Houston19514 Posted July 13, 2005 Share Posted July 13, 2005 Considering that you can't find these stores anywhere else except Baybrook, Willowbrook, First Colony, or the Galleria here in Houston - I would consider them upper-end stores. There is a difference between upper-end & boutique.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>There's also a difference between upper-end, boutique, and designer stores. The Galleria has many true designer stores, eg., Armani, Ralph Lauren, etc., etc., etc., while Memorial City has none. Having said that, I will agree with you that Memorial City may be slightly more upscale than the average suburban mall (at least in Houston). But only slightly more so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Only "slightly more so"? Jeez! Talk about splitting hairs here. Memorial City is upscale, as far as suburban malls go, for all the reasons mentioned. It's a lot like Rice Village, and I consider that upscale. What you're talking about (The Galleria) to me isn't "upscale", it's couture (for the most part). At least, as couture as you can get without being in Paris. The Target at Memorial City, while not a SuperTarget, is a lovely Target indeed. I know, because I shop there all the time. For the record, I spend plenty of time at Neiman-Marcus over here too (at T&C), so the snob factor is rendered pretty much moot. May I say that I'd much rather shop at Target than Wal-Mart, but not so much due to product availability as the clientele our local Wal-Mart seems to serve. I guess that's where I actually am a snob. Or perhaps I just don't want to be killed when I go to my car. I love Town & Country Village for two things: Restoration Hardware and Williams-Sonoma. I only know of one other location in Houston that has those stores, and that's Highland Village (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Yes, of course, the standard Gap Crap is there, and Starbucks (uh....where is there NOT a Starbucks? ) but with Harold Powell, Accessory Place, Chick, ZBead, Talbot's, and Chocolate Soup...well, they make Town & Country anything BUT an "ordinary" strip mall. The dining choices make it even more unique with Cafe Express, Escalante's, James Coney Island, Skeeter's, La Madeleine, Stone Mill Bakers, and even plain old ordinary TGI Friday's . Just my observations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 "What you're talking about (The Galleria) to me isn't "upscale", it's couture (for the most part). At least, as couture as you can get without being in Paris."Whew. Thanks for clearing THAT up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casual Observer Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Okay... lets get this straight:Couture is not a type of store - its a type of style. Couture is 90% going to be Boutique. Here in Houston however, we have most of our Couture Boutique stores in the Galleria. I guess it really is too hot in Houston.Designer is also not a type of store, but rather a type of style. Designer is found in upscale stores.So..Boutique = CoutureUpscale = Designer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted July 16, 2005 Share Posted July 16, 2005 Umm.... I never said couture "store"...... I was talking about the Galleria as a whole. Would "couture style" satisfy you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 This is my 2 cents on this, but this is the lamest argument I have ever read.I did laugh, but only because at how stupid the topic was.Can we get back to talking about memorial city mall and not about a versus battle between the galleria? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casual Observer Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Sure..okay..well..You wanted to talk - so talk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Anyone have any ideas as to how to develop a vibrant urban corridor connecting the Memorial City project and the Town & Country project? Since they're both underway, it would seem a good idea to make the most of it. Think Memorial City can form a management district like Westchase, Uptown, Upper Kirby, Midtown and so forth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoAtomic Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Think Memorial City can form a management district like Westchase, Uptown, Upper Kirby, Midtown and so forth?<{POST_SNAPBACK}>They already have one, the Memorial TIRZ. Number 17, I think. Also, the Spring Branch area is now in a TIRZ wannabe, the Spring Branch Management District, which spans all the way from West of BW8, north to Tanner or thereabouts, East to Hempstead Hwy, and to just South of Westview.Management districts have some definite plusses, but I still think their net effect is to tax small businesses out of existence. Something about a bunch of moneybags developers and business owners (MetroNational and certain private homebuilders in this case) controlling the moneypot from these 'assessments' just doesn't seem right, even if it does benefit the community as a whole. Just my 2 cents ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Interesting. Give me an example of these TIRZs taxing smaller businesses out of existence. I'm not a Houston native and have only been here just over five years, so I'm not all that clear on the history of TIRZs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 Actually, Hiz, TIRZs aren't much older than 5 years, so you know as much as anyone else. Since the only revenue that a TIRZ gets is the difference between the taxes on the old appraisal and the current one, I don't see how they can tax a small business out of existence...unless you blame the TIRZ for improving the area and making it more attractive to do business in, thereby increasing the property values, which increases property taxes...in that case, they are guilty as charged.But, that is exactly what they are designed to do. Wouldn't small business owners (other than hourly motel owners) WANT their area to be improved to draw more business to their stores? