mrfootball

BTW, I drove as far as I could on Bridgelands Lake Parkway without going on the dirt road that led towards the new village they're prepping for buildout. The next lake is bigger than any of the others, looks like you could drop a ski boat in and have some fun. The next after that will be twice as big as that one.

Good question.

They're definitely not Water Oaks.

I'm pretty sure they're Post Oaks. They've got a lot of them over there, especially in that undeveloped area in the Northern half of where Towne Lake is going in. Real nice, big old oaks all over that property.

If I'm reading this correctly it looks like the everything to the right (east) of the Grand Parkway is zoned to Cy-Fair ISD as well as about a quarter of the portion running along the west side of the Grand Parkway. The bottom quarter of the Western side of Grand Pkwy will be zoned to Katy ISD. Half of the west side of Grand Parkway (northwestern portion) will go to Waller ISD.

http://bl.vismark.us/DTS/lots/eplats/index_base.asp

That land sitting to the south of Fairfield, between 290 and Bridgeland is becoming quite valuable. It shares the other side of Cypress Creek which is very pretty. There's a rather humongous parcel that could easily fit a major mall and office buildings as well as a large master-planned community. I'm curious as to who owns that and what they've got planned.

I was surprised to see that Cy-Fair ISD is expecting another 7,000 new students (I think they projected around 5,000) this year putting them right at around 100,000 students. Phenomenal growth, adding over 28,000 students in five years.

Growing Districts Face More Than Building Costs

I'm fairly certain, that Bridgeland HS will be reserved for the HS that is going inside the Bridgeland community. Eventually I think Ranch will serve all of the nearby communities like Towne Lake, Cypress Creek Ranch, Cypress Creek Lakes and Blackhorse as well as Canyon Lakes West, etc. There will be another HS for Bridgeland further down the line, which will be in Katy ISD. At some point in time, when the community develops further, this will be just one of the entrances to the community. The Grand Parkway area will be the main entrance to the community it bisects.

BTW, Trae I think its great you've found a passion for something cool like real estate development. I think you'll have a great career in it, you seem to have a pretty good grasp of things at relatively young age. Have you considered doing an internship for a developer?

Across the freeway back on the North side of 290, I decided to check out some of the new development going on off Mueschke Rd, Mason and Schiel. I didn't know what was back there, but I liked what I found.

Saddle Ridge Estates

Lakes of Fairhaven sits directly behind Fairfield and right next to the neighborhood (Saddle Ridge) pictured above. I had no idea how pretty it was back there on Mason Rd near Schiel Rd, but it is really nice. They're building a lot of nice custom homes back there. Huge trees, oaks, sycamores, pines, you name it.

Drove through there and other new parts of Cypress today and was really impressed with several areas. I really like Bridgeland, the plan is terrific and they are doing an awesome job using and enhancing the landscape. The homes are very nice and cozy looking.

One of the many nice lakes overlooking a natural preserve in Bridgeland

View across one of the lakes near the Fry Rd. Entrance. On the right is the Visitors Center, in the distance is the new Cypress Ranch HS which opens Fall 2008.

New recreation area in Bridgeland complete with pools, waterslides, splashpads, tennis courts, playgrounds, canoeing and paddle boats

Road to Tomorrow? This road stretches towards the planned new villages in Bridgeland.

Large old oak trees in front of the Cypress Creek Lakes Recreation Area

One of the many lakes in Cypress Creek Lakes

Cypress Creek Lakes offers large lot-sizes. In the distance you'll see a tiny bit of the land that will become Towne Lake. There are some really nice big old oak trees on that property. It'll be very very nice if they preserve them.

Dean is headed to Mexico.

To answer your question about major hurricanes hitting Houston. The answer is Hurricane Alicia, back in 1983. I remember it well. No real problems in Memorial NW.

The problems that occurred in the NW Harris County area occurred mainly in the Ponderosa, Westador neighborhoods which back up to Cypress Creek. The backs of those neighborhoods (at the bottom of the hill) flooded frequently during major storms, however the county long ago bought out the problem properties.

RE: East of I-45

That's not in the 'GNW', I've always considered that area more or less the 'Greenspoint' area, part of Aldine ISD, which is nice segway to bring us back to the original topic. That area is right next to where this incident occured. And it has never been a very nice area.

While that (Aldine/Greenspoint) area is rough, it pales in comparison the real 'war zone' in SW Houston. In the time we've been talking about this incident, several people have been gunned down, raped and murdered in SW Houston.

The new HEB store at The Vintage will be a "hybrid" store - very similar to the Woodlands store. End of story!

The "hybrid" store is a regular grocery store with an expansive "Central Market" area similar to (but smaller than) the Central Martkets inside the loop.

If I had to choose between a "regular HEB" , a Central Market", and a "Hybrid", I would choose the Hybrid without a doubt.

The Coles Crossing store will also be one as well, with the Cafe on the Run and the expanded Butcher/Seafood shoppe, chef stations, etc.

15 years from now, when you're an old fart like me, you'll be amazed at how much things have changed. When I was in HS, where I live now (Longwood) was just forest on the edge of what I knew as the suburbs around Lakewood Forest. Now you can drive 15-20 minutes from here, still be in Cypress to where all the new growth is now. Imagine what it'll be like in another decade or so.

How much farther northwest is Houston sprawling because of this thing? Are there more communities going up further down from Fairfield?

You can bet there will be.

