Texas Medical Center Skyline Update

[Original Timmy Chan's]

Nope...keep going down Almeda a few blocks.

This would be just east of the intersection of OST and Almeda.

Just a block down Yellowstone from the fabulous wonderful amazingness that is Guy's Meat Market.

[Guest danax]

You've got to hand it to Urban Lofts to be quick to jump on that area. With the new high rises about to, hopefully, start piling up around there it looks like a no-brainer.

Then, it will be interesting to see when the east side of 288, south of Old Spanish, starts to redevelop. Nice location and there might be little organized neighborhood resistance to replatting and mass townhousing. The east is obviously where the cheap land is and the demand for affordable inner-loop density is not likely to slow down soon, if ever. Once a few pioneering builders start in, it could be a fairly quick conquest.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

You've got to hand it to Urban Lofts to be quick to jump on that area. With the new high rises about to, hopefully, start piling up around there it looks like a no-brainer.

Then, it will be interesting to see when the east side of 288, south of Old Spanish, starts to redevelop. Nice location and there might be little organized neighborhood resistance to replatting and mass townhousing. The east is obviously where the cheap land is and the demand for affordable inner-loop density is not likely to slow down soon, if ever. Once a few pioneering builders start in, it could be a fairly quick conquest.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you see anything south of OST and east of 288, it'll be the area generally bounded by 288, OST, Corder and Tierwester. That area is a mix of some industrial and some residential and a lot of vacant land. East of Tierwester you've got Scott Terrace and LaSalette Place, which are nice, well-maintained middle-class neighborhoods. They aren't going anywhere...and there would be major opposition to any developer trying to get townhomes into that neighborhood. Besides, townhome development isn't appropriate to that area. There's enough vacant or near-vacant land nearby for denser development to occur.

New homes are being built all through South Union and Foster Place (generally the areas south of Yellowstone and north of 610, all the way over to Cullen). They are generally modest 1500 - 2000 sf homes. They are definitely welcome additions to the neighborhood. I see the neighborhood staying a low- to moderate-income area of single-family residential, nothing more, nothing less.

The area around OST and Scott is improving. Lots of commercial development is going in around the intersection (a lot of strip centers, but it's investment nonetheless). Washington Mutual just moved in at LaSalette and OST.

A new assisted living center is under construction at Corder and OST. Scott south of Yellowstone is slow to improve, but it's made minor improvements over the last few years.

[YakuzaIce]

Just wondering did your wife see anything else on the sign? LIke a rendering or any info? Or did it just say Urban Lofts coming soon, or something like that? I will try to head over there in a few days.

[Guest danax]

Just wondering did your wife see anything else on the sign?  LIke a rendering or any info?  Or did it just say Urban Lofts coming soon, or something like that?  I will try to head over there in a few days.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I drove by there on the way home and it's just a generic Urban Lofts, or maybe Urban Living sign, I'm assuming, as I drove by fairly fast.

It's right on the freeway and no trees! That's the trouble with new housing in formerly industrial settings, you get the "desert look".Fairly good sized lot though. Guess Urban Lofts knows what they're doing by now.

Timmy, you're right about west of Tierwester. The neighborhood there looks scattered and broken and ready for change but east of there, near Yellowstone and Scott, it's the typical Houston 1950s middle-class boxes in decent shape. Nice mature street trees too.

I think you're right that a lot of that area where the new, affordable housing is going up will just be a 21st century version of what it's always been; lower-middle class. However, as times progresses and developers start running out of inner-loop lots, they'll start moving over there and the townhouse clusters are bound to infiltrate more and more and will create a mixture of dense and suburban; semi-dense? A few new houses here and there, some old ones still lurking, some townhomes; sounds like Houston to me.

[4thWardBoy]

Urban Lofts has cajones. They've built in areas where I would never consider living in, at least not yet, including deep 3rd ward, and DEEP 4th ward which is an area I would not be comfortable walking around in at night. We stay in on the far east side of 4th Ward surrounded by dozens of other Urban Loft dwellers.

[bigboyz2004]

Will the skylines of Downtown Houston and Texas Medical Center ever connect or at least grow very close to each other?

[VicMan]

Unless Midtown gets a lot of high rises, I doubt it. The Medical Center and Downtown are separated by Hermann Park, the Museum District, and Midtown.

[Guest danax]

Will the skylines of Downtown Houston and Texas Medical Center ever connect or at least grow very close to each other?

