Downtown Houston 2025 Master Plan

[Luminare]

9 hours ago, 102IAHexpress said:

 

You literally did. It's like I'm talking to Trump. We can all read what you posted.

 

Anyways, for those interested in -facts-, as of right now the downtown Forever 21 has been spared. Very good news for downtown. I would suggest we all try to limit our "knee jerk" reactions before facts are posted. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/10/01/forever-21-closings-list-these-178-stores-could-close/3833982002/

 

 

Considering your post history this seems to be how you normally engage with most which is rather unfortunate. I probably should have further clarified that it would have been a "potential" closure. That would be fair, but again you aren't asking for that in good faith. You are so militant, and being such a royal prick, that instead of making that clarification I'm simply going to state that, for your sake, I hope they all close just to take the piss out of you haha. You clearly are overly sensitive to the point you can't handle people approaching things in a way that isn't exactly how you wish to approach them which essentially makes you look like a child. Post away, but this isn't worth my time. Wish you the best.

[102IAHexpress]

As of now, Forever 21 in Downtown is NOT closings its doors, Forever 21 has not died. These are just facts. I have no idea why Luminare claimed otherwise? This may be better suited for another thread on declining societal norms, but for some reason people can’t admit when they are wrong anymore and instead engage in ad hominem attacks and get defensive. HAIF can do better. 

[Texasota]

Nice touch talking *about* him rather than *to* him. That's just *chef's kiss* level of dickishness.

[Luminare]

3 hours ago, Texasota said:

Nice touch talking *about* him rather than *to* him. That's just *chef's kiss* level of dickishness.

 

I appreciate it Tex, but I think its more the fact that apparently the community is at fault in all this? "HAIF can do better". How dare HAIF give a platform to those with differing opinions! HAIF shall remain pure! HAIF can do better....like Twitter! Shame on me. Shame on HAIF! haha The community and I must repent Tex haha.

[TheSirDingle]

Feel good redemption story on how Downtown went from office buildings and parking lots, to an actual neighborhood. Also talks about how building residential in Downtown isn't a pioneering effort anymore, and the fact that residential life is finally taking root.  

https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/multifamily/no-longer-pioneering-downtown-living-is-finally-taking-root-101107

[samagon]

wow guys. this is a Forever 21. No one can really care this much about Forever 21?

[HoustonMidtown]

Downtown Forever 21 closing....

 

Untitled by Houston Midtown, on Flickr

Edited November 3, 2019 by HoustonMidtown

[Triton]

18 hours ago, HoustonMidtown said:

Downtown Forever 21 closing....

 

Untitled by Houston Midtown, on Flickr

 

Not sad... did anyone ever really go there? Feel like we can put something better there...

[nate4l1f3]

3 hours ago, Triton said:

 

Not sad... did anyone ever really go there? Feel like we can put something better there...

It’s a loss no matter how you slice it IMO, one of the few “major” retailers Downtown.  Realistically what would you like to see?

[Twinsanity02]

My daughter loved going there. I couldn't stand the place. Maybe that's why my daughters liked it so much.

[Triton]

Not as many people go to Forever 21 anymore though, hence the bankruptcy. You need a large amount of retail to enter that market at the same time so you have a viable place for people to go to, to walk around for clothes shopping.

[quietstorm]

4 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

It’s a loss no matter how you slice it IMO, one of the few “major” retailers Downtown.  Realistically what would you like to see?

I think Zara would do better. Whenever I travel and visit Zara, it’s busy and would probably fit the DT residents, workers and tourists. 

[nate4l1f3]

3 hours ago, quietstorm said:

I think Zara would do better. Whenever I travel and visit Zara, it’s busy and would probably fit the DT residents, workers and tourists. 

I feel like Zara, Forever 21, and H&M all have the same customer base. I would love a Zara here though. 

[Naviguessor]

Does forever 21 sale clothes for guys? 
I know Zara and h&m do. 

[nate4l1f3]

Yup. Reasonably priced with styles similar to H&M and Zara. They’re only doing 10% off denim at this location right now. 

