Hardy Yards Developments

[j_cuevas713]

Especially in an area where the infrastructure was laid first. What other plans are for Hard Yards? I know we've seen many renderings but these developments seem to be happening "unplanned." Are there still plans for retail and a park area?

Edited April 27, 2021 by j_cuevas713

[Response]

Parking Lot, 5

Weed Patch, 3

 

Parking Lot wins. Plus it's so urban! Ugly urban, but urban.

Parking lot puts the urb in urban.

Weed Patch makes me sneeze, has snakes and gets mud in my car. 

 

Remember when everybody thought this was going to look like Victory Park? Now we are arguing about whether weed patches are better than parking lots. I'm so disappointed in this project that I don't even care about it anymore. Thank Christ for Regent Square and Autry Park and East River.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Response

[jmitch94]

On 4/27/2021 at 8:02 AM, samagon said:

is it though? 

heat island effect, non-permeable surface, animal habitat, etc.

Depends on your goals. If you’re for increasing population density and creating a more urban city then yes this is about the bare minimum in regards to working toward that goal. This one project isn’t going to noticeably affect any of the concerns you listed and yes, I know a million rocks make a mountain but this mountain is already built. 

[hindesky]

East lot.

West lot water retention pond.

[hindesky]

From the Elysian you can see the eastern portion of the Prose is 2/3 parking and 1/3 apartments.

[Urban Monster]

Installing barbed wire might do even more wonders for this already incredible project 😳 

[Urban Monster]

They did it!!

 

[Kinglyam]

Here's hoping residents can get together and convince HEB to buy that last 10 acres and do something with a bit of retail in there. Seems like the perfect place for an HEB, given all the units nearby, and the only grocery store within a 1-mile radius is that little Fiesta on Fulton.

[thedistrict84]

On 5/28/2021 at 2:30 PM, Kinglyam said:

Here's hoping residents can get together and convince HEB to buy that last 10 acres and do something with a bit of retail in there. Seems like the perfect place for an HEB, given all the units nearby, and the only grocery store within a 1-mile radius is that little Fiesta on Fulton.

Even if you have higher density from these projects and others nearby (the new development on the Bayou, across I-10 off of McKee for instance), the AMI isn't nearly high enough for HEB to consider for a store. If anything, they will be looking at something in East River Phase 2 or across the Bayou in Second Ward (at the old Olshan compound, for instance), and even that is a question mark. 

It's baffling, but HEB has zero stores east of 45 inside the loop, yet three within an approximately two mile radius near Montrose. I know everyone here in Texas seems to love HEB, but their unwillingness to put a store anywhere except nicer neighborhoods is a bit messed up. The new store on 288 might seem like a step in the right direction, but even that was a relocation of an existing store away from a more economically depressed area towards a more affluent area (Museum District and Med Center). 

[Two]

Yeah, there's not enough ppl. And there's already a NNS fiesta just 1.08 km from Leona St in Hardy Yards.

I've looked at that old TSP red warehouse and thought it would make the perfect place for  Houston Farmers Market clone. Much better long run positioning. Along the redline, bus depot. Easy distance from just about every bustling development center/district could have access to it, unlike the Houston Farmers Market which isn't very accessible without a car, this would be by everyone within walking distance of the rail. With midtown, eado, east river, and DT new spree of res units going up it's a place for all these people to get farmers market food.

Edited May 31, 2021 by Two

[j_cuevas713]

1 minute ago, Two said:

Yeah, there's not enough ppl. And there's already a NNS fiesta just 1.08 km from Leona St in Hardy Yards.

I've looked at that old TSP red warehouse and thought it would make the perfect place for  Houston Farmers Market clone. Much better long run positioning. Along the redline, bus depot. Easy distance from just about every bustling development center/district could have access to it, unlike the Houston Farmers Market which isn't very accessible without a car, this would be by everyone within walking distance of the rail.

I agree. While I like the new farmer's market, the pedestrian access still isn't the best. From the sidewalk to the front entrance there is no pedestrian walkway. Not sure who to contact about that. And like you said, simply getting there is a challenge without a car. 

