LarryDierker Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 Are being developed Nothing to write home about, but thread worthy perhaps. the eye center looks kinda cool. http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x322/tebor79/NewBitmapImage-4.png The Eastern Lot: http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x322/tebor79/IMG_0401.jpg The Western: http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x322/tebor79/IMG_0402.jpg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted May 19, 2013 Share Posted May 19, 2013 I remember growing up in that area years and years ago and wondering when they'd build something on those lots. Guess I got my answer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDierker Posted May 18, 2014 Author Share Posted May 18, 2014 Looks like the Vision Center is under construction. IMG_0874 by Not.Larry.Dierker, on Flickr 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 The pond in front reminds me of that "exclusive" realty office on FM 1960. Other than the yellow color it looks like a charming building. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 What ever happened with the medical office? Signage was pulled a few years back. I know the City of Bellaire paved new sidewalks right there, I believe, but that's it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithiumaneurysm Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I live right next to these lots. A new driveway off of Newcastle was added to the western one a couple of months ago, and I've seen trucks parked in the grass every now and then, but otherwise no activity. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 Bissonnet Medical Plaza https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/4460-Bissonnet-St-Bellaire-TX/15497164/ https://images3.loopnet.com/d2/AyMKkbyxZlSQkUOUe3B7Iq-vMXgpHVPbfFdjours-7E/document.pdf 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
por favor gracias Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 (edited) I really like the building and the plaza, but the 4 story garage that is separate from and has a slightly larger footprint than the 3 story building is so Houston. Love this city, but my God we must have the highest ratio of parking spaces to building use on the planet. Of course, I say that and I think this is technically Bellaire...so there is that. I guess it's true that you are who you surround yourself with. Edited May 4, 2019 by por favor gracias 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstontexasjack Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 The lots that changed lis pendens law in Texas....reminds me of Boromir picking up the One Ring to comment how so much fear and doubt was caused by “such a little thing.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 The garage is a bit absurd but this site plan is about as good as it could have been. So woo for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmitch94 Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 11 hours ago, por favor gracias said: I really like the building and the plaza, but the 4 story garage that is separate from and has a slightly larger footprint than the 3 story building is so Houston. Love this city, but my God we must have the highest ratio of parking spaces to building use on the planet. Of course, I say that and I think this is technically Bellaire...so there is that. I guess it's true that you are who you surround yourself with. I heard Houston has something like 30-40 parking spaces for every car in the city. One of if not the highest ratios in the nation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arbpro Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 A whole lot of griping about garages, surface lots, anything to do with parking. I know someone who relocated to Chicago to go to law school. She has a car, but doesn't dare use it. Why? Because if she gives up that parking space, near her apartment, it's gone permanently. The infrequent time she uses her car is only when she can arrange to have a friend pull into the spot when she pulls out. Pick your poison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 Well, there's a wide range between the two extremes. Houston will never be like that because there aren't any neighborhoods where almost everyone has to park on the street. The City could ban all off-street residential parking today and it would take decades for any neighborhood to get anywhere near that situation, if it *ever* happened. People aren't going to agree on what constitutes the right balance, but I think it's generally safe to say that way too much of Houston is dedicated to parking rather than an actual active use. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arbpro Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 " I think it's generally safe to say that way too much of Houston is dedicated to parking rather than an actual active use." Neither government, well at least cost-conscious government, nor business is going to the expense of providing parking that will not be used by its residents or customers. They decide the best use of assets belonging to them, not posters on this site. If anyone believes a parking lot, parking garage, etc, is an inefficient use of that land then buy that property and make a ton of money refitting that land to its proper calling. You make a fair point about the two extremes. I think that is true. My opinion, however, is simple. Don't like something, do something about it. Complaining about how other people choose to deploy their assets/property accomplishes nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 Not sure what the point of this site is supposed to be then. Property rights don't preclude other peoples' right to criticize a property owner's decisions. And since the city government sets parking minimums, making it known when you disagree with the decisions elected officials make is entirely appropriate. Anyway, the idea that either government or business operates as a perfectly rational actor is a strange one, since decisions in both ultimately are made by human beings. We are notoriously only occasionally rational, and we have a hard time with long-term planning in particular. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
por favor gracias Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 4 hours ago, jmitch94 said: I heard Houston has something like 30-40 parking spaces for every car in the city. One of if not the highest ratios in the nation. I guess it "makes sense" that a car-centric city would have a high ratio, and I'm sure we have legit analytics for it, but one the surface, that sounds excessive. Just as a heads up in response to arbpro, I'm obviously not griping about "anything to do with parking." Of course parking is a necessary function whether you're in NYC or Freeport, TX. My concern is this kind of excessive or inefficiently designed parking to the point where it's detrimental to responsible planning, especially since it happens a lot in the city I love the most. I understand that 1) there are height restrictions here and 2) developers generally care more about money than the communities they build in...but we all have opinions and shouldn't have to buy a piece of property in order to criticize decisions developers make or regulations that limit them. We live here, we pay taxes here too, and many of us care about how our city is built, plus the environmental/traffic/flooding issues that will ensue. I assume that's why everyone is on this forum to some extent. There actually are a ton of parking lots/garages that aren't used close to their capacity in Houston, and yes, I wish the city/developers would do better in those (and many other) cases. I don't think it's true that complaining accomplishes nothing. The more this kind of stuff is brought to light, the more our "leaders" and developers are likely to listen, as long as it's meant constructively and you're not just being a total jerk or something. I wonder what the cost difference would be in cases like this (w/o the obvious height restrictions, of course) if they only used half the land and built the building on top of the garage, and then what the difference of property taxes would be after 10, 20 or 50 years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 Bellaire's code calls for 3 spaces per 1000 sf for commercial uses. Houston's code is more detailed, and requires 3.5 spaces per 1000 sf for medical clinics. Still, the aesthetics on that garage aren't anywhere near what the office component has... they could have done better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arbpro Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 "Property rights don't preclude other peoples' right to criticize a property owner's decisions" You misconstrue. I'm not saying you can't complain. Complain all you want. But complaining about parking garages is pretty much identical to complaining about the weather. It's not going to change anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 I'm not sure why you'd assume that someone who complains on a forum like this *isn't also* trying to do something about it. Besides, this is partly a cultural issue, and the way you start to change culture is to talk about why you think something needs to change. It doesn't have to have any impact on this specific project to still matter. Anyway, I don't have a real problem with this design. The garage is big, but it's exactly where I would prefer it to be, access is off of secondary roads, and the site plan seems generally perfectly reasonable. I'd like to see more like this - maybe with some sort of active use integrated into the garage as well though. Or even just a nicer looking garage. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 Honestly, why is this in "Going Up"? Seems like it should be in one of the neighborhood sub-forums. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 Fence is going up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Digging has started. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 On 5/4/2019 at 11:41 AM, Texasota said: Well, there's a wide range between the two extremes. Houston will never be like that because there aren't any neighborhoods where almost everyone has to park on the street. The City could ban all off-street residential parking today and it would take decades for any neighborhood to get anywhere near that situation, if it *ever* happened. People aren't going to agree on what constitutes the right balance, but I think it's generally safe to say that way too much of Houston is dedicated to parking rather than an actual active use. That's because there is no current "active use" that makes economic sense for many of the parking lots. You might prefer that the owner build some super attractive building, but if there's no tenants willing to pay the rent necessary to make a profit, then the owner goes bankrupt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texas911 Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 Love this project. Love that the building engages BIssonet with a wide sidewalk. Developer could learn from this. I'm looking at you Palace Lanes redo! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 24, 2019 Share Posted August 24, 2019 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 Rumor is another garage going up across the street. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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