Mister X

It's odd how soccer can get under your skin if you give it a chance. I had absolutely no interest in soccer until I started watching the Dynamo last year because nothing else was on t.v. I tuned in and thought I would watch for a few minutes just to see what the big deal was. At first I thought it was boring. The teams would get close to scoring and build excitement and then they would just miss the goal. I thought - God, how long can this go on! - Nothing's happening except a bunch of men running around in circles. Then finally, the Dynamo scored and the crowd went nuts. So I watched a little longer and slowly started to realize that the excitement of soccer is the all wrapped up in the anticipation of scoring. The longer you have to wait, the more your nerves are on edge, the more exciting it is when a team scores. Sort of like waiting for a cool project to break ground in Houston - years after the announcement was made. So now I watch whenever I get the chance. And evidently the 20,000 people that fill the stands must get a kick out of it. I hear soccer is doing well in Houston. Build the downtown stadium! It will be the classiest one in the MLS and give Houstonians another reason to be proud of their city and of their downtown.

I found an old article in the Chronicle archives. Much of the info is outdated but it might shed some light on the entity planning to build this. The article says the developer is 'Project Rex, LLC' - whatever that is. WARNING! OLD INFORMATION written 11/23/06 http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2006_4233744 If this project does spur development in New Caney, it wouldn't be the first time a theme park on the outskirts of a large metropolitan area transformed a rural area into a tourist town. If this park takes off, you won't need ONSTAR to find it. The park will be in between the row of hotels, motels, putt-putts, and shopping centers.

I added this project to Editor's master list of Houston projects. A theme park may not be the type of project that should be included on that list so I will remove it if Editor tells me to. But I thought it would be appropriate because there are other projects that are on the list that are 25 miles from DT (like the Endevor Tower on Clear Lake) AND I think this park will make a significant impact on the city if built. Lots of jobs, lots of money involved. Plus, the longer that list is, the happer I am to be living in Houston! P.S. - I wonder if the name of this thread could be changed to "Earth Quest Adventure", or am I pressing my luck.

I'm glad they changed the name too. Dinosaur City sounded so cheap - like Gator Land or Snake Pit or something that would be found along a highway in the middle of nowhere. But, Earth Quest Adventures sounds almost like something they would build at Walt Disney World next to Epcot. It sounds a lot more 'high class'. Plus the new name allows for more themes than just Dinosaurs. Now they have other natural phenomenon to play with. If they do this right, they could make this place be like a museum of natural history - with rides and shows so people of all ages stay interested longer. Most theme parks have cultural themes, like nations, peoples, and human accomplishments - so it seems kind of refreshing to use themes that are based on natural science, like geology, weather, and space themes. It would also be great if they had animal exhibits there too. This is such fantastic news for Houston. This area has been deprived of a decent theme park for years (that includes the last 10 years that AstroWorld was opened.) This park has such awesome potential. East Montgomery county has a lot more natural beauty than the south loop. All those pines should keep the park nice and shady (hopefully they won't go overboard with the clear cutting). But even if they do, the trees surrounding the outside the park will make this park have a much more aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. At AstroWorld, you could never truly escape from the reality of city life (you could see power lines and freeway blight from many places inside the park). Also, I think the short trek away from the city (about 30 miles from DT) will make this park seem like more of a destination than AW did. I didn't have high hopes for Dinosaur City as it was originally announced a few months ago. A 50 acre park with no rides just sounded boring. But if money and acreage is any indication of how good EQA may turn out then now I expect this park to deliver. Hard Rock Park is a new theme park going up at Myrtle Beach. The sketches I've seen are pretty impressive. That new park will be 140 acres and they are spending $400 million and they are starting off with several roller coasters. EQA is 150 acres and $500 million. I wouldn't expect EQA to be as good as some of the more established theme parks in the nation right off the bat (in terms of actual park size and ride count), but this park will be off to a great start. Six Flags had such a dismal choke hold in the Houston area for so long. There was no competition, so they never thought they had to invest in AstroWorld. But now that they have gone the way of the dinosaur (get it) there seems to be a real incentive for other theme park developement. Although they kept AstroWorld crappy for the last 10 years, no one else would have dared try to start a new theme park from scratch as long as they had their large presence here (not that AW was that large). With the new coaster being built in Kemah, talk of adding roller coasters and rides at Splashtown, speculation about rides in Galveston, and now this huge boost at Earth Quest Adventures, the Houston area may finally be on the map in terms of family friendly entertainment.

