Houston19514

Yeah. We know. And that is not where these bridges are located.

Huh? The area where they will be trenching I-69/US59 is east and north of Montrose - not in the area where these bridges are located. The I-45 project/NHHIP (which includes trenching further parts of I-69/US59) does not impact these bridges. In addition to getting that part completely wrong, the "journalist" missed the relevant part related to NHHIP. There will be additional bridges of the same design over the newly-trenched parts of I-69/US59 that presumably will have the same lighting.

More bad journalism. The I-45 project doesn’t touch this part of the Southwest Freeway/I-69. Re: other posts above, FWIW, I don't believe there was ever a plan to lower Spur 527. The original plan regarding the Montrose bridge was to replace it because it needed to be lengthened, not raised. They reconfigured things a bit to avoid having to lengthen it.

And what is "GRB Plaza"?? Are they referring to Avenida Houston? Journalists... <SMH> I have never before heard it referred to as GRB Plaza, and that is definitely NOT its name.

.. He has restaurants in Pearland, Galveston and Bush Airport, and apparently planning one in Santa Fe. I doubt if the drive to Shady Acres was the reason for closing.

Interesting tidbit from this week's City Council agenda regarding the capital improvement plan for the MAIN STREET/MARKET SQUARE REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY: The FY23 – FY27 CIP Budget totals $64,631,000 and includes economic development program provisions for office-to-residential conversion plan and blight removal targeting 901 Main, 801 Jefferson, and 1111 Main; San Jacinto Street reconstruction to connect to Hardy Yards; the installation of enhanced pedestrian lighting through key walkable corridors Downtown; mobility connections to the Near Northside; and infrastructure and improvements in the Warehouse District.

I guess we've come to the point where journalism is defined as regularly checking your email for press releases . . .

Restaurants in the Medical Center. Probably an incomplete list (does not include any hospital cafeterias) McDonald's 6621 Fannin - 5:00 am - 3:00 am Every Day Main & Green 6580 Fannin - 6:30 am - 2 pm M-F; 7 am - 11 am Sat/Sun Fresh Bites - 6580 Fannin - 6 am - 11 pm Every Day Fannin Street Market - 6580 Fannin - Breakfast & Lunch Every Day Curate 2 pm - 11 pm Every Day The Halal Guys - 6609 Main - 10:30 am - 10 pm M-F; 11 am - 9 pm Sat/Sun Poke in the Bowl - 6611 Main - 11 am - 9 pm Every Day MOD Pizza - 6622 Fannin - 10 am - 10 pm Every Day Piada - 10:45 am - 10 pm Every Day Chipotle - 6600 Fannin - 10:45 am - 10 pm Every Day Terrace 54 - 1709 Dryden - 6:30 am - 10 pm Every Day Safina Mediterranean - 6750 Main - 6:30 am - 10:30 am/11 - 3/5-10 Every Day RG Grill - 7501 Fannin - 11 am - 9 pm Every Day The Naturalist Cafe and Lounge - 6750 Main - 6:30 - 10:30/11-2:30/5-10 pm Every Day Herb N' Kitchen - 6633 Travis - 6:30 am - 10 pm Every Day The Shamrock - 6633 Travis - 4 pm - 11 pm Every Day Three Meal Restaurant - Doubletree Hotel - Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner Every Day PIzza Hut - 2100 West Holcombe - 10 am - 11 pm Sun-Thur; 10am - 12am Fri/Sat Burger King - 2116 West Holcombe - 5:30 am - Midnight Every Day Starbuck's - 6400 Fannin - 5:00 am - 7 pm M-F; 5:30 am - 4:00 pm Sat/Sun Starbuck's - 6600 Fannin - 5:00 am - 7 pm M-F; 5:30 am - 7 pm Sat/Sun Subway - 1502 Ben Taub Loop - Open 24/7 Citadel Barbecue - 8 am - 8 pm M-F; 10:30 am - 6 pm Sun Miller's Cafe - 6560 Fannin - 10 am - 6 pm weekdays; 10 am - 3 pm Sat Chick-Fil-A - 1515 Holcombe - Mon - Sat: 6:30 am - 10:00 pm Au Bon Pain - Open 6:00 am - 2:30 pm weekdays French Corner - Scurlock Tower - 6:30 am - 4 pm weekdays Chick-Fil-A - 6550 Bertner - 7:00 am - 2 pm weekdays Chick-Fil-A - 6621 Fannin - 10:30 am - 6:30 pm weekdays Time for Thai - 6550 Bertner - 11 am - 2 pm weekdays Subway - 6550 Bertner - 8 am - 2 pm weekdays Subway - 6621 Fannin - 10:30 am - 6 pm weekdays Starbuck's - 6550 Bertner - 6:30 am - 5 pm weekdays III by Wolfgang Puck - 11 am - 9 pm weekdays Murphy's Deli - 6624 Fannin - 6:30 am - 4 pm weekdays Blackwater Coffee Roasters - 6560 Fannin - 6:30 am - 4:30 pm weekdays Salata - 6620 Fannin - 10:30 am - 8 pm Weekdays Skyline Houston Deli - 1020 Holcombe - 7 am - 4 pm Weekdays

“a little squirrely” is a very generous description. I would tend more towards something like “worthless joke” to describe this “study”.