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjb434 Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Good brief explanation on TIRZ's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Yeah, thanks, Red Scare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 The Memorial development is similar (as far as how far a long) to this construction site in Dallas. The same cement sticks are up there to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Man, at first I thought that was a picture of the construction site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonsemipro Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Why they show other cities pictures? We don't care about Dallas. Let's see some construction sites in Houston.Damn, and I thought that was the new site of the Memorial City Mall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjb434 Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 I need to pass by there this weekend.Is they site just west of Gessner? That's supposed to be the medical portion of the development. If it's on the east side of Gessner, then it would be part of the mixed-use retail, residential, and office space development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonsemipro Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 New Cinemark theater to open in Memorial City MallHouston Business JournalCinemark USA Inc. and MetroNational Corp. have announced plans to build a 20-screen, all-stadium-seating movie theater at Memorial City Mall, which is expected to open by late 2006. Recent Company News Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casual Observer Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 This is great for us on the west side that have had to choose between ghetto tinsel-town Westchase, and the overly busy AMC 30 on Dunvale. I wonder where at on the property they're going to build it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Not if its still a Cinemark theatre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjb434 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 There's alway Edwards at the Marq E too.It looks like Memorial City will earn the City title in a few years. It'll be a new urban hub like Westchase, Greenspoint, Greenway and Med Center.Uptown won't be the only urban place outside of downtown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoAtomic Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Since the only revenue that a TIRZ gets is the difference between the taxes on the old appraisal and the current one, I don't see how they can tax a small business out of existence<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Actually, the way I understand a 'Management District' (which is a step to becoming a TIRZ), an 'assessment' is levied on all COMMERCIAL property owners within that district once it comes into existence. An assessment is just a fancy word for another tax.Example of my concern: my favorite donut shop is Anna's Donuts, a mom&pop run by a really sweet family near my house. They're up there at 4 in the morning every day including Sunday, but I don't think they make buckets of money. Their shop is in a strip center on Gessner.So, once the owner of the strip center gets his assessment notice, it's more money out of his pocket and less income, so he'll have to raise the rents, the added dollars for which the owners of Annas Donuts will have to pony up from their existing income. Sure, maybe they'll raise prices some to cover it, but at some point it may be too much, and they'll have to move on or close.That's my understanding of how these things work - if someone knows differently, please share.That said, my key point is that I don't believe that the basis for legal formation of a Mgm District or a TIRZ - the property owners in the area that hold 50% or more of the commercial land value in the area - should necessarily be the ones directing how the future assessment dollars are spent, which is usually the case when these same property owners sit on the Board of the MgmDistrict or TIRZ. It just smacks of a chicken-in-the-henhouse scenario to me, since everyone ultimately is inclined to do what's best for their bottom line. I mean, these people aren't elected by the public or anything, they've been given this authority to spend collected monies simply because their company owns a lot of property in the district. That doesn't seem like a fair chance for the small guys to me .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonsemipro Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I tell you one thing. MetroNational is really taking Memorial area pretty seriously. They meant what they said "Memorial will be mini city after they get finish with it."I like their attitude about things. That's want this city needs to be more aggressive, to have more companies like MetroNational on their list.Maybe, MetroNational needs to take over downtown also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjb434 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 ^^^Good point.I think MetroNational feels that this location is just prime spot they can turn into another great Urban place.If you look at the demographics for Houston and the stats they use to entice stores to open in the area, it shows that it is the center of the population in Houston. Meaning that the population is fairly evenly distributed around the Memorial City location. Looking at the map on wall in my office, io looks to be right. Other than the Woodlands, Kingwood, and Clear Lake being a little out there, the much of the rest of the city centers around this geographic location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casual Observer Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Not if its still a Cinemark theatre.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Not nessessarily. The people that go to a theater are what makes it ghetto - not the name of the theater itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Hizzy! Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Too bad they didn't/wouldn 't/couldn't trench the Katy at Gessner. That might have facilitated the spreading of the higher-scale development at Memorial City and T&C across the freeway and up along Gessner, which is starting to show its age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoAtomic Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 I tell you one thing. MetroNational is really taking Memorial area pretty seriously. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>You bet they are. They're investing big bucks for the long term, and intend to make obscene amounts of money from that investment down the road.But the area IS thriving, and for that I have to give them credit. And, fortunately, they are giving the area some architectural variety from the commercial monotony that has been seen in Houston for the past several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Memorial City is already a clean new looking area, imagine how the development will make it look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 28, 2005 Share Posted July 28, 2005 Is the Target at the Memorial City Mall a Super Target?<{POST_SNAPBACK}>YES it is super, but it has no grocery store so it is not really a Super Target. BTW, it ROCKS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
citykid09 Posted July 29, 2005 Share Posted July 29, 2005 I wonder what will go in Lord and Taylor? That movie theater ought to go there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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