Since Starwood is bringing an ALOFT to the Houston area, does that mean a W is no longer likely? Thoughts?

Speaking of downtown, I was wondering why 'downtown' wasn't an option on the poll. Those with inside info must think it's out of the running, too bad.

This is a real time saver. Thanks, editor.

That's such a great list. Thanks for making it, editor. It's so handy to have a quick reference to all the cool stuff going up in the Houston area. It eliminates the need for new people (and regulars) at the forum to have to struggle to familiarize or remember the details (such as floor count and location) of the ever growing list of projects. Any chance that the list could be a 'sticky' at the top of the 'view new posts' or 'going up' page? I noticed that they do something like that over on dallasmetropolis.com on their 'Urban Development' page. That would really be handy at HAIF when topics cools off for a while and then become popular again. Everybody can easily stay up to date on everything. For example: I forgot the updated floor count of the Turnberry and was all prepared to go back and re-read this thread, when I clicked the 'Houston Projects List' and there is was in a nice easy to read grid. Thanks again for creating and updating the list. X

I can't vote either. I can't imagine anyone 'loving' this building. And why would anyone hate it - it pulls it's weight in DT. There are prettier and uglier buildings in this city. This one is somewhere in the middle - probably just below the 50% mark. But that's not enough to say I hate it. It just needs a shampoo or something. However, I would give this building a few extra points simply because of its mid century moderness. I'm a big fan of that style, but it's just kind of hard to pull off in anything over about 7 floors unless you are the Seattle Space Needle. If you add an "it isn't hurting anyone" button, then I can play this game too.

Great photos as usual. The six pelicans resting on the six posts is priceless. I didn't know stingrays came up to people and begged for food just like ducks and puppies do. Some of these photos are educational as well as entertaining. I'm really a fan of all you HAIF photographers. Keep up the great work.

Really, and why do the Dallers automatically think that everything announced will automatically be built. How naive. There's a long list of unbuilt towers in Dallas. Sorry, but it's true. Anyway, who knows what will be built and what won't. I don't know. I just read several post on dallasmetropolis.com from some people who expressed doubts that this project will become a reality. They probably know more about whats going on in Dallas than I do. I'm just a friendly visitor and I keep hearing that the market is getting overbuilt up there. Don't blame me or HAIFers if that stuff is true. Lots of people on dalmet.com think that this tower will be built, and that's great. Of course, most of those guys don't sound like they know any more than I do about the market and it would be easy to dismiss them as 'wishful thinkers'. If you were really confident in this project you wouldn't be bothered by what what a bunch of people from Houston think. When they announced the Park Tower in dowtown Houston I didn't rush up to dalmet to see whether or not anyone there thought it was going to be built, I just kept my fingers crossed until they broke ground. But it's kind of flattering to know that you do care about the opinions at this forum. Thanks. And I'm sure I speak for everyone in Texas when I say - This is beautiful tower, good luck and may all your dreams come true. Can't get anymore positive than that. BTW - Austin is small potatoes. They're cute but everything they do goes unnoticed in big cities. - except maybe on MTV.

