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The Abandoned Astrodome And Its Future


gambitx

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3 hours ago, cougarpad said:

The Astrodome is now marked as a historical landmark so it cannot be demolished.  The demolish crowd can no longer get their wish. Will see if this clueless and brain empty new judge can actually figure that out. There is going to have to be someone pulling the strings behind her because she just does not seem to have the knowledge to do this job well.

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/amp/Astrodome-to-receive-Recorded-Texas-Historic-12759587.php

 

I haven't seen anything from her that indicates a concrete plan of action on this or anything else,  particularly with regards to anything the county has actual jurisdiction over.  Just the typical vague language politicians put out when they don't have any real ideas moving forward.  I'd guess that she'll ride Emmett's coattails on the flood control projects he's already started and claim credit when the next election comes up.  In the meantime, I suspect the more experienced commissioners will try to steer her in whatever direction they want.

 

You can''t say she's brain empty, though.  She went to Stanford after all.  Clueless on actual governance though, maybe.

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7 hours ago, august948 said:

 

I haven't seen anything from her that indicates a concrete plan of action on this or anything else,  particularly with regards to anything the county has actual jurisdiction over.  Just the typical vague language politicians put out when they don't have any real ideas moving forward.  I'd guess that she'll ride Emmett's coattails on the flood control projects he's already started and claim credit when the next election comes up.  In the meantime, I suspect the more experienced commissioners will try to steer her in whatever direction they want.

 

You can''t say she's brain empty, though.  She went to Stanford after all.  Clueless on actual governance though, maybe.

We will see what she does in the position. I admit I could have used better terms to describe her. Stanford has been slowly turning into one of those California colleges that are becoming more interested in forcing a political agenda on kids than teaching them beneficial things for the real world. I'm am in her generation and it seems like more and more kids are graduating our high schools and colleges with mush brains. It is getting to the point just because you went to Stanford doesn't mean you are prepared for the real world. There is a reason the US keeps dropping in the academic rankings of the world. I am working on getting my teaching certification. I want to teach history because it astonishes me how many kids don't know even the basic important facts of history. I love history and want to get kids more engaged with it.

 

I am a conservative and know I will probably adamantly oppose her views on big government and mass taxes. The only thing I would probably ever support her on is saving the Astrodome and redeveloping it.

Edited by cougarpad
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16 hours ago, august948 said:

 

Hasn't the community been involved over the past 20 or so years that we've been debating this?  I'll bet she's not going to do anything.  Probably is just surprised she won.  Emmett mentioned during the campaign that some of the things she's talking about aren't even in the purview of the commissioners court.

 

"Not even in the purview" - I didn't want to spend political capital on pushing it through.

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1 hour ago, ADCS said:

 

"Not even in the purview" - I didn't want to spend political capital on pushing it through.

 

No, it's more like this...

 

Quote

Hidalgo, he charged, focuses too much on issues Commissioners Court does not manage, such as early childhood education and new light rail lines, and too little on emergency preparedness, which he views a primary responsibility.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Ed-Emmett-aims-re-election-campaign-at-Democrats-13303712.php

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17 hours ago, cougarpad said:

I want to teach history because it astonishes me how many kids don't know even the basic important facts of history. I love history and want to get kids more engaged with it.

 

Good for you. Would that more people felt the same way. Some of the people who have had the greatest influence on me were history teachers. 

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Wait, What’s Going On With the Astrodome Now?

https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2019/3/25/whats-going-on-with-the-astrodome

 

But also:

https://www.click2houston.com/news/what-s-the-astrodome-renovation-timeline-

 

The second article states that there really isn't a set timetable moving forward, but that work is happening now to remove asbestos from the building. This has to take place before any major construction can take place.

Edited by CaptainJilliams
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This is beyond frustrating. The county court voted in February 2018 to spend the money and do the renovation. Now a 28-year-old first-time county judge throws the whole thing into limbo. The comments from her office that this is not really important to them and they have no idea when they'll get around to looking at it suggest to me that someone is waiting to have their palm greased.

 

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On 4/13/2019 at 3:42 PM, CaptainJilliams said:

Wait, What’s Going On With the Astrodome Now?

https://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2019/3/25/whats-going-on-with-the-astrodome

 

But also:

https://www.click2houston.com/news/what-s-the-astrodome-renovation-timeline-

 

The second article states that there really isn't a set timetable moving forward, but that work is happening now to remove asbestos from the building. This has to take place before any major construction can take place.

 

I think this sums it up (from the article above)

 

Quote

So what can we expect going forward?

More waiting! “This is really on the back burner for us at this juncture,” Kiran Khalid, Hidalgo’s director of communications, told Houstonia. She explained that county priorities currently include how to best disburse last year’s $2.5 billion Harvey flood bond to affected communities, and the criminal-justice reform proposals Hidalgo campaigned on. The county is “still working through the plan details” with project managers to determine how to approach the Dome’s air-conditioning issue, among others. The path forward remains hazy, in other words, but Khalid made one thing quite clear: “Speculating on what will happen with the Astrodome and when is not at the top of mind for us.

 

Edited by august948
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Speaking of new developments.  Word has it that the Astrodome is now undergoing a huge cleaning out and it appears that things are moving over there.  Does anyone have any updates of photos to share?  I seldom get by there and I would love to see the changes happening.  Thanks everyone !

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https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2019/07/09/338908/recent-developments-offer-new-hope-for-alternate-plan-for-the-astrodome/

 

It seemed like plans were settled to re-purpose the

 Astrodome as an indoor parking and event space. But, as recently elected Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said on this program back in January, there’s not enough money for the building’s air conditioning.

That has left some questions about the state of the project – enough to revive one architect’s dream for a different course for the dome.

We’ve talked with James Richards before about his concept, called A-Dome Park, which you can see a visualization of in this Arts InSight segment from 2016.

But, in the audio above, he tells Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty why he has new hope – and refreshes our memories on the idea to transform the dome into an active, open-air urban park with a walking/running trail spiraling its way to the top of the historic structure.

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People keep wanting the park idea, so how about they just keep the structure intact and make it an indoor park?

Scrap off the paint on the plexiglass on the roof, replant the special grass strand, and boom all season park

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