CypressResident Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Does anybody have information about a supposed new mall on 290? Where exactly? When will they start building? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 (edited) I know nothing about it, but we desperately need one. Currently, we have one Mall for the entirety of Northwest Houston, which encompasses some 750,000 plus people. I grew up going to Willowbrook Mall, it has always been great, however it has gone SHARPLY downhill in the last year having become a favorite place for 'The Hood' to come and loiter. I still don't know where they've come from, but they're there...and the countdown to the Greenspoint-i-zation of Willowbrook Mall has begun.Unfortunately, it seems the undesireable element has moved in, much to the chagrin of retailers. Gangs, punks, non-english speakers. Again, its nothing like it used to be. Sad to see it go this way.With that said, the population over along the 290 corridor has exploded over the past decade, with the 77429 zip code (which has doubled since the 2000 census) alone eclipsing the population of the entire Woodlands (along with favorable demographics). Time for a new mall. I do know that General Growth Properties (which owns/develops hundreds of major US Malls and Shopping centers) is developing the Bridgeland community. I would suspect (aside from frontage on 290) that this is the most logical place for the next Mall). Edited July 4, 2006 by mrfootball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 I know nothing about it, but we desperately need one. Currently, we have one Mall for the entirety of Northwest Houston, which encompasses some 750,000 plus people. I grew up going to Willowbrook Mall, it has always been great, however it has gone SHARPLY downhill in the last year having become a favorite place for 'The Hood' to come and loiter. I still don't know where they've come from, but they're there...and the countdown to the Greenspoint-i-zation of Willowbrook Mall has begun.White people don't seem to shop there much anymore. Unfortunately, it seems the undesireable element has moved in, much to the chagrin of retailers. Gangs, punks, non-english speakers. Again, its nothing like it used to be. Sad to see it go this way.With that said, the population over along the 290 corridor has exploded over the past decade, with the 77429 zip code (which has doubled since the 2000 census) alone eclipsing the population of the entire Woodlands (along with favorable demographics). Time for a new mall. I do know that General Growth Properties (which owns/develops hundreds of major US Malls and Shopping centers) is developing the Bridgeland community. I would suspect (aside from frontage on 290) that this is the most logical place for the next Mall).It wouldn't surprise me if we saw an announcement about three to five years down the line...although I'd imagine that things will really come to a head once 2010 census information starts being released.In the mean time, an interesting drama will play out between Vintage and Willowbrook. I envision tenants fleeing Willowbrook in droves...somehow I doubt that anyone is going to invest in a new mall until they see how things play out on 249. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 (edited) It wouldn't surprise me if we saw an announcement about three to five years down the line...although I'd imagine that things will really come to a head once 2010 census information starts being released.In the mean time, an interesting drama will play out between Vintage and Willowbrook. I envision tenants fleeing Willowbrook in droves...somehow I doubt that anyone is going to invest in a new mall until they see how things play out on 249.While I agree that upscale tenants will flee Willowbrook in droves, likely headed for the Vintage and surrounding centers (near HP) poised for redevelopment. I noticed the large frontage property owned by Greenwood Properties is now under development (next to Lowe's) As for the 290 Mall...I don't believe it will have much bearing on whether a Mall is built on 290. Currently, Willowbrook is the ONLY Mall in all of Northwest Houston, attracting customers from I-45 to 529...from Tomball past Jersey Village. Huge market area, served by just one mall, whose longtime clients are now looking for another place to spend their money.The suburban population has exploded in this corridor (290) and I would imagine it would attract residents of outlying cities and towns as far as Brenham and College Station. The larger neighborhoods like Cole's Crossing, Black Horse, Cypress Creek Lakes, Longwood, etc are fairly affluent and certainly could support a new Mall (not counting the new Bridgeland and Town Lake developments).I'm not sure what happened to Willowbrook, but it saddens me. Perhaps that is the case with all malls these days. Our friends from Bunker Hill say that Memorial City Mall is the same way. Perhaps the era of the indoor Mall as we know it is over? I don't know. I think everything's trending towards outdoor lifestyle centers, that ward off the riff-raff. But I do remember back when I was a kid when it was relatively safe to drop your kids off at the mall. Not a good idea, anymore. Hell, its not even safe for adults. Edited July 4, 2006 by mrfootball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PureAuteur Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Mr. Football, you're