What's not to like about this tower? Except maybe the agonizing months ahead of speculating whether or not it will actually be built. It's very nice and in the perfect location. I didn't read anything negitive about Trae's post. Dallasboi is just so excited over this one that his nerves are probably on edge, so we should cut him some slack. I'd be a little nervous too about the possibility of something this nice actually coming to fruition in an overbuilt market like Dallas. I understand there has been an awful lot of annoucements for projects that never went anywhere in Dallas. But good luck anyway. Seeing renderings like this (in Dallas AND Houston) is like holding candy in front of a child but not giving it too him unless he promises to be good for six months. It's pure torture and we can all relate. There are quite a few pieces of eye candy posted of Houston projects too and all we can do is try to behave ourselves and hope for the best.

I agree that it is hard to imagine Uptown or Post Oak ever becoming truly pedestrian friendly. There is just too much that would have to be rebuilt in every direction. But, if nothing else, an entry plaza or something special facing Post Oak would have more curb appeal than just another parking lot like the ones in front of all the other minor strip centers in town. BLVD Place seems special, after all, not every mixed use development in Houston will be blessed with a rail line right in front of it (eventually), and the front should look special. A project of this magnitude will certainly make a significant impact on uptown and might even start a trend on Post Oak. Like Juniper said - it's 95% there. But I can live with what they are doing. I mean, I don't think the front is ugly or anything, and I know that attracting drivers off the street HAS to be a top priority for the developers. The overall coolness of these buildings (design and style) and the layout of the complex far out weighs any problem I have with the narrow parking lot facing PO. But it would be so nice to see this place set a new standard for street aesthetics in Houston even if the rest of Uptown never becomes pedestrian friendly. My 3 cents

I know it's just a rendering and shouldn't be taken too seriously, but is that a 50 story tower in the middle? I like these renderings better than the old ones. It looks more "space age". I like it, it's fun, clean, colorful and modern. Just wish they'd lose the narrow parking lot that faces post oak. That parking lot almost seems like a superficial add-on. It's too small to provide any real benefit or convenience. It's almost like they had to go out of there way to make the front of this development look less pedestrian friendly. I don't mind the buildings being set back from the street, but a nice extra wide sidewalk with some beautiful fountains and shade trees would be fantastic where that narrow parking lot will be. The part that faces San Felipe (I think) looks great though. So when's groundbreaking?

Thanks for the info, Bach. If you know that the building they are concidering will be glass, do you also know how tall it will be? The Brookfield website states that a building of 700,000 sq ft can go on that lot. I'm assuming 700,000 means 30-40 floors. Do you think that because they need larger floorplates, that could mean that the building will be shorter rather than taller?

That may be a realistic attitude. But I don't want to look at the prospect of a new building in that location with dread until something is official, so I'll just cling to my hope and hope for the best. Actually, as long as the building isn't a total eyesore, I'll be happy. Even if they only build another insignificant 30 story boxy looking building in that spot, it will make the view of downtown look wider at a distance from the southwest and northeast. Downtown looks bigger when viewed from the north, northwest, west, south, southeast and east, but from the southwest and northeast I think it needs a little padding. And unless I'm wrong about the surface lot they are talking about, a building in that spot will make an impact. At a distance, good buildings and bad buildings look about the same (unless they are really tall or have a sloped roof) I'm talking about viewing the entire downtown skyline as if it were one giant blob from a few miles out. This building will make the blob bigger where it's most needed. The Discovery Park proprosed tower will also help make dt look bigger (from the south and north). I love it when they build towers on the edge of DT.

Very true. I hope that the builder and architect realize that this building, however tall or short, will be among the most photographed buildings in the city. So PLEASE make it a good one. That other location would have made anything less than 50 stories be practally invisible in every direction. The new location puts the tower on Houston's front stage.

Simply awesome. I love these photos. We rarely get to see Houston and Dallas from these angles. Thank you Boris.