[Triton]

The other major problem with this area of the Northside is there is a lack of quick access from the surrounding highways. Whether we want to admit it or not, Houston is still a very car centric city and all of the HEBs, with the exception of the Montrose location, all are within several blocks of a major highway. 

On the other hand, the major plus if HEB did build here is its closeness to downtown. I could see people coming here after work before having to sit in traffic.

That being said, there are much better areas around downtown to build another HEB... Eado, Midtown or maybe even on the ground floor of a major development in downtown itself.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

[Kinglyam]

So the City bought that ten acres for yet more mixed-income housing. At least they're asking for input from the community.

New Homes for the Near Northside | Housing and Community Development Department (houstontx.gov)

[Triton]

Will not be surprised if there is intense backlash against this.

[Kinglyam]

Which I anticipate will have about as much effect on the end result as any other backlash against development in a non-rich neighborhood. 

[iah77]

1 hour ago, Kinglyam said:

Which I anticipate will have about as much effect on the end result as any other backlash against development in a non-rich neighborhood. 

It's interesting they are saying "higher density" but will be single family homes? 

[Texasota]

A fully built out rowhouse neighborhood would be great, and pretty easy to integrate multiple affordability levels into.

[Kinglyam]

18 minutes ago, iah77 said:

It's interesting they are saying "higher density" but will be single family homes? 

It says they're considering all sorts of things, including condos. Which could still be built as part of a mixed-use development. I think that would be a really good option for lower-income people to buy into instead of renting. That would build value quickly, and I suspect have more resale options than a single-family home.

6 minutes ago, Texasota said:

A fully built out rowhouse neighborhood would be great, and pretty easy to integrate multiple affordability levels into.

Do they even build rowhouses anymore? I can't see that happening. If it were single-family homes, I bet it would be row after row of the stuff CRV is building there, at best. Probably even with a suburban layout with cul-de-sacs and the whole nine yards. At least that would fit in with the outside-parking apartments that Prose appears to be doing.

[Texasota]

3 hours ago, Kinglyam said:

Do they even build rowhouses anymore? I can't see that happening. 

Who's they? The City? I don't think they have before, but this would be a great opportunity to do something more interesting. I just don't know what else "higher density" could mean if they're planning all single family, unless only the market rate stuff is single family and the affordable stuff is condos. Even then, I would think the single family stuff would at least be semi-detached (twins) rather than all detached. 

[mkultra25]

So where's Yellow Cab moving to, if the "North Site" is going to be developed at their current location?

Maybe the city can get Elvin Hayes to revamp his Yellow Cab ad for the new development. 

"When you really make it big - single-family home big - you're on Hays Street."

 

[Triton]

14 hours ago, Kinglyam said:

Which I anticipate will have about as much effect on the end result as any other backlash against development in a non-rich neighborhood. 

False.

The Northside has prevented several similar developments from moving forward, for better or worse. I would know... I've attended the meetings with the superneighborhood community members and the developers. 

I remember shortly after the 2016 election, the Northside superneighborhood held a meeting with a developer looking to build affordable housing which I remember being close to UH-D (but don't quote me on that one). People were yelling Josue Flores' name, the boy who had been murdered by a person staying at the Salvation Army site, as a key reason not to go ahead with this. They chanted "we have enough housing on this side! Go to some other part of town that can take them in!" I supported the development but the backlash was intense to the point they were yelling down anyone who supported it (if anyone could find an article, that would be great!). 

It was quite a vivid experience because I remember people crying when the decision was read that the housing development would not go forward.

[wilcal]

@Triton Do you think it'll be any different with these being homes that are being sold to the public via a land trust? I'm not aware of any similar efforts in this neighborhood.

I would think that there might be different community feedback considering these will be homes for sale and not "just" subsidized apartments. 