Edited November 5, 2019 by nate4l1f3

[CaptainJilliams]

That store was always empty.

 

I remember walking around downtown when my family was here during the summer and taking a break to cool off inside the store. There was almost no one there other than the employees at the front counter. 

 

Isn't the LifeTime Fitness taking over this space as well, or a different section?

[Nole23]

31 minutes ago, CaptainJilliams said:

That store was always empty.

 

I remember walking around downtown when my family was here during the summer and taking a break to cool off inside the store. There was almost no one there other than the employees at the front counter. 

 

Isn't the LifeTime Fitness taking over this space as well, or a different section?

 

Lifetime is going into the space next door to it that used to house Books-A-Million

[Montrose1100]

Inspired by the Editor's post about 20 years of HAIF & Bilbao58's posts in SSC about projects that are less than 20 years old - I present:

 

The Highlighter Google Earth Downtown Houston 20 Years of development image.

Green: New Build

Yellow: Renovation (saved from abandonment, which is why the Leeland Federal Building is not notated, or the Allen Center).

Purple: U/C buildings missing from the outdated satellite imagery. 

Feel free to add in or ask me for corrections/amendments. A cool visual of the amount of investment in our city! Personally, I'd be happy to see donut apartments fill in every surface lot over a Supertall. But a new Supertall would be nice ;)

[H-Town Man]

Wow, thanks. Pretty much confirms that Discovery Green is the greatest idea anyone has had for downtown in the modern era. I am rather surprised that more has not been done in the Historic District, which is most likely because there are few sites large enough to build a large building with a parking garage. We need to learn how to do fine-grained development.

 

[Nate99]

Thanks for compiling this, really cool. 

I've been here more often than not over each of the last 20 and it's hard to overstate the change. 

[mattyt36]

Montrose, thank you so much.  😃

[nate4l1f3]

Looking at this I’m actually disappointed in the development around MMP. 

[BEES?!]

2 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

Looking at this I’m actually disappointed in the development around MMP. 

I'll be interested to see how that land ends up developing around there. I mean, it really is only a matter of time before we get some awesome development over in that direction

With the Theater District Master Plan being implemented as we speak and the Post development, I wonder if that's going to be the next area to pop off, or will whoever's holding land around MMP get moving now that the land surrounding DG is getting filled in with denser and denser development? On the South side, I'm guessing Trebly park will have some influence on the immediate blocks surrounding it (save for the surface lot that will never die, lol *cries*), though I wonder how much of an influence a not-even-city-block-sized park can have on an area. But who knows? If it's a well-programmed, well-maintained space, that will certainly help bring some life to that side of Downtown, it feels kinda quiet down there, and I think it's largely due to a lack of any real draw right now. Maybe Trebly will help liven it up a little :P

[Nate99]

9 hours ago, nate4l1f3 said:

Looking at this I’m actually disappointed in the development around MMP. 

There was at least one other DLI building that was axed when we had the downturn that would have taken out a surface lot, but north of the ballpark is still a blend between the courthouse stuff (bail bond shops) and the Salvation Army/Star of Hope/underpass encampment traffic, that's going to make things lag.  DT as a whole had that whole feel and dynamic in the 90's, I think it will come around. 

[sapo2367]

2 hours ago, Nate99 said:

There was at least one other DLI building that was axed when we had the downturn that would have taken out a surface lot, but north of the ballpark is still a blend between the courthouse stuff (bail bond shops) and the Salvation Army/Star of Hope/underpass encampment traffic, that's going to make things lag.  DT as a whole had that whole feel and dynamic in the 90's, I think it will come around. 

I'm curious if this part of downtown will change with the NHHIP project dropping the highway underground etc. If they do successfully make that a multi-block park hopefully the area will be a destination instead of a section to avoid.

