TheNiche Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Speaking of missing the point. You take my response to another poster's unsupported statements and claim that it doesn't cover all of the issues you find important. Well, no sheet! Good job catching that. Do you want a cookie?That's pretty much how these light rail threads work, if you hadn't noticed.And yes, I'd like a cookie. Thanks for offering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highway6 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 How can we be lovers if we can't be friends?How can we start over when the fighting never ends? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
312 Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 Neither you nor 312 have given any proof whatsoever that businesses will be displaced. While there may be a few who must move because land is needed, there is no concrete evidence whatsoever that businesses must or will move in droves. Businesses have survived much greater disruptions for street reconstruction, such as the Cotswold project, which ripped up and replaced the sidewalks on 90 square blocks of downtown, or the downtown street reconstruction that replaced entire streets and sidewalks of every single downtown and most midtown thoroughfares. Even Uptown has gone through the West Loop, 59 interchange, Katy Freeway and interchange, feeder road and San Felipe reconstructions without losing businesses other than those taken by eminent domain. This 'discussion' of where businesses will move once Post Oak is used to build a rail line is out of all proportion to what has occurred in the past, yet a few posters continue to post as if it is a foregone conclusion. Idle threats by a few unnamed Uptown businesses who never said a word during the public discussions mean nothing. Besides, if they move, they are still in Houston. We lose nothing. Knock yourselves out.Cotswold $62 Million construction cost vs. light rail $2.6 Billion (est./(5 lines). There is over a 700% variance when comparing only 1 of the 5 lt. rail lines to Cotswold. Actually, I believe that Cotswold impacted 90 "blocks" , not 90 "square" blocks as you stated. Also believe that the lt. rail Red line is around 7.5 linear miles long impacting app. 105-150 blocks (est.). As if the cost variance alone doesn't dictate the difference between the projects alone maybe the actual amount of city blocks impacted might illustrate how many more block were impacted along with how much more construction is occuring per block. "Even Uptown has gone through the West Loop, 59 interchange, Katy Freeway and interchange, feeder road and San Felipe reconstructions without losing businesses other than those taken by eminent domain." Downtown has gone through more including light rail and Cotswold, but Uptown has gone through neither. It took 3 years for 1 line,and I bet it takes longer for construction on the next lines. It took people 2 years (est.) to just realize that construction was done. During the periods prior to light rail construction,and during the 3 years (est.) of actual light rail construction all I heard about was how bad construction was. Then it seemed that 2-3 years following construction people didn't even realize it was even completed. 5 + years is a long time for a business to sit in limbo paying rent, not to mention that the area has changed, tenants have left, and the lay of the land is basically a lot different when the dust settles. You enter a market to open a business thinking it was a good choice prior to light rail to have it nose dive and then go throw a very slow recovery period that takes years. I am not sure exactly what was worse either the negative publicity surrounding the construction of light rail or the actual construction itself, but both had a significant and lasting impact on downtown and anyone who actually experienced this would already know this. I think that is just the nature of the beast and I don't see any area being able to overcome these memories with regard to light rail and the impact it will have as it expands. It's just a given that retail businesses aren't going to last if they can't get customers to their store, not to mention the impact that it will have on the office market, condo market, or apt. market either. I believe that it might have already started to impact the galleria office market and expect it to increase as construction of light rail approaches. By the way, can you tell if the light rail construction is going to travel along Post Oak and eventually cut through Uptown Park shopping center on its way out to 290 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
312 Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share Posted March 5, 2010 and here is the space on shepherd i was talking about: http://swamplot.com/all-that-empty-retail-on-south-shepherd-a-drive-by-photo-tour/2009-06-25/ , some of which is certainly not Class A space, as you note.Htownproud: I researched that market and it does appear to have a lot of vacancies...What do you think might be causing this ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurf Posted March 6, 2010 Share Posted March 6, 2010 Can we just get over this "businesses will close, businesses will lose out" crap and start the Richmond & Uptown rail lines construction already? There will always be speculative buyers on the rail line. So many of Main St's vacant lots are owned by developers who want to cash out by putting a high rise up. With the little propoerty tax they have to pay on them, they can easily hold out for 20+ years before cashing out. It's corporate capitalism at work unless the city can enforce some kind of building codes for these corridors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
312 Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share Posted March 8, 2010 Article: Swamplot.com :Monday, March 1, 2010"Post Oak Strip Centers Versus the Uptown Light Rail Plan: The Gathering Storm"http://swamplot.com/post-oak-strip-centers-versus-the-uptown-light-rail-plan-the-gathering-storm/2010-03-01/It was interesting to read in the article that some businesses/tenants had not heard about the construction on Post Oak Boulevard of the Uptown light rail line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtticaFlinch Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 It was interesting to read in the article that some businesses/tenants had not heard about the construction on Post Oak Boulevard of the Uptown light rail line.Ignorance is no excuse, and I really don't feel bad for Mack. If he didn't do his homework before opening his new location, then that's totally his fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 So many of Main St's vacant lots are owned by developers who want to cash out by putting a high rise up. With the little propoerty tax they have to pay on them, they can easily hold out for 20+ years before cashing out. It's corporate capitalism at work unless the city can enforce some kind of building codes for these corridors.I can only think of one parcel of land along the Red Line that fits your criteria, and that's Camden. Most developers aren't actively in the business of land speculation. The additional holding costs from paying interest and property taxes on the land bust the deal.I would also point out that even if the City adopts the 'Urban Corridors' recommendations, that would not detract from landowners' or developers' profit motive. Even taken to an extreme, such as in a city like San Francisco, increased barriers to entry only mean that consumers have to pay more, developers' projects are less likely to succeed but pay off much much better when they do, and that existing owners reap higher revenues. A cynical observer might point out that barriers to entry are a means by way of which a city's Old Money applies capitalism to the political process so as to latch on to their citizens and neighbors like ticks, parasitically tapping wealth that isn't their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
312 Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share Posted March 8, 2010 Ignorance is no excuse, and I really don't feel bad for Mack. If he didn't do his homework before opening his new location, then that's totally his fault. Would you happen to know exactly when the construction commences along Post Oak Boulevard is scheduled to begin ? I read it would be w/in 1-2 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Would you happen to know exactly when the construction commences along Post Oak Boulevard is scheduled to begin ? I read it would be w/in 1-2 years...It would be a safe bet that the uptown line wouldn't start construction until after the Richmond line would be well underway. I would imagine in about 2 yrs, maybe a few months more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
312 Posted March 8, 2010 Author Share Posted March 8, 2010 It would be a safe bet that the uptown line wouldn't start construction until after the Richmond line would be well underway. I would imagine in about 2 yrs, maybe a few months more.I found this link on GoMetroRail.org: http://www.gometrorail.org/go/doc/2491/418119/It appears that construction for all 5 light rail lines begins this year with Uptown scheduled for this summer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.