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The Great Hizzy!

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  1. The Great Hizzy!
    Nothing major has happened to really turn people off from traveling other than ever increasing gas prices but considering the number of conventions that were book for 2005 and 2006, the growth in occupancy rates was expected. The biggest question is how much of a jump will actually be seen in 2006. Next year's All-Star Weekend (NBA) might help as well as the Big 12 Championship game later this year. I'd be most interested to see which hotels are doing the best.
  2. The Great Hizzy!
    I like the scallops at Pappadeaux and enjoy their beaudoin but I think their fish is only slightly above average. Babin's, Goode Co. and Pappas Bros (funny, since the Pappas Bros. chain is run by the same group as Pappadeaux) serve better seafood across the board.
  3. The Great Hizzy!
    Matress Mac does a lot for the city--maybe not what some people WANT him to do, but he does some significant things. I have a hard time being upset with Tillman Fertittita; he has invested a lot into DT and he has helped make DT more of a destination than it was 10 years ago. Granted, some of his ideas are a little cornballish (the observation tower, for example) but his interest and efforts are greatly appreciated. Plus, in the world of the arts, one person's trash is another person's masterpiece. Just look at the joker who designed the proposed "Spirit of Houston" statue. I personally think it's a funny practical joke when I'm sure he was dead serious about its cultural and artistic merit. But back to the point: I do think there is a bit TOO much skittishness concerning development in certain parts of the city (DT, Midtown, etc) but I think we're also all impatient. Projects go dead all the time. ALLL the time. Subdude had a very interesting thread(s) on unbuilt projects during the last 100 years, including during the boom 60s and 70s. If this recent "stagnation" downtown lasts another five years, then I'd concerned, but even with the lack of big openings DT since last year (and I stress last year), there are a half dozen projects planned or about to begin, including one (Pavillions) that is slated to have new residential. Patience, grasshoppers...
  4. The Great Hizzy!
    There is a Houston Pavillions proposal for downtown. Riva Place (now Boulevard Place), located in Uptown, would be the renaming of the current Pavillion @ Post Oak once the renovation and expansion is completed. Get it?
  5. The Great Hizzy!
    I have to say that when we were working DT during SB week, a lot of visitors were pleased with the downtown's amenities, but felt that a lot of DT was "too clean"-- and by clean, I mean too new and modern, to the point of being antiseptic. While I disagree, I understand where they're coming from. In Europe, new structures seem to more highlight the centuries of architecture surrounding them while in newer cities, and especially the sunbelt, the new towers are more the rule than the exception, to the point of making history seem obsolete. It's a slippery slope; you want to maintain history but you also want the surroundings to be well kept. I think the Historic District is coming along nicely (minus a couple of empty buildings--along Fannin, for example--that should look nice once renovated) but east of Travis has very little history outside of a couple (albeit notable) buildings.
  6. The Great Hizzy!
    The Astros are currently tied for second with the Cubs in the NL Central (12.5 games back of St. Louis) and six games behind Atlanta for the wildcard. The Astros were 42-40 this time last year and are 40-42 this year.
  7. The Great Hizzy!
    If so, that'll be great. Almeda is a nicely done road. I hope they include the streetlights, too.
  8. The Great Hizzy!
    There is quite a bit of land to the SE of the Gulfgate Center that would be large enough to house a 12 to 16 screen cinema complex. Not saying it will be a Magic Theaters but that it could house one of that's where they decide to go. And why isn't there a theater in the Gulfgate area? Closest one, I think, is near Almeda Mall.
  9. The Great Hizzy!
    I still say the best idea for an observation tower (assuming that the MLS stadium reconfiguration of the Astrodome doesn't work out) would be at Reliant Park, where the Astrodome now sits. Use the current structure as the base, with shops, novelty stores, and what have you, then have the tower rising from the center fo the "disk" at about 300 feet. As it relates to Pearland, you could at least see the lifestyle centers, strip malls, big box malls, hospitals and Shaq's unbuilt home just south of there--but more importantly, it would give you some great views of DT, the TMC, Greenway, Uptown and Clear Lake.
  10. The Great Hizzy!
    I'm amazed at how much the Washington corridor has changed in the five plus years I've been in Houston. Another five and you won't see any remnants of blighted buildings. Just the other day, some of the older empty buildings between Houston Ave. and Sawyer were being remodeled. That says a lot about the area's growth and developers' growing confidence in the area. That said, Washington, Houston, Sawyer and several other streets along this stretch of the city need to be redone. Washington isn't the worst of the group but since it is the "premier" boulevard in the West End, it needs to continue to see improvements, like with the roundabout on the western end. It'd be nice to see the city/community invest in better landscaping and trees.
  11. The Great Hizzy!
    I entirely agree. A city isn't just it's core, it is its core plus all of its peripheral communities. I've never understood the point of having a vibrant core but dullness everywhere else. Becomes like a repetitive dream when all the action, all the interests are concentrated within the same 20-30 blocks of a city. Let's be diverse. The 1800s are over and, hard as it is to believe, Uptown is only six miles west of downtown. It's not like you're commuting to freakin' Huntsville. One of the great things about Tokyo is that it is virbant in every quadrant of the city, not just its core. Also, it is grossly unfair to say that DT Houston doesn't have anything going on when it has one of the livelier nightlife strips in the US. Our DT isn't as vibrant as Chicago, New York, Seattle or San Francisco but it does very well compared to most other cities. In any case, Uptown exists, and if it is to exist, I'd rather it be vibrant than dormant and blighted. Makes for a more attractive city.
