JLWM8609 Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Today, the last apartment building on the property where the Bayou Landing Apartments formerly stood (3101 N. MacGregor) was demolished. The apartments were flooded out during Ike and have stood vacant and boarded up since. Despite being boarded up after Ike, the boards were pried off and glass broken. It was likely done by druggies trying to turn the place into a multi-residence crack house. Good Hope Baptist Church recently bought the property and proceeded to tear the apartments down without haste, sometimes working well into the night to continue the demolition process. Good Hope's plans are to add dirt to help reduce flooding and put a parking lot there. I hope they preserve some of the old growth trees that are there, I'll ask them if that's in their plans. I know there's much aversion to parking lots on this board, but I grew up here in Riverside and always heard sirens and gunshots coming from those apartments. I'd rather see a quiet church parking lot there rather than crime ridden apartments. The parking lot will also help take parked cars off of N. MacGregor on Sunday mornings. I spoke with an HPD officer earlier this week who said he was so glad to see those apartments going away. I always remember hearing sirens over there, if not from HPD it was from HFD. There would be false or exaggerated calls coming in from over there as it would be common to see fire trucks coming in and there would be no fire at all. It will certainly be quieter around here. Up next on the demolition list appears to be the Bayou Bend Apartments on Bayou Bend Ct. as they're now surrounded by fencing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Are these the ones that backed up to the Columbia Tap bike/pedestrian trail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Are these the ones that backed up to the Columbia Tap bike/pedestrian trail?Yessir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Good! Those were the worst part of that trail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsal29 Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 That is great news. Will have to drive by and check it out this weekend. Who owns the Bayou Bend Apartments? Wasn't the church trying to buy that property also? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 That is great news. Will have to drive by and check it out this weekend. Who owns the Bayou Bend Apartments? Wasn't the church trying to buy that property also?I don't know if they tried to buy that property, but I heard a rumor that they're looking for more properties.HCAD shows this info for the Bayou Bend ApartmentsBAYOU BEND COURT APARTMENTS LLC2626 S LOOP W STE 480HOUSTON TX 77054-2642 And now here's something else of interest. The Bayou Garden apartments at 3200 N. MacGregor are right on the north bank of Brays Bayou near N. MacGregor and Sampson. They are currently occupied, but I don't know what their fate will be as HCAD lists this the vacant Bayou Bend apartments as their owner's address.BAYOU CREST INVESTMENTS LP5800 BAYOU BEND CT APT 501HOUSTON TX 77004-7865 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Good! Those were the worst part of that trail!No, the worst part of that trail was the crackhead who was laying down flat on his back passed out across it. 2 Sundays ago. I'm thinking, hmmm, do I jump him? Do I ride over him and see if he notices? Do I pass on the head or feet end? Is he going to throw that empty bottle at my head? One time I encountered an alligator on some sand trails out on the Brazos river bank near Rosenberg and had the same thoughts. Well, except the part about the bottle. But yea, those apts needed to go a long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 No, the worst part of that trail was the crackhead who was laying down flat on his back passed out across it. 2 Sundays ago. I'm thinking, hmmm, do I jump him? Do I ride over him and see if he notices? Do I pass on the head or feet end? Is he going to throw that empty bottle at my head? Yes, but that is a dynamic element while the apartments were a static element. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 Good Hope's plans are to add dirt to help reduce flooding and put a parking lot there. I hope they preserve some of the old growth trees that are there, I'll ask them if that's in their plans. Raising the property with fill will only redirect floodwaters onto adjacent lower-lying properties. If it's going to be a parking lot, then they ought to try to work in conjunction with HCFCD to excavate even just a few feet down so as to provide extra water detention capacity during major flood events.And if Bayou Bend really is targeted for demolition, the HCFCD needs to be on top of this development. The apartments comprise the majority of improved value between N. MacGregor and the Brays Bayou floodway. HCFCD should initiate eminent domain proceedings for the properties within that bend, reroute the path of Brays Bayou to remove the bend, and convert the unused section of old channel to a detention basin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted November 21, 2009 Share Posted November 21, 2009 This area is a complicated one, with the old route of the bayou running thru