Walmart Supercenter At 2391 South Wayside Dr.

[ricemba0923]

Having grown up and then returning to Idylwood, the Walmart is a welcome change from the trashy hotels, check cashing places and that dump of an apartment complex (Maxwell Rd). If anything should be protested by the neighborhood it should be the apartments that back up to Sylvan Rd. which have been a source of drunken shooting, robberies in the neighborhood, and who knows what else over decades. These apartments have been an eyesore since they where built 30+ years ago, yet the city never does anything to improve or remove places like this - The people of Idylwood would be better served focusing their attention on removing the trash and be happy that Walmart is coming in and cleaning up the mess Oshaman's left when they went belly up. The wayside/I-45 area could become a gem of an area beyond Idylwood with a little care and pride from the people who live and work around it.

[little frau]

Demolition has begun.

And as far as why the Wang corner is not fenced off, I'd say it's probably because there is nothing left there to demolish. Except of course the concrete slabs which will probably come up at some later date.

I have not checked out any of the online information concerning ownership of the corner, I'm just repeating information area residents were provided via a meeting that our councilman (and others) had with Walmart officials.

[samagon]

I'll keep my eyes on it through the week to see what all comes down (at least that's visible from the freeway).

[samagon]

new info on the store here:

http://swamplot.com/planned-walmart-on-wayside-taps-feeder-again-puts-on-square-footage/2012-05-11/

areal view with current layered under plans.

[NenaE]

Aha, Maxwell Lane is behind the store, to the south. And Sylvan Road is to the east, that explains why those old, small apartment complexes were torn down a while back. They were behind the small convenience store.

[little frau]

Not sure I follow you NenaE. The apartments on Sylvan were demolished because the owner neglected them to the point where they were considered dangerous. There was some questionable activity observed on the apartment grounds and more than one resident had seen some local students in among the back of the property, doing exactly what I don't know.

When that owner initially bought the place, he said he was going to renovate. Did not happen.

But if you mean that the people in Idylwood had input on the demolition, you are correct. The Civic Association was very active in documenting goings on. About 15-18 neighbors attended the hearing and surprisingly, the apartment owner was not there.

Idylwood stayed on top of the progress and one thing that helped, the owner is in Houston, not out of state.

[NenaE]

Not sure I follow you NenaE. The apartments on Sylvan were demolished because the owner neglected them to the point where they were considered dangerous. There was some questionable activity observed on the apartment grounds and more than one resident had seen some local students in among the back of the property, doing exactly what I don't know.

When that owner initially bought the place, he said he was going to renovate. Did not happen.

But if you mean that the people in Idylwood had input on the demolition, you are correct. The Civic Association was very active in documenting goings on. About 15-18 neighbors attended the hearing and surprisingly, the apartment owner was not there.

Idylwood stayed on top of the progress and one thing that helped, the owner is in Houston, not out of state.

My misassumption Little Frau. Thought (from looking at the drawing) that the Walmart property would have extended to the Sylvan Rd. and fueled the demolition. The blueprint/ diagram is hard to read. But the boundary must be at the future treeline. IMO, a good thing, keeping the residential street somewhat quiet.

Too bad the '50's (I'm guessing) apartments weren't taken care of, can see why the Civic Association would pursue their removal. The group has always been very active, one of the qualities of Idylwood that I admire.

[samagon]

remembered to peek yesterday as I drove up 45, no buildings that are visible from 45 have been demo'd farther north on wayside you can see some rubble piles though, so they are bringing stuff down, just can't tell what from the freeway.

[samagon]

more stuff is demo'd, and they are clearing out the rubble now.

[little frau]

There are two buildings left that face Maxwell. They do seem to be clearing the debris as they go along though instead of just knocking it all down, then doing the cleanup.

[Enrique Vasquez]

Any news on this?? I pass by it daily and they have seemed to have stopped any kind of construction. They have already torn down all the buildings, looks a lot better!! I just cant imagine there being enough space for the walmart there now that its bare.

Anyone have an update?

[totheskies]

Well one thing's for sure... it's not likely to have any of the "accompanying retail" that we've seen to wall in the Heights Walmart. At 185,000 sq. ft. on a relatively small parcel, they can't build much more than the store itself, and parking.

Last I heard, it was supposed to open "mid 2013" but I guess they're running behind schedule now.

[samagon]

made a point to look yesterday as I drove home, still a desolate landscape of nothing. I wonder if they decided that there was too much pushback from inner loop residents in Houston and chose to leave the Yale street walmart as the only inner loop location?

