J008

Just tired of other people thinking that they actually get to dictate to me what I should do with my life....whether or be what I do with my money, where I shop, what I eat, or what I do to the property I own....All of these people who think that they, or some elected bureaucrat should get to decide these things for me, make me sick.

There is always Somalia... no taxes, no government regulations, no EPA\FDA\USDA, no Amtrak, no USPS, no Dept of education, no socialized health care, no telling you what to eat, just survival of the fittest.

Dont even have to read it to discredit it....Its not even indirectly Wal Marts fault. People are responsible for their own weight. Just because you are lazy, dont exercise, and do not want to cook something healthy is not Wal-Marts fault.

For the same price as anything unhealthy that is frequently on sale and located more prominently throughout the store, anyone can buy the big bag of frozen chicken breasts for next to nothing, and some frozen vegetables.

People dont buy healthy, because they have to do more than open the box, or microwave it....they actually have to *GASP* cook something, and then *GASP* clean it up!!! That is not Wal Marts fault....its the idiot who buys the foods fault.

Its ridiculous to post something like that and claim its even indirectly WalMart's fault.

Completely agree that the study is worthless.

Since Walmart has pretty much saturated the suburban \ rural market (hence they have to build stores in inappropriate urban areas) it says more about the culture of sitting in your car for two hours to sit at work for eight hours to sit in your car for two more hours and wondering why there is no time for exercise.

Though simply put, if wal mart does indeed decrease the price of food (which I am not so sure) everything else equal it should increase the quantity demanded.

If you want true Cajun food, go to New Orleans. .

With all due respect, Lafayette is the center of Cajun food and culture and if you are going to New Orleans for it you have probably gone too far.

Finally got around to making it the Big Mamou and VERY impressed. My friend had many questions about the wine, Brenda (Chef/Owner) came to the table with tastings and discussed the wine selections. We talked about the menu and dinner specials. My friend got the delicious short ribs (which is not very cajun) and they were EXCELLENT and i got Shrimp Creole which was PERFECT.

Found out they also serve breakfast on Saturday and Sunday which sounds marvelous.

Give is a try!

Good to hear that you had a good experience. I was hoping to eat some Louisiana food friday night and I still do not even consider the mamou after my two attempts eating there after they first opened. I may try their beignets one weekend but maybe they have improved since openening.

what does walmart have to do with people cutting through on yale???

They are building a cut through street by extending Koehler to Heights Blvd.

They were building those exit ramps anyway. Unless the Evil walmart Chupacabra was behind the contruction of the exits in the first place...

The ramps weren't be built until the stimulus was passed, If I remember correctly this was one of those shovel ready projects the President had alluded to.

I have no interest in going to wal mart, but this will be a great example of effective federal stimulus spending. Once that federal money showed up, private industry (Wal Mart et al) was ready to invest and create jobs for americans.

this is the first that i've heard about the heights plaza apartments being demolished. does anyway know if the same is true for the dirt bar?

The drawings show that the new Koehler extention will connect to second street going right through the apartments. Dirt bar will be a Panera bread or bank or something.

not sure if the apartment complex can break the lease like that (I don't think they can), but it's easy to say, sorry, we aren't renewing leases, or make it cost prohibitive so people don't want to renew their lease, or let them continue living there month to month, with a notice that on month x they gotta go.

I think they can also come to an agreement with the tenant.

could be worth a call to the rental office to find out about getting a new lease, if they say they have no new leases to sign, there you go.

However they do it, it will surely be within the letter of the law.

and regardless, it would be up to the tenant to decide whether they want to pursue any legal recourse, if something was done in violation or not.

also, there's nothing saying in the information released whether that part of the development is going to happen at the same time as the rest or not, it could be a different 'phase' of what happens?

I haven't looked at rental agreement in a while, but I am confident that there is some language that covers change of ownership (since this is Texas I would also imagine it is very favorable to the landlord). I lived across the street from Allen House when it was bought and the people were out of there pretty quick.

As far as the condition of these apartments. I still question that they are in ill repair. I cycle by them daily and they are in better shape than several others on Heights blvd.

Also Wal Mart has purchased many plots through out the country and never built anything, it's called investment, a win win for them, tax write offs and a plot of land that will go up in value with each passing day. Now how about that minimum wage!

Please correct me if I am wrong, but you can't depreciate\expense "write off" land.

Interesting article regarding emails planning for the 'grocery' store.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7712351

, but it is absolutely not the 'urban core' that the article makes it out to be. Heights is not urban in any way, in fact, as the first suburb of Houston, I'd say it is downright suburban despite the close proximity to downtown.

I imagine Wal Mart will spin it as part of their urban store strategy. Since they know what is best for us anyways we should defer to their wisdom and call it an urban store.

It is official. The city is going to play their role in the tax diversion plan.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7212433.html

s3mh, did you start another HAIF login as J008 just so you could put +1 on all of your posts? Or are they a real-life ABO lackey of yours?

No I simply agree with s3mh's conclusions. The more information that comes out about the 380 the worse deal it seems it is for taxpayers. There are few negotiators who wind up with a good deal and are opposite walmart and walmart interests. s3mh's posts seem to confirm that is the case here too.

The units on Heights Blvd....and that was IF I was recalling correctly, but I believe I am recalling correctly.

It was one of those local news person investigates stories, following the stair collapse. They got the city reports on the worst units, and this one (on Heights Blvd) I believe was one of the worst.

Interesting, I have cycled to work past this place everyday for several years and never noticed it in any major disrepair or with a building shuttered, I do not doubt your account though.

