SilverJK

I believe that the reason you point out is exactly why they did the dedicated turning lane. Previously the majority of cars would have to wait if the left turners weren't able to go during the green light. This is why so many people would get in the bike lane early to turn right as well. Yes it is a little akward, but clearly better. The bike lane is still there (narrowed) and marked. I had no issues on my bike, but i did pay attention to cars in the left turn lane. (nobody went straight when i was there)

i'm not sure what your all whining about, I've been through here a dozen times (by bike and car) in the past few days, it is pretty obvious what you are supposed to do, and I don't feel it is any more dangerous that before for bikes, at least this will prevent people from driving down the bikepath from 100s of feet before 11th to turn right. I'm sure some people not paying attention will go straight from the left lane, but hopefully that can be fixed with better signage and people learning the change.

So now we need a timeline for D'Amicos, Tacos a go go, Becks Prime, and for someone to take over King Biscuit. I would love to see something different there (indian, ethiopian???), but I'd be happy to see pretty much anything.

BB's is so good, i really just can't say it enough. This fall/winter it will be nice to sit on their patio slurping down some gumbo and turbo dogs.

I went to Christians Tuesday. Very solid burger, great onion rings and fries. The waitress seemed confused and more interested in talking to other workers than refilling my water, but they were still very nice enough. I'm guessing she is still learning the ropes. I do think I prefer Hubcaps burgers, and my wife said she'd rather get the burger at dry creek, but Christian's will be a great place to go catch a game or fight, drink some pitchers, and eat a good burger. My bicycle pub crawl list is getting so long that i'm not sure if I'll be able to finish it.

I bet those rates come down a little when closer to compeletion, if the space isn't filled (which at that rate seems likely). I suspect the same for the Lofts. They would have to do something really special to get someone to pay over 400k for a loft here (unless they are just massive in size). It is only natural for them to be greedy at this point though.

That is fantastic!

not nearly as inconvenent as the construction on 11th street... but alas, that is how things happen. I drive by the 11.5 construction daily, and i've never had issues, they also are out of there by 6pm daily (from what I've seen). The COH had construction crews working heavy machinery @ 4-5AM a few times when rebuilding North Main. I actually kind of enjoy building construction, as a fan of architecture it is interesting to me to see things come to shape. We are in the center of the 4th biggest city in the country, you WILL be inconvenienced by construction/repair of some sort on a regular basis. Imagine those who live close to the I-10 feeders!

That would be awesome to have multiple midrises along such a major thoroughfare through the 'hood. S3mh made it sound like they will only be built in the middle of the neighborhood between houses along small interior streets.

what color will the "Stop Reasonable Development" signs be?

maybe they'll watch the discovery channel so you'll be able to see all kinds of critters from your deck. Why is it always a "if X happens, then Y will definitely happen run for your lives" situation with you? I would argue that if this building is sucessful, it would be more likely to spawn similar size projects, as the formula is proven. The truth is you don't know what "the evil developers" are going to do, but you will go through these mental gymnastics to try to convice yourself and others that you are right. There aren't that many old machine shops/warehouses on major thoroughfares in the Heights... If you are so concerned about this type of development happening, why don't you try to get "at risk" blocks to sign up for min lot size min set backs? If the "neighborhoods identity" is at such a high level of risk as you state, this should be an easy task.

did you seriously just say that. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA BTW, the other immediate neighbors (Decapos, Brazilian Arts Foundation, Andy's, 11th Street Cafe etc.) are all quite excited about the increase in residential density. That is a positive impact, not to mention while your probably right, nobody would say "wow its next to a neat 6 story building" as a reason to buy nearby, the thought of being near new development would likely be viewed as a positive. They lofts won't be able to see people in their backyards, because the building will cast a black shadow upon the yards making it impossible to see anything. = ]

So i hit up happy fatz, excellent desserts and great coffee. They were some of the nicest/friendliest people I've ever met. I can't wait to go back and try one of their hot dogs (they have like 8 different kinds). A wonderful addition to the 'hood. Also hit up DownHouse this morning for breakfast. Pretty solid. I feel the prices are slightly to high, (waffle and 2 eggs was like $11, i feel $9 would be much more acceptable) but it is a great environment. Good coffee. Pretty exciting place, as they plan to eventually be open to 2AM, they are going to be a great addition to my heights bicycle pub crawl.

as an additional fun fact... the one house that could possibly be shaded from this building in the very late afternoon... is for sale.

Happy Fatz and Down House are both on my hit list for the weekend.

I thought the whole thing with this project was these people had money/financing, which is why they were able to just start working on it before anyone even knew what was going on?

With the current trend of good places moving to White Oak, I wonder if they are testing the waters. Probably a lot of people looking to open restaurants in the area.

I like pretty much everything about Mamou... except their food is mediocre at best. I just can't see how anyone would justify getting a poboy there with BB's just down the road. I know I will probably never go to Mamou again now. (maybe saturday morning for beignets??) There were several families in BB's when i went yesterday, and I hope they work at catering to familes (at least during the day) but I really look forward to their late hours (post midnight gumbo run!)

I went to the White Oak BB's for dinner yesterday and the food was absolutely fantastic. Makes me think Big Mamou isn't long for this world, BB's is infintely better.

I would like to hear HCADs explanation on how the improvements on that property are valued at 40,000 less than my poorly maintained 1300 sq. ft. bungalow down the street.

why are there like 8 subways within 2 miles of my house?

I don't think it would take much of a stretch for someone to rule this place as unsafe. There never had a for sale sign on this property, but it seems to have changed hands several times in the past year. 26,162 sq. ft. Lot per HCAD. I'd love to see 5 street facing (pecore side) homes with back facing garages with access from Rural. I'm sure that is too much to ask, and 6-10 would be much more likely to happen, but for now it looks like we are stuck with the apartment complex.

Yeah i think it was in that vacant lot there across the street from the apartments, and there have been a string a garage breakins on Pecore lately. One got caught last night by the police. A lot of people think that some of the apartment residents are the root to a good bit of the crime in the area. I can't verify that, but I can verify I saw a lady from those apartments holding a butcher knife yelling and screaming at a guy holding a baby telling him to "come back with my ****** ****** baby". Not exactly what you expect to see around noon on a saturday. Those apartments are one of the few structures in the heights I'd rejoice to see torn down.

So I walk by these all the time and I've been baffled that nobody has bought them up and tore them down. I know they were back on their taxes earlier this year, and it looks like the taxes were recently paid off as well as a change in ownership. I've been hopeful that something would come of this, and I see this on HAR today. http://search.har.co...HAR88184581.htm renovating just seems like a waste of money, I don't see how they can make this place worthwhile. HCAD has the value of the "improvements" less than $200k. I wonder if they just mean repaint and replace all the broken duct taped windows when they say renovations? Anyone know anything about this?

Yale Street Bridge. (though not really in the Heights)