largeTEXAS Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 They're also going to have a really cool store design. Premium Goods is a great store and I love shopping there. I think this one is going to take it to the next level, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
312 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Are you serious?The Astrodome can't be Wrigley Field because it was built in the 1960s, has a big roof on it, and is surrounded by a surface parking lot, a convention center, an arena, and not much else! Part of the Wrigley Field experience is the environment on game day. Local restaurants and pubs are open, people mill about the surrounding streets, folks watch the games from their rooftops. It's a great thing to check out if you like baseball. We built Minute Maid (Ballpark at Union Station) to try an spur development downtown. It was hoped that the Ben Milam and the Penn would be renovated. It was hoped that lofts and apartments would fill out the empty lots. Unfortunately, since this is Houston, we saw a loft apartment built on the other side of US 59, the Penn get demolished for an asphalt parking lot, and a couple of businesses get turned away when they couldn't secure a liquor license because they were too close to a school. Now, we did get the B.U.S, the Lofts at the Ballpark, and Tillman's Inn at the Ballpark a few blocks away with a Vic and Anthony's. We also got a sign telling us that some exciting development was on its way. Unless they were talking about that sign, I've yet to see it! It' so easy to complain... Yes, this is Houston and I don't see anyone standing in the way of anyone's great ideas, so with that being said...I'm sure we have all probably heard the expression if you really want for something to be done...then why not do it yourself !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonfella Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Houston is like 7th or sumpin sumpin That isn't including our adjacent met populations of over 100,00 which reflect Lake Charles, LA, Beaumont-Orange-Port Arthur and Bryan-College Station which vaults us way over 6 mil. BUt who cares? We are the most diverse city in Texas and the BEST. My Opinion ONLY!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 IMO, we should start small - Maybe open a small quasi-grocery store near the new lofts.Hopefully, as the number of Downtown residents grow, more retail will become viable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldlyman Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I was refering more to the bigger cities. Houston is the 4th largest city, we should be up there with New York, Boston and San Fran. LA and Houston, have pretty scummy (after work hours) downtowns compaired to other cities such as: Philadelphia, Washington, Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle.Don't get me wrong, I think Houston can do it, I wouldn't live downtown if I didn't think anything was going to happen. We just need a mayor who is interested in doing something with our Downtown, not relying on the next mayor to do something. (also if you haven't noticed, crime rate in downtown has increased between the hours of 7pm - 7am) I really don't want to have to goto a 6 hour course just to carry a gun to run to the gym everynight. (;o))Houston and LA are very sprawling compared to the other metros. There are entertainment/commercial options outside of the central/downtown core. It's just the nature of these cities.I didn't get the impression from Seattle, for example, that there was much else other than the Rainier Square (downtown) and Space Needle. Sure there's the very adjacent Fish Market and International District (Chinatown, which is quite a nice one) but certainly didn't get the impression of a varied sprawlfest and the attendant treasures.But in Houston we've got more than decent entertainment/shopping everywhere in the accessible metro sprawl...Sugarland, Kemah, Rice Village, Montrose, 19th Streets in the Heights, League City, Uptown/Galleria, Woodlands, Galveston and so forth. Houston will therefore take awhile before its downtown becomes a Gas Lamp (San Diego) or Seattle. But hey, downtown Houston is still a very decent option for entertainment as it is. If we aren't into the sexy if suburban corner of Fountainview/Westheimer for some nocturnal options...then we have the wide sidewalks and alleys of downtown. Isn't is nice to have these options in Houston? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonfella Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 NY, SF, Philly, etc. were developed in the 1800s. Houston was barely breathing in the early 1900s. Yeah, we had a little something in the late 1800s, but the truth is Houston is a 20th century product. Now we are trying to make it a little more urban (here and there) and it is happening. Older cities have the people living over stores and walking to and from work and shopping was the thing. Newer cities happened to have Henry Ford stamped all over them. Houston is putting together lots of urban centers, not necessarily downtown, but collectively. I am looking forward to a more downtown urban-ness. The Rice started something. Now I'm hoping Discovery Green and One Park Tower will begin a trend for more upscale downtown living. