Walmart Supercenter At 111 Yale St.

[RedScare]

Well, don't go asking me to vouch for Mayor Parker's veracity. I told you what a snake she was during the historic district fight, but you gleefully supported her then. In reality, it doesn't really matter who started the conversations, but Parker claims to have started them. But, much of that 380 work is not "required" in order to connect to utilities. And, that is the point...at least it was. Repaving streets, connecting disparate sewer lines, adding bigger storm sewer pipe, none of that is required for Ainbinder and Walmart to connect to utilities. That is all stuff the City wanted Ainbinder to build for them. And, that is where your argument should stay, that building infrastructure for the city that is not related to the project is not a proper use of the 380. I still won't care, because the amount is minimal, given the size of our annual budget, but at least it is a valid argument. Trying to claim that code requires them to repave Bonner Street is just silly.

[Leonard]

"I told you what a snake she was during the historic district fight, but you gleefully supported her then." WRONG!

You just make stuff up don't you? I don't support Parker and I never have. I didn't during the historic district fight and I don't support her now.

Again, they only repaved half of Bonner (one lane) and that's because they tore it up.

[RedScare]

You should probably remember that, since you've only been on the forum 2 days, I was probably directing that comment at another poster...like the one just below you.

[Leonard]

Oh, sorry - makes sense. Do not like Parker.

[RedScare]

No problem. Obviously, I don't either.

By the way, it is common to only tear up one side of the street at a time, so residents may still have ingress and egress. If, at the end of the construction, it still looks like that, we'll know that Exhibit 'C' was only a guide, and not a requirement.

[Leonard]

You're right, Redscare. They would only do half the street at a time. We'll see when they're done.

The Exhibit C list in the 380 is preliminary, they have eliminated the onsite detention and the traffic light at Heights and Koehler/2nd (the City did not want the light). They've also eliminated resurfacing the Yale Street Bridge (the surface was deemed "adequate") - not sure about resurfacing the Heights bridges.

[Leonard]

samagon: "is there an expectation that if you buy a piece of land that previously had a building on it (and therefore had all sewer, water, electric) that you re-do all of those lines even if they work properly? I didn't bring up the park, cause well that's such a small component of the overall cost. But the drainage is a pretty big component, and if there is no rule in place that they would normally have to upgrade all sewer lines, then why would they unless compelled through a mechanism such as this?"

This is a great point - if the lines all work properly and are adequate for the development, they should not be redone by anyone. It would be a waste of money.

[samagon]

so I guess that's the question, were the existing lines adequate?

[RedScare]

That was really the point of this entire debate. Some posters were convinced that if these projects were included in the proposed 380 agreement, that this meant the renovations were required in order for the development to meet code. I suggested that most of these renovations were not required in order to meet code or to simply connect to existing utilities. I suggested that the City asked Ainbinder to make these renovations in order to upgrade the surrounding utility grid, and offered to reimburse them through the 380. Of course, I was roundly condemned for not seeing the conspiracy.

Utility grids are not as simple as one pipe or wire to one meter. They need redundancy. Therefore, if an electrical transmission line is knocked down, electricity can be rerouted around the break. The same applies to water lines in order to keep pressure consistent, and sewer lines to keep from overloading with no outlet. The problem in this neighborhood is not the retail developments, which use a lot of electricity, but not so much sewer, but the increased density of residential, where 2 or 3 townhomes now sit on a former single family lot, and a huge apartment complex was built on the other side of the tracks. Most of the 380 projects related to improving redundancy in the utilities, and upgrading the storm sewer. The other big expense is related to extending Koehler to Heights, which was not required, but is certainly useful to both the City and Ainbinder (and area residents).

[Leonard]

All the roadwork is required via the TIA. They can't get a Certificate of Occupancy without it. Therefore, it's required. From the TIA:

As part of the proposed retail development

additional roadway improvements are planned as a deliberate effort to enhance mobility, provide

access and reduce the impact of this development on traffic. Some of these major improvements

are,

��

Installation of fully actuated traffic signal at intersection of Koehler Street at Yale Street

��

Widening and extending Koehler Street from Bass Street to Heights Boulevard

��

Extending and reconstructing Bass Street north of Koehler Street to IH-10 EBFR

��

Constructing a northbound left turn lane on Heights Boulevard at Koehler Street

��

Widening Yale Street to provide dedicated left turn lanes to the proposed development

Edited April 2, 2012 by Leonard

[Leonard]

http://documents.publicworks.houstontx.gov/documents/divisions/traffic/tia_faqs_ver5.pdf

"Property owner shall be responsible

to implement the mitigation measures."

[lockmat]

updated construction pics http://goo.gl/08Sym

[gazhomme]

I can't wait till they open this thing up! Trying to maintain the facade of a BoBo is puting me in the poor house! I overpaid for my house, the city sticks it to me, the wife wants work done, the kids like Ralph Lauren, the dog was $3,000 (but we tell everyone it's a rescue) We just bought his and her Nissan Leafs, that I don't think will make it in Houston summers. So if I can save a few bucks by refilling my empty bottles of Leitz Reisling with Fetzer box wine you know I'm going to! Our fellow gen-x middle-aged lush nights really can't tell anyway, and quite frankly I've got bigger concerns after I overheard them mention "I wonder if they swing?" Uh, no.

