Houston19514

8 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

The point is the Feds told them they can't start construction yet and they're acting as though this drainage project isn't part of the bigger 45 reroute when it is. At the end of the day TxDOT doesn't care. Even the rep they had at the Baker Institute Transit Forum didn't hold back in letting everyone know that TxDOT's only priority is moving people fast. 

The fed construction pause was lifted more than a year ago.

We were supposed to have seen plans and renderings last fall.  Has anyone heard anything?

Edit: no information, but I did discover there was a presentation on the topic given to the Houston First board at their December meeting.  As per usual, apparently zero media coverage.

On 1/18/2024 at 11:17 AM, j_cuevas713 said:

I'm actually really surprised at the amount of No's for question#1. I think MSP is beautiful and it pales in comparison to what it looked like before. 

That’s probably because this thread started (and presumably most poll votes were cast) before the park was redone.

On 3/14/2024 at 7:21 AM, 004n063 said:

Is the whole Metro facility there being decomissioned/demolished? If so, I completely agree - it would be great to enclose Sterrett.

On 3/14/2024 at 7:35 PM, j_cuevas713 said:

I believe so

No. Only the parts of the Metro facility shown in color on the above aerial shot will be decommissioned/demolished.

21 hours ago, TowerSpotter said:

 

Could be good for more hotel development, hopefully that would finally bring the higher end brands to town. With St Regis and Ritz Carlton coming in with condo developments, would seem like they are one step closer to bringing in their hotels.

FWIW, we already have a St Regis Hotel - since 2000.

19 hours ago, editor said:

 

It's common in places out west that suffer from flash floods to build public parks into detention basins.  Here are two examples from Las Vegas:

In both you can see the openings of the underground flood diversion tunnels.  Las Vegas has a huge network of flood tunnels that not only handle flash floods, but also catch the trees, mud and boulders that precede them:

 

 

It's perhaps even more common here in Houston.

https://www.willowwaterhole.org/

https://www.explorationgreen.org/

https://www.engagehouston.org/inwood-forest-regional-detention

And there are more...

Possibly for rain water detention/retention (I can never remember the difference)?

11 hours ago, Triton said:

What I meant was, they are bringing the stop back to life, not that it was operational. 

What makes you think they are bringing it back to life?

On 3/8/2024 at 12:41 AM, Triton said:

They reactivated the one next to the JPMorgan Chase Tower on Travis.

The stop you referenced remains closed, I.e., inactive.   As do all the other stops at the right turn locations that were closed when the transit lanes weee installed.

Genuinely curious what caused you (and others in this thread) to say otherwise.

Census Bureau released July 1, 2023 metro area population estimates today:

• July 1, 2020:  7,168,723
• July 1, 2021:  7,245,134 (1.1%)
• July 1, 2022:  7,370,464 (1.7%)
• July 1, 2023: 7,510,253 (1.9% in 1 year; 4.8% in 3 years)

Someone on this board last year told us Houston's days of adding more people per year than Austin were coming to an end.  There is still no evidence that day is in sight.

Houston metro growth per year:

• '20-'21: 76,411
• '21-'22: 125,330
• '22-'23; 139,789

Austin metro growth per year:

• '20-'21:  58,499
• '21-'22:  64,536
• '22-'23:  50,105

Austin Metro estimates:

• July 1, 2020:  2,300,135
• July 1, 2021:  2,358,634 (2.5%)
• July 1, 2022:  2,424,170 (2.7%)
• July 1, 2023:  2,473,275 (2.1% in 1 year; 7.5% in 3 years)

DFW metro estimates:

• July 1, 2020: 7,666,418
• July 1, 2021:  7,774,647 (1.4%)
• July 1, 2022:  7,947,439 (2.2%)
• July 1, 2023:  8,100,037 (1.9% in 1 year; 5.7% in 3 years)

Shell has also been putting more emphasis on gaining revenue from non-fuel sales. Several years ago, they said they were aiming to get 50% of their revenue from non-fuel by 2025. And they have at least tested a "Shell Select" c-store model with a heavy focus on food.

41 minutes ago, editor said:

It makes me a bit sad to think that all downtown Houston can aspire to is gas station tacos.

