monarch Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 (edited) 2 hours ago, texan said: Whitmire plans $3 billion in improvements to downtown over 30 years using hotel occupancy taxes. '"The entertainment district will be going three miles in each direction. It will reach the arts and theater district," Whitmire said. He said plans are in place to expand the George R. Brown Convention Center to compete with other convention centers. "We are going to have larger conventions," he said. And they want to attract big things, possibly even another professional sports team. "Yes, Toyota Center will get ready for hockey," he said. Most importantly, the mayor said the purpose is to clean up downtown. Problems that Carol Churchill said she's just seen grow over the years.' https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/harris-county/mayor-whitmire-downtown-houston-investment/285-b3403310-d7c2-47c3-b26f-cfea56dc337a ^^^ geeeeeez, are there any HAIF patrons planning on still being alive in "30 years"... and that includes mayor whitmire? (i mean, just think about it, at the current and very lethargic pace they are on in houston, can you just imagine how very progressive and prosperous the DALLAS and AUSTIN downtown entertainment districts are going to be in "30 years"?) HOUSTON WILL NEVER CATCH UP! also, how much further do they expect to keep "EXPANDING THE GEORGE R. BROWN CC" when there is only so much space (EMPTY BLOCKS) available within that particular downtown district? why don't they DEMOLISH THE CONVENTION CENTER, and reconstruct it in another area of downtown... with much more space? (LIKE DALLAS IS DOING) furthermore, EXPAND THE DISCOVERY GREEN PARK, including the lake... and finally, construct the long-anticipated W HOTEL along with residences... like other large cities have already done years ago. something just seems really off here. downtown houston planners are starting to sound like USED CAR SALESMEN. we have all heard the very same "DOWNTOWN HOUSTON ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT" sales pitch a million times already. yet, we are seemingly always constantly BEHIND OTHER LARGE CITIES... especially, within our very own state. soooooo many queries... and never any real clarity. just come along with the RENDERINGS and CONCEPTS already... Edited April 14 by monarch 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbg.50 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 1 hour ago, monarch said: ^^^ geeeeeez, are there any HAIF patrons planning on still being alive in "30 years"... and that includes mayor whitmire? (i mean, just think about it, at the current and very lethargic pace they are on in houston, can you just imagine how very progressive and prosperous the DALLAS and AUSTIN downtown entertainment districts are going to be in "30 years"?) HOUSTON WILL NEVER CATCH UP! also, how much further do they expect to keep "EXPANDING THE GEORGE R. BROWN CC" when there is only so much space (EMPTY BLOCKS) available within that particular downtown district? why don't they DEMOLISH THE CONVENTION CENTER, and reconstruct it in another area of downtown... with much more space? (LIKE DALLAS IS DOING) furthermore, EXPAND THE DISCOVERY GREEN PARK, including the lake... and finally, construct the long-anticipated W HOTEL along with residences... like other large cities have already done years ago. something just seems really off here. downtown houston planners are starting to sound like USED CAR SALESMEN. we have all heard the very same "DOWNTOWN HOUSTON ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT" sales pitch a million times already. yet, we are seemingly always constantly BEHIND OTHER LARGE CITIES... especially, within our very own state. soooooo many queries... and never any real clarity. just come along with the RENDERINGS and CONCEPTS already... Did you take a break from gazing at the Austin skyscrapers to pen this gem of a post? 2 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 51 minutes ago, steve1363 said: Did you take a break from gazing at the Austin skyscrapers to pen this gem of a post? ^^^ OOOOPS! props to you kind HAIFER for reminding me. i shall head back over there and continue "gazing" and dreaming. the sunshine just never ends... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREguy13 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 This is great news! Pending further concrete details, I don't see how this announcement can be taken negatively... follow-on private investment will be multiples of whatever Whitmire has planned, even if it doesn't reach the $3B figure. Austin had its boom and is now in the early innings of its bust. ATX is what Houston was in 2015, a crane-filled skyline with tough times ahead. The vast majority of the current construction pipeline there was capitalized before interest rate hikes started when the city was enjoying major tech expansions, robust VC/Startup activity, relocations from other markets, etc. That party is largely over. There may be a lot of cranes in the sky, but the sunshine has ended. It is overcast for the foreseeable future. 