The $12 psf fee is the current fee. The amount of the Fee in Lieu of Sidewalk Construction will be established based on the estimated material and labor cost of the sidewalk projects constructed by the City on an annual basis.

If they took down all of the golden arches signs, especially that tall one, I think it's a pretty safe bet the closure is permanent. AFAIK, their practice is to keep those signs up when they rebuild a location.

Do I understand this correctly? Did the HBJ really just tell us that the developer has decided to go ahead and break ground on this new development (the construction of which topped out almost two months ago)???

I've always thought that way too much attention is paid to the GAWC World Cities rankings. Its measurement seems very narrow and therefore of very limited usefulness.

Interesting. Thanks for the reminders. (Of course, that's as reported by the Chronicle, so . . . 😉 )

Not sure what you are talking about... curb the trenches?

It looks spectacular. I cannot wait to stay there again.

If the fee costs more than building sidewalks or even a similar amount, why would they do that? Further the allowed "excuses" are pretty limited. This seems like a reasonable accommodation to reality. There are some neighborhoods that do not want sidewalks. (My former neighborhood is among them - in fact it's in the deed covenants, IIRC.) It is a waste to require builders to install sidewalks on new builds in that neighborhood when they will never be connected to anything. Why not take that money and install additional sidewalks where they can provide further pedestrian connectivity. The draft ordinance from last year has the following allowed "excuses" (which, remember allows the builder/developer to pay to the city an amount approximately the same as he would otherwise have had to spend building sidewalks) - these may have been adjusted somewhat in this year's draft but probably not significantly): (1) construction of new single-family residential . . . ; AND it is on a lot that has not been part ofd a subdivision plat created after October 1, 2020; AND the lot fronts a local street that is not a walkable place street or TOD street; AND the lot is not a corner lot . . . ; AND the lot makes up 20% or less of the linear length of the blockface; AND the lot is on a blockface where no existing sidewalk is located or no existing sidewalk is located within 500 feet of the lot along the same blockface; AND there is no school located on the same block. OR (2) they can file under Section 40-561 which require an application, a sidewalk plan, a non-refundable fee, and documentation to support the request, after which the planning officials must give notice of the request to the district council member, each relevant neighborhood association, the sidewalk committee, and other entities as determined by the planning official. THEN, the sidewalk committee may approve the request IF construction of the sidewalk is infeasible due to existing physical conditions at the project site; OR construction of the sidewalk may create an unsafe condition or be otherwise contrary to sound public policy; OR there is an approved public street or sidewalk project at 60% or more of the design stage on the blockface; OR the required sidewalk construction . . . would adversely impact an approved public street project or other construction project by a governmental entity, political subdivision, transit authority, or local government corporation. And again, gaining this exclusion only allows them the ability to pay the approximate cost of building the sidewalks they would otherwise be required to build.

Thanks for your "contribution" to the conversation. 😉 When you show an interest in good-faith honest discussions, I'll engage with you. Until then, no. To be clear, I will continue to correct misinformation.

Any chance you can point to a source?

The proposed annexation will enable improvements to pedestrian infrastructure and flood mitigation at the SCI headquarters.

If it ever goes seriously downhill, I guess it could become a Ramada.

Exactly. And it's hard to imagine how it would work physically as well...

Yes, the Ritz-Carlton was one of the four to lose the Ritz-Carlton name in 1997. (It subsequently was sold to Sheraton, was re-uprgraded and became the Luxury Collection Hotel. Then after Starwood bought Sheraton they gave it the St Regis name. It was the third extension of the St. Regis brand beyond the original in Manhattan.) The hotel did not start off as a Ritz-Carlton. It was built in 1982 and was originally The Remington and was managed by Rosewood. It became a Ritz-Carlton in 1986.

So... I'm thinking you didn't understand the map. No worries. I'm happy to explain it for like people who like maybe didn't understand it. 😇 I-69 will be below grade at Cleburne. In the plan shown on the interactive map (which I believe is the current FEIS/ROD plan), the Cleburne crossing is eliminated. But it is not accurate to say Cleburne dead ends; Just a very minor detour. I recall reading about this when they made these changes earlier in the process, but don't recall the exact details. Something about the roadway geometry, maybe the I-69 roadway is not quite deep enough at that exact point... I'll see if I can dig out that information. But it's not as if Cleburne is a major thoroughfare.

Kimpton hotels are boutique hotels, not major conference hotels, a this is slated to be. (Kimpton hotels average a little less than 200 rooms. I don't know for sure, but I'd be surprised if there are any as large as 500 rooms.)