At least they still got everyday low prices on rent.

Those apartments needed to go. They were not just ugly, but also unsafe. I recall last summer a child in some apartment complex somewhere else in town died when their stairs collapsed on it. After that accident the city sent out inspectors to inspect a load of apartments. This particular complex was featured on the news for having multiple unsafe units, and if I recall correctly (no guarantee) I seem to remember that they were even forced to close 1 whole building for a short period to make much needed repairs.

When you mention the "this" I bolded up top, Are you referring to the apartments on Heights blvd or the one with collapsed stairs somewhere.

Who are you to state that people should change their energies when you spend so much of your time posting? These people are fighting for something they believe in and are taking action. You do not know what other causes the people (that are against the proposed Wal-Mart) are involved in (and nor do I know yours). I have given my time, blood and money for various causes that I believe in; local, national and global.

I first read your post and thought it was a bit rude, but then I remember the ridiculous shopping cart thread a while back and the over 100 ridiculous posts regarding shopping carts, and now I agree with you for calling them out a bit. I think a major development ensnarling two main streets in the neighborhood is probably up to par for an architecture forum, or at least more so than perpetual whining about shopping carts and calls for police action, economics of letting shopping carts roam, technologies that can be deployed to prevent it, etc... I didn't read that whole thread but I don't remember anyone telling them to go do something useful with their lives?

Since I brought up the subject.. Since this is going to be such a pedestrian friendly walmart that will bless everyone with irresistible low prices, should we expect a dramatic increase in shopping cart litter?

and the crappy streets will remain as they are.

I have tried driving down yale to find the really crappy part and it isn't great but it isn't memorably bad. The stretch on Shepherd heading north between memorial and Washington ( or all the way to I-10) is memorably bad and uneven and with at least 5x as much traffic. I know there are several other places in Houston with crappy roads but even in the near vicinity I am not sure Yale is the most needy. One day maybe the other roads will find a patron and then they can get basic services too!

Another off the cuff question regarding the site plan; Is there any way pedestrians from the north coming down Heights esplanade can access the esplanade in front of this development without having to enter the roadway on Yale or Heights Blvd at White Oak Bayou?

No. It appears the esplanade ends where the bayou begins and I haven't seen any plans to build a pedestrian bridge in the middle there to connect it to heights running trail. The running trail is real cute and everything but it doesn't really go anywhere or connect well with the north side, I-10 and the bayou pretty much kill any conventional chance of it right there and so you have to get in\or cross the street or just stay on the winding sidewalks they are to build.

understandable misinformation then. Not much you can do with bad reporting, and secretive numbers.

and if Dirt Bar were in my neighborhood I'd be glad of ANY retail that promised to get rid of it, walmart, kohls, saks, whatever, just bulldoze that place into the bayou already!

I always enjoyed a night that involved going to the Dirt Bar it will be a shame to see it replaced with whatever generica is planned for its spot.

Renderings and site plan are here:

http://washingtonhei...renderings.html

I'm a little confused, as I thought that the entire area bordered by Yale, (the new section of) Kohler, Heights and the RR tracks was part of this development. The site plan and renderings above only show the NE corner of this area being developed. Is the rest of this area owned by someone else?

Yes the part that borders the rail road tracks and heights is owned by someone else. They have had the same sign up forever. All I know about them is that they don't cut their grass unless you call the 311.

Maybe some ridiculous fad like $4 cupcakes will get the haterz back on board...

oh no. That is worse than the dreaded WM itself. I am anxiously waiting for the cup cake craze to end and the littering of derelict shoppes around town.

Just curious if anyone wants to speculate on what the other stores of this development will be. From the below article the developer estimates there will be 25 to 30 stores.

Let me be the first to bet on a starbucks.

http://www.khou.com/...-101533333.html

Then again, Montrose isn't as well know for its snobs as is the Heights. The Heights is full of people from the Woodlands who got tired of the long commute into town. There is little difference these days. It's just a bunch of snobbery snobnose snobs.

I don't know anyone from the Woodlands who lives in the Heights and to say it is full of people from there is like ... saying the heights is full of pesky hipsters, again simple not true.

The snobbery argument is still odd to me. I cycle through the heights and by one of the developer's houses everyday and to see the two neighborhoods and conclude that the Heights is the home of the snobbery snobnose snobs is silly. At least people in the Heights walk their own children and pets.

Where do you currently walk to within your neighborhood that you buy what Wal-Mart sells?

C&D Hardware and 14th ST Fiesta. Target is a stretch but not by bike.

I don't see where this has happened. I think most people would like an increase in bike paths in the city core. There's an entire thread on it somewhere.

Also, if this really is a concern of yours, perhaps you may find it more fruitful to communicate these concerns with the developer in order to gain some concessions rather than outright argue against the development and get nothing. Don't be an obstructionist. Learn to compromise.

I never contested them putting a store there the way the current grid is laid out, only altering Heights Blvd to do it seems too instrusive to me. If someone doesn't have plans to improve it, then I assume they are going to make it worse. Maybe that isn't fair, but there are too many inadequate "bike paths" as it is. I think I said somewhere before that if south heights was made to look like north heights then I would be all for it.

In the Heights, people being concerned about Heights Blvd is pointless. Heights Blvd, by its very nature serves only us, it doesnt go anywhere, or do any other job besides run from our neighborhood to I-10.

Heights south of I-10 is also a bike path, and while many people dismiss bicycle commuting as quaint or stupid the grand still-undisclosed modification of Heights Blvd could marginalize the bike path.