Hardy Yards Developments

[Kinglyam]

Hardy Yards may have devolved into nothing but apartments, but it looks like the brewpub scene is picking up steam. This is coming to the former Texas Screw Products building at Fulton and Burnett. Are space-themed brewpubs going to be the area's thing?

Taproom | Bad Astronaut Brewing Co. | Houston (badastronautbeer.com)

[Kinglyam]

Considering how big this is, I'm surprised we haven't seen it here yet. Starting on page 17, from July, the planned layout and conceptual designs for the 10 acres left in Hardy Yards that the city is turning into housing.

They've thrown a bone to the mixed-use concept, with 7,500 sf retail closest to the transit center. A central greenspace, with proposed dog park (desperately needed in the area), as well as walking trails of some sort. 201 homes proposed, with three different floor plans.

housing-dept-presentation.pdf

[Texasota]

I can live with that site plan, and the architecture shown in the concept images is above average. Hopefully they keep to that.

[Texasota]

Now they just need to put a residential tower on top of the bus bays.

[j_cuevas713]

6 hours ago, Kinglyam said:

Considering how big this is, I'm surprised we haven't seen it here yet. Starting on page 17, from July, the planned layout and conceptual designs for the 10 acres left in Hardy Yards that the city is turning into housing.

They've thrown a bone to the mixed-use concept, with 7,500 sf retail closest to the transit center. A central greenspace, with proposed dog park (desperately needed in the area), as well as walking trails of some sort. 201 homes proposed, with three different floor plans.

housing-dept-presentation.pdf 2.1 MB · 25 downloads

Wow this is exciting stuff!

[iah77]

3 minutes ago, j_cuevas713 said:

Wow this is exciting stuff!

The style is identical to InTown/Lovett stuff being built and  I think they might be involved. 

[wilcal]

Rode through Hardy Yards on my bike last weekend, and this place just has no soul. Hopefully the rest of it being filled in will help. 

[Ross]

14 hours ago, wilcal said:

Rode through Hardy Yards on my bike last weekend, and this place just has no soul. Hopefully the rest of it being filled in will help. 

When all of the redevelopment started, I hoped they would keep the railroad buildings, as they had unique looks, and were visually interesting. Failing that, the new buildings could have been designed to mimic the older structures. Instead, we got generic stuff more suited to infill development on major roads, where there's not any real opportunity to get out of the building block look and still use the available space efficiently.

[Kinglyam]

19 hours ago, Texasota said:

Now they just need to put a residential tower on top of the bus bays.

No towers, please. We've got enough out-of-place high-rises in single-family residential areas around Houston as-is. It would be nice to keep that downtown skyline at least somewhat unobstructed for the houses farther back in the neighborhood. At least, until TxDOT forces their I-10 realignment through, and the view is bisected by the raised interstate.

[Kinglyam]

7 minutes ago, Ross said:

When all of the redevelopment started, I hoped they would keep the railroad buildings, as they had unique looks, and were visually interesting. Failing that, the new buildings could have been designed to mimic the older structures. Instead, we got generic stuff more suited to infill development on major roads, where there's not any real opportunity to get out of the building block look and still use the available space efficiently.

When they announced this would be "affordable" housing, that pretty much put the kibosh on anything special. Even what we see now is conceptual, since they don't have an architect, builder, or consultant on board yet. Not even any investors.

Hell, this entire thing is more hopeful than planned at this stage. It's not much farther along than the big mixed-use development we were told the entire 40 acres of Hardy Yards would be. We may well be lucky if we get even the 7,500 SF of retail they're saying here. Or even that they don't change their minds and end up putting up condos instead of single-family homes. It's not like the residents of the area have the political pull that developers do.

[Texasota]

20 minutes ago, Kinglyam said:

No towers, please. We've got enough out-of-place high-rises in single-family residential areas around Houston as-is. It would be nice to keep that downtown skyline at least somewhat unobstructed for the houses farther back in the neighborhood. At least, until TxDOT forces their I-10 realignment through, and the view is bisected by the raised interstate.

It's next to a light rail station 2 stops from downtown and backs up to heavy rail tracks.

