musicman Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 So again tell me why no developers other than CVS have bothered to do ANYTHING along the rail line so far.prices in the area have gone up too much for them to take a chance. when you have many of the post rail built businesses closed now, that doesn't give them enough hope to take a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Precisely, which is why this is a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 I wonder if the plans would require the abandonment of Berry Street between Main and Travis, creating a sort of demi-Superblock. Since the street belongs to the city, would the developers have to pay for it? I seem to recall that Spec's had to pay the city a hefty sum to buy and abandon a block of Bremond Street so that they could expand their parking lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternGulf Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 prices in the area have gone up too much for them to take a chance.There should be a "............" at the end of this sentence. Prices have gone up for reasons that the Afton Oak's crowd are oblivious of. Prices have gone up for certain reasons that you cannot admit but you will blindly criticize METRO's efforts even if they are trying to kill two birds with one stone by zoning land that will aid the transit agency to improve their services and responsibly develop land that has been sitting vacant in Midtown. ONLY in Houston I tell you. I forgot conformism gets you further than actual THINKING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 (edited) Prices have gone up for certain reasons that you cannot admit but you will blindly criticize METRO's efforts even if they are trying to kill two birds with one stone by zoning land that will aid the transit agency to improve their services and responsibly develop land that has been sitting vacant in Midtown. ONLY in Houston I tell you. I forgot conformism gets you further than actual THINKING.speculation. so building residential/business space helps METRO keep traffic moving as a whole? Edited April 5, 2007 by musicman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkjones98 Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 This would be a great place for residential Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 This is still within their mission:METRO is an innovative regional transportation organization of dedicated employees committed to partnering with the public and private sectors to provide the safest, highest quality services and mobility solutions that exceed our customers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesternGulf Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 so building residential/building space helps METRO keep traffic moving as a whole?I guess you do not know how development and public transportation can co-exist. Metro cannot invest and build transit oriented development* because it does not have anything to do with P.T? How do you think public transportation gets its passengers? Unless you believe it is exclusively used just by the poor.*A transit-oriented development (TOD) is a residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkjones98 Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 This is still within their mission:METRO is an innovative regional transportation organization of dedicated employees committed to partnering with the public and private sectors to provide the safest, highest quality services and mobility solutions that exceed our customers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHB2 Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 This is still within their mission:METRO is an innovative regional transportation organization of dedicated employees committed to partnering with the public and private sectors to provide the safest, highest quality services and mobility solutions that exceed our customers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 I guess you do not know how development and public transportation can co-exist. Metro cannot invest and build transit oriented development* because it does not have anything to do with P.T? How do you think public transportation gets its passengers? Unless you believe it is exclusively used just by the poor.*A transit-oriented development (TOD) is a residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership.I didn't say that development and public transportation couldn't co exist. seems to be happening in quite a few areas of houston now and METRO didn't get involved in land purchases that were not directly METRO related. when i moved inner loop, i now have the option to ride the bus quite easily. High density development is happening all over and METRO didn't get involved.I don't believe METRO should be in the business of subdizing development that doesn't help the transportation options of Houstonians. If the garage is built for transit riders, then i could understand because we all can benefit directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 High density development is happening all over and METRO didn't get involved.Sure, everywhere except Midtown. Take a drive on Main this afternoon. Start at McDonalds and keep on going until you hit 59. It's a sad, sad state of affairs. Too bad Metro can't buy the old New Orleands PoBoy. Nobody else is going to touch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HtownWxBoy Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 I think this is a great thing Metro is doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 (edited) Sure, everywhere except Midtown. Take a drive on Main this afternoon. Start at McDonalds and keep on going until you hit 59. It's a sad, sad state of affairs. Too bad Metro can't buy the old New Orleands PoBoy. Nobody else is going to touch it.speculation driving the prices up in midtown, businesses dying, etc is why nothing is happening. Even the TOD parking garage that HCC built isn't filled with business. i think there's a copy type place there but not much else. the Ensemble/HCC station is actually kind of scary at night as is the mcgowen one which would be a negative to businesses that want to develop there. unfortunately, those aren't the only ones that can get scary.i will agree it is sad. the church down the street owned new orleans poboy property I believe. Edited April 5, 2007 by musicman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Are you really that naive? Don't forget his develper buddies.Circumstantial ad hominem. Give me evidence that he's colluding or playing favorites.When NPR goes on one of its environmentalist rants every now and then, I flip over to Berry, and his policy position on this matter seems to be pretty well in line with his general outlook. Even if he does have "developer buddies", it would almost certainly have turned out that he would have still taken this