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirbyDriveKid Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 It's worth noting how this $3 billion over 30 years is useful for today. The revenue capacity from SB 1057 is used to support lending now of the magnitude of that at play in Dallas. It provides the backing for the loans that will be taken out in the near future to finance the improvements. The intention is not to gradually spend in dribs and drabs over 30 years as revenue comes in. SB 1057's structure, after all, is exactly what was used in Dallas. The whole point was to give us the benefits that Dallas had previously won for themselves from the Texas Legislature. See https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/analysis/pdf/SB01057H.pdf 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbg.50 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 3 hours ago, CREguy13 said: This is great news! Pending further concrete details, I don't see how this announcement can be taken negatively... follow-on private investment will be multiples of whatever Whitmire has planned, even if it doesn't reach the $3B figure. Austin had its boom and is now in the early innings of its bust. ATX is what Houston was in 2015, a crane-filled skyline with tough times ahead. The vast majority of the current construction pipeline there was capitalized before interest rate hikes started when the city was enjoying major tech expansions, robust VC/Startup activity, relocations from other markets, etc. That party is largely over. There may be a lot of cranes in the sky, but the sunshine has ended. It is overcast for the foreseeable future. I think this is the headline: "$3 billion in the next 30 years," he said. He said they'll use the hotel occupancy tax to make improvements. That amounts to $100M/year. Also, I would not say Austin is in a “bust” cycle. Sure, things have slowed down but it is nowhere near a bust at this point. I personally hope it can weather the storm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREguy13 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 3 hours ago, steve1363 said: I think this is the headline: "$3 billion in the next 30 years," he said. He said they'll use the hotel occupancy tax to make improvements. That amounts to $100M/year. Also, I would not say Austin is in a “bust” cycle. Sure, things have slowed down but it is nowhere near a bust at this point. I personally hope it can weather the storm. Trust me, I do too. I love Austin and enjoy visiting there. But if you look at what underpinned its insane growth during the past several years, a lot of that is gone. Tech has contracted, startup VC peaked in 2021, and the relocation trend led by wfh has retreated - there is more outbound than inbound migration. Long term bullish, near term not so much. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaissance1999 Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 Looks like there are no new construction plans for 2024 just yet. However, within the Texas triangle Austin and DFW will be the biggest metropolitan areas in my opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 9 hours ago, CREguy13 said: This is great news! Pending further concrete details, I don't see how this announcement can be taken negatively... follow-on private investment will be multiples of whatever Whitmire has planned, even if it doesn't reach the $3B figure. Austin had its boom and is now in the early innings of its bust. ATX is what Houston was in 2015, a crane-filled skyline with tough times ahead. The vast majority of the current construction pipeline there was capitalized before interest rate hikes started when the city was enjoying major tech expansions, robust VC/Startup activity, relocations from other markets, etc. That party is largely over. There may be a lot of cranes in the sky, but the sunshine has ended. It is overcast for the foreseeable future. ^^^ @CREguy13 "this is great news!" dude, the aforementioned post of yours... reads like a DONALD TRUMP (con artist) ecstasy escape. therefore, I shall present to you an... ULTIMATE CHALLENGE. please "copy" your post and head on over to the SKYSCRAPERPAGE.COM open forum. once you have arrived, please direct your MAYOR WHITMIRE "30 years" enthusiasm into the AUSTIN, TX, portion... of this most wonderful forum. carefully "PASTE" your aforementioned post directly into a thread... then proceed forward and wait comfortably for the AUSTIN, TX contingent to carefully read over your post... and then contemplate and craft a response. CAUTION: you may want to ensure that you are donning the proper SPF sunshine/heat/rays protection... because I can honestly assure you that the "sunshine" that you have so eloquently stated has "ended", will now become your... HUCKLEBERRY... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 18 hours ago, Renaissance1999 said: Looks like there are no new construction plans for 2024 just yet. However, within the Texas triangle Austin and DFW will be the biggest metropolitan areas in my opinion. Presumably, you are predicting Austin and DFW will have the most new construction in the Texas triangle (possible for certain periods of time, but not a given), not that both Austin and DFW will have larger populations than Houston (not gonna happen in the lifetimes of anyone reading this). 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerNut Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 On 4/13/2024 at 8:21 PM, monarch said: ^^^ geeeeeez, are there any HAIF patrons planning on still being alive in "30 years"... and that includes mayor whitmire? 1 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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