Skyline views for residents of detached single family homes is the *lowest* possible priority I can imagine.

[Kinglyam]

On 11/2/2022 at 8:30 AM, Texasota said:

It's next to a light rail station 2 stops from downtown and backs up to heavy rail tracks.

Skyline views for residents of detached single family homes is the *lowest* possible priority I can imagine.

A lot of those residents were enticed there by the much-vaunted promises of mixed-use development in Hardy Yards. More single-family homes are definitely a disappointment, but putting high-rise residential that blocks all views for the existing residents would make the high-rise a giant middle finger to everyone already there.

[Texasota]

I'm really tired of hearing new homes called "a giant middle finger" to existing residents. Prioritizing skyline views over new homes is the real middle finger.

[phillip_white]

8 hours ago, Texasota said:

I'm really tired of hearing new homes called "a giant middle finger" to existing residents. Prioritizing skyline views over new homes is the real middle finger.

Agreed. I would rather become the skyline than see it.

[Robotron713]

It’s just such a missed opportunity for the city as a whole. This could have been a big draw for everyone. Shopping, dining, and a public park/space set in front of our skyline could have given the city another draw towards DT like Discovery Green. It would be great for attracting visitors and locals alike. Another spot for events, photos (quince/grads/weddings/adverts/tourism), etc. All of which would encourage biz investment in the surrounding area. Im all for affordable single family houses but I’m disappointed there wont be a shared public space. Extra disappointing that’s it’s filled with soulless apartment complexes. It’s a waste of a unique spot. 

[hindesky]

 

[hindesky]

I saw something recently about the single family portion that said developers don't think they can finish the townhomes by the end of '24.  In order to receive federal funding this project must be finished by the end of 2024. So this might have to be converted to single story homes instead.

Saw a surveying crew working here with new surveyor stakes along Burnett St. and the crew on the little mound in the middle.

Edited December 28, 2022 by hindesky

[hindesky]

Kuo & Associates is the company doing the survey work.

https://kuoassociates.com

[Triton]

Out of all the big projects in Houston, this hands down turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments. Would have been the biggest mixed-use development close to home but instead all you hear about is the major crime going on Nextdoor at this place.

[004n063]

6 hours ago, Triton said:

Out of all the big projects in Houston, this hands down turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments. Would have been the biggest mixed-use development close to home but instead all you hear about is the major crime going on Nextdoor at this place.

Eh, I think all non-Nextdoor juries are still out on this. The moves away from mixed use and townhomes are certainly disappointing, but this is still densification within the TracknYard Barrier Lands, all of which outs pressure on the city to restitch neighborhoods, as we're already seeing with the San Jacinto/Fulton connector. 

[astrohip]

9 hours ago, Triton said:

instead all you hear about is the major crime going on Nextdoor at this place.

Take this with a grain of salt. I read an article (sorry, been a couple months and I don't have a link) about front-loading crime stories on NextDoor (and other sites), as part of a Red political oppo campaign.

Details: Republican political consultants felt one of the best ways to defeat Hidalgo was make crime front & center in voter's minds. So they flooded local web sites with crime stories. For example, on City-Data, a popular site for locals, they kept starting threads with subjects like "Crime in Houston is out of control", or "Are people leaving Woodlands due to crime?", etc. Then they would keep posting replies to keep it at the top.

On NextDoor, they started posting every time anything happened. "Someone stole my bikes out of my garage", "A friend had their car stolen last night", yada yada. Half the ND feed was minor crime events. I quit reading ND as it became 99% useless.

Does crime happen? Sure. And making people aware of it can help. But this was a deliberate campaign to over-saturate voters thru web sites. I need to go find that link...

[Houston19514]

6 minutes ago, astrohip said:

Take this with a grain of salt. I read an article (sorry, been a couple months and I don't have a link) about front-loading crime stories on NextDoor (and other sites), as part of a Red political oppo campaign.

Details: Republican political consultants felt one of the best ways to defeat Hidalgo was make crime front & center in voter's minds. So they flooded local web sites with crime stories. For example, on City-Data, a popular site for locals, they kept starting threads with subjects like "Crime in Houston is out of control", or "Are people leaving Woodlands due to crime?", etc. Then they would keep posting replies to keep it at the top.

