bachanon

i wonder if wulfe & co will consider the increasing need for pedestrian friendly design in this area. it would be great if the project would embrace the uptown tirz improvements. many new developments do not include direct pedestrian crosswalks and connectors from the sidewalks on the street to their new pedestrian areas.

the rendering above may not be the same as the wulfe project which is now moving forward. check out this thread. link

tomball has one of the wealthiest zip codes in the houston area. build the toll road. "get her done"!! if you don't want alot of travel/commuting expenses, work closer to home and live below your means. it should cost more to easily travel around the houston area alone in your car.

i believe they have some land holdings near by. it would be nice if they could purchase the toyota dealership with 610 frontage right next door. i wish they could upgrade their image. last year it was reported that six flags astroworld had one of the worst crime rates in the city. it's not a great place to let your kids roam. they need a more visual police presence.

did you know that walt disney world resort in florida is over 25,000 acres in size? the woodlands, tx is also in excess of 25,000 acres. amassing that amount of property anywhere near houston would be very difficult or impossible. that being said, i guess a more compact disney would be great to compete with six flags/astroworld. maybe six flags would see houston as a better theme park market and bring us some notable rides.

what you haven't mentioned is SCHOOL TAXES. these are taxes that we vote to increase on a regular basis. i have a rental unit with school taxes jumping from $800/yr to $1300/yr in one fell swoop. the home's value has not increased in 2 years. schools are wasting huge sums of money on unnecessary facilities. (it amazes me how a private school can teach the basics better in crappy buildings and the public school system needs brand spanking new facilities with expensive architects and do not manage to teach as well. but that's another thread. sorry to digress.) blame for increased mortgage payments must include the local school systems.

The Woodlands looks to hit park milestone Planned opening of new facilities in 2005 to push total up to 100 By BETH KUHLES Chronicle Correspondent RESOURCES PARK INFORMATION For a complete list of the parks in The Woodlands, their addresses and a breakdown of each park's amenities, click on to www.thewoodlandsassociations.org. For further information, contact The Woodlands Parks and Recreation Department at 281-210-3900. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW PARKS IN THE WOODLANDS The following new parks are scheduled to open in The Woodlands this year: Town Green Park

10:56 AM CST Wednesday Tycer to open new restaurant concept in historic building Allison Wollam Houston Business Journal ------------------- This message has been edited to remove copyrighted material. Please do not post copyrighted photos or articles from newspapers or magazines. We have already received a warning from the Houston Chronicle, and the legal departments of other publications have visited the site. If you would like to discuss a published article, please summarize the article and provide a link to the original source. ------------------- LINK

is anyone going to be able to make the video clip available? is it available somewhere now?

i believe this is on the north side of the waterway, across the street from tinseltown and some parking garages on lake robbins. it's one block south of the mall expansion.

images of waterway square are from the design firm sasaki associates. sasaki

thanks for the reality check. remember that we have all ages represented here and quite a few dreamers (me included). personally, i enjoy hearing about the "nuts and bolts" of things, especially when it involves architecture, real estate and development, construction, etc. so, if you're in the know about things like that "spill". but, go easy on the youngsters and dreamers please.

i believe the writer does not intend to call 8.1 to 9.8 a 36% increase. the central business district's spending is up 36%, not the TCID budget. the 9.8 million dollar operating budget comes from the taxes on the central business district's spending.

my hopes for "no child left behind" would be that the basics would be taught in a methodical manner with individual attention/or other options for those students not inclined to learn. what i fear has happened is that the school districts are scrambling to appear that they are teaching more than they are and failing even at that. i have a fourteen year old in eighth grade under my guardianship in the conroe independant school district. his math teacher had her students write a paper on who they are and to create a chronological graph of important events in their lives. what about pre-algebra? how does bonding with the math teacher or getting to know oneself have anything to do with fractions and decimals, or solving for x? when the benchmark tests or tasp comes along they have days where the entire school prepares for what will be the items (or most likely items) on the tests. i realize my experience is anecdotal. i fear the public school structure is a failure and needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. "no child left behind" is a nice try. however, it's like putting a bandaid on a broken back.