[fwki]

I can't wait till they open this thing up! ... the dog was $3,000 (but we tell everyone it's a rescue) ....

That says it all, been here 20 years and couldn't concisely verbalize what has changed in this neighborhood. Hey gazhomme, you going incognito or sending the nanny?

[gazhomme]

That says it all, been here 20 years and couldn't concisely verbalize what has changed in this neighborhood. Hey gazhomme, you going incognito or sending the nanny?

Good question. I might try the incognito thing. I'll stop by Buffalo Exchange and pick up an ironic t-shirt and a big pair of sunglasses that scream "whatever". We're not paying the nanny to drive our car to Walmart. Her job is to raise our kids to be shameful of their class through thinly-veiled stories of the glories of collectivism and amusing anecdotes and folklore from her homeland's indigenous people. The last time she went to Walmart the house stank of Fabulosa for 6 months, so it's only Target for her.

Edited April 10, 2012 by gazhomme

[samagon]

Good question. I might try the incognito thing. I'll stop by Buffalo Exchange and pick up an ironic t-shirt and a big pair of sunglasses that scream "whatever". We're not paying the nanny to drive our car to Walmart. Her job is to raise our kids to be shameful of their class through thinly-veiled stories of the glories of collectivism and amusing anecdotes and folklore from her homeland's indigenous people. The last time she went to Walmart the house stank of Fabulosa for 6 months, so it's only Target for her.

wait, is buffalo exchange still the most expensive 2nd hand clothing store, I have no desire to spend my hard earned money somewhere I can actually save money buying 2nd hand clothes, I much prefer to pay at least twice as much as I would if I were to get the clothes new.

[gazhomme]

wait, is buffalo exchange still the most expensive 2nd hand clothing store, I have no desire to spend my hard earned money somewhere I can actually save money buying 2nd hand clothes, I much prefer to pay at least twice as much as I would if I were to get the clothes new.

I like Buffalo exchange because I receive much needed validation when the 20-something behind the counter accepts my clothing for trade. It gives me peace of mind that I'm still cool and not a sellout despite the fact that I live in the Heights. I find if I toss in a few talking points I hear on Pacifica I sometimes get more for them.

[RedScare]

I think you made that up. And the $3000 dog part, too.

[RedScare]

What's a $3000 dog look like anyway? Where I'm from, a $3000 dog looks like this...

[fwki]

Hyperbole or not, gazhomme hits at the heart of this Walmart unoccupy movement. Except for the educational discussions on real issues like architecture, traffic, progress or how the 380's work (or not work), I find most of it to be boring, duplicitous mudslinging. Viewing the Heights from my over-the-hill vantage point, one can almost guess the generation of posters. Easy credit led to the the housing bubble (really a lifestyle bubble) and now reality sets in. Imagine landing a jumbo loan out of college, leasing a fancy car, paying for organic arugula and eventually believing your own BS lifestyle without ever having to really earn it. Then one day you find yourself staring up at the hilltop of your life in the shadow of a mountain of debt, dysfunctional family and friends, and a nine-to-five you'll be lucky to have once you really need it. The whole cultural process impacted everyone, and the wound lies open right here in the Heights for everyone to see and discuss. But just like water seeks its own level, we will all end up in the same place: Walmart, incognito with a fancy house note or heads-up with a crappy paid-for historical. Then we die.

[RedScare]

I certainly agree. The anti-Walmart crowd is largely a group that wishes to impose their fantasy on everyone else. Those of us unopposed to Walmart (few actually support it. Most simply don't care) are not so much in favor of more crappy plastic stuff as opposed to those who wish to legislate their fantasy on the rest of us. It was the same with the historic districts. We wouldn't live here if we didn't love these old homes, but some (with exceedingly poor architectural taste, no less) decided it would be a good idea to drive up the cost to renovate the old homes by piling mounds of government regulation on them.

And, I do not disagree with gazhomme's hyperbole. One of my two found dogs (rescue is overused) is an $800-1000 boxer found wandering the street with no tags or chips. His owner was no doubt too busy drinking coffee at Antidote to actually go looking for his lost dog, while I was putting up flyers to locate his owner. He now lives a carefree life in my house and yard, free of the inevitable Halloween, St. Paddy's Day and Lights In The Heights costumes he would have been forced to endure.

[SilverJK]

I guess it is because i was raised in rural ultra conservative north louisiana that even though I'm now a liberal hipster... I still don't want to push my agenda down anyone's throat (except the petition to allow 4 hens on city lots). I remember when my small town finally got a walmart when i was growing up, it was awesome. If you needed something, you could just go to walmart (alot of times back then it was actually hard to find products if you didn't have a walmart). The anti walmart crowd just reminds me of the neo con christians from my college town that used city laws to shut down the porn shop that was outside of the city limits. Everyone knew it was wrong and wasn't legal, but nobody really made a fuss about it because it was stopping the porn shop (insert walmart to this and its the same story).

