as ten minutes after you've made your order.

I think Fuddrucker's would be an okay niche chain for DT, but the menu is limited so it's not quite the same. Cheesecake Factory would be an even better example, I suppose.

My only problems with Market Square are that the green spaces almost seem forgotten. There is nothing to really draw you to them. They're just grassy areas. Also, I'd like a bit more statuary/fountains-but that's not an essential design flaw as much as it is a personal preference.

Personally, I think they should push for a Midtown-type urban development located by Reliant Park on the same side as the Radison Hotel and Texans Practice facility.

Seems your best bet in the immediate future is the empty(ish) parcel(s) of land to the east of Fannin. You could add an urban-style village but you would also have to buy out some already occupied parcels, like the BK at the intersection with the South Loop.

Maybe some people don't find it ugly. Let's take a poll of Houstonians to see if it's ugly or not.

Personally, I think it's neither. Nothing exciting but not horrible either. I wonder if a citywide poll would break down like this: Ugly 21%, Attractive 21%, Neither 21%, "What's Jones Plaza?" 37%.

Yeah, I did. That's why I put "loop" in parenthesis. I forget what Midtown's projection population is supposed to be by 2025. I don't even know what it is today, but I'd guess probably in the area of about 10,000 - 12,000.