On NextDoor, they started posting every time anything happened. "Someone stole my bikes out of my garage", "A friend had their car stolen last night", yada yada. Half the ND feed was minor crime events. I quit reading ND as it became 99% useless.

Does crime happen? Sure. And making people aware of it can help. But this was a deliberate campaign to over-saturate voters thru web sites. I need to go find that link...

I guess they were hoping people are unaware that The Woodlands is almost entirely in Montgomery (not Harris) County?  FWIW, ND has ALWAYS been this way (and thus 99% useless), at least in my experience.  

[Naviguessor]

Gave up on @Nextdoor a couple years ago.   Tends to make you dislike your neighbors and encourages people to be suspicious of one another.  It's a terrible platform IMO.

[Triton]

13 hours ago, astrohip said:

Take this with a grain of salt. I read an article (sorry, been a couple months and I don't have a link) about front-loading crime stories on NextDoor (and other sites), as part of a Red political oppo campaign.

Details: Republican political consultants felt one of the best ways to defeat Hidalgo was make crime front & center in voter's minds. So they flooded local web sites with crime stories. For example, on City-Data, a popular site for locals, they kept starting threads with subjects like "Crime in Houston is out of control", or "Are people leaving Woodlands due to crime?", etc. Then they would keep posting replies to keep it at the top.

On NextDoor, they started posting every time anything happened. "Someone stole my bikes out of my garage", "A friend had their car stolen last night", yada yada. Half the ND feed was minor crime events. I quit reading ND as it became 99% useless.

Does crime happen? Sure. And making people aware of it can help. But this was a deliberate campaign to over-saturate voters thru web sites. I need to go find that link...

Certainly possible especially during the campaign season but a lot of the crime I've seen has been going on ever since the Hardy Yards apartment units first opened. Vehicles broken into is a major problem. And I think the data alone did point to a bump in crime post-Covid. (homicides, burglaries, etc.... and I don't mean at this place, I mean city and even nationwide).

I guess to play devil's advocate, crime can really hit any multi-family complex especially hard but I guess it just hits me personally every time I see some alert about this place. It just plays into what this could have been... the initial renderings I saw and then the end product. True, crime could have still hit even a really nice spot and it's good we are getting some affordable housing around here. And then when I hear residents complain about the Fulton connection to San Jacinto bringing in more traffic into the area, I'm like... sure, possibly.... but it brings a better connection to our area. 

Anyway, sorry, just ranting over nothing. lol Hope everyone has a fun New Years. 😅

[j_cuevas713]

So if they don’t think they can finish by 2024, what are the surveyors doing out there? 

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

"Houston city officials are ending a $60 million program to develop affordable single-family housing communities using Hurricane Harvey disaster recovery money.

Houston notified the state office in August that it would not be able to complete its single-family development program by its February 2025 deadline, said Brittany Eck, director of communications for the GLO.

Keith Bynum, director of Houston's Housing and Community Development Department, said they were not granted more time to develop nearly 700 homes with the federal money.

Bynum said that the $43 million in Harvey recovery funds used to purchase land to build the nearly 700 homes will have to be returned to the GLO. Those projects, which had already lined up developers, will be scrapped and the land sold to recoup the money.

Almost 11 acres in the Near Northside at 850 Burnett St. had been purchased for $15.8 million to build 201 homes."

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/housing/article/large-tract-division-lay-offs-harvey-funds-18362644.php

[Kinglyam]

So now we get to go back on the "will it be mixed use or won't it" fretting.

Anyone got contacts at HEB to see if they could be interested?

[hindesky]

I think an HEB Mi Tienda would be perfect for this location. It will have easy access when IH 45 is moved next to it and San Jacinto St. is extended to meet Fulton.

 

The lot next to this belongs to Metro.

[004n063]

A grocery store within walking distance of dense housing and a transit stop, and accessible to drivers? Don't be ridiculous, Hindesky - that makes far too much sense.

Best we can do is a YogaJuice Salonstagram, WeWork, and maybe an "elevated" bistro.