jghall00

The relevant influence that I failed to see mentioned is money. Without taking sides, rappers do what they do because they expect to earn a profit, as do the billion dollar record companies that promote and distribute their music. That's not a justification, but in many cases, these guys are getting pimped as bad as the women they disrepect in their songs.

I love hip-hop and grew up on it, but I don't recognize the music that Casual Observer talks about. If you listen to the radio, or watch TV, then yes, you'll see a ton of negativity. But that's true for most mainstream Media. The hip-hop artists I listen to don't glorify violence, wanton sex, drugs, etc. Try listening to the artists the records companies don't push quite as hard, and you'll see what I mean. Check out the Houston Public Library, they have albums by Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Reflection Eternal, De La Soul, J-Live, The Roots, Dilated Peoples...the list goes on and on. Expand your horizons before you criticize and generalize about a whole genre of music. Look deeper before you place blame.

I was thinking a similar thing though I do not know how viable it would be.  Put parking garages by the new stadium and the convention center.  Then use most of the parking lot to put mid rise residential with retail.  Maybe a small hotel to.  Then use the Astrodome as a park/public gathering place.  To get plants to grow just replace the painted roof panels with clear ones.

Once again there probably won't be that kind or res. demand in years.  But one day this might even be an option.  Who knows?

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What do you think of putting the parking underground, like it is near Bayou Place downtown? That would maximize the surface space available for other uses.

By its nature, I don't think a complex of stadiums, a convention hall, and acres of parking can really be made more urbane.  The scale is just too big, both of the buildings and the parking lots.  I don't mean this as criticism of the complex, just that it doesn't seem worth the effort to make it urbane.  That was the point of the criticism of the proposed West Side Stadium in NYC.  It was just too big, and the neighbors felt that because of its scale in the neighborhood it would hurt pedestrian development more than help it.

In retrospect I'm glad the new football stadium wasn't built downtown like had been proposed.

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I see your point, but I think the complex can definitely become something better then it is now. I haven't viewed the football stadium up close (just from kirby), but I think the baseball stadium would not have done any damage to downtown had it been further west. To a certain extent, having that much land devoted to one use does preclude further urban development, because it consumes so much available space. In the case of the Reliant complex, the facilities and parking area could be developed to support a multitude of uses. I would consider not doing so a failure of imagination.

The area adjacent to the complex on the west was turned into a parking lot that sits empty more often then not, pretty much precluding that section of Main from developing into any sort of urban thoroughfare. In that, I saw more of the same provincial thinking that seems to permeate projects in Houston. Perhaps I'm overly critical or impatient, because development is coming, albeit too slowly for me. But we need more projects here in Houston that bring people together. Being situated on the rail line, the Reliant complex is as good a place as any.

How about high density housing (condos and townhomes) where the parking lots sit, and a plaza and park as part of the reliant complex, with a family orientated sports facility in the Dome? The parking could move to North Main and the southern terminus of the rail line.

For almost anything you propose doing with the Astrodome, it would be cheaper to build a whole new building in a different location than to convert the Astrodome to that use.  This includes homeless shelters, fitness centers, high school sports stadiums, transit centers, amusement parks, etc.  It's like taking that old Chevy van that grandpa's had sitting next to the garage for twenty years, and trying to convert it into a fuel-efficient hybrid car.  You're better off just buying a new hybrid car. 

The only reason to reuse the Astrodome is if whatever you're using it for uniquely incorporates the Astrodome in some way - if it's an original idea that's appropriate to the Astrodome and couldn't be done anywhere but the Astrodome.  My idea was to build a Museum of Modern Technology, with airplanes, space rockets, etc., kind of like our own Smithsonian, and devote a section of it to showing the role that technology has played in Houston, particularly with space exploration.  The idea being that the most prized piece in the museum's collection would be the museum itself - the actual building.  Most tourists who visit Houston do so to see NASA; this could be the next thing on their itinerary.

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I can't address the expense of modifying the structure, but I disagree with your assertion that whatever the building is used for by necessity should incorporate the uniqueness of the dome. The dome has a shoddy location, amidst acres of parking, in a relatively isolated area. The location is really detrimental to the structure, so the structure needs to have a use that will compensate for the location.

What better use then as a facility where people and families can connect to one another? How often would residents visit a museum? You go once when it opens, and thereafter when there's a special exhibit. I really enjoy museums, but visiting one is not something I do every month. We need a facility that will add to the miniscule number of public spaces available in Houston, one that people can enjoy ALL of the time. In my opinion, Houston is NOT a tourist magnet. On the other hand, creating things that improve the quality of life for residents will also benefit tourism. If you ask me, the entire Reliant complex needs to be redeveloped into something more urbane and pedestrian friendly.

This project sounds really interesting. It could lead to a partial renaissance in uptown, with the recent rail proposal. I think definitely think the developer should go urban, ala Rice Village, but with residential units and even greater retail and commercial density. Buildings with proximity to the street can't help but attract attention.

I've been hoping escalating land prices would push developers in this direction, and it seems it has. Now, if we could just get some park space to complement the increased density. The land adjacent to Hildago would be perfect, especially if HISD puts a school there too.

Today's 6:00 o'clock KTRK-TV newscast there was a story about a potential housing crisis in Houston with families waiting on federally-funded HUD homes.