  12. The Great Hizzy!
    That's a more revealing rendering. Good to get a better view of how it would look relative to the rest of the landscape. I'm looking forward to seeing it from the ground level.
  13. The Great Hizzy!
    Hey, check out Ralph! Good to see him burning the midnight oil. I now have another source to use to get a jump on what's up around town.
  14. The Great Hizzy!
    Here is where I agree with 'Coog most vehemently. There are some seriously, wickedly good Asian cuisine in some of the more anonymous and independently operated joints than the larger chains like P.F., Panda's and so forth. I'm not saying that the chains all serve crap but compared to the authenticity that you get in old and new Chinatown and Midtown, they're pretty subpar. The best lunchtime chinese buffet, BTW, is in the old chinatown joints, especially on St. Emanuel. Just pick one.
  15. The Great Hizzy!
    "More charming and polite." Man, to hear people talk about it here in Texas, you'd think that prior to 1990, Dallas was the most snobbish, ostentatious burg ever. I wish I was living here in Texas back then to see for myself. As for these days, Big D seems about normal for large cities in terms of how they treat each other. Most of it fine, some of it bad, some of it exceptional. Anyway, back to the real topic: Unfortunately, there seems to be an odd disconnect between DT Dallas and the surrounding neighborhoods. It's very weird, in fact. Even with the growth of Uptown and the opening stages of Victory, there seems to be a pretty noticeable disconnect. And let's not talk about east of DT (Deep Ellum and her sisters) or the areas to the south and west. The wide Trinity Greenbelt is a major contributor, I think, to this overall feeling of disconnect from the core, and I think it's a very good thing that the Trinity River Project is being pushed. Helps give the core more of a relationship to other parts of the city. The one thing about Midtown in Houston, even with its not-quite-ready-for-primetime status, it feels like a quick offshoot of DT, especially along the western portions. I think much of it is because there is not the large geographic and psychological barrier of a Trinity River Greenbelt. If Buffalo Bayou flowed south of downtown and north of Midtown, that disconnect would more or less be there as well. Though, I could be wrong. Nevertheless, this current disconnect in DT Dalls is only how it appears to me at present. I'm sure that as Victory expands and the 7-11 project gets moving, that disconnect, at least to the north of DT Dallas, will dissipate.
  16. The Great Hizzy!
    I believe you are right. Ever since they started cleaning the building, they took the hands down. The took the one facing Smith down first. I don't know if they've taken the other(s) down yet.
  17. The Great Hizzy!
    Birraporetti's is a good example of the type of bar/restaurant that would more cater to the Theater District crowd. The problem is, how many of these types of places do you really need around the Theater District? Not a challenge as much as it is a question.
  18. The Great Hizzy!
    The Transit Center is actually across the South Loop from Gulfgate and became operational not very long ago. If I recall, there is construction starting to take place on the west side of Woodridge. I have no clue what's being built, though.
  19. The Great Hizzy!
    The dirt keeps turning... That is, they're still doing groundwork, probably refitting underground pipes and the like. However, I wouldn't expect too much progress until they really get deeper into the Katy Freeway construction along this section. Of course, I could be wrong but that would be my thinking. Kind of like how the Gardens @ Westgreen project in Katy didn't start until the overpass at Westgreen Blvd was completed.
  20. The Great Hizzy!
    I don't think high dollar condos will work for the reasons you outlined in the first part of your post, Subdude: downtown still has more of a rough around the edges feel to it when you consider the viewpoint of the Orion Tower-buying crowd. What I think you would more need are condo towers that are more moderately priced (with lots of units per structure) and that would cater to the single, urban-minded young professional. Midtown, however, offers a serious challenge because you can basically be 5-10 minutes away from anything downtown and still pay only a fraction for what you might pay for a similarly designed unit in downtown. It might just pay to push for the renovation of other unused structures like the West Bldg or the old Houston Savoy before pushing forward with from-the-ground-up structures, especially if we're talking purchase units instead of rental.
  21. The Great Hizzy!
    Preponderance of glass, IMO, but I really like the design of the bases. An intriguing concept for that particular locale. I assume that we're talking about the site where the former Chevron gas station used to be (and surrounding parcels)?
  22. The Great Hizzy!
    Wulfgang Puck's express location will be in the Kirby Building next to the CVS.
  23. The Great Hizzy!
    That rendering of the actual hotel suggests a pretty nice design. Granted, it's only a rendering but its design seems to fit with the surrounding buildings.
  24. The Great Hizzy!
    It's a fairly comfortable green space--no special amenities in terms of fountains or art work but the green space is thick and clean and offers a couple of nice views of the convention center/Toyota Center area as well as MMP. As for the homeless in the park at night... not really. There are a couple of stragglers who may hang out for a little while but from what I understand, they don't really hang out "over night" to the degree that they do at Market Square.
  25. The Great Hizzy!
    There are a lot of skaters in Houston (and by skaters, I also mean skateboarders). Would seem to be a useful addition to the city overall.
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