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Texasota

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Everything posted by Texasota

  1. Texasota
    Eh, I've never been convinced by that argument. For one thing, Houston is actually extremely pleasant for at least half of the year. For another, there are cities with extreme (and extended) winters that are considered pedestrian-friendly, and I would say a bad winter is worse than our worst summer. We don't have to deal with any of the safety issues like half-refrozen snow turning into ice covering sidewalks that winter entails. I would also take a 105 degree day over a -20 degree day for comfort. I do think that not enough attention is paid to shade here though. If every sidewalk was covered it would make a *huge* difference in the summer. That's actually how downtown was originally built, but even most of the remaining buildings have had their balconies/awnings removed. Imagine if every block downtown were like the sidewalk around the Rice Hotel or the Texaco building.
  2. Texasota
    In what way? The "sweet spot" I was referring to is a financial reality that's equally true in every market. Why are 6 story buildings worrisome? They are exactly what we need right now.
  3. Texasota
    Really? A doomsday scenario? And you can name a "zillion" parking garages with ground floor retail? And you're accusing me of hyperbole? "A spread around the periphery" is, by definition, a zone, and even, if dense enough, could be perceived as a wall. Now, I will say that I agree that shared parking garages are a good thing, but I think they make more sense scattered throughout rather than clustered along the edge of a neighborhood. That clustering creates this perception that people drive to downtown, park, and then walk around for a few hours. There's nothing wrong with that, but i would prefer to prioritize those people who actually live downtown or in the surrounding neighborhoods and walk, bike or even drive between them. I think it makes more sense to have parking clusters near individual parts of downtown- the underground garages in the Theater District being a good example. Another good example would be the not yet built Mid-Main project in Midtown, which offers parking for the entire district AND retail AND residential.
  4. Texasota
    My understanding is that 4 stories + parking podium is a financial sweet spot. Once you go any taller than that costs rise dramatically.
  5. Texasota
    Yeah this is pretty horrible. It was bad enough that they were ruining such a distinctive design, but now each new iteration just looks cheaper and less convincing than the last.
  6. Texasota
    There's no reason to chase off homeless people unless they're doing something illegal. It's a public park.
  7. Texasota
    With that being said, take a look at this Trader Joe's in St. Louis Park (suburb of Minneapolis): https://www.google.com/maps/@44.934474,-93.336973,3a,75y,277.48h,97.84t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sky7kaj0usIfuXhEFJZ23hQ!2e0
  8. Texasota
    Trader Joe's very rarely picks expensive urban locations. They have, I think, 4 locations in the region of which one is inside the loop. Similar siting in other cities I've lived in as well. I could see Whole Foods jumping in once the population increases. They're no stranger to urban store models.
  9. Texasota
    Well, except that downtown still doesnt have the population to support much retail by itself, so for any store to be successful it needs to draw people in from surrounding neighborhoods.
  10. Texasota
    There currently is no H&M inside the loop, so, for that reason alone, I think it would be very successful. As for Apple, if you have an Apple computer then yes, it's very handy to have a store nearby. Computers have problems, and it's incredibly convenient to just drop your computer off and pick it up a few days later. There are only 2 Apple stores in the city proper right now so I think theres plenty of room for another one.
  11. Texasota
    ...ok... As downtown continues to densify, it will need more parking, even assuming the proportion of people both living and working downtown increases. If you, for the sake of argument, magically zone Downtown so that parking garages have to be on the edge, then yes, you will end up with a layer of parking garages equivalent to a wall. Would there be streets through it? Of course, but it would still make for a horrible pedestrian experience. In fact, the southeast section of Downtown is already almost like this; it's mostly just parking garages and office towers that turn their backs to the street. It makes for an unpleasant pedestrian experience. What works better in an area with high enough property values (like downtown) are parking garages integrated into other things, particularly the underground garages under Discovery Green and Tranquility Park. The absolute last thing I want to see is an entire block with nothing but a parking garage on it. That is a total urban dead zone.
  12. Texasota
    Hmmm. So a wall of parking garages between Downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods? I'm not sure that's actually better than having them dispersed throughout.
  13. Texasota
    Every building is better with gargoyles.
  14. Texasota
    1) H&M 2) Apple store
  15. Texasota
    It's a neat building. If I were them I'd make it a protected historic landmark, take my 40% parking discount and run with it.
  16. Texasota
    There is actually a provision in the revised ordinance for shared parking districts. I know a few neighborhoods are working on forming some.
  17. Texasota
    *sigh* Anyway, I wonder if this area truly needs its own name. Highland Village and (now) Uptown both have their own distinct identities, and we're talking, what, half a mile between the two? This is a transitional space between two very demographically similar neighborhoods. I think most people will just end up calling it one or the other.
  18. Texasota
    Well, Randall's and Fiesta are both full-service grocery stores, so the problem really is that there is apparently something *you* want that you can't find there. That being said, Randall's is pretty terrible. The problem with HEB is that they'd have to do a different (more expensive) design than they normally do (with a parking garage), and even an entire block-sized HEB would actually be much smaller than the HEB superstores like the one on Dunlavy. Whole Foods has more experience with urban grocery stores, so they seem like a more likely candidate once the population in the area gets to where it needs to be.
  19. Texasota
    Sure, its all basically greater Third Ward. and in fact, most of midtown would have historically been third ward. But RIverside has always had its own distinct identity, and is a very historically important neighborhood as the Jewish and later black River Oaks, so I would expect a site like Swamplot to at least mention its name.
  20. Texasota
    We have vacant blocks to fill. Lots of them. Leave the towers to Downtown.
  21. Texasota
    Not sure why Swamplot insists on calling this area Third Ward. I mean, kinda, but its really Riverside.
  22. Texasota
    Hey I don't like Randall's much either, but let's not forget that it exists. Plus Fiesta.
  23. Texasota
    Nancy is not exactly new. I'd blame the editing.
  24. Texasota
    I appreciate the lack of silliness. No weird caps or faux historicism.
  25. Texasota
    That actually seems cheap. Maybe I'm just not familiar with Uptown pricing.
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