[j_cuevas713]

12 hours ago, BEES?! said:

I'll be interested to see how that land ends up developing around there. I mean, it really is only a matter of time before we get some awesome development over in that direction

With the Theater District Master Plan being implemented as we speak and the Post development, I wonder if that's going to be the next area to pop off, or will whoever's holding land around MMP get moving now that the land surrounding DG is getting filled in with denser and denser development? On the South side, I'm guessing Trebly park will have some influence on the immediate blocks surrounding it (save for the surface lot that will never die, lol *cries*), though I wonder how much of an influence a not-even-city-block-sized park can have on an area. But who knows? If it's a well-programmed, well-maintained space, that will certainly help bring some life to that side of Downtown, it feels kinda quiet down there, and I think it's largely due to a lack of any real draw right now. Maybe Trebly will help liven it up a little :P

I completely agree. Really the development the last 20 years helped us catch up for the prior 20 that we were falling apart. It’s really just a matter of time. With Frost Town brewery and 2 more residential properties opening, this area is going to explode. We still have yet to find out what Jim Crane has in store for his property. The Elysian Viaduct just opened so traffic will begin to flow better through downtown. I see a lot more residential in this part of the city center. 

Edited July 16, 2021 by j_cuevas713

[arche_757]

What the above shows is how a great urban park can spur development.  It is still a shame that the Superblock park in Midtown wasn’t completely realized!

Thanks @Montrose1100!  I used to love getting the development maps from DowntownHouston back in the early 2000’s.

[H-Town Man]

On 7/15/2021 at 10:06 PM, nate4l1f3 said:

Looking at this I’m actually disappointed in the development around MMP. 

Would you want to live next to MMP? Every other night for 6-7 months of the year you have dramatic spikes in traffic and crowds; the rest of the time you have a giant dead zone next to you. Tons of parking lots everywhere. You can't see into the park, and after a few weeks the whole "Wow! That's Minute Maid Park!" feeling wears off. It's not like there's a good bar district now that the only neighborhood sports bars next to MMP have been bulldozed. I don't see any advantage to living there, unless you're right on Texas Ave. or between it and Discovery Green. If you want to watch games, live somewhere near Main St. and walk to games.

 

 

[arche_757]

I suppose one could look to Petco Park in San Diego as an example of the sort of neighborhood you could hope would build up around a MLB ballpark.  I think once you have enough critical mass that it would be a fun neighborhood, developments would have cafes and bars built in.  As for living there… I would think avoiding the traffic downtown wouldn’t be nearly as hard as avoiding it around NRG.  Night games aren’t every day during the season, and even day games on the weekends wouldn’t be too bad if there was enough parking available that it’s spread out away from the immediate couple of streets around the park.  I could also see the merit to building another city/sports authority owned garage with the possibility of another hotel and/or offices above nearby.

[edit: you could nitpick anyplace to pieces.  The theatre district doesn’t have any buildings with interior visibility from the outside. There is also traffic associated with that.  I think living in a downtown you just accept there is a near constant expectation of activity.]

 

Edited July 19, 2021 by arche_757

[samagon]

49 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

Would you want to live next to MMP? Every other night for 6-7 months of the year you have dramatic spikes in traffic and crowds; the rest of the time you have a giant dead zone next to you. Tons of parking lots everywhere. You can't see into the park, and after a few weeks the whole "Wow! That's Minute Maid Park!" feeling wears off. It's not like there's a good bar district now that the only neighborhood sports bars next to MMP have been bulldozed. I don't see any advantage to living there, unless you're right on Texas Ave. or between it and Discovery Green. If you want to watch games, live somewhere near Main St. and walk to games.

 

 

on the plus side, you get fireworks every Friday and Saturday night for almost the whole summer.

traffic isn't that bad before games, as people seem to trickle in, it's when games are over that it can get frustrating with traffic. if I were in the apartment market, and looking to live downtown, I would pay a little extra to be in one of the apartments facing MMP, with a balcony. from people watching before/after the game, to listening to the roar of a game on the rare occasion that the roof is open.

I was shocked and disappointed to see that the bars across the street became a parking lot. with the bars gone, and the old mansion moved, that stretch of Texas St feels a lot less like Houston, and at the same time a lot more like Houston.

hopefully that parking lot is a short term addition to Houston's street scape.