bachanon

talk about up to date information. i heard it here first. i'm disappointed to see that this is not happening. this is a loss to the "great northwest" and to the city of houston. damn prairie view.

if the woodlands cannot incorporate and avoid being annexed then no one can. it will be exciting to see how it all pans out.

i think this may be a good idea.

i imagine that someone did quite a bit of research before starting a project of this size. there is, evidently, a market for this type of product. i'm keeping my fingers crossed for a sleek, modern design.

in 1980 i lived at home with parents. the house is completely shaded and well insulated. the school i went to was also completely shaded and made of metal with no insulation. when the ac was on, it was really cool in the heat of summer. i do not remember being outside that summer. in '93, however, i was working in machine shops and lived in a not so shaded, not so well insulated apartment. i remember that year. i do not remember a summer, in recent years, as "cool" as this last one.

as much i do not want to offend parrothead, i must add my two cents. i too have had unfortunate experiences with a buyer's agent. on my last home purchase, i was stressed personally and i grew to trust my realtor over the 8 months i worked with her. EVERY..... SINGLE.......ITEM...... i told her was important to me about the condition of the house i purchased turned out to be unimportant to her. i went with HER suggested inspector. i did not hire outside sources. the list of grievances is too long and too depressing to go over. you live and learn. i was not ready to make a decision (although i had given her my personal deadline) on the house that i purchased. she told me, knowing i was stressed with classes, preparing my then current home for rental and working, to ____ or get off the pot. "keith", she said, "do you know how long we've been looking at houses?". "maybe it's time you do something or get off the pot." i wanted to get it done, but it wasn't right for me at the time. i grew to admire and trust this very educated and interesting, mother like figure. she read me. then she took advantage. even though i told her i did not want a $1000 home warranty, at the closing table it was apart of closing costs. after bringing it to her attention in front of the broker, they both explained how much time it would take to reprint and get new documents. they told me how they had benefitted from this type of home warranty. the warranty was a joke. i was extremely exhausted. i gave in. the contractors who the warranty company used didn't want to do crap and ran me around in circles to avoid fulfilling the promises of the warranty. it cost me at closing and then it cost me with AC Companies, plumbers, etc. what a joke. i wouldn't doubt that realt-whore got a commission for selling me the damn warranty! i do not give my loyalty easily. i do not trust people easily. after i moved in, settled down, i realized i had been played. she didn't want to return my calls. she avoided me after closing. she had promised to give me a list of books i should read (she had a masters in literature). she bought a house near mine and said they'd invite me over when they moved in and would check in with me to see how the house upgrades were coming. not a peep. i spent eight months becoming friends with this woman and her husband. i realize that i was the sucker, but i am not easily played! i wanted to depend on someone other than myself for this process. it is way better to talk to friends and family about the process than to trust a realtor. it is an entire WASTE of time and money. get your mortgage loan preapproved. use the realtor of the seller, if they have one, to let you look at and inspect the houses. learn all you can about buying new or used homes. in case you're wondering, she works for gary green/prudential in the woodlands. oh, and to answer the question that started the thread.......NO, you DO NOT need an agent to buy from a builder. however, inspect the new house from the foundation to the rooftop and everything in between. be an active home buyer and let the builder know you are paying attention. they are not used to people being concerned and may not take kindly to your involvement. screw them. the sellers of new homes are just as bad as realtors in many cases. once you've been approved and signed on the dotted line, they couldn't care less how your house turns out. get the number of the contruction manager and hound his trail (nicely).

montrose blvd should have a "coalition" to broaden sidewalks, increase lighting and so on. the area between allen parkway and binz/bissonnett can become a great pedestrian zone. add light rail down richmond and the museum district to westheimer just gets hotter.

i'm anxious to see data on our "cooler than normal summer". maybe we've had a few really hot summers in a row and we're finally getting a break. i don't remember summers being so hot in the late nineteen seventies/early eighties as they have been since the late nineteen eighties and nineties. maybe i've become more acclimated to the heat due to being outside more often and living in a house that's more difficult to cool. this summer was completely bearable compared to the last fifteen summers or so. bring on the fall.

i don't think developers realize the built-in potential of lower floor retail with several hundred customers upstairs. grabbing coffee or a muffin on your way to the car in the am. picking up the dry cleaning after you've had a chance to come home and regroup. it's simply a mindset, not just for the developers, but for the residents as well. it will not come easily to houston. fortunately, there are successful "pockets" of more compacted living that are doing well and more on the boards.

ground floor retail on this loft project would do well with the target draw, lots of parking (assuming they connected visually and pedestrian-wise with the target center) and proximity to the freeway.

no mystery, it's the turnberry associates project mentioned in the bizjournals article. Turnberry gets high on Houston with planned condo tower Houston Business Journal - April 7, 2006 by Jennifer Dawson Houston Business Journal A nationally known developer that has drawn attention for high-dollar condominium projects in markets such as Las Vegas and the Bahamas is moving forward with plans to build a luxury condo tower in the Galleria area. Florida-based Turnberry Associates intends to build a high-rise condo project that could stand as tall as 42 stories just west of the Water Wall. The proposed site is just south of the Galleria on vacant land owned by Walton Street Capital LLC. Sources say Walton is a joint venture partner on the project, which will be located west of Post Oak Boulevard between Hidalgo and W. Alabama. full story turnberry has leased office space in the lakes on post oak. empire is on property that was the lakes on post oak. the new tower is across the street from empire, the lakes on post oak, the water wall, etc. no mystery.