I read that the nation's largest two residential development groups have bought large parcels out there.

I shopped there when I worked for Anadarko (before they moved to The Woodlands). A lot of people go over there for lunch.

I was at F. M. 1960 to go to the Container Store to get a special board... Greenwood Forest looked like a Memorial in the northside.

Which stretch of F. M. 1960 is having the crime issues?

Yes it is very nice over there in Champions. Greenwood Forest was built by the same people who built many of the Memorial area neighborhoods. They're building million dollar homes in Champions and around Champion Forest as we speak, the whole area is just about built out, but what is going in is mostly $500K and above in Lakes of Sterling Gate, Falls at Champion Forest, Champion Forest, Champions (on the golf course), etc. If that's decline...well, then....give me more.

The area of FM 1960 that is having the most issues is a few miles North around I-45 and FM 1960. It is a far cry from crimes occuring in other parts of town, but certainly enough to stir the natives (as it should). Hopefully with the new initiatives for FM 1960, they'll be able to get a hold of it before it becomes more of a problem.

BTW, I think the other issue at play here is the fact that you've got Harris County Sheriff's complaining that they don't have 'resources' to police that area like it should, despite the fact that much of the county budget is derived from areas nearby. Further, with the City of Houston performing "limited" annexations along FM 1960 where they split the tax revenue with the local MUDs, yet don't any provide police, fire and EMS doesn't help things.

http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Developm...s/2006_MTFP.pdf

Houston ETJ w/Limited Annexations

Why is this thread getting ridiculous is it because that your Metro Buses theory actually play's a small role in crime in the area?

While it certainly isn't my theory, I stand by it. Those people and the developments that sprung up to serve them...mostly closer to I-45 (many of them gov't subsidized because the market wouldn't support them) wouldn't be there otherwise. The METRO service simply became a catalyst for this type of development, which (because of the lure of the area and the schools) attracted those who ordinarily wouldn't locate there. It played a significant role in the upsurge of crime on FM 1960 along its route (86 FM 1960 Crosstown), which is but a small part of the whole of the GNW.

Do you even live in the GNW Marty? If so, where?

http://www.ridemetro.org/pdf/routes/086-fm1960.pdf

The "86 Crosstown"

http://www.ridemetro.org/pdf/routes/044-acres.pdf

Willowbrook Mall would love to have this route closed.

I don't think it will be upscale, but at least better than what it currently is...

The daytime crowd in the Greenspoint Business district is far different from the nightime crowd.

Think of Downtown Houston. Most of the business there is done during the daytime, serving the downtown workers. Greenspoint's model is not unlike Downtown's.

I think they're counting on the daytime crowd which is made up of mostly businessmen, corporate types and other workers. There are a lot of office buildings around there, including the facilities across the freeway, on the Beltway, and over near the big airport. The Woodlands has certainly done its part to lure business from Greenspoint with that awesome waterway, but the city as a whole has grown and they've managed to fill those departures quickly. Greenspoint still is within a 'relatively' easy drive of commuters from Kingwood, Klein, Spring and The Woodlands. It will remain a key hub for North Houston business, attracting a daytime crowd with disposable income.

This thread is getting ridiculous.

To put it into perspective, there are over 1 million people living in the 'Great Northwest'. We're talking about an area the size of roughly two Loop 610's. If the GNW were a city in and of itself, it would certainly have crimes like these but it would likely have one of the lowest violent crime rates in the country for a city its size. This kind of garbage happens elsewhere in the metro everyday usually with bad outcomes. It's a big deal here because this kind of crap doesn't usually happen, nor is it tolerated (as evidenced by this thread). I went to HS in that area and I think it sucks that kind of garbage occured, I hate to see this happen over there but we're talking about a small portion of the whole area. Further perspective...the area in question is closer to The Woodlands than it is 249...and the GNW goes all the way to 529.

I always though Anna Nichol's late husband (forgot his name) owned that land. Suburban legend I guess.

Suburban fact. The Marshall/Cullen family did own the land.

"Marshall's Show involvement centered around two of his favorite subjects -- cattle and horses. The Marshall ranch, known as Gleannloch Farms and located outside Houston, was renowned for its Aberdeen-Angus cattle and Arabian purebred horses. Gleannloch Farms became one of America's premier stables for champion Arabian horses."

Here's the link:

http://www.houstonhistory.com/rodeo/rodeo9.htm

Yes, that is correct. Gleannloch used to be a large championship Horse breeding farm. They have stables and riding pens and the whole setup. So its name, unlike that of many neighborhoods around town, actually does have significance relative to the land it occupies.

Why don't you go start a "Bus" thread, Red? Isn't there a Metro board?

And since you seem to have the time, why not commission a non-partisan study?

What you have at work is a differing set of standards. What is considered 'safe' by Houston standards is not 'safe' by Kingwood (or any other nice suburb's) standards. This is part of the reasoning why people don't want to be part of Houston. The other being the dual hate/love relationship that the City of Houston shows Kingwood where they hate having to serve the area but love taking their tax dollars.

There was discussion of building a wall a few years back...

It didn't make it out of committee.

j/k

Glenlock Farms. Oy freakin vey. That place is craptastic.

While Gleannloch is miles from FM 1960 (about the same distance as the Heights from the Galleria Area), it is 'craptastic'

Yuck. Golf.

Eeeeewwww. Horses.

Oh no! Sailboats, lakes, pools and trees!

Hell on Earth at Gleannloch Farms.