[Kinglyam]

16 hours ago, Texasota said:

Who's they? The City? I don't think they have before, but this would be a great opportunity to do something more interesting. I just don't know what else "higher density" could mean if they're planning all single family, unless only the market rate stuff is single family and the affordable stuff is condos. Even then, I would think the single family stuff would at least be semi-detached (twins) rather than all detached. 

"They" is a general developer "they." I haven't seen an attached home under development anywhere for years. Developers seem to go out of their way to be able to claim it's a detached property, even if the houses are so close you could literally knock on your neighbor's window from your own window.

Since a lot of it is supposed to be income-limited, clearly that seems like a cheaper option. But it's not all limited, and the developers will still want to appeal to whomever has the money to pay market rate. Not that I think there is going to be a lot of demand for houses in a mixed-income neighborhood with no amenities nearby, when you've got places like East River with real mixed used and plenty of pure gentrification going on.

[Triton]

5 hours ago, wilcal said:

@Triton Do you think it'll be any different with these being homes that are being sold to the public via a land trust? I'm not aware of any similar efforts in this neighborhood.

I think these will likely move forward, in all honesty. I'm just saying, this area has been known to protest against several different developers, despite it being a poorer community. If you remember, they even protested against White Oak Music Hall and received a settlement out of proceedings.

[Kinglyam]

I spoke to some neighbors yesterday who attended the first meeting. They reported the first round of comments were uniformly negative.

Supposedly the plan is to sell the homes below $90,000, then artificially cap the property value increases on these homes at 1.5% per annum (less than the Fed's target inflation rate), which I expect would have the effect of depressing neighborhood property value growth, too. I'm not an economist, but it seems to me that having an artificial cap below the annual inflation rate is NOT going to help lower income homeowners build capital?

[phillip_white]

2 hours ago, Kinglyam said:

I spoke to some neighbors yesterday who attended the first meeting. They reported the first round of comments were uniformly negative.

Supposedly the plan is to sell the homes below $90,000, then artificially cap the property value increases on these homes at 1.5% per annum (less than the Fed's target inflation rate), which I expect would have the effect of depressing neighborhood property value growth, too. I'm not an economist, but it seems to me that having an artificial cap below the annual inflation rate is NOT going to help lower income homeowners build capital?

Capping the property tax valuation will absolutely help low income homeowners build equity by reducing their annual tax bill. This is the same idea behind homestead exemptions, over 65, disabled, etc. The properties are still appraised at market value, but the increase on taxable valuation is limited. Also, there is usually a 10 year waiting period before they can be sold at full market value without having to return some portion of the profit to the city. There was a similar program in 3rd Ward a few years ago and those houses are probably worth $100k more by now. Because the tax valuation is limited, the homeowner isn't forced out of their home due to their income not increasing as fast as gentrification.

 

That being said, I definitely don't think Hardy Yards is the right places for this type of development scheme. They should be targeting the area northeast of St Arnold's or 5th Ward where there are more vacant lots than houses.

[Kinglyam]

1 minute ago, phillip_white said:

Capping the property tax valuation will absolutely help low income homeowners build equity by reducing their annual tax bill. This is the same idea behind homestead exemptions, over 65, disabled, etc. The properties are still appraised at market value, but the increase on taxable valuation is limited. Also, there is usually a 10 year waiting period before they can be sold at full market value without having to return some portion of the profit to the city. There was a similar program in 3rd Ward a few years ago and those houses are probably worth $100k more by now. Because the tax valuation is limited, the homeowner isn't forced out of their home due to their income not increasing as fast as gentrification.

 

That being said, I definitely don't think Hardy Yards is the right places for this type of development scheme. They should be targeting the area northeast of St Arnold's or 5th Ward where there are more vacant lots than houses.

What my neighbor heard was that they couldn't SELL the house for more than 1.5% per year they lived in the house. It had nothing to do with the tax valuation. When asked about it, the city representative said it was intended to keep the houses available for low income people, meaning they will never sell at market value. Perhaps my neighbor misunderstood, but it doesn't sound like it based on that response.

[iah77]

That sounds correct, has nothing to do with capping value for property tax purposes.