on the whole foods website, in addition to high income and an educated populace, a high visibility requirement is essential before whole foods will go into an area. unless they build outside of the woodlands proper, we may never see a whole foods up here. the san felipe/post oak store should be really nice. kudos to sugarland. i'm way jealous.

since katz' has opened in the woodlands, i've been craving a sandwich. i found myself on lower westheimer at lunch time on wednesday and had to stop for a turkey & swiss on rye with a potato knish (sp?) at that location. i haven't had a knish since ohhh, 1989 in NYC. i'm glad to have katz' in the woodlands and hope for my next craving to be satisfied locally. thanks for all the info guys.

haven't you been in a non-pedestrian friendly complex after office hours? you want to walk down the street but have to go through the gate meant for autos, or get in your car to exit the complex only to park one block away. pedestrian improvements encourage pedestrian activity for surrounding developments. the front office/front door is not always an easy connection to surrounding businesses. new developments should be in "cahoots" with surrounding businesses in order to enhance the synergistic effect of being near one another. by focusing on "walkers" and creating a safe, easy passage between businesses, "walkers" will be encouraged to spend more time out & about and hopefully spend more money.

i was at the sawyer heights target yesterday. i too thought the cleared area was for more retail. residents will certainly not hurt target or the other retail going in. this development is good for this area. i hope they will create pedestrian friendly connections to the target development. if they just wall or fence it in, with only an entrance or two for autos and no pedestrian entrances, it will not be taking advantage of its proximity to retail. ......... after looking at designs by Steinberg Design Collaborative, i'm not too hopeful about the look of this project. they've created some of my least favorite complexes (s. macgregor, ventana, left bank). it will likely fill the plot to the very edge with little or no nod to its surroundings and no concern for its proximity to retail. i hope they surprise me.

Residents call for incorporation as a city By: TIFFANY WILLIAMS, Villager staff 09/27/2006 Residents who attended the Community Governance Forum Saturday morning ultimately favored incorporation as a city over creating a public service district to fill the municipal roles of a city. Many, however, said a PSD could serve as a viable interim solution for the master-planned community until The Woodlands receives approval from Houston to incorporate. The majority of The Woodlands exists in Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction, which gives the city the power to annex after a moratorium agreement expires in 2011. full story are any haifers knowledgable on what kingwood did or didn't do before they were annexed?

that would be so cool. i like to make christmas cd mixes. ella, nat, squirrel nut zippers........all the classics.

isn't it enough that i have to celebrate birthdays in september, october, november and december? thanksgiving and christmas are just insults to injury. what do i want for christmas? i want to skip the freakin holidays. that would be a treat. i want a vacation from decorations, gifts and happy christmas carolers! bah humbug!!!!! i want my street to NOT compete for the "best" christmas decorations. i want a holiday season without people turning around in the middle of the street because the decorations end. i want to go to the mall or restaurants without a zillion people who HAVE to get that damn present for that SPECIAL person! everyone turns in to a feakin ELF! "the best way to spread christmas cheer is singing loudly for all to hear." i hate all the damn decorations. i hate all the chipper people. (alter ego sings.........) "silent night, holy night." i despise all the effort made to celebrate a freakin day that isn't even christ's birthday. it's so commercial. (damn psyche sings) "just hear those sleigh bells ringalin, ting ting tingalin toooooooooo." i will not submit! "chestnuts roasting on an open fire.............jack frost nipping at your nose. Yuletide carols being sung by a choir And folks dressed up like eskimos." damn you marty! ........................................i want an ipod, to lose 20 pounds, a new digital camera and peace throughout the world. DAMN IT. i will not submit. i hate christmas! "rockin' around the christmas tree in a blah, blah holiday........." "i saw three ships come sailing in, on christmas day, on christmas day." christmas sucks and i will not look forward to or love it. "we three kings of orient are........traveling to......blah, blah, blah..........." i wonder if mom is going to make those awesome pralines again? christmas? no way no how. and i love that rum cake. holidays suck! i could wear those silly pjs again. nope, christmas is not my favorite time of year. "it's the most, wonderful time of the year..........." bachanon drowns in a sea of contradiction.

anyone hear sheila on the radio this week? i think it was the news on 88.7.

there were renderings via other links mentioned earlier in this thread. if you cannot find one at pei partners or partnership, you might check out the woodlands resident website (www.thewoodlands.net) or the woodlands villager and possibly the south montgomery county chamber of commerce website. i was unimpressed with the rendering. i think the LEED certification and the functionality of the development will be its best assets. hopefully, i'll be pleasantly surprised when it's built.

yes, there has been some redesign and a ground breaking. didi pei has been in town twice that i'm aware of. below is the most current info i've seen. July 30, 2006 I.M. Pei in The Woodlands Post Category: Community

me too.

in an earlier post, i have a link to a map of the area. link to post

nice house. congratulations, and welcome to the woodlands.

don't know about chocolate martinis hey? if they are made with liquor, they are.........uhhhhh. amazing. made just right, they can be REAL GOOD. chocolate is the new coffee.