htownproud

It would great if they were going to do something there, but I feel as if there would have been an announcement. Maybe they just want their property to look like Regent Square. . . .

To be fair, it's only cutting the block off one street earlier than it is already cut-off. It's not like this will do anything to motor traffic (It will slightly inconvenience some fans walking from their cars to the game). That said, I'm all in favor for requiring ground floor retail (although, I don't think it can support retail completely on three sides-- these are huge blocks; there is nothing like that in the City that I know of).

Let's not forget that homeless people steal and rob as well (obviously not all of them, but let's be honest here). So in addition to the eye sore and irritant they can be, the area becomes (or rather stays) dangerous.

This is bad news for Midtown. The idea is to run the vagrants out of this part of town, not seduce more to come. Who's going want to build an expensive home or restaurant next to a soup kitchen. Sad day for Midtown.

My understanding is that as part of the Allen Parkway Village deal, the government would provide affordable housing for some of the displaced redidents in the 4th Ward area. I believe these are the two-stories homes small homes that were built about 10 to 15 years ago (they are nearly identical, very small, and frankly look like gov't housing). To make these homes afordable, I thought that the homes received a ten-year real estate tax subsidy, and therefore it was my belief that when the subsidy ended, the lower income residents would be forced to leave because they could not afford the taxes. To date, I haven't seen that happening. Instead, I just see the shacks getting demo'd and replaced with new twonhomes. Hopefully it will come with time. I agree with TonyM that it gets rougher the more you go west, but the school is a great buffer. The new apartment complex going up by the Fed may help speed the changing of that side of the neighborhood.

I like the sign. Query whether they needed to get permission to use those trademarks. Probably no risk of confusion, but perhaps an issue of trademark dilution.

the sign for a new bar (the Refinery) and a barbershop have been up for some time, but it looks like they are finally finishing it out. They have painted a mural on the west side of teh building and are building what looks to be a large covered porch for the bar (you can also see the actual bar inside).

fo what it's worth, the new mixed use phase of the Post apartments is technically in 4th Ward (the Post properties stradle the 4th Ward/Midtown boundry).

I know several folks that have detached townhomes like that. They all seem to really like those windows inbetween the houses. The are generally not really windows, but rather those translucent square bricks. Surprisingly, they bring in some decent light (I suppose any light is better than no light), and people enjoy not sharing walls with neighbors.

Not sure how you can tell that the quality is exceptionally poor from that one picture--they look like all the other townhomes in the area (albeit that likely suggests poor quality).

I think there are plenty of residents in the area to support some retail--this will be the third huge apartment complex on Dallas, plus the Bellaire and all the town homes and duplexes in the area. I think we won't see retail on Dallas though because (1) the area is already very walkable--the Post area of midtown, West Gray near Taft, and Montrose are all easible walkable; and (2) having that part of Allen Parkway to the north limits the market growing even more for retail stores in that area. Just my two cents.

I wonder if this will be the Alamo Draft House. It says the theater will only operate at night and on the weekends....

AS much I hope this project get going, this thread has been going for more than 5 years, so I will believe it when I see it.

At this point, I just wish we had the allen house apartments back. these guys aren't going to build regent square, and I'd rather have something here than the fenced empty lots that have been here for the past five years.

Too bad. A few years back there was a sign there for nice condos going in--maybe this new bank/fast food will die too.

Redscare,

"Last time I checked," the other side of Buffalo Bayou indicates Montrose, not Katy. Until recently, there has been no reason to go north of Allen Parkway. Frankly, the Walmart will be a draw for those of us in Montrose to get out more and enjoy your neck of the woods.

Clearly I misunderstood who was paying for the new roads, although regardless, Yale is in desperate need to be re-done.

im very late to the game, but i hadn't driven down yale in years (i live on the other side of buffalo bayou). i did this morning. this area is currently so ugly that anything here--absolutely anything--would be better (i didn't relealize land west of downtown and inside the loop was still this bad). the road is also awful (close to Shepperd awful), so to get a private company to help with the road to boot is a great deal.

would it have been nicer to be mixed use, of course. but this developement should be a very welcome change for everyone in that area .

I thought the same thing about the timing. Generally it runs late, so hopefully it will again this year...

I think the NE corner is still owned by the Aga Khan Foundation (holding it as a tax free investment, imo). There are new fences in place just to the west of the new Whole Foods, so perhaps something will go there. When Finger originally ounced the Whole Foods, I think he also mentioned putting an apartment tower next to it, so perhaps that is what it will be . . .

I meant to say just to the east of the new Whole Foods. . . .

I think the NE corner is still owned by the Aga Khan Foundation (holding it as a tax free investment, imo). There are new fences in place just to the west of the new Whole Foods, so perhaps something will go there. When Finger originally ounced the Whole Foods, I think he also mentioned putting an apartment tower next to it, so perhaps that is what it will be . . .

Anyone know what's going up at Washington and Sawyer (SW side of intersection). A lot of dirt getting pushed around. More townhomes?

I think it pull a big crowd from the Heights because of the lack of decent grocery stores up there. I'll let you draw your own conclusion on whether that will make it more or less pretentious than the Kirby location.

What is the deal with the wire on the sides of the building? It looks incomplete, but everything else is so far along (the tables are already outside for the cafe). We thought maybe they were going to grow vines on them, but that's a total guess.

not sure what point you are trying to make, but to answer your question, yes, they are scared to build in the 5th ward because it's still too dangerous. the 5th ward is still what the 4th ward was in 1999. hopefully, over time, 5th ward will also be revitalized.

as an aside, the subsidized housing in the 4th ward needs to go too. hopefully when the tax incentives expire for those houses, the property taxes will become too high, and they can be demolished too. (for that matter, just get rid of the remnants of allen parkway village entirely--that property is way too valuable for its current use.)

I think they are accepting legal tender--they are accepting your money. they just aren't giving you back any change. if they have a sign explaining this policy, then you should know that's the deal to which you are agreeing.

that said, this policy would make the sales tax the company owes to the state very difficult to calculate.

just my two cents

i learned something new today: having new housing, responsible citizens, and a new school is considered worse than have pimps, prostitutes, shootings, run down buildings, and vacant lots. who would have figured?