HEB At 6055 South Fwy.

[Urbannizer]

@shasta

 

 

[Subdude]

2 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

Can mods please move the posts in this thread (do not merge) to the existing thread about this topic?

Second time requesting this. Usually posts like this are automatically merged or the thread merged with the existing thread once a mods notifies the poster of the duplicate thread.

Existing thread here:

https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/32932-heb-288-and-n-macgregor-drive/

Done

[HoustonMidtown]

Untitled by HoustonEado, on Flickr

[HoustonMidtown]

Untitled by Houston Midtown, on Flickr

[X.R.]

They are flying. Biked by there last Saturday, and they were mixing concrete and putting up those beams (is that for support?). The guy outside saw me biking around and he was like, you dont know how many people walk by here just to look/figure out when its opening. Weird to be excited about a grocery store, buuuut I am. And the cool thing is that Macgregor in its current form can probably handle all the traffic to come with its three lanes, and its not typically busy. 

[JLWM8609]

5 hours ago, X.R. said:

They are flying. Biked by there last Saturday, and they were mixing concrete and putting up those beams (is that for support?). The guy outside saw me biking around and he was like, you dont know how many people walk by here just to look/figure out when its opening. Weird to be excited about a grocery store, buuuut I am. And the cool thing is that Macgregor in its current form can probably handle all the traffic to come with its three lanes, and its not typically busy. 

 

They're hoping to have it open in November in time for Thanksgiving. At the rate they're going, I think they'll meet that deadline.

[hindesky]

Front door will face north. Looks like a huge moat and lake will surround parts of the build.

[cspwal]

The moat will be good to fend off attacks from Kroger ground forces

[hindesky]

I rode by the new Heights store Sunday which probably never flooded and wondered why they didn't do a multi level store where everyone knows it has flooded multiple times in the last 18 yrs. Seems like they might be asking for trouble with this. I realize the footprint is much smaller for the Heights store but if it floods just once here they will be out of business for months.

[iah77]

This lot hasn't flooded in the past, funny people keep assuming this just because it's by the bayou. 

Not to mention these two story stores have weird layouts  and are way more crammed in not a good way. 

[HoustonMidtown]

Untitled by Houston Midtown, on Flickr

[JLWM8609]

On 6/17/2019 at 11:23 PM, iah77 said:

This lot hasn't flooded in the past, funny people keep assuming this just because it's by the bayou. 

Not to mention these two story stores have weird layouts  and are way more crammed in not a good way. 

I've lived in the neighborhood for over 30 years and it the new store is in fact being built on top of the former path of Brays Bayou. That's what the little ravine that parallels Mac Gregor is. The site is also partly on a 500 year flood plain and a 100 year flood plain. Residents surrounding the store have valid concerns about the potential for flooding since you're putting a lot of concrete on top of what was previously a few slabs and grass. Hopefully the moat and ponds will do their job. 

[iah77]

There used to be apartments there, it's not like it was not paved at one point. I don't think there is a ravine, they raised McGregror when they built 288 to be able to go over it. 

 

Regardless I'm not passionate about the issue, just my 2 cents. 

[Highrise Tower]

 

 

[bobruss]

I find the amount of earth work and walls for retention and the huge retention center being lined with the same stone to be very elaborate and I'm sure this was at a huge expense to HEB.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

On 6/4/2019 at 8:24 AM, bobruss said:

Here is a link to a map of third ward. On it you will see clearly the Museum district designation on the map over the property. You will also notice the southern boundary 

approximately 5 blocks north of Southmore so this is technically not the 3rd ward and is actually closer to the museum district.

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=map+of+3rd+ward+houston&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Here is the historical map of the six wards and it shows roughly the same geographical boundaries with the southern boundary being about north of Southmore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Ward,_Houston#/media/File:HoustonWards1920.jpg

So technically this is not in the 3rd ward.

 

Not trying to start an internet fight (but don't test me 😀), but...I always knew these "Museum District" and "Museum Park" areas as Third Ward when I was at UH back in the 90s.  

 

You're right that "technically" the HEB site was never Third Ward because it wasn't in the city back when the ward system ended.  But whether it was technically in the boundaries or not, it's always been considered Third Ward.  

 

Here's a blunt way of putting it.  The Third Ward was where Black people lived.  Once White people moved in, it became Museum Park or whatever.  Just like 2nd Ward became... Well, I don't even like to type the words but it's short for East Downtown.  And like how Freedmen's Town no longer exists, as an actual community or even a name anymore.

