tamtagon

Cool moth - and great picture of it!! I had a racoon family visit my apt patio/yard for a while when I lived in Knox-Henderson area of Dallas.

Today, this once rural community is rapidly being surrounded by suburban Atlanta. Fortunately, my property backs up to a 2000 acre state park; I get all kinds of wildlife. Last summer a beaver "got lost" when a new neighobrhood was cut into the woods a down the road and moved into a small pond in my backyard wilderness. It was there for a couple months.

I think the new sculpture is going to make the best art setting experience in Texas even better.

Before the Nasher Collection was committed to the Dallas Arts District, I was kinda hoping it would make a home in the Fort Worth Cultural District, that the park next to the Kimball is perfect for a sculpture garden. A Nasher annex in Fort Worth is still on my wish list.

The park with the Rothko Chapel is just about my favorite place in Texas.

Uhhh....I think we are getting a new Tall building downtown.Here are some of the plans for 1900 Pacific Ave.(downtown) http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showpost...mp;postcount=65

That's the building design that did not get picked. Here's a link to the design the developers propose for 1900 Pacific:

http://forum.dallasmetropolis.com/showpost...p;postcount=151

Nothing about this project is certain:

Fate of tower projects linked with violence at troubled nightspot

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...ue.237c2aa.html

09:50 PM CDT on Saturday, September 30, 2006

By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News

Under way on the streets of downtown Dallas is a multimillion dollar game of chicken the likes of which the center city has never seen.

Rita Sweeney envisions a gleaming condominium tower soaring higher than many of Dallas' tallest buildings in a section of downtown still reeling from last decade's real estate bust.

And the Dallas investor wants $12 million in public tax incentives to help develop the proposed 52-story high-rise and renovate the adjacent Tower Petroleum Building into a hotel. E-mail dlevinthal@dallasnews.com

Sweeney's $12 million request would go toward demolition of the vacant Corrigan Tower (1950's design) and renovation of the vacant 1920s(?) art deco Tower Petroleum Building into a boutique hotel. Sweeney got $1 million to renovate another vacant downtown building which now houses Club Blue. The patrons of Blue are blamed for elevated criminal activity downtown, and the city says the Sweeney's violated the conditions of the $1 million TIF contribution because Clue Blue was supposed to be an upscale venue but now attracts a gangster type of crowd - the city says this violates the $1 million TIF agreement and promises to deny any futher requests from Sweeney until Club Blue changes. Club Blue owners recently filed a $12 million lawsuit against the city on gounds of constitutional violations, slander and stuff like that.

It's a political mess, and I'm doubtful 1900 Pacific will be redeveloped any time soon.

Since the POH is running the show perhaps it should just be called: Port of Houston: Dallas cargo Branch-because if there were no POH there sure as hell would be no POD

Actually, the inland/intermodal/port of pre-clearance is part of the Dallas NAFTA Trade Corridor. The Port of Dallas already exists. The agile port facility cooperative between The US Maritime Authority, City of Dallas and Port of Houston is one component of the whole initiative. As far as I'm aware, the decision of agile port facilities ownership has not been determined yet - it's either the city of Dallas or Port of Houston Authority.

It makes sense on this forum environment that a misconception regarding the role of the Port of Houston to pervade. Most of the Texas sized talk about what's already developing is because of cargo being trained from West Coast points of entry. It'll be at least a couple years (guessing) before The Port of Houston's involvement moves from planning to implementation.

In my opinion, this agile facility will end up being the most important component of the Port of Dallas, and represent the bulk of Port of Houston future growth. I have a feeling that a whole lot of product which currently floats down the Mississippi toward New Orleans embarkation will end up on a train to Dallas for Houston.

Yes, I know how the term "agile port" is being used (basically a combination of a port with an inland railyard) but it does seem like an odd phrase, does it not? Any idea where that phrase came from or who cooked it up?

No idea how 'agile port' came to be the name for a place with that function. Seems like it might have been a temporary title used during conceptual development, that never got finished. Odd phrase? I think it's all together unfortunate. In general it's more ambiguous and confusing to refer to 'the agile port of Dallas' than to simply 'the port of Dallas'. Frankly, I hope the foppish inclinations of Dallas organizations lead to better branding of the cargo processing enterprises.

Anyone know when this deal with the Port of Houston is supposed to get moving? I sure hope we'll start to see more and more American exports processed/packed in Dallas and shipped out of Houston.

If we're going to pick nits, and we are ;-) , the Port of Dallas is NOT a port and the Port of Houston is a port. (See definition in earlier post).