It could be said that they already connect, since there's very little open land in between the two clusters, it's just a question of rooftop levels and the inevitable densification of that area will likely "raise the roof", resulting in waves of constuction at certain heights until, at some point, it will look like one skyline; Downtown being the peak with the Midtown valley then the next, lower peak of the Med Cntr, like a hammock slung between two trees.

We can just look at other cities around the country where growth is not restricted to see this happening. Places where land is at a premium, like in Oakland and the Bay Area in general in CA, are seeing more and more mid-rise and high-rise condo projects popping up on city blocks where there used to be car lots and grocery stores. A couple of articles that refer to this are here and here. I spent the first 12 years of my life in Oakland and I recognize some of the neighborhoods and, believe me, they were nothing special, just like many similar Houston locations. Places like Almeda are already on the way up. How long will Third Ward remain run down single-family once the rail runs through it or for how many decades will Shepherd/Durham remain dotted with cheesy car lots, for example?

And, as we tend to sometimes think the Downtown skyline is a done deal, there will always be a need from time to time for new office space, and, as is happening in Oakland, the residential developers will start competing with the office space developers for land to build on, and when they run out of land they will have to start redeveloping some of their older buildings, or demolish and expand upwards or start searching outwards. As we hope will eventually happen here, both types of developers there are trying to be close to the BART rapid transit stations or lines, so with Midtown set to be Metrorail hub soon, its future is bound to be as a mixed-use mini metropolis. Lay the rail and watch the skyline around them change, slowly.

It's exciting to ponder this area's future and, although we often fret the slow pace and failed projects, the big picture would indicate that Midtown and inner-loop Houston have nowhere to go but up.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

I noticed last week that site work has commenced on this piece of property. Granted, I did a "55-mph-driveby-inspection", but it looks like they've got their contractor mobilized and some storm pipe on site.

I'm also interested to see the new 5-story apartment complex going up just south of Urban Lofts, between Ardmore and 288...the one with the massive parking garage. So far it looks pretty uninspiring...

[tigereye]

Here

[Parrothead]

Hi, just a question...does your new job pay you a subsidy? Most TMC employers offer at least something to employees. MD Anderson is the worst about this (my husband works for them), but they still give $30 a month to assist with parking expenses or bus/train fare.

The only park-n-rides that go directly to the medical center are METRO's 292, 297, & 298. None of those go to the Kuykendahl lot, unfortunately. Texas' largest employer and you really only have three direct routes there. It's a damned shame.

The closest direct park-n-ride is actually The Woodlands Express. It goes from Rayford/Sawdust Rd (just n. of FM 2920) to TMC.

Other than that, you can take any of the park-n-rides from the Spring Lot or Kuyukendahl Lot downtown with a transfer to the train. It will take you a little over an hour to get to work that way.

Good luck and congratulations on your new job!

[tigereye]

Thanx for the info....

[houstonsemipro]

Finding health care closer to home

More hospitals outside the Loop expanding to meet a growing need

Houston can claim the world-renowned Texas Medical Center as its own.

But for all the good the center provides for patients from around the world, people in the Houston area are finding they'd rather avoid the mazelike complex and parking fees.

Many are turning to suburban hospitals for their medical needs. Officials with major hospital systems are taking note and expanding services outside the Medical Center and the Houston area.

Nearly 30 hospitals are undergoing expansions or renovations, and 10 new hospitals are being built to meet the demands of a growing population, according to a 2005-06 facility construction report by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

"We're probably in the most intense period of reconstruction. We have a lot of facilities around America that have simply reached the end of their useful life," said Rick Wade, senior vice president for the American Hospital Association.

Wade also noted that many of the older hospitals are no longer in the hub of the community. With more and more people commuting longer distances to work, the demand for hospitals and medical care in the suburbs has increased.

Nowhere is the population growth and hospital demand more evident than in Fort Bend County, which borders Houston on the southwest.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in November, Deforis Dolford maneuvered her way to the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the Texas Medical Center for testing and soon found she could receive her post-surgical care at the cancer center's satellite facility in Fort Bend County.

"When I went to M.D. Anderson, they asked me where I lived, and I told them Missouri City. They asked me did I want to go to the facility in Richmond, which would be closer. I said, 'Yes,' and I did," Dolford said. "It was less traffic, no parking garage, you didn't have to pay to park. It was less waiting. The people were just wonderful. To me, it was worth it."

