hindesky Posted July 14, 2023 Author Share Posted July 14, 2023 (edited) No regular asphalt so far, I think this might be all they do so it can stay pervious. Edited July 14, 2023 by hindesky 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted July 15, 2023 Author Share Posted July 15, 2023 All the fences are down, apparently this is the finished product. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Any word on the little building they plan to renovate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATH Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 11 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said: Any word on the little building they plan to renovate? The owners are exploring their options regarding the eventual use of the building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted July 18, 2023 Share Posted July 18, 2023 14 hours ago, ATH said: The owners are exploring their options regarding the eventual use of the building. Exploring as in possibly tearing it down if they can't find a use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted July 20, 2023 Author Share Posted July 20, 2023 Parking spots are painted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfastx Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 Wow, stellar job. Not! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhjones74 Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 Thanks, I hate it. This is probably a better illustration of the cracks in Houston’s zoning and development policies than I’ve ever seen. As every serious city is getting rid of surface parking lots, even prohibiting them from being built, Houston is adding more. And I probably could have painted better lines myself even after a long session at Main Street bars. At least downtown has more parking now! /s 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 5 hours ago, jhjones74 said: Thanks, I hate it. This is probably a better illustration of the cracks in Houston’s zoning and development policies than I’ve ever seen. As every serious city is getting rid of surface parking lots, even prohibiting them from being built, Houston is adding more. And I probably could have painted better lines myself even after a long session at Main Street bars. At least downtown has more parking now! /s What cities are prohibiting surface parking lots from being built? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhjones74 Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 (edited) 46 minutes ago, Houston19514 said: What cities are prohibiting surface parking lots from being built? Cincinnati has recently created explicit laws banning new surface parking lots. NYC has prohibited surface parking from being built in Lower and Midtown Manhattan since the early 1980s. Chicago requires a permit for new surface parking to be built, with specifications that this lot most definitely would not meet. Numerous other cities have laws that would prohibit this hastily built heat island from existing. And it looks much worse from above: Edited July 21, 2023 by jhjones74 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted July 21, 2023 Share Posted July 21, 2023 (edited) ^  Interesting.  Thank you.  From the looks of it, I'm thinking this might be intended to be temporary.  They didn't even make an attempt to maximize the number of spaces...  make a little money for the rest of the Astros season and then . . . Edited July 21, 2023 by Houston19514 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhjones74 Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 15 hours ago, Houston19514 said: ^  Interesting.  Thank you.  From the looks of it, I'm thinking this might be intended to be temporary.  They didn't even make an attempt to maximize the number of spaces...  make a little money for the rest of the Astros season and then . . . God I hope so. Will be very curious to see how much they charge people for parking during Astros games and if people actually park on this dump. I actually hunted down who likely owns the property - the address comes back to the personal residence of a CEO/founder of a very good sized private oil and gas producer in Houston. My bet is he's doing what many other parking lot owners are doing downtown - parking money in these lots effectively risk free at a ~8% leveraged return annually, covering the tax burden with parking revenue. Hopefully I'm wrong and this lot sees development, but in this interest rate environment I wouldn't hold my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted July 22, 2023 Share Posted July 22, 2023 On 7/21/2023 at 10:00 AM, jhjones74 said: Thanks, I hate it. This is probably a better illustration of the cracks in Houston’s zoning and development policies than I’ve ever seen. As every serious city is getting rid of surface parking lots, even prohibiting them from being built, Houston is adding more. And I probably could have painted better lines myself even after a long session at Main Street bars. At least downtown has more parking now! /s Oh, the drama.  I guess Houston must be among the very most serious cities. Has any city gotten rid of more surface parking lots in the last 25 years or so than Houston?  More than 50 blocks of surface parking have been gotten rid of. We'll be fine if we have an occasional quarter block of surface parking added. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted July 24, 2023 Share Posted July 24, 2023 On 7/22/2023 at 10:20 AM, jhjones74 said: God I hope so. Will be very curious to see how much they charge people for parking during Astros games and if people actually park on this dump. I actually hunted down who likely owns the property - the address comes back to the personal residence of a CEO/founder of a very good sized private oil and gas producer in Houston. My bet is he's doing what many other parking lot owners are doing downtown - parking money in these lots effectively risk free at a ~8% leveraged return annually, covering the tax burden with parking revenue. Hopefully I'm wrong and this lot sees development, but in this interest rate environment I wouldn't hold my breath. I think you need to take in to account that the building that was there before was not worth saving. Sure they could have renovated it, but this location has much more potential for something larger. In my opinion this is just the market cleaning up the unnecessary clutter. The good thing is they saved the historic little building and have plans to restore it. And a new hotel is going up right down the street replacing surface parking. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted July 25, 2023 Author Share Posted July 25, 2023 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 Crayon painted lines notwithstanding, this just trades a useless blight for a semi-useful one. With the hotel going in across the street and development plans for the block bouncing around in the recent past, I tend to agree that it's not likely to stay this way for long. I'm thinking the giant prison fortress on the next block is a worse urban feature than a surface lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntheKnowHouston Posted October 3, 2023 Share Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) A plan review fee permit was filed yesterday for 1300 Texas St. According to the permit, it's for parking lot improvement on the property. Edited October 3, 2023 by IntheKnowHouston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hindesky Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.