Are you saying the word "port" has only one application?

I guess the Port of Houston isnt really a seaport, since oceangoing vessels must navigate the ship channel prior to reaching the port facilities. Should it be the Inland Port of Houston?

It's a quick search on the Internet to find out what 'Agile Port' is supposed to mean. These ports are all over the place, the cooperative effort of the US Maritime Admin, City of Dallas and (Inland) Port of Houston Authority is a recent occurance. :-)

If we're going to pick nits, the Port of Dallas is an Agile Port System, and the Port of Houston is a Seaport, how's that?

I'll stop refering to it as the 'Port of Dallas' as soon as U.S. Maritime Administration and the Port of Houston Authority do.

I'm getting tired of all the flat-top buildings.

Texas Rank; Company; Fortune 500 Rank; Annual revenue; HQ

1 Exxon Mobil..................1.....339,938.0.......Irving

2 ConocoPhillips..............6.....166,683.0....... Houston

3 Valero Energy..............15.....81,362.0.......San Antonio

4 Marathon Oil................23.....58,958.0.......Houston

5 Dell..............................25.....55,908.0. ......Round Rock

6 AT&T............................39.....43,862.0...... .San Antonio

7 Plains Pipeline.............65.....31,177.3.......Houston

8 Sysco...........................68.....30,281.9... ....Houston

9 Halliburton..................103....20,994.0...... .Houston

10 AMR..........................105....20,712.0...... .Fort Worth

11 EDS..........................108....20,537.0...... .Plano

12 J.C. Penney...............118....18,781.0.......Plano

13 Lyondell Chem..........121....18,606.0.......Houston

14 Tesoro......................132....16,473.0....... San Antonio

15 Kimberly-Clark..........140....15,902.6.......Irving

16 D.R. Horton...............162....13,863.7.......Fort Worth

17 Texas Inst................167....13,392.0.......Dallas

18 Fluor.........................169....13,161.1..... ..Irving

19 Waste Mgmt..............170....13,074.0.......Houston

20 BNSF..........................171....12,987.0..... ..Fort Worth

21 Centex......................175....12,859.7....... Dallas

22 Enterprise Prod.........183....12,257.0.......Houston

23 USAA........................189....11,980.4....... San Antonio

24 Continental...............207....11,208.0.......Houston

25 Dean Foods..............216....10,900.3.......Dallas

26 Reliant Energy..........220....10,708.0.......Houston

27 TXU...........................228....10,449.0..... ..Dallas

28 Tenet Healthcare......236....10,052.0.......Dallas

29 Kinder Morgan...........243.....9,787.1.......Houston

30 CenterPoint...............244.....9,784.0.......Houston

31 Clear Channel...........252.....9,468.9.......San Antonio

32 TEPPCO.....................267.....8,618.5.......Houston

33 Burlington.................298.....7,587.0.......Houston

34 Apache.....................299.....7,584.2.......Houston

35 Southwest................300.....7,584.0.......Dallas

36 Baker Hughes............310.....7,218.0.......Houston

37 Anadarko...................314.....7,100.0.......The Woodlands

38 Commercial Metals....329.....6,592.7.......Irving

39 Enbridge...................335.....6,476.9.......Houston

40 Dynegy......................337.....6,438.0....... Houston

41 Energy Transfer.........347.....6,274.3.......Dallas

42 Celanese...................356.....6,070.0.......Dallas

43 Group 1 Auto.............361.....5,969.6.......Houston

44 Blockbuster...............366.....5,864.4.......Dallas

45 Freescale...................368.....5,843.0....... Austin

46 Pilgrim's Pride............382.....5,666.3.......Pittsburg

47 Smith Intl...................390.....5,579.0.......Houston

48 RadioShack................423.....5,081.7.......Fort Worth

49 Atmos Energy............430.....4,973.3.......Dallas

50 Triad Hospitals...........432.....4,916.6.......Plano

51 Temple-Inland...........433.....4,910.0.......Austin

52 Whole Foods.............449.....4,701.3.......Austin

53 National Oilwell.........452.....4,644.5.......Houston

54 El Paso......................455.....4,596.0.......Houston

55 ACS...........................471.....4,351.2..... ..Dallas

56 Frontier Oil................496.....4,001.2.......Houston

DFW - 22

1 Exxon Mobil..................1.....339,938.0.......Irving

10 AMR..........................105....20,712.0...... .Fort Worth

11 EDS..........................108....20,537.0...... .Plano

12 J.C. Penney...............118....18,781.0.......Plano

15 Kimberly-Clark..........140....15,902.6.......Irving

16 D.R. Horton...............162....13,863.7.......Fort Worth

17 Texas Inst................167....13,392.0.......Dallas

18 Fluor.........................169....13,161.1..... ..Irving

