Camden McGowen Station & Midtown Park At 2727 Travis St.

[Brandon55]

2 hours ago, ZRFkris said:

I really wish someone would develop the lot with the Cadillac dealership into a open space mixed use with green space since it is also a contiguous block

 I think that everytime I drive by..That the neighborhood has outgrown  them ... Hopefully one day a developer decides to buy them out.

[Highrise Tower]

Looks really nice.

 

[rechlin]

Looking almost complete. Sidewalk really isn't too narrow.

 

 

[MidCenturyMoldy]

2 hours ago, rechlin said:

Looking almost complete. Sidewalk really isn't too narrow.

 

 

 

 

IMO, in a neighborhood like this, the sidewalk should extend to the curb.

Edited August 17, 2019 by MidCenturyMoldy

[TheSirDingle]

Definitely going to be a nice canopy over the sidewalks; when those trees are fully grown. 

[CaptainJilliams]

As long as it's taken to complete the plaza, I must say it looks pretty good.

[hindesky]

The brick on the side of the sidewalk makes so much wider.

 

 

There is room for future development on the muddy/grassy section.

[hindesky]

I assume these are to keep people from sleeping on the picnic tables but what's to keep them from sleeping in the other direction?

Edited August 19, 2019 by hindesky

[Darb64]

42 minutes ago, hindesky said:

I assume these are to keep people from sleeping on the picnic tables but what's to keep them from sleeping in the other direction?

I bet these are concrete table tennis tables.

[hindesky]

35 minutes ago, Darb64 said:

I bet these are concrete table tennis tables.

 

[Angostura]

On 8/17/2019 at 6:33 PM, MidCenturyMoldy said:

 

IMO, in a neighborhood like this, the sidewalk should extend to the curb.

 

The complete streets mindset generally requires a buffer between sidewalk and traffic. In this case, traffic on main is generally very slow-moving, so it probably doesn't need to be this wide.

 

Or, in this case, since driving on Main is so pointless anyway, you could just remove all distinction between traffic lane and sidewalk, and restrict Main to deliveries only from Commerce to Wheeler.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

6 hours ago, Angostura said:

The complete streets mindset generally requires a buffer between sidewalk and traffic. In this case, traffic on main is generally very slow-moving, so it probably doesn't need to be this wide.

 

Then making the sidewalk wider like it seems to be at Mid Main might make me happier. Just feels more urban to me. 

 

I wonder what the Complete-Streeters think of the new sidewalks on Post Oak Boulevard? https://theboulevardproject.com/construction/updates 

(Post Oak photo not mine) 

Edited August 19, 2019 by MidCenturyMoldy

[Texasota]

I like walking directly into trees.

[MarathonMan]

7 minutes ago, Texasota said:

I like walking directly into trees.

LOL!  I was thinking the same thing.  Why, oh why, do trees and poles wind up in the middle of the sidewalk???  Here and elsewhere. First, in this case the sidewalks aren’t wide enough to justify planting a tree right in the middle of the walkway.  Second, when these trees grow larger in a few years, you won’t be able to walk in a straight line down the sidewalk.  The staggered trees will force single-file lines of people weaving back and forth.  Super smart!  

 

Edited August 19, 2019 by MarathonMan

[Angostura]

18 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

 

I wonder what the Complete-Streeters think of the new sidewalks on Post Oak Boulevard? https://theboulevardproject.com/construction/updates 

(Post Oak photo not mine) 

 

 

I think there's too much focus on making a few places slightly less shitty for the rare pedestrians who might find themselves there despite a complete lack of pedestrian-oriented buildings. I'd rather see us build a handful of truly great pedestrian-focused (even pedestian-only) places in areas that have the bones for it, like the Main St corridor.

[Luminare]

1 hour ago, Angostura said:

 

I think there's too much focus on making a few places slightly less shitty for the rare pedestrians who might find themselves there despite a complete lack of pedestrian-oriented buildings. I'd rather see us build a handful of truly great pedestrian-focused (even pedestian-only) places in areas that have the bones for it, like the Main St corridor.