[HoustonMidtown]

Untitled by Houston Midtown, on Flickr

[Highrise Tower]

 

 

[corbs315]

This is really coming along and looks like it'll be great! But question. It's going to be mooning the north-bound freeway with the ugly rear side, and you can't really see it from the south bound side. What was the reasoning for having the main entrance facing away from traffic/the main feeder road? I can't think of another store like this (or I'm just not thinking very much or very hard).

[iah77]

I'm sure they will plant trees there and it's laid out this way due to parking and the loading docks. I bet the houses towards Riveside did not want 18 wheelers constantly on their street etc. 

[JLWM8609]

4 hours ago, corbs315 said:

This is really coming along and looks like it'll be great! But question. It's going to be mooning the north-bound freeway with the ugly rear side, and you can't really see it from the south bound side. What was the reasoning for having the main entrance facing away from traffic/the main feeder road? I can't think of another store like this (or I'm just not thinking very much or very hard).

 They're working with the shape of the lot. They really couldn't orient it any other way. Perhaps if it was a two story store, they could've done things a bit differently on a smaller footprint.

[bobruss]

On 7/17/2019 at 12:47 PM, Original Timmy Chan's said:

 

Not trying to start an internet fight (but don't test me 😀), but...I always knew these "Museum District" and "Museum Park" areas as Third Ward when I was at UH back in the 90s.  

 

You're right that "technically" the HEB site was never Third Ward because it wasn't in the city back when the ward system ended.  But whether it was technically in the boundaries or not, it's always been considered Third Ward.  

 

Here's a blunt way of putting it.  The Third Ward was where Black people lived.  Once White people moved in, it became Museum Park or whatever.  Just like 2nd Ward became... Well, I don't even like to type the words but it's short for East Downtown.  And like how Freedmen's Town no longer exists, as an actual community or even a name anymore.

That's interesting but the area that the HEB is in was actually developed by a bunch of wealthy jewish citizens like the Sakowitz's the Weingatens, and many others back in the thirties and forties along Brays Bayou because they weren't allowed to live in River Oaks so I don't buy your argument. It's called Riverside Terrace.

[Highrise Tower]

 

[JLWM8609]

12 hours ago, bobruss said:

That's interesting but the area that the HEB is in was actually developed by a bunch of wealthy jewish citizens like the Sakowitz's the Weingatens, and many others back in the thirties and forties along Brays Bayou because they weren't allowed to live in River Oaks so I don't buy your argument. It's called Riverside Terrace.

 

You missed the part where he said they started calling it Third Ward when black people moved in. Yes, it may have been called Riverside Terrace while the area was predominantly white, but by the 70s and 80s and into the present day, it's been referred to as Third Ward, in addition to being called Riverside Terrace.  I've lived here for three decades and my family members have had a presence in this neighborhood for nearly 60 years. They were here when some of the wealthy Jewish residents were still here, and we've all known it as Riverside Terrace AND Third Ward. You know a place can have multiple identities over the years, right? 

[Luminare]

On 7/25/2019 at 3:37 PM, corbs315 said:

This is really coming along and looks like it'll be great! But question. It's going to be mooning the north-bound freeway with the ugly rear side, and you can't really see it from the south bound side. What was the reasoning for having the main entrance facing away from traffic/the main feeder road? I can't think of another store like this (or I'm just not thinking very much or very hard).

 

This is actually really interesting. I assumed that since it was going to be next to the highway it would face the highway, but seems like they really want to show that they are a neighborhood grocer. Thats a big change. Essentially they are saying that their connection to the neighborhood is more important for them than the passerby on the highway. Great move, in my opinion. This is why I like HEB. They are the one grocer that is making a serious stab at being THE community grocer. While I think they have gotten a bit copy/paste with their latest stores and just borrowing the materials they used on the Montrose store, they are staying serious about proximity/priority being the community that they are going to serve. At the end of the day thats most important.

[Highrise Tower]

[HoustonMidtown]

Untitled by Houston Midtown, on Flickr

[corbs315]

Beautiful. I will say in furtherance of my talking about the weird facing of the store, I realized when I went to HEB on Dunlavy yesterday that of course it moons its main thoroughfare (Alabama) and that certainly isn't hurting it. Just thinkin out loud.

[dbigtex56]

2 hours ago, corbs315 said:

I realized when I went to HEB on Dunlavy yesterday that of course it moons its main thoroughfare (Alabama) and that certainly isn't hurting it.

West Alabama, not Alabama.

[hindesky]

HEB colors on the western wall.

 

 

 

Front entrance.

 

 

 

Overhanging.

 

 

 

Lake HEB.