20 BNSF..........................171....12,987.0..... ..Fort Worth

21 Centex......................175....12,859.7....... Dallas

25 Dean Foods..............216....10,900.3.......Dallas

27 TXU...........................228....10,449.0..... ..Dallas

28 Tenet Healthcare......236....10,052.0.......Dallas

35 Southwest................300.....7,584.0.......Dallas

38 Commercial Metals....329.....6,592.7.......Irving

41 Energy Transfer.........347.....6,274.3.......Dallas

42 Celanese...................356.....6,070.0.......Dallas

44 Blockbuster...............366.....5,864.4.......Dallas

48 RadioShack................423.....5,081.7.......Fort Worth

49 Atmos Energy............430.....4,973.3.......Dallas

50 Triad Hospitals...........432.....4,916.6.......Plano

55 ACS...........................471.....4,351.2..... ..Dallas

Pittsburg - 1

46 Pilgrim's Pride............382.....5,666.3.......Pittsburg

Houston - 24

2 ConocoPhillips..............6.....166,683.0....... Houston

4 Marathon Oil................23.....58,958.0.......Houston

7 Plains Pipeline.............65.....31,177.3.......Houston

8 Sysco...........................68.....30,281.9... ....Houston

9 Halliburton..................103....20,994.0...... .Houston

13 Lyondell Chem..........121....18,606.0.......Houston

19 Waste Mgmt..............170....13,074.0.......Houston

22 Enterprise Prod.........183....12,257.0.......Houston

24 Continental...............207....11,208.0.......Houston

26 Reliant Energy..........220....10,708.0.......Houston

29 Kinder Morgan...........243.....9,787.1.......Houston

30 CenterPoint...............244.....9,784.0.......Houston

32 TEPPCO.....................267.....8,618.5.......Houston

33 Burlington.................298.....7,587.0.......Houston

34 Apache.....................299.....7,584.2.......Houston

36 Baker Hughes............310.....7,218.0.......Houston

37 Anadarko...................314.....7,100.0.......The Woodlands

39 Enbridge...................335.....6,476.9.......Houston

40 Dynegy......................337.....6,438.0....... Houston

43 Group 1 Auto.............361.....5,969.6.......Houston

47 Smith Intl...................390.....5,579.0.......Houst on

53 National Oilwell.........452.....4,644.5.......Houston

54 El Paso......................455.....4,596.0.......Houston

56 Frontier Oil................496.....4,001.2.......Houston

San Antonio - 5; Austin - 4

3 Valero Energy..............15.....81,362.0.......San Antonio

5 Dell..............................25.....55,908.0. ......Round Rock

6 AT&T............................39.....43,862.0...... .San Antonio

14 Tesoro......................132....16,473.0....... San Antonio

23 USAA........................189....11,980.4....... San Antonio

31 Clear Channel...........252.....9,468.9.......San Antonio

45 Freescale...................368.....5,843.0....... Austin

51 Temple-Inland...........433.....4,910.0.......Austin

52 Whole Foods.............449.....4,701.3.......Austin

Nothing personal, but would you guys shut the hell up? This got juvenile a while back.

word

By what logic does the geographic size of two CBDs need to be similar before they can be compare? That's just silliness.

Dang-it, I hate it when my post does not say what I intended. Even more, I hate it when you, Houston19514, point out the silliness, ...because it does make me sound like a blinded Dallas Booster.

There MAY be a reasonable argument for including uptown as part of Dallas' CBD

I think I got the idea that Houston CBD is geographically twice the size of Dallas CBD from an annual report called something like American City Mayors Report, or Governors Report, I dont remember the name, but I think it's published out of Denver...? Ring a bell with anyone? I know it's been linked though this forum, and others.... I'll see if I can dig it one of these days.

My point however, was that the use of the original CBD as a business center seemed to be shrinking, while it's adaptive reuse was growing. It will be very interesting to see what happens when the retrofits currently underway are completed.

I think what we're observing in the major Sunbelt business centers like Houston, Dallas and Atlanta is an emerging redefinition to the traditional American central business district. In response to mounting quality of life inconveniences triggered by suburban sprawl, a high density residential development trend in/around historic central city business districts is creating a new variation of citylife. Neighobrhood blocks of office towers functioning only as a work destination is obsolete in the vast suburban population centers; what will evolve is a homogenized mix of development serving both office and residential needs.

