HoustonIsHome Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Because it's nasty, lifeless and brings down the neighborhood. Let it go!Let what go? It is none of that. And why would a functional department store bring down a neighborhood, that is basically, a church, barber school, an okay looking apartment building, Fiesta, jack in the box, some parking lots, and a plethora of homeless people? If you ask me, Sears and Fiesta are currently the best things in that part of midtown right now. I wish Sears the best, I really do, but prognosis is still bad at this point. She has lived through worse, she will hang on for some more years 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trymahjong Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) HmmmmmmI think there are plenty of wealthy Montrosians DIYers who would be very disappointed that the Sears Craftsmen tool department was taken away. It's always crowded down there. How do I know these people have money? Well I'm only guessing but there always seems to be a couple of Mercedes or BMW's when I shop there. Edited May 23, 2015 by trymahjong 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 William Marsh Rice owned the land, willed it to Rice University. Sears has a 50 year lease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Honestly, if there are people salivating for Sears' closure and demolition, they probably hate the Fiesta too, especially once Whole Foods gets up and running. Between Randalls and WFM, who needs Fiesta? [/Midtown yuppie] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonIsHome Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Well no one "needs" any particular store, but Fiesta is much cheaper than whole foods and provides items that WFs do not.Closing Fiesta because Whole Foods opens is like shutting down a Taco Cabana because Red Lobster is opening a mile away 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txn4art Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 William Marsh Rice owned the land, willed it to Rice University. Sears has a 50 year lease.  Sears has been there more than 50 years. When was the lease renewed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 (edited) William Marsh Rice owned the land, willed it to Rice University. Sears has a 50 year lease.  Then why does the County show it as being owned by Sears?  We keep seeing people make this statement about Rice owning the property but nobody has ever come up with any actual evidence of it.  Meanwhile the county records say Sears owns the property.  This Rice ownership seems like an urban legend. Edited May 23, 2015 by Houston19514 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Sears has been there more than 50 years. When was the lease renewed?  Yeah, Sears has been there for 75 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 Well no one "needs" any particular store, but Fiesta is much cheaper than whole foods and provides items that WFs do not.Closing Fiesta because Whole Foods opens is like shutting down a Taco Cabana because Red Lobster is opening a mile awayThe last sentence was supposed to be sarcasm, though sadly I'm sure there are some in Midtown who actually feel that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NenaE Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 (edited) http://www.houstondeco.org/1930s/sears.html I stand corrected... Rice University now owns the land. link/ web site was year 2014.  Cite 67 has a nice article on the building, as well. Says the original structure was built with a granite exterior, backed with concrete on the bottom floor, stucco exterior for the second floor. Edited May 24, 2015 by NenaE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 http://www.houstondeco.org/1930s/sears.htmlI stand corrected... Rice University now owns the land. link/ web site was year 2014. Cite 67 has a nice article on the building, as well. Says the original structure was built with a granite exterior, backed with concrete on the bottom floor, stucco exterior for the second floor.That's the website where the rumor started (though with the new REIT Sears spun off recently, not 100% sure). I know for a fact that they also own(ed) the land that Fiesta sits on, newspaper archives mention that it was developed as a sort of supermarket component of Sears, with the main store getting an interior facelift during that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrLan34 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 https://www.surgehomes.com/blog/surge-homes-develops-homes-near-new-midtown-park?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20999997&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--DtuBky1NfyJGmVCcaBjJsb5ruyFzIbs5Xl2T5dgjxmCFDSazwLhL3dHYv0-sSMKkLnWIAM6ourW-FCSeKxilFolk0rQ&_hsmi=20999997 For residents of 4001 Main Street—which will offer new condominiums priced from $139,000 to $809,000—Midtown Park is an 11-minute walk. Main Street residents will also have the option of taking the tramway, which passes right along Surge Homes’ Main Street community. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 https://www.surgehomes.com/blog/surge-homes-develops-homes-near-new-midtown-park?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20999997&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--DtuBky1NfyJGmVCcaBjJsb5ruyFzIbs5Xl2T5dgjxmCFDSazwLhL3dHYv0-sSMKkLnWIAM6ourW-FCSeKxilFolk0rQ&_hsmi=20999997For residents of 4001 Main Street—which will offer new condominiums priced from $139,000 to $809,000—Midtown Park is an 11-minute walk. Main Street residents will also have the option of taking the tramway, which passes right along Surge Homes’ Main Street community.That press release is dated July 9th and makes the statement that "construction is underway." Are there viable signs of that at the site? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstontexasjack Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I think this marks the first time I have ever heard of the light rail referred to as a 'tramway.' Not sure how I feel about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I call it a tram all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Glad I'm not the only one that found the term "tramway" odd.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 From my experience, our friends across the pond refer to light rail as "trams" 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 It's actually a pretty common term. People in L.A. use it all the time. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luminare Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Our lightrail is used more like a tram. Looking at this tracker link that I've posted before. Our lightrail is actually listed as a "tram". http://tracker.geops.ch/?z=14&s=1&x=-8235743.4976&y=4971840.9526&l=transport Trams are easy access rail lines that are right there on the street rather than elevated or segregated from the urban context. This is why it labels Dallas's lightrail as "lightrail" rather than a "tram" because its more divorced from the urban context (which works for dallas SO PLEASE LETS LEAVE DALLAS THERE AND NOT FLAME WAR) while our lightrail functions as a tram since its regulated by the streets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 I always viewed a tram as the little caravan shuttles in the parking lots at places like Disney World..? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Yeah a tram is what Lumi said, and like I said early, a lot of people I know (which is a useless tool for measuring a population, I'm aware of this) say "tram" rather than light rail or train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Has construction started on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Huge Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Nada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surge Homes Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 @Triton, thanks for your interest in the site.   Sorry for any confusion.  We stated that construction has begun on Midtown Park, not our site.   Construction has begun for our site nearby, Parc at Midtown located at 2801 Crawford Street. This site was the preferred choice for our VIPs for Midtown. Our site on 4001 Main will be developed at a later date according to interest expressed by our VIPs and we will announce a construction date for it in the Spring of 2016. Our first phase of development currently underway includes Parc at Midtown, Upper Richton, and Museum BLVD.  1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbannizer Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015  @Triton, thanks for your interest in the site.   Sorry for any confusion.  We stated that construction has begun on Midtown Park, not our site.   Construction has begun for our site nearby, Parc at Midtown located at 2801 Crawford Street. This site was the preferred choice for our VIPs for Midtown. Our site on 4001 Main will be developed at a later date according to interest expressed by our VIPs and we will announce a construction date for it in the Spring of 2016. Our first phase of development currently underway includes Parc at Midtown, Upper Richton, and Museum BLVD.    Is 103 N. Jackson still being planned? There's no longer any mention of this project on your site. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astros148 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Sears is in a dump, with its earnings report in the dumpster and the announcement of closing more then 50 stores. This spot has no chance of surviving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonIsHome Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Glad to see people still cheerleading the loss of retail in a burgeoning neighborhood, that for now has an abundance of empty lots/ under used space. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbs315 Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I agree, but midtown is such an anomaly.  Honestly, I've attended the church across the street for 30 years (I'm 30), and I have never set foot in that Sears.  And I now live in midtown. I'm not sure what kind of retail could replace it and Fiesta or what kind of retail would want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasota Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Why does anything need to replace Fiesta? Is Fiesta going somewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moore713 Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 It not fancy, even though it has a nice section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.