Walmart Supercenter At 111 Yale St.

[HTX]

"If you actually went over there, you would see the grass is almost dead from foot traffic cutting a path on that side of the street. People are using it. The only people who aren't using it are handicapped people. But it isn't like there is a federal law protecting their right to access public places."

If all of the Heights was so opposed to WM as you have implied why is the grass dead?

HTX

[mako]

@Ross, "I brought up HEB because they were a potential developer for Washington Heights. Absent City oversight, they would have done exactly the same thing Ainbinder/WalMart did."

 

I totally & wholeheartedly disagree. I have seen a number of new HEB stores built in New Braunfels, Smithson Valley & San Antonio. Every single one of them has been a class act - beautiful mature oak trees in the parking lots just like the Montrose location here. HEB is a class act - they understand & care about their customers and go the extra mile. Wal_mart - they care about the bottom line...only.

[s3mh]

My point is that the situation under discussion was not dependent on the developer. The City apparently did a poor job overseeing the Washington Heights 380 work. That is independent of the developer. I haven't made any comment on the Montrose HEB, as it isn't relevant here.

 

So, your argument is that developers are basically like little toddlers.  They cannot understand right from wrong and should not be held responsible for not doing the work correctly?  

 

The City is certainly to blame, but Walmart and the developer cannot just walk away from this mess.  Walmart and the developer both made public presentations at the big public meeting at the GRB.  Walmart and the developer both made a big public relations push with media campaigns and lobbying efforts to fight the opposition to the development and get the 380 passed.  A central point of that PR campaign was the promise to do infrastructure improvements.  (still up on the Ainbinder webstie: http://www.washingtonheightsdistrict.com/public_infra.html).

 

The Montrose HEB is hugely relevant.  HEB went to great additional expense to serve the community.  They paid for road improvements out of pocket.  They offerred to do structured parking and dedicate a portion of the property to park space if funds could be raised to buy it at FMV (gee, why didn't the City do a 380 for that?).  They used a world class architect for the building design and let the community vote on the design.  In short, they lived up to their promises regardless of the cost without having to have the City hold their hand and make them do the right thing.

[s3mh]

OMG! Oh the humanity!

 

 

 

 

I once saw someone in a handicapped scooted get stuck in the drainage ditch at Tulane and 11th street where there is no ADA curb cut there.  They tried to drive on the grass, but got a wheel stuck in the drainage ditch and almost tipped over.  Before I got to them, someone on 11th pulled over and helped push them out of the ditch and back on to the sidewalk.  Walking on the grass isn't a big deal (unless you are the one who took 6 mil in tax dollars and promised to build a sidewalk there).  But for someone who is handicapped who might try to get through that spot instead of crossing Yale and crossing back again (almost an equally dangerous move given the short time pedestrians have to cross Yale), it is a Hindenberg moment for them. 

[RedScare]

Man, that would have been SO funny! I wish I had been there to see it!

[RedScare]

You know, I wasn't going to respond to your incessant whining, as it has grown tiresome to see a grown adult cry over and over and over about the same spilled milk. However, since you bring up the wheelchair angle again, I now must tell the story of how last Saturday (May 25) while riding my back on Yale I saw a guy in a chair at the exact corner you speak of. He crossed Yale at the crosswalk, and was none the worse for wear. I was on the other side of Yale and spoke to him when he crossed. He smiled and said hello back to me. For all of your carping and whining, I would have at least expected him to be angry at having to cross the street, but he wasn't.

 

The lesson to be learned here apparently is that those in wheelchairs have a much better outlook on life than those who hate Walmarts.

[JJxvi]

This sidewalk talk is a bunch of crap.  There will be sidewalks on both sides of Yale from bridge of death, to railroad graffiti pit of night terror once development by all developers is complete. I have no idea why this is even an issue.  Even right now, thanks to Ainbender north of Koehler, and Orr south, that stretch of Yale on the east side has a sidewalk when it was just broken up parking lot, old sidewalks overgrown with grass, and stretches without sidewalk at all, prior to development.