Office leasing agents for existing and pending central Dallas office space should be able find the tennents from first ring suburban areas. We're still going to see rapid exurb business park development, it just wont represent as overwhelming a majority of new construction.

But for the fourth largerst city in the U.S., Houston's mass transit should be way ahead of where it is.

It's a real easy call to say mass transit in Houston is lagging, but it's disingenuous to fault the city and/or residents. I think the reason for METRO rail's tardiness is because the region's very substantial industrial output is primarily based on Oil and Gas industries. Making gasoline is a cornerstone of the Houston area economy; money talks and politicians listen.

The DFW area is growing by leaps and bounds currently, but the CBD is shrinking.

Actually, the Dallas CBD is growing, and in a few years the tight highway ring circling the 'downtown' will no longer geographically define the business district. While residential conversion has become a popular reuse of older buildings in/near the historic center of the CBD, new office construction has resumed to the west, after the 20 hibernation.

To me, the residential reuse underway and/or planned for so many of Dallas' oldest highrises indicates a giant urban step forward. By the end of the decade, a small town's worth of people will be living in a very concentrated area with a "city" atmosphere. Houston is the only place within 1000 miles that will have a comparable setting, I think it's exciting that the "big city lifestyle" opportunity is becoming available. This increasing population density of downtown area neighborhoods will make the (expanded) Dallas CBD appealing to more employers.

Troy, while I appreciate your earlier apology, I've got to say that the above show's you haven't a clue about DT Houston. To compare what has been done in the perspectice cities CBD's is ludicrous. Houston far surpasses Dallas in what it's acomplished DT. It's also in the process of changing the area once again with the park, the Pavillions, and the new condo tower, let alone all of the infill that's been happening.

Victory is great and let's agree on that, but don't try to compare the two CBD's

Before comparing the two CBD's, the geographic size needs to be similar. I'm not sure about this, but I think the statistical area labeled as Houston's CBD is about twice the size as the Dallas CBD. If that's roughly accurate, much of Uptown Dallas should be combined with the traditional CBD designation for statistical review.

Go Spurs!

What's going on in Atlanta that is not going on in Dallas and Houston?

Atlanta's got a decade(+/-) of continuous high density residential development in the central city swath generally labeled as downtown and midtown. Highrise living in Atlanta had an Olympic jump-start that has not faded over the years. Many of the dwelling just coming to the market, and more which are u/c, will have moderate pricing - that's a very encouraging signal.

These tangible signs of an expanding urban environment are not what makes me say Atlanta's got going on that puts it on top. There's an atmosphere of excitment, contagious and encouraging; a street beat of prosperity resonates across town much of the time.

However, that takes leadership that can effectively guide parties with competing interests into reaching consensus.

...

There's SO MUCH potential here and it's being squandered.

Regarding the slow progress of local passenger rail service in Houston, all signs indicate the problem rest squarely with malicious micromanagement from the region's most powerful political leaders.

Houston's potential is not being squandered, it just hasnt reached the kinetic threshold yet.

Bless his heart

I travel a lot and have been fortunate enough to experience many other cities and locales. The bottom line: in my opinion Houston has been falling behind other similarly-situated cities for quite some time.

I agree that, overall, the revival of 'urban culture' in Houston has lagged behind similar suburban population centers like Atlanta and Dallas. However, one remarkable characteristic of Houston culture is the ability to effect a rapid redirection of itself.

This is Houston - not Dallas, and quite frankly Scarlett I don't give a damn how they did it in Dallas.

A thorough understanding of the successes and failures of DART light rail implementation and usage would be invaluable to the light rail initiative in Houston.

When I was in college and thought I was coming down with a cold, I would get, like, totally drunk, that seemed to get rid of the nasty virus.

The way things are going in Atlanta, Dallas and Houston might find themselves in a battle for second place.

So your answer is to lower peoples' expectations so they won't be disappointed? That would be an interesting chamber of commerce promotion.

Pretty much what troyboy said. A chamber of commerce dynamic promotion outlining where things are could realign expectations. Fifty years ago, a trip to the central business district in Houston or Dallas was reliable to fill just about any expectation of city experience. That reality is no longer true, but the expectation is still common.

I think the primary root cause for the dead downtown dilemma among visitors and metro area residents of both Houston and Dallas is the lack of precedence to guage expectations for these evolving Sunbelt Central Business Districts.

And don't forget to tell your friends, Tamtagon

Are you trying to say I'm not objective in my observations?

Your Freudian slip "lack" is very ironic.

hahahahaha