Downtown Houston 2036 Master Plan

[EMME]

Pardon if I'm wrong but what is so special about YMCA housing? Does it cater towards... homeless? Mentally ill? I believe the YMCA serves a good purpose but I'm unsure what it is...

Also, at the very least whoever printed that blurb but at least they could go over and proof their work...

"Proejct" ?

UGH.

Actually, some of HOuston's top businessmen stayed at the Downtown Y when they first arrived in Houston way back in the day (I can't remember who, but you would recognize the names). It is low cost, safe housing for many that are coming to Houston looking for work. They have pretty strict rules to stay there.

[totheskies]

Its like a pay per night cheap hotel for homeless and semi-homeless. Its going to be just a gym after they move locations.

Not necessarily... the Y used to be like a really great Hostel... they get a very diverse group of people from all walks of life. I stayed at the old Y in Raleigh, NC and it was a great experience. These places may not be the cleanest and "most impressive" hits on the block, but they have a lot of soul, and you encounter very interesting people.

Any word on the fate of the downtown Y? Is it going to be torn down???

[kylejack]

Not necessarily... the Y used to be like a really great Hostel... they get a very diverse group of people from all walks of life. I stayed at the old Y in Raleigh, NC and it was a great experience. These places may not be the cleanest and "most impressive" hits on the block, but they have a lot of soul, and you encounter very interesting people.

I'm talking about its current condition, not previous. That is not the nature of it currently.

Any word on the fate of the downtown Y? Is it going to be torn down???

Yes, as I was saying its all coming down after they move to the new Tellepsen location a few blocks away. Chevron is buying the land.

[HTX]

From the Downtown Redevelopment Authority website

"A Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) is a public financing tool created by City Ordinance and thru Chapter 311 of the Local Texas Government Code for use in areas with blighted conditions including substantially arrested, impaired growth, substandard, slum, deteriorated structures, unsanitary, unsafe conditions and/or the general deterioration of public infrastructure"

What area of this map would anyone consider to be a "blighted"?

http://www.mainstreettirz.com/images/2007_...es_Map11508.pdf

[Talbot]

Sounds like a great idea. But I laugh for some reason when I hear "Workforce Housing Units." It sounds like a communist development in China.

[lockmat]

I wonder if this chron article from the other day is the same as this one?

The Downtown Redevelopment Authority wants to provide up to $20 million in funding to help build housing for people who work or go to school in and around the Central Business District.

The group has released a

[TheNiche]

I wonder if this chron article from the other day is the same as this one?

Yep, same topic.

[lockmat]

I wonder what the terms would be for affordable housing downtown, not targeted at people with very low incomes. It seems they want to bring in more midlevel middle class people downtown, not the really poor.

Maybe those who make 45k-50k or less?

[TheNiche]

I wonder what the terms would be for affordable housing downtown, not targeted at people with very low incomes. It seems they want to bring in more midlevel middle class people downtown, not the really poor.

Maybe those who make 45k-50k or less?

Income requirements would most likely depend on household composition and the size of the apartment unit.

[lockmat]

Income requirements would most likely depend on household composition and the size of the apartment unit.

I knew my answer would be something like that. But it sounds like this affordable housing development would cater to people who have more money than the usual affordable housing development, don't you think? It would be affordable relative to normal downtown prices.

[samagon]

From the Downtown Redevelopment Authority website

"A Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) is a public financing tool created by City Ordinance and thru Chapter 311 of the Local Texas Government Code for use in areas with blighted conditions including substantially arrested, impaired growth, substandard, slum, deteriorated structures, unsanitary, unsafe conditions and/or the general deterioration of public infrastructure"

What area of this map would anyone consider to be a "blighted"?

http://www.mainstreettirz.com/images/2007_...es_Map11508.pdf

block 388.

There are some places, imo, that are better off being turned into parking lots than however many stories of the current state of dead hookers and rats.

Edited June 29, 2009 by samagon

[TheNiche]

I knew my answer would be something like that. But it sounds like this affordable housing development would cater to people who have more money than the usual affordable housing development, don't you think? It would be affordable relative to normal downtown prices.

Since there's public involvement over and above what is provided by traditional affordable housing programs, speculation over what kinds of people they are looking to attract or what kind of housing product they intend to build is difficult. You're going to have to go by what they tell you.

[HTX]

block 388.

There are some places, imo, that are better off being turned into parking lots than however many stories of the current state of dead hookers and rats.

388 is not currently in the boundary, maybe it should be if it is the Days Inn property

[samagon]

388 is not currently in the boundary, maybe it should be if it is the Days Inn property

I noticed it wasn't, but it is the Days Inn, and it should be.