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted December 16, 2006 Share Posted December 16, 2006 (edited) What's this mean?:"White says the city will work to give local government the authority to close down after-hours clubs and crack down on scrap-metal theft, among other issues."chronIs it as plain and simple as it reads or am I missing something?Thanks------edit: I'm mostly curious about the after-hours clubs reference Edited December 16, 2006 by lockmat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 What's this mean?:"White says the city will work to give local government the authority to close down after-hours clubs and crack down on scrap-metal theft, among other issues."chronIs it as plain and simple as it reads or am I missing something?Thanks------edit: I'm mostly curious about the after-hours clubs referenceMaybe he meant Topless Bars ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double L Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 To promote retail you have to bring in the money to the retailers and there are many ways to do that. I can think of a few key points.-Downtown's underground water pipe system is outdated and inefficient. Very few locations downtown have working bathrooms. Improving this can help the retailers with their business. The downtown development organization was talking a while back about port-a-potties on the streets. I don't know if they ever did this?-Events are great about bringing lots of people downtown. Any time we have an event downtown it attracts people to downtown. Also, it operates not only as a way to bring customers but also as a marketing tool so that they can see downtown and it attracts them back to downtown.-Residential development is a key component and more important than visitors to downtown for neighborhood style retailers because people who live downtown will always be there and will support the essential businesses like Walgreen's. Without people who live downtown your downtown becomes touristy and lacks a real neighborhood environment, it is filled with retailers attracting visitors and is not as liveable. In downtown San Antonio they get lots of tourists and the River walk and Houston/Commerce streets areas are fantastic areas with a Rainforest Cafe and tons of hib bars but the rest of downtown has buildings that are all in bad shape and all lower end retail.-Also, we could do TIFs and we could target them to the most essential needs downtown. Need a grocery store? target it. Need a specific block developed? Target it. In Austin they try to encourage developers to meet a standard in building development. If they fail that standard they are charged and the money is put into retailers in the surrounding area. There is a serious issue with TIFs and that is that they are biased, supporting some businesses more than others so mistakes can be made denying you teh ability to achieve your goal. Sometimes they accelerate a development by giving the developers money only to realize that there was in fact a better development possibly in the pipeline that they have now missed out on. Hope that helps, just my thoughts without reading the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Maybe he meant Topless Bars ?he meant after hours clubs, not topless bars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 he meant after hours clubs, not topless bars.How would you know anyway ?Topless bars do stay open until 5 am. Therefore, they are after hours clubs aren't they and lately they seem to have been within the cross-hairs of the law quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 How would you know anyway ?Topless bars do stay open until 5 am. Therefore, they are after hours clubs aren't they and lately they seem to have been within the cross-hairs of the law quite a bit.The Mayor had said that because of a raid that happened because of neighborhood complaints. police consider them two different things as well. They fight SOBs differently than after hrs clubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 The Mayor had said that because of a raid that happened because of neighborhood complaints. police consider them two different things as well. They fight SOBs differently than after hrs clubs.how does the downtown area promote itself these days ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 how does the downtown area promote itself these days ?Contact Laura Van Ness with Central Houston, Inc. laura@centralhouston.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
713 To 214 Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 how does the downtown area promote itself these days ?Houstondowntown.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Houstondowntown.comExactly. You hit the nail on the head. The first thing that stands out when you get to their site are the following words: What To Do . When you click on What To Do, they have downtown broken up into 10 different districts. Who is going to get on there and navigate 10 areas in 1 downtown. It' s all here ! (as they say), but when are they going to promote it and tell somebody about it ? They have taken so much time creating districts for one downtown instead of trying to unify the area as a whole and making Midtown blend in as downtowns neighborhood. Downtown is intimidating for most that aren't familiar with the area or that are visiting. I can't see a tourist going to that site in their hotel room trying to figure anything out, the rest of the material looks like it is stuff that their boss expects to see in order to justify getting a paycheck. No offense,but there sure seems like there could be a whole lot more thought put into promoting the area. I think anyone would be hard pressed outside of this forum to have heard of houstondowntown.com. If you and