Walmart Supercenter At 111 Yale St.

[LTAWACS]

The check cashing store is called "Loan Depot", their sign is up already.

I knew it.

[LTAWACS]

The check cashing store is called "Loan Depot", their sign is up already.

I knew it! How long before the first game room opens? And illegals start peeling out/burning rubber in their trucks? Or hanging around during the day?

[LTAWACS]

I'm no Walmart fan but it's redevelopment of some unused old land, big deal. Not like we needed more townhouses crammed in there anyway.

It will take longer for us to become a world class city without density/

[TGM]

It will take longer for us to become a world class city without density/

Houston frets to much about the whole world-class city thing. We are, we have been, we will continue to be. There are no magic metrics, though having a few Wal-marts near your CDB does help. ;-p

[barracuda]

Such as?

Name one compelling difference between Target and Walmart.

The only thing I can think of is that when I was a kid I used to love the smell of their popcorn when my mom would drag me to Target.

People are entitled to their personal preferences, whether they are related to ambiance, merchandise, politics, etc. My father likes shopping at Walmart because his sole concern is bottom-line, yet my mother much prefers shopping at Target because she thinks they have nicer merchandise. Personally, I don't think Target is superior to Walmart, in fact, I credit Walmart for some of the progressive moves they've made as a result of the opposition they encounter when trying to build in urban environments.

I stopped shopping at Target a year or so ago because I realized I hate the feel of the place (fluorescent lights and glaring red colors everywhere) and because their CEO donates to right wing anti-gay and anti-immigrant groups. Not that I ever shopped there much to begin with. Even though I occasionally shop at Home Depot, I rarely go to Lowes. Go figure. Other than HD, I don't really shop at big-box retailers. I'm also not likely to shop at the Yale St. Walmart development, but I'm not one of the folks trying futilely to stop them.

[barracuda]

I'm sure. No one from the Heights would be caught dead at the new Wal-Mart, they'll just send the nanny.

* Tip * Always grab a few extra bulk bags at Whole Foods. They're great for pouring in Wal-Mart brand granola.

I always get a kick out of these conflicting stereotypes. None of my immediate neighbors have nannies and many of them are of very moderate incomes. Nobody on my street had any anti-Walmart signs in their yards. But if we're going to stereotype, I will bet that many of the McMansionaires with families living in the unrestricted portions have nannies.

[Subdude]

I always get a kick out of these conflicting stereotypes.

Much of this topic has been nothing but a parade of stereotypes, mingled with attacks on other posters.

Note a series of off-topic posts have been peeled off to another topic.

[SilverJK]

Anyone know when this Wal-Mart opens... I need to stock up supplies because I just read a thread about how Wal-mart was going to invade my neighborhood... Fortifications are going in place soon.

[LTAWACS]

They are kinda open but havent really told anyone. Walk in there and buy what you need.

[TGM]

Anyone know when this Wal-Mart opens... I need to stock up supplies because I just read a thread about how Wal-mart was going to invade my neighborhood... Fortifications are going in place soon.

We're scheduled to invade next week. Actually the Wal-Mart is just a ruse by us Timbergrovers to block-bust the Heights and expand eastward.

[fwki]

We're scheduled to invade next week. Actually the Wal-Mart is just a ruse by us Timbergrovers to block-bust the Heights and expand eastward.

Since this thread is about stereotypes, I wouldn't worry too much about the bayou-sipping, tree-dwellers in Timbergrove on the west, not with Germantown poised for attack on the east. They never got over the I-45 thing imposed by the DoT Treaty of Austin.

[TGM]

Since this thread is about stereotypes, I wouldn't worry too much about the bayou-sipping, tree-dwellers in Timbergrove on the west, not with Germantown poised for attack on the east. They never got over the I-45 thing imposed by the DoT Treaty of Austin.

Our tree-dwelling warriors are strong from drinking the bayou's nectar and feasting upon the reptilian meat it provides. We will meet the Hessian invaders at the 11th parallel and drive them back to their metro rail of the east. Having achieved this we will cart away the spoils and declare the Heights a DMZ. An edict shall follow that declares that no one shall construct or modify shelter unless the plans bear the royal seal of King and Council. Those in violations shall have their pantries raided, their help enslaved, and thine chariots appropriated. Habitats in violation shall have Timbergrove Fire rained down upon them from our furious catapults on the banks of the Royal White Oak Bayou and from the ramparts of Wal-mart Castle.

Edited August 11, 2012 by TGM

[fwki]

A cunning plan, no doubt. Using the 11th, which serves as the demarcation between the Forbidden Zone and the Deeded South, will allow transit to go unnoticed until engaging the Germantown defenses at the weakest point. Their only retreat will be via the Quitman aqueduct into the hinterlands of the Fifth Ward. However, can you count on the Woodland Heights Reichstag to remain neutral? After all, they are ancestral brothers, and Germantown is actively being courted to join the Axis of Preservation and Self Righteousness. Such a move would curry favor with the High Priestess of Regulatory Land, and when the fog of war clears you may find her wantonly gazing eastward. And then your only defense will be the Wal-mart Castle and its ramparts of non-conformity.