 

The fact that thee is a big stink about a couple hundred feet is still left without a sidewalk in an area where it would likely be about to be closed for construction of the new development, have curb cuts added, and have it all torn up anyway to fit the new developers site plan, etc is ludicrous.

Edited June 3, 2013 by JJxvi

[kylejack]

I sure hope you're right, JJxvi, because any new development should have a functional sidewalk along all public streets.

[RedScare]

The Montrose HEB is hugely relevant.  HEB went to great additional expense to serve the community.  They paid for road improvements out of pocket.  They offerred to do structured parking and dedicate a portion of the property to park space if funds could be raised to buy it at FMV (gee, why didn't the City do a 380 for that?).  They used a world class architect for the building design and let the community vote on the design.  In short, they lived up to their promises regardless of the cost without having to have the City hold their hand and make them do the right thing.

 

This rant points up just how little s3mh and his fellow whiners care about those with lower incomes. All of the things he brags that HEB did cost money. HEB is a business, so those things must be paid for in addition to profit. Therefore, the products sold at this HEB cost more, so that titty babies may be soothed by nice architecture at their grocery store. (Of course, they make up a lot of it by forcing us to buy their store brand at every aisle.) 

 

This is the hypocrisy of the "enlightened". They demand that everyone else sacrifice for their pleasure.

[kylejack]

HEB is a business, so those things must be paid for in addition to profit.

 

As any other business, they are constrained by supply and demand. I find the prices quite reasonable. The store is popular and stays very busy, so perhaps they are making it up on volume.

[RedScare]

As any other business, they are constrained by supply and demand. I find the prices quite reasonable. The store is popular and stays very busy, so perhaps they are making it up on volume.

 

Not necessarily. I find the exact same brands for sale at Whole Foods and Kroger. Items for sale for $3.49 at Kroger go for $4.99 at Whole Foods. Whole Foods is not constrained by supply and demand, as they have convinced a sizable clientele that it is worth paying more for the same products. While not as big a gap, HEB has marketed itself similarly. I have shopped at the HEB on Katy Fwy and one in a lower middle class neighborhood in Conroe, and have noticed differences in prices between the stores.

 

It matters where you shop. HEB has simply figured out how to gouge shoppers in upper middle class neighborhoods. Good for them...and good for you that you do not mind.

[Leonard]

The approved plan shows a sidewalk there, and one of the trees also. 

 

If you look closely at the link sm3h provided, you can see both the sidewalk and the tree - as Ainbinder is advertising it.

 

 

[kylejack]

I know what gouging feels like from shopping at the Midtown Randall's and even the Montrose Kroger. Of course people have to pay more for groceries in Montrose or Midtown compared to Conroe. Land costs more. But HEB has good prices in comparison to the other grocery stores in the area, so apparently the improvements they made did not cost them so much that they had to jack up the prices above the market rate.

 

HEB could have built the store however they wanted because property owners are king in Texas. They chose to leave some good trees, to have an excellent bike rack with a full set of tools, and to choose a design that the community liked. These things earn them customers, and therefore profits. There is more than one way to skin a cat.

[barracuda]

Walmart's business model is built on being lean and efficient, and eschewing things architecture flourishes makes sense for them in areas where price is the main competitive factor. This doesn't necessarily mean they sell items for less, but they may have more flexibility in pricing out competitors or increasing their profit. 

 

But I personally like the idea of businesses building for the long term rather than employing bare-minium strip mall architecture that will be tired in ten years. It would be a depressingly ugly world if everyone built to the lowest-common denominator. In a competitive environment like Houston, and in a generally affluent area like this particular location, putting a little extra effort into attractive architecture (for a strip mall) and accessible sidewalks should help with customer loyalty and attract and maintain more customers over time. 

[JJxvi]

IMO, Orr built the ugliest buildings in the area.

[s3mh]

You know, I wasn't going to respond to your incessant whining, as it has grown tiresome to see a grown adult cry over and over and over about the same spilled milk. However, since you bring up the wheelchair angle again, I now must tell the story of how last Saturday (May 25) while riding my back on Yale I saw a guy in a chair at the exact corner you speak of. He crossed Yale at the crosswalk, and was none the worse for wear. I was on the other side of Yale and spoke to him when he crossed. He smiled and said hello back to me. For all of your carping and whining, I would have at least expected him to be angry at having to cross the street, but he wasn't.

