The Great Hizzy!

Rodeo Palms is more Manvel than Fresno or Pearland.

That's a good question. I imagine the idea is to at least be done with a section of the retail component at pretty much the same time but even with that, executable leases don't HAVE to begin at the same time. I could be wrong, though.

Either way that house was a dump and now it looks great. Could some changes have been made that would have benefited it? Sure but the fact that someone walked up to the plate and took on this challenge generates a lot of kuddo's from me.

In regards to landscaping they may be running into the same problem I have. The rain and more rain that we have received in the past 6 weeks. It has set me back and my landscapers tractor has sunk twice in the back yard trying to regrade. The gumbo soil at my house will suck your boots right off of you.

Anyhow again well done to the owner/flipper, that street has one less eyesore on it as does the East End. One house at a time.

Scharpe St Guy

That's a good point. I also notice houses in places like Golfcrest, Park Place and Santa Rosa with similar problems. After a good rain, it's like everything seems to sink a half-inch or so.

Fresno is what Katy proper was 35 years ago. A very small, rural town that's starting to see the wave of single-family developments. However, a lot of the catalyst for growth in Fresno is coming from Missouri City rather than Pearland (Sienna Plantation, for example) but you are right... you don't have such a large, prestigious and in-demand development like Shadow Creek Ranch in Fresno proper, and most of the new developments on the Fresno side are along HWY 6 and over towards the Missouri City side, so prices are more reasonable.

Be warned, though... the commute time on SH 288 into the city is getting worse every few months and FM 521 isn't all that great of a second option. The Fort Bend Parkway isn't that far away but of course you have to pay tolls and, frankly, traffic still gets you once the it merges with US 90-A.

Also, the amenities aren't really in Fresno (nearby shopping of any particular note, doctor's offices, etc, etc) just yet because it's still very smallish in nature, so you'll want to consider that as well.

Good lord.

It's certainly a cute house, though. My only problem is with the lawn. I figure if you go through the process of upgrading the home from its previous downtrodden state, the landscaping should look a lot better than what's shown.

Maybe they've since taken care of that but it would be pretty weird, IMO, if they didn't.

How many blocks will be between the two when both projectsare all fnished? Or will they almost be connected?

Not likely "connected", as the TC development (City Centre) and the Memorial City development are about a 1/2 mile (8-10 blocks roughly) apart geographically. Although, I agree that maybe a limited service trolley (subsidized in part or in whole by the two developments or some shared governing body) could be a winner. If you do that, though, I think you need to charge a fare of some kind from day one. METRO's downtown trolley system was successful for the most part but it was free when introduced--entirely subsidized by METRO/the Feds--but then METRO tried to charge a fare to cover some of the escalating costs and that, along with the opening of METRO Rail, killed the service.

I'd charge a basic $0.25/$0.50 fare at the onset so that it doesn't come as a shock to the system and you'd have some form of revenue coming back to you.

I have to agree that Champions Forest Drive north of FM 1960 and up to Louetta is a nice stroll--that is, outside of the constant stop signs. The trees have matured and the subdivisions have endured quite nicely.

I really hope they rethink that crown. It looks waaay too garish and tacky, IMO. The hotel, however, would look pretty nice, indeed.

It also looks like High Street is at least moving in the direction of getting off the ground in the not too distant future.

Of course, as usual, we just shrug our shoulders at the Med Center activity .

It's too bad that the former HISD site in Greenway Plaza is turning out to be so controversial, otherwise you'd really have something to talk about there (especially with the Metropole and the infill near Lakewood Center).

So you have the W Hotel on the right, the Mandarin would be on the left, the arena is at the middle left, and Victory Plaza slips in behind the W Hotel heading away from the AAC... correct?

The biggest problem with Champions/Willowbrook is that the traffic is miserable pretty much 15 hours out of the day, seven days a week, although everything you need is pretty much there.

Anyway, to join in on the SW 'hoods discussion... there's also Willowbend (solid subdivision just east of Meyerland) and Maplewood (just west of Meyerland). I haven't been in the Westbury subdivision in some years so I can't say what condition is in but at last check, it was at least an average mod subdivision.

The sign, "Home to Bohemians, Attorneys and Hippies," promotes Sonoma...

"Bohemians, Attorneys and Hippies? OH, NO!! THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD!!

People are amusing.

It might have been a homeless guy taking advantage of a rare moment of peace.

I kid, I kid... anyway. The play-by-plays would actually be cool. I can contribute a couple of times per week, since I stop off at Corner Bakery sometimes for lunch.

Do you think a shift in market forces or rethinking of the market itself could cause an eventual shift in the scope of what Victory will be, Texas Star? In other words, do you think Hillwood would be savvy enough to change its target retail audience if forces suggest that they've over estimated the size of the original market (not quite as many high dollar spenders as thought)?

This is just a hypothetical, as I have no clue how successful a high end retail project of this scale will be. I'm just basically asking if you (and any Dallasite for that matter) think that there's room for rebranding if need be. The West End's "evolution" or demise or whatever you want to call it is the catalyst behind my question. Clearly, the WE is at a point where it needs to evolve and so I'm wondering how stringent Hillwood is with regard to its longterm views of Victory.

Thanks for the replies in advance.

Atlanta definitely seems like a case in point. Although, I guess you could point to Mockingbird Station in Dallas as either an exception or a full-blown counterpoint.

Here's an easy visual... it's the building across Fannin Street from the Club Quarters, the building with the arches running down the base along the sidewalk.

The Heights... antique shopping on 19th Street and then cutesy dining on White Oak Drive while enjoying a small town atmosphere. Later, explore some 100-plus year old homes that have been fully restored, bastardized or just flat out la-dee-dahed into complete snobbery. Cruise Bayland Avenue and enjoy the juxtaposition of overbearing oaks, cypress and so on with classic home designs, even the handful of McMansions that have slipped in over the past few years.

Great old architecture with a definite "feel" to it. Screw the weather. It still looks like a great scene.

Most of the newer construction is taking place south of Holcombe Blvd. (in fact, a couple of new places appear to be going up along OST, just west of SH 288). Rents will be higher in this area because of access to the Medical Center and the fact that it's a pretty prosperous area in general.

There are some charming older places just north of the Museum District, between San Jacinto and Almeda and north of Herman Park Drive that might interest you. But again... rents can be pretty high, given the area.

Without trying to sound communistic; I think it would be a great boon for the more promising college students that meet certain criteria to be able to live in a small apartment downtown if there isn't room in the dorms.

I'be been hearing different people both inside and outside the UH-D family speak of them actually trying this out in the future, if they can work out the finances. A long rumored site was the parking garage/warehouse located west of the current UH-D facility on Franklin @ Fannin. I personally have doubts, however, given its location next to the county jail.

^^^ Heh. Agreed. And certainly nothing all that elaborate. Although, I think the tent coverings will have an overall better effect on the area. The lot used to be one of the filthiest downtown (I'm sure 'Coog can back me up on this).

If the nearby Texaco building does see a renovation and the Montagu continues to evolve, then maybe this lot becomes an actual garage over the next decade.

the new public library is supposed to built just south of the bank of america drive thru on the banks of terry hershey.

This will thrill my niece. She lives just east of this location. If done right, it could be quite the addition to that area from an ashetics standpoint.

Has a brutalist versus Post Modern look to it. I suppose it's in the area of 11 or 12 stories, right?

Was the original talk some five or so years ago concerning the Texaco Building was that it would be converted into a hotel? Anyway, I like the idea of residential conversion better if it pans out. It would be located roughly equidistant from the Main Street attractions and the Pavillions development.