 

I'm the same about the Lower Westheimer Corridor, however, I do like how we are approaching it at various levels. We need focus on the kind you are bringing up, but also the large Boulevards as well. If there was a moment to showcase what could be done with complete streets it was at Post Oak. Hopefully they learn from it and build off it.

[H-Town Man]

2 hours ago, Angostura said:

 

I think there's too much focus on making a few places slightly less shitty for the rare pedestrians who might find themselves there despite a complete lack of pedestrian-oriented buildings. I'd rather see us build a handful of truly great pedestrian-focused (even pedestian-only) places in areas that have the bones for it, like the Main St corridor.

 

No reason we can't make both places pedestrian-oriented. Uptown is not going to go away as Houston's second downtown so we need to keep improving it longterm. And it is shifting to pedestrian-oriented buildings with the new 40-story tower with GFR under construction and the planned mixed-use, zero-setback Zadok Jewelry building. (Both more pedestrian-oriented than Camden McGowen, at any rate.) Alexander Garvin, FWIW, said Post Oak would be "the greatest urban boulevard in America" a couple months ago, although I think there was some hyperbole.

 

Edited August 20, 2019 by H-Town Man

[Luminare]

31 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

No reason we can't make both places pedestrian-oriented. Uptown is not going to go away as Houston's second downtown so we need to keep improving it longterm. And it is shifting to pedestrian-oriented buildings with the new 40-story tower with GFR under construction and the planned mixed-use, zero-setback Zadok Jewelry building. (Both more pedestrian-oriented than Camden McGowen, at any rate.) Alexander Garvin, FWIW, said Post Oak would be "the greatest urban boulevard in America" a couple months ago, although I think there was some hyperbole.

 

 

Not to mention all the older buildings that are getting revamps. The Boulevard project is already looking like its going to have a positive effect on the surrounding environment, so while its not pedestrian friendly, yet, this definitely will start the process.

[Texasota]

I mean, it's on the light rail. It's easy to bike to. There's plenty of street parking within a few blocks.

 

But if developers use it as a reason *not* to provide dedicated parking at their own projects? That would be pretty fantastic, and a good prototype for public and quasi-public garages in other neighborhoods.

[Angostura]

4 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

I wholeheartedly agree the underground parking garage at Midtown Park is not at optimal capacity. Not factoring in residents living within walking distance, others travel to the park or places nearby in their vehicles and don't park here. Is it because they want to park closer somewhere else? Afraid to leave their vehicles? Aren't aware of the parking garage?

 

 

 

Because pretty much every place you would park in this garage to go already has their own parking. And street parking is plentiful 20 hours per day, and free after 6PM.

 

There are 12 blocks surrounding Midtown Park, and 10 of them are at least 50% surface parking. An 11th is pretty close to 50%, and the 12th is an apartment building wrapped around a parking garage. The area is not under-parked.

[MarathonMan]

1 hour ago, Angostura said:

Because pretty much every place you would park in this garage to go already has their own parking. And street parking is plentiful 20 hours per day, and free after 6PM.

 

There are 12 blocks surrounding Midtown Park, and 10 of them are at least 50% surface parking. An 11th is pretty close to 50%, and the 12th is an apartment building wrapped around a parking garage. The area is not under-parked.

The area is not lacking parking now. . . But it will be lacking parking not too far down the road, especially with the parking requirements placed on developers being lifted in Midtown. 

Edited September 13, 2019 by MarathonMan

[Texasota]

Midtown has a very long way to go before it's "lacking" parking. All of the new and new-ish development has plentiful, if not excessive, parking. There is plenty of street parking and, since all of the new townhouses have off-street parking, it's pretty widely available. 

 

Even if every new development had zero parking moving forward (which is implausible to say the least), it would take a while to tilt that balance.