Feb. 23, 2005, 12:29PM Town Center boosting area real estate values Business hub in Woodlands helps increase home prices By BETH KUHLES Chronicle Correspondent The Town Center Improvement District, which covers the new downtown district and the College Park Shopping Center, commissioned a study to examine its impact on surrounding communities, including The Woodlands, Oak Ridge North and Shenandoah. The district is mandated by the state Legislature to spend 10 percent of its budget to deal with negative impacts from commercial development, such as police, fire, traffic and aesthetics, within two miles of its boundaries. For 2005, the Town Center Improvement District adopted a $9.8 million operating budget, which will add more security to the growing downtown district and expand marketing and operations for The Woodlands Waterway. The budget represents a 36 percent increase in spending for The Woodlands' central business district, up from the $8.1 million amended budget for 2004. The district expects to collect an increase of about 21 percent in sales tax and hotel tax this year, adding $1.7 million more in revenue, mainly from retailers in Market Street and The Woodlands Mall expansion. Barton Smith, a professor of economics at the University of Houston, found that home values were higher within the impact area around Town Center than in nearby areas outside that zone in South Montgomery County or North Harris County. Smith attributed a 6.7 percent boost in home prices specifically to a close proximity to Town Center. For example, a typical house in the South Montgomery County/North Harris County area may sell for $150,000. Those located within a two-mile radius of Town Center are selling for $162,000 and those a mile from the central business district sell for $172,000, the report said. The study found that a Woodlands address raised home values 14.5 percent, while a Woodlands address within Town Center raised values 21.2 percent. "We always approach this with a feeling that there was a net negative impact and what is the net positive impact?" said Frank Robinson, president of The Town Center Improvement District. "What we have been doing is contributing to a quality of place. You sensed that these needed to be done for the benefit of the public. You should continue to look at the big picture as to what can be done to support the quality of place." Funding public safety The Town Center Improvement District finances many public safety enhancements in the district, including The Woodlands Fire Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Department and Precinct 3 Constable's Office deputies, Alpha and Omega Mounted Patrol and The Woodlands Waterway ambassador program. "This gives us a platform now to spend the money not for obligations, but on things that we have with particular goals," said Thomas J. D'Alesandro IV, a TCID board member and president of The Woodlands Development Co. D'Alesandro took issue with property gains the analysis reported within one-half mile of Town Center, which were lower than those within a mile of the downtown business area. He argued that those figures should be higher because of the introduction of high-priced townhomes and lofts in the center of the business district. Smith said the analysis was based on home values from January 2003, and those properties were not captured in the data. Business, residential mix Smith said the study looked at the overall impact of Town Center and not at specific issues such as crime, fire calls or traffic. He said many of those statistics are not available and were hard to attribute just for Town Center and its two-mile impact area. "The net overall impact can be seen through its influence on home prices," Smith said. Smith suggested that the home values may indicate a need to make improvements for residential areas closest to the commercial areas. While the report provided Town Center with good news, it did little to address how the district should spend its budget, which comes from sales tax and hotel taxes in the district. The Town Center is faced with deciding on increasing law enforcement costs and a recent request to assist with funding a new fire station for The Woodlands. "As long as everything stays status quo, the homes would appreciate in value," said TCID Board Member Peggy Hausman, who also serves on The Woodlands Community Association. "As TCID expands and grows, if The Woodlands Fire Department or law enforcement is not at the same level, would the values stay that same level? " Hausman encouraged TCID to start collecting data from the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department as a way to monitor crime statistics and law enforcement needs in the future. LINK