position.That's another problem with Berry. What is he? A talk show host? A real estate agent? A councilman?Evidently, he's all three. He's probably also a son, a father, a churchgoer, etc. People can do many things. I'm now a full-time employee of a firm and have stakes in a partnership and a seperate LLC, each with sweat equity components. I can do many things, too. I suppose you're going to criticize me now for being too industrious or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Sure, everywhere except Midtown. Take a drive on Main this afternoon. Start at McDonalds and keep on going until you hit 59. It's a sad, sad state of affairs. Too bad Metro can't buy the old New Orleands PoBoy. Nobody else is going to touch it. Don't take a drive...take the train! But I agree - Main Street in Midtown is more of a void than ever. Development (or lack of it) in Houston puzzles me - in other cities, valuable land doesn't lay fallow for years and years. btw, New Orleans Po' Boys is no more - was demolished several weeks ago. Follow the link for speculation on that site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 the church down the street owned new orleans poboy property I believe.yep - south main baptist church owns the property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 This time Berry is wrong.PRINT IT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Does lost tax revenue not bother anyone? or that Metro is accepting risk for the profit of this developer? or that these types of projects generally benefit those that are politically connected?It doesn't bother me that there is a system in place to encourage people and firms to locate along transit corridors using incentives because it creates a positive externality in the form of lower traffic congestion. But I really don't like how METRO is implementing it. If anything, they (and ideally other government agencies) need to set some hard-line rules about TOD subsidy. Otherwise, you are correct that there will likely be favoritism and corruption, and perhaps even more damaging is that future developers with any interest in developing at LRT stations will approach METRO for similar deals, negotiating behind closed doors in a non-competitive environment. I imagine that the folks at Camden now have some ideas buzzing around in their heads about what they might be able to squeeze out of METRO for developing the Superblock.I hope that Peter Brown is never effective. I don't want Houston controlled by smart growth nazis.I met Peter recently. I echo your comments, as he puts very little forethought into his policy, his speeches are full of rhetoric, and what he says isn't necessarily what he means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transit Nut Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 You might be interested in reading this:http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Urban/urban_cor.htmland attending these meetings:http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/Urban/locations.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiRiseObserver Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 So again tell me why no developers other than CVS have bothered to do ANYTHING along the rail line so far....Because the toy train is a joke. toot, toot, toot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Maybe i am completely missing the point, but the argument that METRO should stay only in the transit business is, IMHO, a bit short sighted. It reminds me of newpaper industries. If they only stuck with the sales of their newspapers and could not rely upon the revenues from advertisements, we wouldn't have many newspapers in this country. If one thinks that METRO can sustain itself only through the revenue generated by ridership or government grants, i don't think she/he has the whole pix.Could this lead to more corruption? Certainly. Oversight committees on such issues are and should be very diligent.Think about our nation's past when the RailRoad industry bought land adjacent to the rail lines. Yes, millions were made by just a few (Carnegie, Hunt, Vanderbuilt) BUT, commerce did ensue. Towns sprung up where there weren't any. In time, retail, commercial and residential centers were created. Hopefully, this acquisition will promote such opportunities for our city.m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Does lost tax revenue not bother anyone?Let's see now. METRO buys the property, and takes it off the tax rolls for a year. Lost tax revenue $200,000. Developer gets his variances and permits and buys the property back. Back on tax rolls. Lost revenue $0. Developer builds $100 million mixed use development. ADDED tax revenue $3,000,000 PER YEAR.I suppose my answer to your question is....umm....no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Let's see now. METRO buys the property, and takes it off the tax rolls for a year. Lost tax revenue $200,000. Developer gets his variances and permits and buys the property back. Back on tax rolls. Lost revenue $0. Developer builds $100 million mixed use development. ADDED tax revenue $3,000,000 PER YEAR.I suppose my answer to your question is....umm....no.What is that under your avatar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Looks like a hurricane to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N Judah Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 I agree and the free market seems to have avoided this rail corridor like it was a slum.Isn't land in midtown more expensive than ever? If so, I don't care if empty lots look ugly or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trae Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 Looks like a hurricane to me.No ____, but how did you get a photo under there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 No ____, but how did you get a photo under there? something about hot air is what i heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted April 5, 2007 Author Share Posted April 5, 2007 Maybe i am completely missing the point, but the argument that METRO should stay only in the transit business is, IMHO, a bit short sighted. It reminds me of newpaper industries. If they only stuck with the sales of their newspapers and could not rely upon the revenues from advertisements, we wouldn't have many newspapers in this country. If one thinks that METRO can sustain itself only through the revenue generated by ridership or government grants, i don't think she/he has the whole pix.I don't think you can compare a for profit corp. to METRO. METRO uses public funds (via sales taxes & grants) to provide mass transit to houston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted April 5, 2007 Share Posted April 5, 2007 No ____, but how did you get a photo under there?connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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