 

Of course, MarathonMan and I may very well also disagree on what constitutes enough parking. 

[Angostura]

On 9/13/2019 at 11:46 AM, MarathonMan said:

The area is not lacking parking now. . . But it will be lacking parking not too far down the road, especially with the parking requirements placed on developers being lifted in Midtown. 

 

Let's say you own a block in Midtown with (considering 5-ft setbacks) about 57,000 of buildable area that currently has a 20,000 s.f. strip center and 90 surface parking spaces. At triple net retail lease rates of $2/month, those 90 parking spaces are costing you over $800/month each in opportunity costs. So yes, I'd expect the number of parking spaces to decline over time.

 

Since it's not very efficient to charge for parking in small lots in front of strip centers, I'd expect parking to be concentrated in places like this garage. I'd also expect parking to be more efficiently allocated once it's priced at a level above zero. 

[Houston19514]

1 hour ago, Angostura said:

 

Let's say you own a block in Midtown with (considering 5-ft setbacks) about 57,000 of buildable area that currently has a 20,000 s.f. strip center and 90 surface parking spaces. At triple net retail lease rates of $2/month, those 90 parking spaces are costing you over $800/month each in opportunity costs. So yes, I'd expect the number of parking spaces to decline over time.

 

Since it's not very efficient to charge for parking in small lots in front of strip centers, I'd expect parking to be concentrated in places like this garage. I'd also expect parking to be more efficiently allocated once it's priced at a level above zero. 

 

Good points, but you are assuming that the market for retail space without parking or with nearby/shared structured parking will be the same as the market for retail space with storefront parking.  Currently, at least, that is probably not the case.

[phillip_white]

The fencing is down around the northern plaza park.

[dbigtex56]

1 hour ago, phillip_white said:

The fencing is down around the northern plaza park.

The sidewalks are finally open, too.
Hallelujah, saints be praised, and about @#$@*ing time!

[Angostura]

5 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

 

Good points, but you are assuming that the market for retail space without parking or with nearby/shared structured parking will be the same as the market for retail space with storefront parking.  Currently, at least, that is probably not the case.

 

Some properties for lease (w/o parking) on LoopNet:

 

$2.60/sf/mo

$2.25/sf/mo (2nd floor)

$2.25/sf/mo

$2.50/sf/mo

$2.92/sf/mo

 

Making a place denser and more walkable tends to increase, not decrease rents, though the tenant mix will probably be different.

 

 

 

 

[BeerNut]

I thought they wanted to people to park here.  I wasn't aware of any event today.

Skaters seem to enjoy the area on the north side.

So much concrete... Hopefully this was necessary for the future restaurant build

[dbigtex56]

10 hours ago, BeerNut said:

I thought they wanted to people to park here.  I wasn't aware of any event today

There was a sold-out game at Minute Maid Park (Western Champs!)
Isn't this is about half the going rate (maybe less) than the lots adjacent to the ball park? Covered parking, adjacent to McGowen Station, perception of better security...for some people, $25 might look like a good deal.

[H-Town Man]

On ‎9‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 1:54 PM, Angostura said:

 

Some properties for lease (w/o parking) on LoopNet:

 

$2.60/sf/mo

$2.25/sf/mo (2nd floor)

$2.25/sf/mo

$2.50/sf/mo

$2.92/sf/mo

 

Making a place denser and more walkable tends to increase, not decrease rents, though the tenant mix will probably be different.

 

 

 

 

 

This is highly sensitive to location and age of the building. If you are getting those rates from ground floor spaces in new multi-family buildings along Main Street, you cannot compare that to a 10-year old strip center on Smith or Milam.

 

On Main Street I think we are there in terms of the parking lot hurting more than it helps. On the streets that lead to/from the Spur, I think the parking lot still adds positive value because of the high traffic counts and the nature of commuters wanting to make a quick stop on the way home. On Travis I am not so sure, would be interesting to analyze the numbers.