[travelguy_73]

made a point to look yesterday as I drove home, still a desolate landscape of nothing. I wonder if they decided that there was too much pushback from inner loop residents in Houston and chose to leave the Yale street walmart as the only inner loop location?

Doubt it. They have pretty much received zero pushback from the area, other than requests from Idylwood for security/fencing, and more trees. The delay is likely nothing to be concerned about.

[RedScare]

What pushback? Sure, some residents complained, wrote mean things on internet forums, and even created a facebook page. But, the end result was a new Walmart on Yale without even having to defend a lawsuit. No political figures lost reelection. They even got a new road and sidewalks out of the deal. Why would that deter them from building in an area where even more of the residents want it?

[little frau]

We in Idylwood have not heard anything recently. Some are concerned about property values, that's true. But, we have found that actually working *with* Walmart is more conducive to good relations than trying to create a rukus that benefits no one.

I'm of the opinion that Walmart will get their way eventually. The main thing I and some of my immediate neighbors can hope for is that TxDot will see fit to put in a left turn lane for the folks coming from Harrisburg towards I-45. That stretch of Wayside, once the road changes from 2 one ways at Polk, (Wayside and S/Sgt. Marcario Garcia, formerly 69th St.) into a simple undivided 4 lane US Hwy (Wayside) is already backed up almost to Harrisburg during rush hour.

Before Walmart even completed the purchase of the Oshman's properties, at a civic club meeting we were told that TxDot would not get involved BEFORE a deal was finalized. Or, I should say, I was told that by a representative of our state rep's office who was in contact with a rep from TxDot. Yeah, I know, try tracking that one.

[plumber2]

The city and/or TexDot should make Wamart fund the improvements to Wayside that are needed for traffic control.

[samagon]

I noticed on my drive home from work Friday that there are stakes in the ground, and small earth moving equipment as well. Maybe they're going to start work soon?

[contraviento78]

That is correct! Dirt is being moved and they have now moved the fence to the corner of wayside/45 instead of around that squared corner.

 

Traffic is already backing up, and its only dump-trucks in the area.

 

 

 

I noticed on my drive home from work Friday that there are stakes in the ground, and small earth moving equipment as well. Maybe they're going to start work soon?

 

 

[djrage]

More pics.

Not quite Jax quality, but whatever.

I haven't been down this road in since this fence has been built. Maybe 20 yrs ago?

From Google Maps, I thought this was a way in and out, but I was surprised to find a fence with openings open only for pedestrians. Believe it or not, I saw quite a bit of auto traffic as people were either picking up or dropping people off.

This is the very back of it property. The security seemed to be a bit concerned about my taking pics of the property, but I just waved at him in a friendly manner and smiled.

This is across the street. I'm assuming this is part of the school there, but I don't now.

What caught my eye though was the art on the docking side, and decided to take as many detailed pictures, including the dedications and thanks of the various sponsors. Might as well let this live online at least.

This is the wayside st. part of the property. Kinda' wonder if that hotel will survive.

This is across the street. This strip is almost totally vacant and will be interesting to visit this site in a year or so.

 

That strip was built in a bad location. Whoever decided this would work there is in the wrong business.

[little frau]

Will the derilict billboard next to Aranda's, a leaning skeleton since Hurricane Alicia, finally come down? Please!

 

A couple of weeks ago, I saw some bucket trucks by that billboard. It has been completely reworked and is now standing tall and upright, awaiting new business.

 

There are other signs still standing though.  Does anyone know anything about sign ownership?  Do they go with the land or remain the property of whomever paid for them?

 

As far as cut through traffic on Maxwell to Sylvan, it's not possible at this point.  Idylwood paid for a gate across Maxwell quite a few years ago.  Lee Brown was mayor.  Last we heard, the gate will remain.  Maxwell itself is in pretty sad shape along there too.  Many deep potholes that do not get city attention.

 

All the old palm trees and oaks that were on the Holiday Inn site are gone.

[samagon]

No pictures, but it's amazing how quickly they are building it. Appears to be cinder block (or some type of brick) construction rather than those concrete wall thingies. 

 

Most of the basic structure appears to be in place.

[august948]

No pictures, but it's amazing how quickly they are building it. Appears to be cinder block (or some type of brick) construction rather than those concrete wall thingies.

Most of the basic structure appears to be in place.

