Houston19514

Bad headline and mediocre writing. The actual plans for the dome range from $88 Million (for demolition) to $548 Million for the full Astrodome Renaissance. The other $767 million are for expanding Reliant Center, building a new Reliant Arena, hotel, parking garage, and transportation center (and another $40 Million of existing Astrodome debt is inexplicably included... that money most be repaid, period. No matter what happens to the Dome).

Doesn't your strategy assume a ZERO cost for letting the Astrodome stand? That of course is not reality. Truly "letting it stand" with no maintenance is not a viable option, because in fairly short order that will become "let it crumble"; then it's a safety hazard and then we have to spend money on fixing it or, voila, tearing it down. You may well be right that neither plan B or C will work without public money. But we're already in for $100 Million with plan A with more or less nothing gained (as you pointed out). If we can achieve Plan B or C with the input of some public money (anything less than $100 Million) we are instantly money ahead of plan A, PLUS we save the historic structure and gain the planetarium, science and math institute, museums, movie soundstages, show spaces etc. etc.

Not to mince words, but if they building mechanical floors on top of what is in place, then it is not technically topped out. As long as they have not placed the highest piece of structure it has not topped out.

I'd been thinking too, that it seemed like they had jumped the gun a bit with that "topped out" announcement.

According to Swamplot, the Kirby Whole Foods is approximately 40,000 sq ft.

Wall Street Journal reports today that Ft Worth-based Mallick Group bought the Astroworld site. Says they haven't decided how to develop it but noted TMC is running out of land, so "we're looking at medical and a number of things . . . offices, apartments"

Yes, the bunching up does occur in San Francisco (or would but for the fact that the operators hold cars at one end to keep it from happening).

I've wondered that too. Don't see why it would be significantly less expensive or quicker to build streetcars vs lrt. The only savings I see is in not having to build stations.

Can't tell what you're talking about.

Good question. Not that I know of. (other than United having them separated by 20 miles or so) But I am skeptical that there is really any great need for the HQ execs to be near the operations center.

Yes, you are quite right. And their headquarters is in the 77 West Wacker Building. The space in Willis Tower is the Operations Center. There is no reason they could not move the headquarters and leave the operations center.

Please see my earlier reply. And please see the Houston Airports System master plan for George Bush Intercontinental.

I think it was pretty clear I was referring to the security clearance areas, not parking, automobile traffic, baggage claims etc. No one is speaking of building a central terminal for Terminals A, D and E as they stand, without out massive other changes. You seem to be speaking of some imaginary plan to retain the existing parking and terminals, where passengers would park at, e.g., Terminal A, go to a central terminal for security screening and then return to Terminal A for their flight. NOBODY has planned, suggested, or implied any such thing. The master plan for IAH calls for the existing A, B, AB and C parking to disappear. The A, B, and C terminals themselves would be completely reconfigured (although Continental's plans for Terminal B may have changed some of this) and there would be no parking or vehicular access to the airside terminals. All parking and vehicular access would be at the central terminal. I see no reason that a central terminal could not be designed to handle the traffic and parking needs without significant bottlenecks. (and fwiw, you may have noticed that our existing airport configuration with traffic and parking disperse, has some significant bottlenecks. It's not about dispersal vs. non-dispersal; it's about being adequately designed to handle the expected traffic) Back to the security clearance area. I say again, that given a specified amount of equipment, and a specified number of employees, the most efficient security operation should be one where there is one central clearing hall. With a central security clearance, the ebbs and flows of various flight schedules can balance each other out. With a dispersed operation, you are much more likely to have one station twiddling their thumbs while another station is overwhelmed. I saw this in action at the Tulsa airport (which of course is miniscule compared to IAH, but the theory is the same). They used to have separate security clearance for each of their two concourses. It was common to see a LONG line at one while the other was empty. They wisely went to a central clearing station between the two concourses and one is much less likely to encounter bottlenecks.

If properly designed, equipped and staffed, there will be no bottleneck.

It really should not matter if all passengers have to go through the same security area, if the security is properly designed and equipped (with the appropriate number of lanes) and properly staffed. In fact, if properly equipped and staffed, it should provide better, more efficient service overall than if the same equipment and staff were scattered among 4 or more screening stations in multiple terminals.

Any chance you can share your source for that tale? I believe the truth is that Uptown Park was developed on a 34-acre tract Interfin assembled in the early 1990s by purchasing two adjoining tracts: 28 acres that used to be part of the West Oaks subdivision and the 5.8-acre site of the former Highams Cadillac dealership on Post Oak.

Any chance you can share your source for that tale? I believe the truth is that Uptown Park was developed on land on a 34-acre tract Interfin assembled in the early 1990s by purchasing two adjoining tracts: 28 acres that used to be part of the West Oaks subdivision and the 5.8-acre site of the former Highams Cadillac dealership on Post Oak.

Not 2 years, quite yet. It's been white since Hurricane Ike. For the record, Southwest has 219 daily departures at Midway; 133 at HOU; 132 at DAL

Oh that. I thought he was talking about some incentives for keeping the HQ in Chicago. The incentives you speak of are not related to the merger or to the Headquarters. How certain can we really be that the HQ issue is a dead issue? No announcements whatsoever have been made by either Continental or United. So far as we know, the whole "HQ will be in Chicago, United will be the name" meme might be nothing more than the results of creative journalism by the Chicago Tribune, picked up in turn by the rest of the media. I am not giving up hope, for the simple reason that, from a purely business point of view and having nothing to do with my preference for one city or another, putting the merged companies HQ in Chicago would be bone-headed.

What is Chicago promising?

Bravo! I could not agree more.

Definitely just the norhern building (from the former Cafe Annie to Eatzi's). A backhoe was working in there this morning. Looked to be tearing out the parking lot surface.

I think Houston should be the headquarters without a doubt, and I say this as a Continental stockholder, not just as a Houston booster. Further, my preference for Houston has nothing to do with my love of Houston. For this proposed merger to have any chance of succeeding, they have to do everything possible to adopt the Continental culture and get rid of the United culture. They cannot possibly accomplish that by adopting the United name and putting the HQ in Chicago. The name is less important and for the purpose of compromise, United should probably be the name. But the HQ MUST be in Houston.

Actually, you did not say "exactly as much" You stated it as a fact, not as an opinion. Either way, a statement such as that cries out for some support. . . anything, anything at all to back up the premise?

Someone at the Chron has actually done some good reporting on this issue (completely contrary to what Channel 11 has provided). Take a look: Chron