[TGM]

A cunning plan, no doubt. Using the 11th, which serves as the demarcation between the Forbidden Zone and the Deeded South, will allow transit to go unnoticed until engaging the Germantown defenses at the weakest point. Their only retreat will be via the Quitman aqueduct into the hinterlands of the Fifth Ward. However, can you count on the Woodland Heights Reichstag to remain neutral? After all, they are ancestral brothers, and Germantown is actively being courted to join the Axis of Preservation and Self Righteousness. Such a move would curry favor with the High Priestess of Regulatory Land, and when the fog of war clears you may find her wantonly gazing eastward. And then your only defense will be the Wal-mart Castle and its ramparts of non-conformity.

Our Seer has foreseen such possibilities and in a preemptive strike our valiant knights conducted a midnight raid in the Montrose marsh and have kidnapped the High Priestess for eventual exile to the Subaru outback. With the High Priestess in custody, and the axis forces spread thin, the call was given and our 5th column forces emerged from their farmers markets and book club disguises to round up the High Priestess collaborators for arraignment before the Harrisburg Council. The Timbergrove liberators not keen to be viewed as occupiers, nor used to the strange food of the Heights marched back to their quiet abodes nestled in the forrest, to imbibe in Almaden and fierce games of Canasta. Having survived the war they swore to pass on to future generations the story of the evil High Priestess and her feeble minions.

[barracuda]

A cunning plan, no doubt. Using the 11th, which serves as the demarcation between the Forbidden Zone and the Deeded South, will allow transit to go unnoticed until engaging the Germantown defenses at the weakest point. Their only retreat will be via the Quitman aqueduct into the hinterlands of the Fifth Ward. However, can you count on the Woodland Heights Reichstag to remain neutral? After all, they are ancestral brothers, and Germantown is actively being courted to join the Axis of Preservation and Self Righteousness. Such a move would curry favor with the High Priestess of Regulatory Land, and when the fog of war clears you may find her wantonly gazing eastward. And then your only defense will be the Wal-mart Castle and its ramparts of non-conformity.

Fortunately for you, there is backup nearby in the form of 20 other Walmart Castles yielding sizable supporters inside or near the perimeter of the belt-shire. Due to their loyal support of the Walmart Castles, the help of local parliament and their bags of taxpayer gold, and the backing of the $446B Royal Empire of Walmart, this invasion will likely be victorious. Perhaps it would be wise to conform with the status quo now and begin practicing your Walmart cheer, or else you may be deemed a traitor and denied your ration of Dr. Thunder.

[LTAWACS]

There HAS to be something we can do.

[TGM]

Looks like Wal-Mart needs about two-fifty.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Walmart-opens-hiring-center-for-Heights-store-3810479.php

[fwki]

City spends $6 million creates 300 jobs, $20k per job, not bad.....compared to our current federal government sticking us for $400,000 per job.....http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/jeffreeves/2011/09/03/cbo_cost_per_job_between_$196,750_and_$562,000/page/full/

[s3mh]

City spends $6 million creates 300 jobs, $20k per job, not bad.....compared to our current federal government sticking us for $400,000 per job.....http://finance.townh...,000/page/full/

You really think that the $6 mil had anything to do with Walmart hiring a bunch of minimum wage workers? At least there is a reasonable argument to be made that the stimulus spending actually did create jobs that would not have been created without it. Walmart would have built that store even if the City imposed a special $6 mil Walmart development tax.

[SilverJK]

The government didn't create jobs.... they had help along the way = ]

[Marksmu]

You really think that the $6 mil had anything to do with Walmart hiring a bunch of minimum wage workers? At least there is a reasonable argument to be made that the stimulus spending actually did create jobs that would not have been created without it. Walmart would have built that store even if the City imposed a special $6 mil Walmart development tax.

You have now solidified every perception I had of you.

Walmart's minimum wage is better than Obama's nothing.

[samagon]

I think even s3mh can't deny that Walmart helped draw attention to the crappy Yale street bridge. Had they chosen to locate themselves anywhere else, no one would have cared about the quality of that bridge. Think of all the lives Walmart helped save by deciding to locate there and starting the irrevocable chain of events that led to scrutinizing the safety of the bridge. 6 million is a very cheap price to pay for the lives Walmart has saved.

There's no amount of locally owned business, or chef driven restaurants that could have caused the scrutiny of the Yale street bridge.

I think we shouldn't even bother asking Walmart to pay the 380 back.