greatly exaggerating the state of things at Willowbrook Mall. There are some areas accessible to Willowbrook around Bammel N. Houston that are really growing in population, and you're just seeing that represented now at Willowbrook. Back in the 1990s, that area wasn't as developed with low income housing as it is now, so most of the shoppers were white people from north of 1960. Willowbrook Mall is not any less safe compared to the 1990s. Keep in mind there are some low income apartments around Willowbrook, and you have the Bammel N. Houston area using the mall too. Not everyone is going to look like the people from the Champions area. Today's youth appear more shady looking than teenagers of the 1990s, but it's just the times, and although Houston's become more dangerous, I wouldn't say the Willowbrook Mall is in decline. If anything, the area is doing very well. They just built the Lighthouse luxury apartments off Gessner right across from the AMC movie theater, and everyone was complaining about that place having too many undesirables. If you look at all the new development around Willowbrook, you'll see that it's still a great area. Things will get more comfortable once the 290 people have their own places to go, and the lower income areas east of Willowbrook have their own places to go. The redevelopment of Greenspoint Mall should help this problem. The area north of Beltway 8 has experienced a lot of growth in recent years from working class minorities moving further out and new minority residents of Houston. There just isn't a whole lot going on between Willowbrook and Greenspoint retail-wise.Maybe 20 years from now, when malls are obsolete, they can tear the mall down, do some replanning, and build a new downtown right there, and maybe even create a new municipality. I'm getting tired of the Great Northwest being just "surrounding areas" or "suburbs" of Houston. They need to form towns, and that will affect the shaping of the areas and how the roads are planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trophy Property Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Mr. Football, you're greatly exaggerating the state of things at Willowbrook Mall.I think his friends in bunker hill are wrong about Memorial City too. It is the 2nd best mall in Houston. If anything it is only getting better. Sure there are undesirables that lurk around, but when has a mall not had those. Even the Galleria has some freaks from time to time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I think his friends in bunker hill are wrong about Memorial City too. It is the 2nd best mall in Houston. If anything it is only getting better. Sure there are undesirables that lurk around, but when has a mall not had those. Even the Galleria has some freaks from time to time.Very true. The more people are drawn to a place, the more likely you are to encounter a sociopathic freak there. In fact, if a mall doesn't have freaks hanging around, then it probably doesn't have enough people to support the stores, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Unfortunately, it seems the undesireable element has moved in, much to the chagrin of retailers. Gangs, punks, non-english speakers. Again, its nothing like it used to be. Sad to see it go this way.Sounds dangerous. I sure am glad I live inside the loop, where it's safe.Thanks for the warning, pigskin. I'll be sure to avoid the area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Willowbrook has gotten really bad compared to only 2-3 years ago. I hate going to the AMC 24. Sometimes you see people dressed all in blue, and sometimes you see people dressed all in red.I'm crossing my fingers in hope that it is a different color each day, making a rainbow of happyness and friendship threw out the week.Atleast there has been an increase of security/police/sheriffs around that area. My favorite thing is when the people sitting on the benches on both sides of the theatre yell profanities & scream at each other. I decided rushing to cover a younger child's ears has become cave-men like interms of efficiency. The airplane ear plugs work just fine now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumapayam Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Everytime a special event is in town the Galleria is flooded with undesirables.And likewise, Memorial City Mall is shaping into it's own form of a city.Willowbrook has a ways to go to catch up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 (edited) I'm not sure what happened to Willowbrook, but it saddens me. Perhaps that is the case with all malls these days. Our friends from Bunker Hill say that Memorial City Mall is the same way. Memorial City is one of the nicest malls in the city--heck, it's even on the Houston Chronicle's "What's hot" list, while the Galleria was put on the "What's NOT" list. Edited July 13, 2006 by Parrothead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfootball Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 (edited) Methinks the air conditioned Malls have become THE PLACE to hang out for all of our subsidized guests from New Orleans to pass the time while avoiding employment. Edited July 13, 2006 by mrfootball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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