Specialized treatment

For 33 days, Dolford drove herself to OakBend Medical Center in Richmond for radiation therapy. The drive was minutes from her third-grade teaching job at Glover Elementary School in Missouri City. Having the radiation treatment in Richmond allowed Dolford to miss only about 20 minutes of work each school day.

Mitch Latinkic, administrator for the division of radiation oncology at M.D. Anderson, said convenience and accessibility are two factors the cancer center took into consideration when deciding to open satellite locations around Houston.

M.D. Anderson now offers radiation therapy in Richmond, Lake Jackson, Bellaire and The Woodlands and soon will offer it in Katy and Nassau Bay. Patients that require more intensive care such as chemotherapy still have to go to the Texas Medical Center.

Latinkic said physicians who staff the Radiation Oncology satellites are all trainees of the M.D. Anderson Division of Radiation Oncology resident program. Other health professionals such as therapists, nurses, and medical dosimetrists (specialists who calculate radiation doses) have similarly worked and trained at the main campus and are placed in satellite facilities based on their individual preferences and interests, Latinkic said.

"This ensures quality of care across our satellite practices that are consistent with our main campus," Latinkic said.

Aside from M.D. Anderson, another hospital system establishing a presence in Fort Bend County is the Memorial Hermann Hospital System, which is building a $94 million hospital and adjacent medical office building to replace Memorial Hermann Fort Bend Hospital.

The new 220,000-square-foot hospital

[bachanon]

to add to this, we have had several positive experiences with memorial hermann's location here in the woodlands. quality above quantity is the norm. we are so fortunate to have these facilities here, rather than to have to go to the medical center. positive experiences include the emergency room for heart issues and the sleep clinic. when my mom went in because she was having heart attack symptoms (turned out to be stress) a person in the ER asked her what made her feel calm and she said nature, the forest..........when she awoke in the intensive care unit the (exchangeable) lit panel above her head was as if she were laying down in the forest. she immediately remembered the conversation she had in the emergency room. groovy!

[dbigtex56]

That is cool, bachanon. Thanks for telling us.

If I'm ever in that position, I'll be sure to tell them that handsome naked men make me feel calm

[bachanon]

yur funny.

[texas911]

Yea the regionals are fine, but its nice to have the big boys available for the serious stuff.

[editor]

What's the source of this article?

[MidtownCoog]

I think this was in the Sunday's before last's Chronicle.

Have fun with your regionals. I am sticking with the Texas Medical Center.

[Ron4tx]

Here's a few photos I took of the Medical Center with a rooftop view.

http://static.flickr.com/98/248459282_56783e389d_b.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/95/248459287_f76ff433be.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/82/248459328_64d7fa1e0c.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/86/248460505_a252cf58a5.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/95/248460506_0aa1d1df58_b.jpg

[Guest Marty]

Great pics. What is that white and chrome building in the bottom picture.

Edited September 20, 2006 by Marty

[Ron4tx]

Great pics. What is that white and chrome building in the bottom picture.

I'm going over there today and will post the building's name.

[ricco67]

Great pics. What is that white and chrome building in the bottom picture.

that is the texas heart institute, st. lukes.

[Ron4tx]

that is the texas heart institute, st. lukes.

Ricco67 is correct.

The Texas Heart Institute At St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital.

The Denton A. Cooley Building.

It's on Bertner St. next to the Methodist Hospital.

I was working in the area today and walked over to the building.

This is what it looks like from the ground. (not as impressive plus the clouds took away the color)

[Ron4tx]

Overlooking John Freeman and Fannin.

Photos taken Oct 30, 2006

[Guest Marty]

Was there a building were the construction is going on?

[Ron4tx]

Was there a building were the construction is going on?

Yes, the West Pavilion Center.

Here's a link:

http://seattle.bizjournals.com/houston/sto...19/daily45.html

[Boris]

Great photos. I was trying to figure out exactly where you where when you took them. Here's an image from Google Earth. But it shows the area as Fannin and MD Anderson Blvd. rather than John Freeman. Is Google right?

[Ron4tx]

Great photos. I was trying to figure out exactly where you where when you took them. Here's an image from Google Earth. But it shows the area as Fannin and MD Anderson Blvd. rather than John Freeman. Is Google right?

I'll have to verify it, but I think the street labeled M.D. Anderson Blvd has signs saying John Freeman Blvd.

I have photos in the other direction also, facing Rice U.

I'll post them in a different topic although they are related in that I was on the same roof.