 

The lesson to be learned here apparently is that those in wheelchairs have a much better outlook on life than those who hate Walmarts.

 

Fortunately, we lived in a civilized society where people who get pleasure out of seeing a handicapped person struggle with non-compliant sidewalks are not the same people who write and enforce the regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act.  I used to work with high school kids and had a kid with MD.  He was wheel chair bound by age 10 and did not live long enought to graduate high school.  Every school trip we took with him presented mobility issues regardless of where we went.  For every well built and compliant facility, there are three that are either substandard or pre-ADA compliance.  He always seemed to have a great time on trips regarless of how many times he had to be lifted up an entry way or needed help getting in and out of a bathroom.  But his parents told me that he would always try to find a way to get out of going on field trips because he was embarassed whenever he needed help getting around.  Thus, the standard for the ADA is not whether one guy appears to be ok with the unnecessary trouble and inconvenience of having to cross a street and cross it back because a municipality and a developer were unwilling to put up the money to comply with the law. 

[RedScare]

Hopefully, someday they will find a cure for your sarcasm retardation. I donate to Jerry's sarcastic kids every Labor Day.

[s3mh]

This sidewalk talk is a bunch of crap.  There will be sidewalks on both sides of Yale from bridge of death, to railroad graffiti pit of night terror once development by all developers is complete. I have no idea why this is even an issue.  Even right now, thanks to Ainbender north of Koehler, and Orr south, that stretch of Yale on the east side has a sidewalk when it was just broken up parking lot, old sidewalks overgrown with grass, and stretches without sidewalk at all, prior to development.

 

The fact that thee is a big stink about a couple hundred feet is still left without a sidewalk in an area where it would likely be about to be closed for construction of the new development, have curb cuts added, and have it all torn up anyway to fit the new developers site plan, etc is ludicrous.

 

There is no ROW left for a sidewalk on the old SJ Stone property.  The widening of Yale St. took up most of the ROW.  The City will have to take part of the old SJ Stone property in an eminent domain proceeding to get the needed ROW for a sidewalk.  The developer has no obligation to put a sidewalk on their own property if the City has made it impossible to build one in the ROW.  And it isn't just a few hundred feet of sidewalk.  It is an intersection with two crosswalks instead of four, crubling curbs, a sidewalks with a fire hydrant in the middle of the crosswalks, and failure to properly mitigate the loss of trees in the ROW.  If the City did this or the developer paid their own way, it would just be annoying.  But this was all stuff that was promised in order to get support for a tax deal that saved the developer millions in infrastructure upgrade costs.  And just because they built sidewalks on one side of the street where the sidewalks had previously deteriorated does not mean that they get to elect whether to build a sidewalk on the other side of the street.  It is a good thing that none of you are general contractors.  The subs would eat you alive with your attitude of "they did a good job over there  . . . it is only a small section they blew off." 

[Leonard]

Saying you enjoy seeing handicapped people struggle isn't sarcasm.  It does, however, expose your character. 

[samagon]

There is no ROW left for a sidewalk on the old SJ Stone property.  The widening of Yale St. took up most of the ROW.  The City will have to take part of the old SJ Stone property in an eminent domain proceeding to get the needed ROW for a sidewalk.  The developer has no obligation to put a sidewalk on their own property if the City has made it impossible to build one in the ROW.  And it isn't just a few hundred feet of sidewalk.  It is an intersection with two crosswalks instead of four, crubling curbs, a sidewalks with a fire hydrant in the middle of the crosswalks, and failure to properly mitigate the loss of trees in the ROW.  If the City did this or the developer paid their own way, it would just be annoying.  But this was all stuff that was promised in order to get support for a tax deal that saved the developer millions in infrastructure upgrade costs.  And just because they built sidewalks on one side of the street where the sidewalks had previously deteriorated does not mean that they get to elect whether to build a sidewalk on the other side of the street.  It is a good thing that none of you are general contractors.  The subs would eat you alive with your attitude of "they did a good job over there  . . . it is only a small section they blew off." 