I have to disagree about California beaches being too cold to swim in. At least in the L.A. area. I mean, the water isn't a comfortable temp like in Texas, but people ajust to it somehow once the initial shock wares off. I lived in the L.A. area for about 10 years. And went to the beach quite often. In fact, I lived in a beach house in Sunset Beach (just north of Huntington Beach) for 2 years. I remember the water always being full of people on the weekends in the summer. It took me a long time to build up the courage to walk out into what I thought was going to be unbarable cold. I would get about knee deep and turn around because it was so cold and I had been spoiled by the comfort of Texas beaches my whole life. Everyone always told me that you get used to it after a while, but I didn't believe them. But those waves looked like too much fun so I eventually ventured out there and discovered that my friends were right. You really will get used to it after a while. I prefer Texas beaches however, because they feel great instantly. I love Galveston, but my favorite beach is in the North Padre Island area (outside Corpus Christie, south of Port Aransas) The temp is perfect. The water is usually slightly better looking than Galveston. It can be on the brownish side sometimes but usually, it's a lovely bluegreen most times I've seen it. The waves are usually pretty decent and the crowds are not out of control. Plus, it's just sort of a family tradition to rent a condo down there every summer - which like Galveston, I associate a lifetime of happy memories. All this talk is going to make me need a beach fix soon. This is one of the reasons I love Houston, when I need a beach, I can get to one quick without spending any real money.

I'll play along. Did this guy in the SUV look like the type that would be the owner of a whole block in Midtown? I hope he was because this sounds encouraging. If I had met him I would have had a load of questions for him and reported it all back to HAIF too. Good job!

Nevermind indeed. We could be up all night trying to figure out what makes department store clerks in wooded areas (not you wxman) so negitive on Galveston but there's no point. It's not like anyone is going to stop enjoying it. The beach parties and new construction will go on with or without wxman's blessings. You posted an apology before I hit the reply button...so I decided to delete my own original brilliant post. Damn. It was good too. But now it would read as if I were trying to add fuel to the fire when all I want is the insults and death wishes to Galveston to stop (and hopefully be removed before they cause any more flame wars). Now that that unpleasentness is behind us, people can go back to making suggestions about how to improve our beloved Galveston without trashing it - verbally.

That's exactly my point. Wxman's over the top mean spirited comments about Galveston is what started all the following posts that were later deleted. So I don't understand why that post was left to continue to offend people who love Galveston. I wouldn't wish a hurricane on my worst enemy and I wouldn't be calling places 'crap holes' unless I expected some retaliation.

I don't understand why this post wasn't deleted with the other ones. Is this not flaming? If I said what Sri Lanka needs is another tsunami - would that post be o.k.? I just want to be clear about what kind of language is allowed around here so that I don't OFFEND anyone.

That's true, but I bet for every one person that doesn't like this building there are 10 who do like it. I think it's awesome, but it probably would work better as an office building. I would want a balcony if I were going to live in a highrise.

Well, at least it's good to know that there are enough people interested in changing the building codes so that maybe these types of developments in Midtown could be a thing of the past one day. I was beginning to think that HAIFers were the only ones who even cared about it. I would love to see people picketing that awful CVS once it opens and really getting the word out on a large scale that changes in buiding codes are needed and pedestrian friendly building guidelines ought to be enforced in Midtown. If the Midtown planning committed is organized enough to interact with companies like CVS to make suggestions and come up with their own renderings of what they want, then why don't they have any enfluence with the city? Does anyone know if this organization is actively putting any pressure on the city or has started any real attempt to get building code laws changed? And if they have, what is the likelyhood of success? Forget about campaigns to get better lighting on downtown towers, I think the first goal of everyone interested in urban developement in Houston should be making Midtown pedestrian friendly - especially on the rail line. When I think of the enormous potential Midtown has to become a true urban neighborhood with its great location, tight street grid, and rail access - it makes me a little ill to think that more CVS's could happen in the near future. Where can I sign a petition? What can I do short of throwing rocks at people who will be driving in to the new CVS parking lot? (just kidding about the rocks)