Ethanra

Awsome... another lot bites the dust.

The lot where the parking garage is going to be and the lot just east of it had the trees along the sidewalk covered by wood and an orange net. I have noticed this before on lots that were about to start construction.

It is the population center of Houston

I think it is closer to Kirby. HAIF had a thread about this last year.

From a business side this is a great move. I read the article then read the chron.com comments. The posters on the papers board are crazy. The message boards after every article, from the Dynamo to a new park to a crime in FT. Bend County, there are dozens of the most pessimistic individuals that make up stats and treat them as facts I have seen on any message board. The people have not a single thing positive to say about Houston no matter what the situation is. I saw red had a post correcting one of the individuals who responded to this article.

I saw two cranes in the area this morning. Is it for this project?

The Energy corridor is impressive with its growth. The tree line along Eldridge and the couple of nice parks and the new shopping makes it a very comfortable neighborhood. Two cranes are up by Sysco HQ as well ( Enclave and ...?) I've notice at least a dozen different cranes over the past 12 months in this corridor with min. 5 up right now...

DT Houston 1955. The galleria and other areas have killed DT. I have heard stories from older generations about taking the bus DT to go shopping/eating and how it was exciting. You can look through the blog and see before and after pictures of DT. It is amazing the number of old buildings and shops that were torn down for parking lots. It truly is sad.......

Oliver Luck said this morning that everything is done for the new stadium. It is now in Mayor Whites hands to take the next step...

Oliver Luck today said an announcement could be in the next month. He also said east of MMP and one or two other locations are in discussion with the city. He said he can not mention more than that..........

Rumor has it that the downtown stadium is a done deal and an announcement is forthcoming.... can someone confirm this?

Im absolutely giddy with excitement if this is true...*crosses fingers*

I was told the same thing yesterday from someone who does some work with the Dynamo. I was told look for an announcement during the playoffs or in the off-season. The off-season is short for soccer, so an announcement will help keep team/fan excitement up untill next season.

All three blocks were busy today. Foot traffic along Dallas and Lamar was very busy. Also the blocks that they cross from HP west were full of people as well. There is a good vibe DT. It is very exciting.... More Good News With billions being invested into new construction DT, the investors must know how great DT is becoming and what it will be...........

Another good fact showing that Houston is a great sports city... NFL Tailgating

Which larger cities are you thinking of with less retail downtown? LA maybe, but what else? The only cities bigger than Houston are Chicago, NY, and LA right? Maybe LA has less downtown shopping options (I don't know LA well) but the other two definitely have more, as well as smaller cities like Austin.

A friend of mine told me yesterday that there is more to do in downtown Dallas than Houston, but I've never been there myself to compare. He said the shopping options downtown were good and that there were more people around in the day, while Houston had more people around at night (at least on Saturday night when we were there).

I was meaning Dallas. I didn't want to sart a my **** is bigger then yours conversation by saying what city. I've been to Dallas hundreds of times and DT Dallas is very limited. I'm sure your friend and others very conviently would like to include Uptown in with DT Dallas. Also from what I have heard Atlanta DT is very limited as well, unless you would want to include Buckhead/Uptown in with Atlanta's DT... When I said larger cities, I did not mean larger then Houston, I meant a large city in general.

Is the other side of the 59 even "downtown"?

I think DT ends at 59, so no. As far as retail, I think it will work. Their is some, and even a department store that works DT. Their is more DT retail here then some other large city DT's that are close to us. To create a central area, like DT, for people to go shopping is going to be difficult, because their is plenty of other established options within a couple miles. Their is the village, River Oaks shopping center, highland village etc... Thies places not only have higher-end stuff but their is avrg. shopping there as well, for example the Gap... HP is the "kick in the butt" DT needs and I think DT will have its fair share of retail before we know it, but not as much as we would like because of the other popular areas that are close...

They already do this in places like Uptown and Meyerland (both a stone's throw away from Gulfton) so why not?

Uptown is a little farther then a stone's throw away from Gulfton. In DT, the clubs are two or three blocks away........

Yeah, the clubs DT don't have a thug element? Shooting. Individuals wonder why people stop going to the clubs DT and hang out at other areas. This is also why the city is trying to close the clubs down and only allow upscale bars and restraunts to open/ stay open DT. It will continue to make it into a quality livable neighborhood. Why would someone want to buy a $300,000+ condo a couple blocks from this nonsense that is full of thugs?

Chris Canetti (Dynamo FO) at the Soccer 101 event a few nights back, said that the Dynamo are still negotiating with the city for the site near MMP. He said that they're hoping to make an announcement in a couple of months (date keeps on being pushed back/ look for news around Sept. 15th) and the Dynamo will play their first game in their new stadium in April 2010. I also heard a rumor that Drayton wants his parking garage built/started before the season ticket lots are torn up for the stadium.

This is exciting news. I hope the other proposed building where the Shamrock Building was going to be gets built as well. DT alone could have a dozen cranes up next year...

From Shasta at SSP:

in some REALLY good news,

The HBJ reports today that the second tower of the Mosaic broke ground this week officially after funding was secured. The first tower has seen excellent sales (218 units have SOLD).

Other tidbits from the article,

The base structure that connects the 2 towers will contain a Yapa Prepared Food Store, Unity Bank, a Dry Cleaners, and a 4,000 square foot restaurant/bar. Tower II will contain a sushi bar, a day spa, and a postal store. Great to see well planned ground floor retail in that area!

I don't understand why they have to demolish structures when their is empty parking lots two blocks away along Main. Is their a logical reason for this?

If UH manages to open a campus in Northwest Harris County they'll have no problem with enrollment. Huge untapped market.

UH Main enrollment numbers are completely seperate from UHCL, UHD. They are seperate schools with different standards. Even the degree plans vary a little. The different UH schools actually are competetors to one another. The only thing they have is in common is the computer e-services are connected. For example, if you owe money to one school you can't take classes at another.

Do you think schools, such as UHCL and UHD effect the numbers at UH Main Campus? I've heard from several people that they got their first two years at HCC (cheaper) and the finished at UHCL. Several people would drive farther to get to UHCL just because the campus is two buildings and the parking is easier. Also a small drop in enrollment could be because of a spike in enrollment in the previous semesters. As far as Graduation rates, I don't know a good reason the number is so low...

Oliver Luck was on the Dynamo Power Hour tonight...

Some key points that he talked about...

- The negotiations may need to be extended on the new stadium ... He mentioned their has been great progress but dollars and cents still need to be work out.

- Everything has been agreed on with the Astros and Rockets.

- The mayor is on board with the Dynamo.

- The stadium will be ready for the 2010 season.

It sounds like the stadium will be just east of DT and key issues have been agreed on but the final agreement about who pays for what still needs to be finished.

Crane(s) going up...