 

So, let me make sure I understand this....

 

Because there is no room thanks to making the street being wider, a sidewalk cannot be put in.

 

But, walmart should have put in a sidewalk anyway? On land they don't own?

 

Walmart should have stolen property from another person to build the sidewalk for you so you could complain that they took land from another landowner to build a sidewalk?

 

And then they only put in crosswalks where there are sidewalks? I'm shocked I tell you! Shocked! I am shocked and outraged! I am outraged and shocked! I am outraged!!!! This is preposterous!!! I am preposterously outraged! I am preposterously outraged and shocked!

 

I am glad there wasn't money wasted putting in crosswalks to sidewalks that don't exist which walmart should have put on land it doesn't own.

 

excellent points all around s3mh, as usual.

[JJxvi]

So you don't think the developer is going to put in sidewalks.  We'll see how that goes for you.

[Leonard]

Actually, the crosswalks meet at a corner with no sidewalks.  So there are crosswalks where there are no sidewalks.   Go take a look.

 

The City/Ainbinder/Walmart should have bought/eminent domain the land to build the sidewalk or not widened the road.  The approved plans show the sidewalk.  Ainbinder's own marketing materials show the sidewalk. 

 

You pretty much don't understand it.  

 

 

[SilverJK]

If the sidewalk would have been built, s3mh and leonard would be complaining about more wasted money Walmart spent  because they will just be torn up during the development of the SJS lot. 

 

 

Again...  walmart is mentioned with this every time in every negative post, and they have nothing to do with this at all.  Ainbinder and the City are the ones your issues are with...

 

And FWIW,  HEB sucks.  I used to shop their exclusively, but they really went downhill over the past several years.  The produce selection at the newish Montrose HEB is absolutely terrible. 

[kylejack]

And FWIW,  HEB sucks.  I used to shop their exclusively, but they really went downhill over the past several years.  The produce selection at the newish Montrose HEB is absolutely terrible. 

 

I got some awesome mandarins there a little while back and they were delicious.

[Leonard]

How does Walmart have nothing to do with this?  Because the Mayor said so?

[RedScare]

Saying you enjoy seeing handicapped people struggle isn't sarcasm.  It does, however, expose your character. 

 

It certainly does. It shows that my character absolutely loves poking a finger into the eyes of humorless tightasses such as yourselves. I might even describe y'all as a couple of humor retards...but Mayor Parker might get annoyed with me. Oh, wait, I'm annoyed with her anyway!

 

 

 

You know, no post about wheelchairs and retards is complete without a cripple fight reference...

 

Edited June 3, 2013 by RedScare

[west20th]

Saying you enjoy seeing handicapped people struggle isn't sarcasm.  It does, however, expose your character. 

 

Good Lord, you and s3mh need to get a sense of humor. Perhaps Walmart sells them.

[Leonard]

It wasn't sarcasm and it wasn't funny.  Just mean-spirited hate. 

[SilverJK]

It wasn't sarcasm and it wasn't funny.  Just mean-spirited hate. 

 

You don't really get to decide whether it was sarcasm or not...  nor if it was funny or not.  (this is just another example of an elitist mentality thinking you know what is best for all, and speaking for all without their consent).  I'm sure someone read the comments and chuckled (I didn't). 

 

I do agree that it was classless...  but that ship has long sailed in this thread.

[Leonard]

Yes, I'm sure a lot of people think handicapped people falling over is funny, but what Red said is still not sarcasm even if you think it's funny. 

 

I don't speak for "all" (no idea where you got that), whether something is funny or not is clearly an opinion.

 

For example, I think samagon's rant about the sidewalks and crosswalks is hilarious:

 

"And then they only put in crosswalks where there are sidewalks? I'm shocked I tell you! Shocked! I am shocked and outraged! I am outraged and shocked! I am outraged!!!! This is preposterous!!! I am preposterously outraged! I am preposterously outraged and shocked!"

 

It's funny (to me) because they didn't put the crosswalks where the sidewalks were, the crosswalks meet at a corner where there are no sidewalks.  Hahahhahaha!!!!!