[s3mh]

I think even s3mh can't deny that Walmart helped draw attention to the crappy Yale street bridge. Had they chosen to locate themselves anywhere else, no one would have cared about the quality of that bridge. Think of all the lives Walmart helped save by deciding to locate there and starting the irrevocable chain of events that led to scrutinizing the safety of the bridge. 6 million is a very cheap price to pay for the lives Walmart has saved.

There's no amount of locally owned business, or chef driven restaurants that could have caused the scrutiny of the Yale street bridge.

I think we shouldn't even bother asking Walmart to pay the 380 back.

18 wheelers were never supposed to be on the bridge. It wasn't designed to handle loaded 18 wheelers and was never rated for them. It got down graded after a regularly scheduled inspection of the bridge. The attention opponents brought to the bridge had nothing to do with the scrutiny from regulators. TxDOT does not give a crap what a bunch of neighborhood anti-Walmart activists think.

Opponents did get all the neighborhood organizations together to put pressure on politicians to find funding to rebuild the bridge and make it safe for 18 wheeler traffic so Walmart's 18 wheelers would not have to snake around Heights Blvd and Koehler to make their deliveries. Walmart deserves about as much credit for getting the Yale St. bridge rebuilt as the Nazis should get for Picasso painting Guernica.

[RedScare]

I applaud Walmart's efforts to ensure the safety of our school children, even going so far as to purchase land at a premium over other retailers, and building a store, just to draw attention to the dangerous Yale Street bridge. We, including s3mh, owe Walmart a debt of gratitude for protecting his child, as well as stocking disposable diapers available for purchase 24 hours a day.

Oh, and Godwin's Law proven once again at post #2236.

Edited August 24, 2012 by RedScare

[fwki]

...At least there is a reasonable argument to be made that the stimulus spending actually did create jobs that would not have been created without it.....

But not by you.

Edited August 25, 2012 by fwki

[barracuda]

City spends $6 million creates 300 jobs, $20k per job, not bad.....compared to our current federal government sticking us for $400,000 per job.....http://finance.townh...,000/page/full/

The first line in the Chronicle article indicates 250 new jobs will be created, so it's really $24,000 per job.

The article you linked to is a little misleading. Out of the $787B stimulus package, $288B were tax cuts and $224B were to extend various benefits, and $275B was designated for job creation. Using the same CBO estimates of 1.4 million to 4 million "full time equivalent" jobs created by the stimulus, the job stimulus cost was more like $196,429 to $68,750 per job.

To make the comparison even more accurate, I'd want to know how many of those Walmart jobs will be full time, and whether these new associates will make a living wage so they can avoid relying on government entitlement programs for basic needs.

Edited August 25, 2012 by barracuda

[fwki]

I view government spending the way I view charity spending, and so I view taxes like I view donations. The closer to home those dollars are given and spent, the more efficient they are along with higher chances of having the desired impact. Also the source of the funds has more control over the use of the funds (as it should be) when closer to home. The reason for this is every time the money changes hands, some gets skimmed and intent gets redirected. For that reason I believe the federal government and federal programs are the least efficient at anything, and so barracuda's comparisons bear that out. The real issue to me is whether or not government should be in the job-creation business at all. Most politicians and certainly most bureaucrats know little about business and economy. Government does have a strong ability to destroy jobs and the economy as proven by the current jobs situation in the U.S. and everything in Europe.

Coming back to our Wal-mart, at least the city didn't scare them off, and I really hope that the new employees find themselves better off than they are now, because that's what counts, people and quality of life. And looking at the surrounding neighborhoods before and after and having many under-employed friends, I feel this whole project is a big success.....except for those damn trees, but I have plan for that....

[J008]

City spends $6 million creates 300 jobs, $20k per job, not bad.....compared to our current federal government sticking us for $400,000 per job.....http://finance.townh...,000/page/full/

Just a friendly reminder, that the funds used to build the interstate infrastructure necessary for this store were part of a federal stimulus program. Almost the same day they broke ground, this project was announced.

Add the 380. And now the state is going to fork over the money for a new bridge.

It's gotten help at literally every level.

(won't get into the Navy and military that defends the shipping lanes from both china and the mideast to get you your cheap goods).

http://www.chron.com/neighborhood/heights-news/article/Stimulus-project-starting-up-in-area-1719073.php

http://www.recovery.gov/Transparency/RecoveryData/Pages/RecipientReportedDataMap.aspx?stateCode=TX

[fwki]

Yeah right I won't forget, the interstate highway and the Yale St bridge, all because of Wal-Mart. Now I am really thankful for that company enabling the infrastructure improvement. And they keep me safe from pirates too!

[TGM]

To make the comparison even more accurate, I'd want to know how many of those Walmart jobs will be full time, and whether these new associates will make a living wage so they can avoid relying on government entitlement programs for basic needs.

Ah, the old living wage argument. It's not about the wage, it's about how a person chooses to live.