that area, the water flow issue will definitely have to be addressed...I agree, good to know those nasty apts. are disappearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Timmy Chan's Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Raising the property with fill will only redirect floodwaters onto adjacent lower-lying properties. If it's going to be a parking lot, then they ought to try to work in conjunction with HCFCD to excavate even just a few feet down so as to provide extra water detention capacity during major flood events.My thoughts exactly. A parking lot isn't subject to damage from floodwaters. Of course any cars parked on the lot are subject to damage, but they're mobile...and there's plenty of time to move cars before Brays gets out of its banks. Why fill it unless there are plans to develop it later? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted November 22, 2009 Author Share Posted November 22, 2009 My thoughts exactly. A parking lot isn't subject to damage from floodwaters. Of course any cars parked on the lot are subject to damage, but they're mobile...and there's plenty of time to move cars before Brays gets out of its banks. Why fill it unless there are plans to develop it later?You may have answered your own question. Who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Why fill it unless there are plans to develop it later?Unlikely. If future development is on their agenda, they can bring in fill dirt in the future. In the meantime, the money that it'd cost them to bring in the fill can be stashed away, bearing interest that can go towards the future expansion.Somebody needs to open an official dialogue with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Are these the ones that backed up to the Columbia Tap bike/pedestrian trail?I could be wrong but I don't think these are the apartments that are backed up to the bike trail, I think they are the ones on the other side of McGregor from the bike trail. I drove by today. See this map: The demolition was at the place across from the Ardmore / N. McGregor intersection, not the ones next to Happy Angels Learning Center which actually back up to the bike trail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted November 22, 2009 Author Share Posted November 22, 2009 I could be wrong but I don't think these are the apartments that are backed up to the bike trail, I think they are the ones on the other side of McGregor from the bike trail. I drove by today. See this map: The demolition was at the place across from the Ardmore / N. McGregor intersection, not the ones next to Happy Angels Learning Center which actually back up to the bike trail.Happy Angels Learning Center is about a block or two down N. MacGregor from the Columbia Tap trail. It doesn't back up to the trail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 Oh I see, I was thinking of the wrong trail. I was talking about the trail that follows the bayou. I've got to check out that trail one of these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Oh I see, I was thinking of the wrong trail. I was talking about the trail that follows the bayou. I've got to check out that trail one of these days.You're not missing much. Some asphalt, the backs of some houses, another apartment complex that's inhabited and looks way beyond its prime. The trail on the S. MacGregor is nicer IMO, gives you a better view of the beautiful homes on S. MacGregor and a cool ravine that used to be the path of the bayou before Riverside was even platted out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I could be wrong but I don't think these are the apartments that are backed up to the bike trail, I think they are the ones on the other side of McGregor from the bike trail. I drove by today. See this map: The demolition was at the place across from the Ardmore / N. McGregor intersection, not the ones next to Happy Angels Learning Center which actually back up to the bike trail.Columbia Tap is a great little trail that starts in the warehouse district just a couple blocks east of downtown and ends at McGregor. I was using it to bike commute from downtown to the medical center for a while.Here's a map: http://bikeways.publicworks.houstontx.gov/images/maps/columbia_tap_062206.jpg Its the dotted green line, because it wasn't complete when the map was made.It starts weaving through some cool warehouses, then goes through a rail-oriented area with what looks like former rail stations, then goes straight through the heart of Third Ward, across the TSU campus, and finally past those nasty apartments (now demolished) ending at a bridge across the bayou at McGregor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I biked it on the weekend! Sorry if a few of these are off topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLWM8609 Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 Nice pics as usual, Jax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 What do you shoot with, Jax? Thinking about a Rebel XTi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Nevermind, checked the EXIF data. Cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Yep, Rebel XTi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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