[lockmat]

To me this seems like a no brainer. Too bad they decided to nix taking away 10 ft of private land.

I hope it isn't as grainy for y'all as it was on my iPhone

Associated doc http://downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2013-03-08/Southern_Downtown_CBD_Market_Assessment-Feb_2013.pdf

Check it out!

http://youtu.be/eXtjawUAmz8

Edited April 14, 2013 by lockmat

[Houston19514]

Very cool plan.   Thanks for posting.

 

I hope they can make it happen.  (Yea, the 10' of addditional land for the linear parks would have been nice, but this is still a great plan that would be a huge improvement.)  I'm all for reducing the number of lanes of traffic on those east-west streets.  Those streets are ridiculously over-sized.

Edited April 15, 2013 by Houston19514

[Houston19514]

Duplicate post.  Sorry.

Edited April 15, 2013 by Houston19514

[lockmat]

Also, per that report I also linked to, it says don't expect these properties, owned by one owner, to be developed, as they have a history of holding for investment purposes. http://goo.gl/agUGR

 

Edited April 15, 2013 by lockmat

[Purdueenginerd]

Bike lanes!!

[Daniepwils]

While I do like the idea...All I see in this video is a glorified wider sidewalk. Not a real park.

And those tables, benches and chairs will be mainly used at night by homeless people.

[livincinco]

Also, per that report I also linked to, it says don't expect these properties, owned by one owner, to be developed, as they have a history of holding for investment purposes. http://goo.gl/agUGR

I sure hope that there are discussions with that owner prior to implementing this. Doesn't make sense if it doesn't lead to development. There's plenty of other areas that could benefit from a similar plan.

[mfastx]

Yeah I'm with Daniepwils. 

 

While this is a cool development, I don't think this will do much to add to the area. 

 

I'd rather just see a bunch of apartment complexes sprouting up on those parking lots.  I don't think people are going to scramble to build new buildings just because of a nicer sidewalk.

 

[samagon]

once you get down to page 36 it's astonishing how much office space was added between 80-84. 

[HoustonBoy]

All trees on the sidewalk do is make it look less urban.

[Texasota]

Ooooh, no. I love green urban areas with decent tree cover. Especially considering the absolute necessity of shade in this city. "Urban" doesn't have to mean Manhattan. 

[HoustonBoy]

That's true. This is still a nice development. Hopefully it happens!

[jdbaker]

This proposal is really neat.  However, the City does not own the needed right of way.  Unless the land is donated, the acquisition costs (through eminent domain), would likely reach eight figures.  In short, it's a great concept, but unlikely to happen. 

[samagon]

I thought the idea was to knock out a lane of traffic to make this? I admit I mostly looked at the pictures and charts, (didn't read, lol jpg) but if you go over to Dallas street just east of Caroline you'll see where they did something similar to create a huge sidewalk (I think it's still being worked on, I haven't ridden, or drive by in about 6 months) area. 

 

I'll hop the bicycle and ride around over there soon and take some photos, if I get unlazy.

 

For a completely off the wall type thing, I'd not be against the city making an ordinance that targets undeveloped land in the CBD that encourages them to plant trees and green up the spaces they have a bit.

Edited April 18, 2013 by samagon

[Houston19514]

This proposal is really neat. However, the City does not own the needed right of way. Unless the land is donated, the acquisition costs (through eminent domain), would likely reach eight figures. In short, it's a great concept, but unlikely to happen.

Incorrect. The city owns all of the right of way necessary for the revised version, as is specifically discussed in the linked article.

[scarface]

Ooooh, no. I love green urban areas with decent tree cover. Especially considering the absolute necessity of shade in this city. "Urban" doesn't have to mean Manhattan. 

 

Yeah but as i said in another post, this city seems to be over-doing the park/tree thing. I want to see more urban storefronts and walkable areas. Why does it seem that all these others cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, and Denver can create nice urban mixed use developments with storefronts and retail why Houston just chooses the cheap and boring route? I do not want this city to be just filled with parks everywhere. This city seems to be already developing a mindset to me that it's okay just throwing up a boring park on every block instead of adding more mixed use and other things to the city flavor.

 

My rant has nothing to do with this project, in fact, I think its a great project. I guess your post just brought out how I feel the many minds of this city and the park thing seems to be the direction this city is going. I want to see more Post Midtown Squares, Hanover Rice Villages, Mix @ Midtowns.

 

Don't get me wrong, I think Parks are great, but I don't want that to be the city's only solution to development. You can go to a park anywhere in the boring suburbs. Why must the "city" be filled with them?