It makes me a bit sad (for you) that your disdain for the city to which you have chosen to return causes you to take that from what 004n063 wrote. He/She didn't say or imply any such thing.

Per HCAD, there are 101 units.  AMREIT already owns at least 22 of them. Another entity owns at least 6. AMREIT was purchased by Edens, the company that now also owns Uptown Park. It looks like AMREIT/Edens aims to buy the complex. (Typically, a majority vote can require all owners to sell.)

On the other hand, it seems they haven't bought recently, so they (AMREIT) may have changed their mind. Seven units have sold in the past 2 years; AMREIT bought none of them.

CultureMap/InnovationMap story from Friday reports on a study ranking the top tech cities in the US.  The headline:  "Houston Falls Behind Other Texas Cities In Report Ranking Best Tech Hubs".  First sentence:  " . . . Houston failed to crack the top 20 — unlike a few other Texas cities."

Total focus on the negative.  What is with Houston media (and Houstonians, in general)? One has to study the article and attached graphic pretty hard to discover that this report ranks Houston among the top 25 tech cities in the country (#22).

I can't imagine media in any other city reporting it this way.

On 3/7/2024 at 4:01 PM, Triton said:

Man the forces of misinformation are strong. Absolute BS story with thousands of people believing this nonsense.... They have no source whatsoever. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C4N28wxsHdP/?igsh=MTU5M21hemxnZ2tiYw==

This is part of the Texas Central project.

The project described in the linked Instagram post is not part of the Texas Central project.

15 hours ago, Triton said:

They reactivated the one next to the JPMorgan Chase Tower on Travis.

I presume you meant across the street from JPMorgan Chase Tower on Travis.

6 hours ago, ChannelTwoNews said:

Bringing Great Wolf Lodge to the what?

“Things are going really well on the construction side of things, and (we’re) just definitely excited to bring Great Wolf Lodge to the metroplex,” said Keith Furnas, general manager of Great Wolf Webster.

. I noted that too!   This guy must be new here.

Cool.  But where are the restaurants and shops they say they are making space for?  And is there a plan to relocate the Family Law Center?

Renderings of work being done at Hobby

And are they really reactivating bus stops?  I noticed one of the deactivated stops last night.  It still had the shelter and a sign, but the sign said the bus stop was closed.

11 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

The library bulding has 3 different names. Orignally called the Jesse H. Jones Library.

Took these photos this past week. The street signage and building signage still has Jesse H. Jones name.  It's currently called the Texas Medical Center Library though.

 The library and the building in which it is housed have different names.  The library itself was never named for Jesse Jones.  https://library.tmc.edu/history-of-the-library/

1 hour ago, IntheKnowHouston said:

I don't think so. Festival Cos. doesn't own the parcels at 4702 Westheimer Rd and 0 Westcreek Ln. So, I wouldn't think the sale of River Oaks District would include those properties since they have different owners.


https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/topic/52479-vacant-parcel-at-4702-westheimer-rd

 

FWIW, I don't think any of ROD was owned by the Festival Cos.

1 hour ago, CREguy13 said:

Will most certainly bring a Catch to ROD, does this include the vacant parcel across Westcreek?  This is great news.

What is Catch?

40 minutes ago, BEES?! said:

I take any and everything posted on Reddit with a massive grain of salt.

I need to watch this board meeting to understand the context (And I've been so busy I haven't gotten around to it...), but it sounds like OP of that Reddit thread heard some anti-transit groups making comments on the floor at the meeting, the METRO board didn't reply to them, and so now s/he's extrapolating that to mean that the METRONext projects are in danger because the board's "silence [on the comments] speaks volumes". People are over there getting whipped up into a massive frenzy and you get the usual regurgitated Reddit talking points/ unhelpful sarcasm in the comments, and anyone with common sense gets buried in the hysterics.
🤦‍♂️
 

I'm guessing you have it correct.  FWIW, public officials VERY rarely make any comment at all in response to public comments (i.e., the board's silence tells us absolutely nothing).  Those "pro-transit" Reddit commenters do not reflect well on the pro-transit community.