Edited April 11, 2012 by SilverJK

[samagon]

What's really ironic is that most of the items on the 380, that are opposed by the anti walmart crowd were things the city pushed walmart to do to appease complaints by the anti walmart crowd, the 380 was the only mechanism they had to achieve that goal.

crazy and funny to watch.

[gazhomme]

What's a $3000 dog look like anyway? Where I'm from, a $3000 dog looks like this...

That pretty much sums it up for me. You could also say that it looks like a future rescue dog.

[s3mh]

What's really ironic is that most of the items on the 380, that are opposed by the anti walmart crowd were things the city pushed walmart to do to appease complaints by the anti walmart crowd, the 380 was the only mechanism they had to achieve that goal.

crazy and funny to watch.

Walmart has no obligation under the 380. Ainbinder is on the contract, not Walmart. Of course, Walmart does get the benefit without any of the commitment of the 380 agreement. Also, the 380 agreement existed long before the anti-Walmart movement started and was never intended by anyone as a response to opponents.

What is really ironic is how people on this message board attributed every anti-Walmart argument to a pretext for snobbery and prejudice against low income earners who shop at Walmart. Yet, it appears that this argument was really just a pretext for class resentment of those in the Heights who have acheived a better standard of living. And the true irony is that the actual opponents range the gamut from apartment dwellers to homeowners, from conservatives to liberals, from engineers to attorneys to retirees to stay at home mothers to artists to accountants to small business owners, from pro historic ordinance to anti-historic ordinace. The only thing that is "typical" about opponents is that there is nothing typical about them. There was truly a broad and diverse opposition to this development. You can make up your own narrative about what an opponent might be like, but it will be nothing more than your own speculation.

[gazhomme]

In this "bed-in" against Wal-mart you can divide the strange bedfellows into two classes.

1. Useful idiots

2. Friends of convenience

The useful idiot really has nothing at stake and their primary motivation is to protest something to the point (hopefully) of capitulation. Protesting is their hobby and primary form of social networking.

Friends of convenience do have skin in the game, come from opposite viewpoints, and are willing to violate certain personal views or realities based on the fact that the invader is a bit too close to their "backyard". In the case of a conservative it could be "I believe in property rights until Walmart opens up near my Victorian on Yale". For liberals it could be "I support the working man until the place he works at opens up down the street from my Yard of the Month Victorian on Yale".

The rest of us just want cheap bulk dog food.

[gazhomme]

I guess it is because i was raised in rural ultra conservative north louisiana that even though I'm now a liberal hipster... I still don't want to push my agenda down anyone's throat (except the petition to allow 4 hens on city lots).

I'm considering getting PETA involved so that we can effectively cock-block your petition. What is driving this need for eggs in the Heights? How many beta-males does it take to make a quiche?

[RedScare]

In this "bed-in" against Wal-mart you can divide the strange bedfellows into two classes.

1. Useful idiots

2. Friends of convenience

The useful idiot really has nothing at stake and their primary motivation is to protest something to the point (hopefully) of capitulation. Protesting is their hobby and primary form of social networking.

Friends of convenience do have skin in the game, come from opposite viewpoints, and are willing to violate certain personal views or realities based on the fact that the invader is a bit too close to their "backyard". In the case of a conservative it could be "I believe in property rights until Walmart opens up near my Victorian on Yale". For liberals it could be "I support the working man until the place he works at opens up down the street from my Yard of the Month Victorian on Yale".

The rest of us just want cheap bulk dog food.

I considered ripping s3mh's response until I realized that this post pretty much covered everything I was going to say. Sort of like earning hipster street cred by opposing Walmart.

And, two thumbs up on the cheap bulk dog food.

[samagon]

Walmart has no obligation under the 380. Ainbinder is on the contract, not Walmart. Of course, Walmart does get the benefit without any of the commitment of the 380 agreement. Also, the 380 agreement existed long before the anti-Walmart movement started and was never intended by anyone as a response to opponents.

What is really ironic is how people on this message board attributed every anti-Walmart argument to a pretext for snobbery and prejudice against low income earners who shop at Walmart. Yet, it appears that this argument was really just a pretext for class resentment of those in the Heights who have acheived a better standard of living. And the true irony is that the actual opponents range the gamut from apartment dwellers to homeowners, from conservatives to liberals, from engineers to attorneys to retirees to stay at home mothers to artists to accountants to small business owners, from pro historic ordinance to anti-historic ordinace. The only thing that is "typical" about opponents is that there is nothing typical about them. There was truly a broad and diverse opposition to this development. You can make up your own narrative about what an opponent might be like, but it will be nothing more than your own speculation.

The only actual truth of your post is that the 380 is indeed with Ainbinder.

Everything else is either an outright lie, stretch of the truth or your opinion.

[J008]

certainly a stretch to believe

http://blog.chron.com/hottopics/2012/04/walmart-big-box-stores-linked-with-hate-groups-in-study/