CSUrams Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Does anyone know where on Lake Houston this is?County envisions community for vetsLake Houston's the site of 91-unit development that will take 4 years to buildBy MIKE SNYDER HOUSTON CHRONICLEApril 23, 2009, 9:21PMIn an unusual venture for a public housing agency, the Harris County Housing Authority has purchased a 91-acre site on Lake Houston where it plans to develop a veteran-themed community of homes, businesses and patriotic memorials the agency hopes will attract visitors. The $165 million project, known as Patriots by the Lake, is contingent on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs relocating offices and other facilities from the Texas Medical Center to the Lake Houston site, providing $9.2 million in annual lease payments that would help to finance the development.While a local VA official expressed enthusiasm about the plan, it can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonveteran Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 It's a great project and I look forward to seeing how this plays out. I'm told its located on west Lake Houston Parkway north of the Summerwood development.Does anyone know where on Lake Houston this is?County envisions community for vetsLake Houston's the site of 91-unit development that will take 4 years to buildBy MIKE SNYDER HOUSTON CHRONICLEApril 23, 2009, 9:21PMIn an unusual venture for a public housing agency, the Harris County Housing Authority has purchased a 91-acre site on Lake Houston where it plans to develop a veteran-themed community of homes, businesses and patriotic memorials the agency hopes will attract visitors. The $165 million project, known as Patriots by the Lake, is contingent on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs relocating offices and other facilities from the Texas Medical Center to the Lake Houston site, providing $9.2 million in annual lease payments that would help to finance the development.While a local VA official expressed enthusiasm about the plan, it can't proceed without the approval of the agency's national leadership, which the housing authority hopes to secure in May.The project, to be built over four years, would include about 160 subsidized apartments for the elderly and more than 600 market-rate town homes and single-family houses, a nursing home and other facilities for veterans and their families, a community center, a hotel, shops, restaurants and 13 memorials, such as a replica of the iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising sculpture.A key feature would be a black granite wall with laser-inscribed images of soldiers killed in action.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6389614.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatesdisastr Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 isnt there already a topic about the patrios by the lake somewhere on here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 This place looks pretty sweet. This seems like a really good idea and plan. They have a pretty decent video too.http://www.patriotsbythelake.com/spotlight.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Woah, I like it alot. Here's more info of the development in more detail... HCHA Housing Americas, a Texas non-profit corporation formed by the Harris County Housing Authority ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyEvilTwin Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 The memorials & such sound nice. But I'm a little curious about the idea of zoning off a section of town for veterans. By and large, wouldn't it be better to integrate than to isolate veterans returning home? I'm not a veteran, and I know nothing about this topic. I'd be interested in hearing the opinions of a few vets. I guess the other side of the coin may be that you'd have a readily-available support group all around you? Seems a bit artificial though... Maybe this is just one project, but if ideas like this catch on, then it seems like over time those of us who AREN'T vets would be less likely to have neighbors who ARE vets, which doesn't seem particularly good for either group in the long run...? Seems like you could accomplish most of what this project envisions without the housing component (although the "you" here wouldn't be the Harris County Housing Authority then, I guess!). And then (maybe?) you help the veterans out with housing via tax breaks & the like, regardless of location.Just thoughts, not judging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 The memorials & such sound nice. But I'm a little curious about the idea of zoning off a section of town for veterans. By and large, wouldn't it be better to integrate than to isolate veterans returning home? I'm not a veteran, and I know nothing about this topic. I'd be interested in hearing the opinions of a few vets. I guess the other side of the coin may be that you'd have a readily-available support group all around you? Seems a bit artificial though... Maybe this is just one project, but if ideas like this catch on, then it seems like over time those of us who AREN'T vets would be less likely to have neighbors who ARE vets, which doesn't seem particularly good for either group in the long run...? Seems like you could accomplish most of what this project envisions without the housing component (although the "you" here wouldn't be the Harris County Housing Authority then, I guess!). And then (maybe?) you help the veterans out with housing via tax breaks & the like, regardless of location.Just thoughts, not judging.Somehow, I'm doubting that the population housed by this group quarters facility are going to be the most productive members of society, so to speak. They probably couldn't afford to live next to you. My question is who's going to live next to them? Aside from the facility, there are homesites and condos as part of the master plan. Lake Houston isn't a viable area for condos to begin with, and most home buyers are going to be concerned about this large social services facility next door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 This seems like a development that is aimed at veterans, but not necessarily restricted to them. The main axis of it is centered around a Veterans Affairs center and hospice, along with retail, but they cannot reserve the housing 100% for vets, since that would go against the equal housing act. The site itself states that there is a goal to raise about 165 million dollars from donations to help purchase as many units as they can for the veterans; it is not coming out of taxpayer's pockets, as far as I know. Maybe some of the units will be sold to soldiers coming back from Afghanistan and or Iraq, so they may be production to an extent after all. As a whole package, it seems to be open to the community at large anyway, in order to sustain the retail on site. If the above statements are true, this is a win-win situation on all fronts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shasta Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 http://patriotsbythelake.com/masterplan.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/index.php?showtopic=20159 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Like topics combined Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Well, this is from late Jan.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6839012.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 How long will it stay veterans? How long will it be before all the veterans sell and move out? What will resale value look like, as after all its a niche community? I don't think it seems like a very good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 How long will it stay veterans? How long will it be before all the veterans sell and move out? What will resale value look like, as after all its a niche community? I don't think it seems like a very good idea.I'm pretty sure that this concept failed to gain political traction and is dead.Had it gone forward I'm sure that there would've been deed covenants and association bylaws to maintain its orientation towards veterans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 This project for some reason was on the Planning Commission Agenda this past week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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