I worked for a company that built so many magnificent facilities and stadiums, and invested this much money into the downtown area and couldn't come up with a way to get off of our tails and actually promote it then I think we would be fired. It's sad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webdude Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Maybe they can provide a golf cart with one of them what to do booklets. It is pretty spread out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 (edited) Maybe they can provide a golf cart with one of them what to do booklets. It is pretty spread out.i think it would be interesting to have a poll asking all HAIF users to just go to www.houstondowntown.com and see if they think this is an easy way for people to find information regarding eating out, shopping, or doing anything at all for that matter downtown and see if they think it is user friendly and/or geared towards making it easy for people interested in having a night out downtown. I think it would also be interesting to see if anyone hears anything at all outside of a bad-news story or some type of self-promotion like (example: Houston Pavilions) that is directly attributed to the efforts of this group that is supposed to be paid to promote downtown. yes, it's all downtown, but where are the people who are supposed to pushing it hiding ? perhaps somewhere in this blog stuck in deep theory dreaming of neighborhoods and excuses during the day at work instead of taking some initiative and actually trying to work with all the amenities downtown has to offer ? Edited March 9, 2007 by what Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Exactly. You hit the nail on the head. The first thing that stands out when you get to their site are the following words: What To Do . When you click on What To Do, they have downtown broken up into 10 different districts. Who is going to get on there and navigate 10 areas in 1 downtown. It' s all here ! (as they say), but when are they going to promote it and tell somebody about it ? They have taken so much time creating districts for one downtown instead of trying to unify the area as a whole and making Midtown blend in as downtowns neighborhood. Downtown is intimidating for most that aren't familiar with the area or that are visiting. I can't see a tourist going to that site in their hotel room trying to figure anything out, the rest of the material looks like it is stuff that their boss expects to see in order to justify getting a paycheck. No offense,but there sure seems like there could be a whole lot more thought put into promoting the area. I think anyone would be hard pressed outside of this forum to have heard of houstondowntown.com. If you and I worked for a company that built so many magnificent facilities and stadiums, and invested this much money into the downtown area and couldn't come up with a way to get off of our tails and actually promote it then I think we would be fired. It's sad... yeah when i checked it out, it describes about the airports too which is surprising since this is downtown. i think the number of districts is just silly as well. let's all head to the southern hospital district! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 yeah when i checked it out, it describes about the airports too which is surprising since this is downtown. i think the number of districts is just silly as well. let's all head to the southern hospital district! HAIF POLL !!!!!, HAIF POLL !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icanluv2 Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Parking is going to be even more of a b**** when they start building that shopping center and retail stores! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bach Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 i think it would be interesting to have a poll asking all HAIF users to just go to www.houstondowntown.com and see if they think this is an easy way for people to find information regarding eating out, shopping, or doing anything at all for that matter downtown and see if they think it is user friendly and/or geared towards making it easy for people interested in having a night out downtown. I think it would also be interesting to see if anyone hears anything at all outside of a bad-news story or some type of self-promotion like (example: Houston Pavilions) that is directly attributed to the efforts of this group that is supposed to be paid to promote downtown. yes, it's all downtown, but where are the people who are supposed to pushing it hiding ? perhaps somewhere in this blog stuck in deep theory dreaming of neighborhoods and excuses during the day at work instead of taking some initiative and actually trying to work with all the amenities downtown has to offer ?How would you present the material? And are there examples out there that they should look at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 How would you present the material? And are there examples out there that they should look at?if it is about downtown, then tell us about downtown. not where the airports are, where hspva is, etc. DOWNTOWN is the subject. this looks like someone from out of town wrote this and did google searches to research. the hospital "district" is just ridiculous IMO. as a native, i found this amateurish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Parking is going to be even more of a b**** when they start building that shopping center and retail stores
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