Natural Landmark: Town Green Park to be 'great' addition to vibrant downtown By: BURTON SPEAKMAN, Villager staff02/23/2005 http://images.zwire.com/local/Z/Zwire1574/zwire/images/Town_Green-drwg-map684.jpg Artist rendering courtesy of Town Center Improvement District The groundbreaking for Town Green Park, which will be The Woodlands' 100th park, was held Friday morning in Town Center. The $3.5 million project will be contained within four acres located near the South Montgomery County Library on The Woodlands Waterway, and will eventually serve as a stop along The Waterway for water taxis, and for the new Town Center trolleys. "Every vibrant downtown has to have a great park, and this is it," said Frank Robinson, president of the Town Center Improvement District. "It will be great for people who live here in Town Center and those who come to visit." A "vibrant downtown" has to have green space. This park will utilize a significant amount of green space within Town Center, said TCID President Bob Kinnear. The centerpiece of the park will be its "Great Lawn," which will be a long, open community gathering area. This area will be nearly the length of two football fields. The park will also have a children's area on the western side called The Children's Garden that will feature contemporary excerpts of Aesop's Fables on large permanent storybooks. "We are thrilled to be part of such a wonderful addition to The Woodlands Town Center," said Thomas D'Alesandro, president and CEO of The Woodlands Development Company. Robinson said he expects Town Green to become a natural landmark in the heart of Town Center that residents are sure to enjoy. It will be a nice place for families with children to hang out as well, he said, since the children's area will have an amphitheatre large enough for at least 50 children. "Town Green Park will be a great addition to the area and we are pleased that children and their families will be able to access a literature-friendly park right in our backyard," said Bonnie Boorman, South Montgomery County Library branch manager. TWDC donated the land to TCID for the park and is handling construction, which is scheduled to be completed in late 2005 or early 2006. "That's no small donation for the development company considering the cost for land in Town Center," Robinson said. Land is currently selling in Town Center for approximately $300 per square foot, D'Alesandro said. "The development company is best credited for what it didn't do," he said, referring to the natural and open areas within The Woodlands and Town Center. When Town Center is finished, it will retain 28 percent open space. TCID is paying TWDC for construction costs associated with the project. SWA group of Houston is designing the park and Miner-Dederick Constructors is the general contractor. Town Green Park groundbreaking was originally planned for August 2004, but delays pushed the project back to February. The TCID has been working toward the construction of the park for a total of five years. Robinson said the process leading up to Friday's groundbreaking has been kind of like giving birth. Burton Speakman may be reached at bspeakman@mail.hcnonline.net. LINK

great link! i wish we had our discussions from the old site on this very subject. i realize that the houston press has political motives behind this article, anti-republican motives. however, as a republican i'm deeply offended by someone like perry being unconcerned with the homeowners who have made him wealthy. i'm disgusted with the lack of care, style, attention to detail, neighborhood considerations, etc. these slums of tomorrow are a reality happening much sooner than anyone expected.

thanks lowbrow. the woodlands has inspired me in many ways. my views concerning environmental issues have changed greatly over the years, in no small part, due to admiration of the woodlands. on another note: if the bayou plans are implemented in houston, we will have accomplished something of great importance and enormity for our region. also, the linear park/parks between the woodlands and kingwood along spring creek are also monumental.

lowbrow, perhaps you haven't read the threads or articles on the low environmental impact of the woodlands (compared to other developments). the woodlands has retained more than 25% of the 27,000 acres as parks and recreational, wetlands and greenspace. this does NOT include the forest barriers between each part of the development. the villages and the woodlands' commercial locations were placed to NOT interfere with the natural watershed. there are portions of the woodlands that will never be developed due to the marshland/lowland nature of these areas. even the woodlands' waterway is created to take run-off from the town center (and the water is checked regularly for pollutants). there are imperfections, the woodlands is not perfect. but please, do not group the woodlands with other developments which have not taken great pains to have a low impact on the environment like the woodlands has.

if you're wondering why out of towners start with the woodlands, it's because of the national and international awards that it wins. check out the thread on woodlands' awards. http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...p?showtopic=436

i missed it too. let us know when a copy is available to download or view. thanks in advance!

great information hunter, thanks.

you got that right urbanerd. i like them just the way they are. if we had a trolley line, i would want it to go the route from 290 at the loop to downtown, through the heights. that would be choice. if you don't know what i'm talking about, it's the existing rail ROW that txdot has it's eye on for a possible future tollway or freeway expansion cutting right through the heights. when visitors were downtown they would see retro trolleys with "the heights line" on them connecting to the main street line. the impression would be: "the heights? must be a great place to visit. let's take some of our visitor dollars and go buy stuff there......". ads on the heights line would include ads from the antique stores and historic organizations there. things like "visit the historic heights" and "step back to a better time (or "step back to the future"), walk the heights shopping district" would be on the ad space on the sides of the trolleys. (bachanon is in a dream where he is in advertising)

i have missed you deb AND dal. please inject yourselves to our forum more often. i miss you!!!

here's my top ten: 1. restaurants 2. downtown 3. entertainment/things to do 4. the people 5. trees 6. zimm's 7. diversity 8. architecture 9. subculture(s) 10. the woodlands (ok, not exactly in houston)