Walmart seems to favor cinder block construction. We've got a Sam's going up near us at Eldridge and Richmond and it's block construction as well. I've also seen two other Walmarts go up on the west side of town, both block construction. I don't know enough about commercial building to know why they do it that way vs solid concrete wall, though, but I'd guess it's either cost related or perhaps easier to do with a lesser skilled crew.

[Specwriter]

Walmart seems to favor cinder block construction. We've got a Sam's going up near us at Eldridge and Richmond and it's block construction as well. I've also seen two other Walmarts go up on the west side of town, both block construction. I don't know enough about commercial building to know why they do it that way vs solid concrete wall, though, but I'd guess it's either cost related or perhaps easier to do with a lesser skilled crew.

 

You are completely correct about the "lesser skilled crew." Tilt-wall construction (pouring the walls on top of the floor slab and lifting them into place with a crane once the concrete has set) is efficient and makes for a very strong building. It is a good way to enclose a lot of space quickly and with minimum cost.

 

That said, depending on the size of the project and the availability of a crane and its operator (and remember there is a lot of construction going on in this city right now) it may be expedient to stack concrete masonry units (yeah, that's jargon for what we all grew up calling cinder blocks).

 

Sometimes too a slightly higher construction cost, whether it is driven by materials or labor costs or  both, can be justified by the amount of time saved. This is especially important with a project such as a retail establishment since it doesn't start making money until it is open to the public and selling goods.

 

By the way, CMU construction can be very strong if the holes in the block contain reinforcing steel and grout. They then begin to behave almost exactly as a solid concrete slab.

[august948]

By the way, CMU construction can be very strong if the holes in the block contain reinforcing steel and grout. They then begin to behave almost exactly as a solid concrete slab.

Do they just drop the steel in (rebar?) or do they also fill it in with something else (concrete, insulating foam, etc.)?

[Specwriter]

Do they just drop the steel in (rebar?) or do they also fill it in with something else (concrete, insulating foam, etc.)?

 

August, the holes (cells) with are filled with a grout that is essentially concrete with smaller aggregate so it can be placed easily. Think pea gravel instead of rocks the size of robin's eggs or larger. The height of the wall and the lateral force it is required to resist determines whether all the cells, every other cell, or fewer must be reinforced.

 

I would be very confident riding out a severe storm (even a tornado) in a small building of reinforced CMU with a concrete slab roof. High wind not only tears apart a building through its own force (positive and negative pressure) but also hurls objects into the structure with tremendous force.

[The Drake]

I took Materials and Construction Management at A&M. Thanks for refreshing my memory haha!

[august948]

August, the holes (cells) with are filled with a grout that is essentially concrete with smaller aggregate so it can be placed easily. Think pea gravel instead of rocks the size of robin's eggs or larger. The height of the wall and the lateral force it is required to resist determines whether all the cells, every other cell, or fewer must be reinforced.

 

I would be very confident riding out a severe storm (even a tornado) in a small building of reinforced CMU with a concrete slab roof. High wind not only tears apart a building through its own force (positive and negative pressure) but also hurls objects into the structure with tremendous force.

Thanks for the info. When you said grout earlier I was thinking of around the edges like tiles instead of large quantities in the middle.

[Specwriter]

Thanks for the info. When you said grout earlier I was thinking of around the edges like tiles instead of large quantities in the middle.

 

It is confusing that the same term is used for the two materials. Then there is leveling grout which is used under the plates at the bottom of steel columns where they rest on a concrete footing or slab. I will leave it to Drake to elaborate on that as I'm sure this thread has brought back some wonderful memories of his days at A&M.

 

As you may deduce from my user name I am a construction specification writer by vocation. Early on it is drummed into every spec writers head that the 4 C's of good specification writing dictate they must be clear, correct, complete, and concise. This has probably caused many people I work with to consider me a bit of a nudnik. I am, at least as it concerns my work. Otherwise I am really a free spirit.

 

BTW, to get back to the original question: CMU walls can be erected fairly quickly. There is some skill required in keeping the lines level and placing the mortar joints with the proper thickness and amount of mortar but many people can learn this with enough practice and good attention to their work. One advantage of this construction type is the ability to have several crews working on different parts of the building at the same time.

[RedScare]

Early on it is drummed into every spec writers head that the 4 C's of good specification writing dictate they must be clear, correct, complete, and concise. This has probably caused many people I work with to consider me a bit of a nudnik. I am, at least as it concerns my work. Otherwise I am really a free spirit.

 

I prefer construction pedant.