H-Town Man Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 8 hours ago, bobruss said: It would be beneficial for the future of the neighborhood if they could repurpose as many of the early 30's-60's era buildings still standing, especially ones with good bones, within reason. I'm not suggesting that anyone has to do this, but if they want a successful area it needs to feel good. Those efforts would provide space for retail, and other conveniences while enhancing the public realm. The idea is to hopefully create an environment that people enjoy living, working and playing in. Diversity of architecture mixing old and new are all important ingredients, and hopefully most developers understand the important role they play. Of course smart landscaping, lighting, signage and safe sidewalks are all important pieces to the puzzle. As an example... A recent Friday night in a great little neighborhood. Stepped off the train, at a very busy Ensemble Station and headed across the street, to Match, the new Lake Flato, arts venue, to catch an early lecture. Besides the lecture there was also a performance in one of the theaters. Afterwards, we detoured west to Holmans on Milam, for a quick cocktail on their patio, then headed back over to Main Street, where we turned south for a little food and fun. We worked our way down the next four blocks of retail and entertainment, while trying to decide what kind of food to try with so many new options and old reliables. Mid Main, and its row of expanding retail spaces, is the brand new mixed use apartment complex which spans a block and a half and is right in the heart of Ensemble Station. We stop for a beer at Natchatee, a little hamburger joint with music, and an interesting art collection including a great Art Guys piece. It's a little repurposed bungalow, that sits just south of Mid Main and it's the first of the bohemian section which has developed over the years around the Continental club. Just across Main street lies the Ensemble Theater, a mainstay and the only thing in the area for ever. After sticking our heads in some of the eclectic shops, we hurry past The Continental Club and Tacos A Go Go and back across Main Street, just south of Alabama, for an art exhibition at Inman gallery, one of several galleries with exhibitions that night, which are housed in the ground floor of Isabella Court, probably one of the coolest early Houston apartment buildings, with a most remarkable courtyard. We meet up with our friend, and he gives us a quick tour of his new apartment. Afterwards we all head back to catch the late show at Continental Club. This bohemian, neighborhood spans possibly four or five blocks on both sides of Main and Milam and packs a wallop and the great thing was,we never had to get in our car. We ended up for some late night spring rolls at Mai's. Had a nightcap across from Continental club After finishing off a couple Ice coffees, we connect with our Uber driver and head home. We had so much fun, with so much to see and do all in one little neighborhood in Midtown. What a great night. Now that's what a great neighborhood can offer. But you can't tear down all of the old just to put up a lot of cold slick steel and glass, mixed use development and get the same funky feel you get in the heart of Midtown. Its the fabric that makes the difference. Good point and great description. As Jane Jacobs said, older buildings are essential in urban neighborhoods because they have the lower rents that allow mom and pop businesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chi-Char-Hou-Dal Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 There are some great old buildings still hiding out in Midtown on the East side of Main Street. Hopefully as the Aussie's tower goes up , they will be re purposed from urine stained sleeping sidewalks to more of what you have described. Great prose by the way. I feel like I was there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonMan Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 I haven’t heard of the 600 unit PMRG tower rumor. What is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 1 hour ago, MarathonMan said: I haven’t heard of the 600 unit PMRG tower rumor. What is that? It appeared on another developer's list of projects and was posted somewhere on these pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 It came from this New Development Map that was referenced in another thread https://www.berkadia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Q2-2018-New-Development-Maps_Houston-FINAL.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyt36 Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 18 hours ago, bobruss said: It would be beneficial for the future of the neighborhood if they could repurpose as many of the early 30's-60's era buildings still standing, especially ones with good bones, within reason. I'm not suggesting that anyone has to do this, but if they want a successful area it needs to feel good. Those efforts would provide space for retail, and other conveniences while enhancing the public realm. The idea is to hopefully create an environment that people enjoy living, working and playing in. Diversity of architecture mixing old and new are all important ingredients, and hopefully most developers understand the important role they play. Of course smart landscaping, lighting, signage and safe sidewalks are all important pieces to the puzzle. As an example... A recent Friday night in a great little neighborhood. Stepped off the train, at a very busy Ensemble Station and headed across the street, to Match, the new Lake Flato, arts venue, to catch an early lecture. Besides the lecture there was also a performance in one of the theaters. Afterwards, we detoured west to Holmans on Milam, for a quick cocktail on their patio, then headed back over to Main Street, where we turned south for a little food and fun. We worked our way down the next four blocks of retail and entertainment, while trying to decide what kind of food to try with so many new options and old reliables. Mid Main, and its row of expanding retail spaces, is the brand new mixed use apartment complex which spans a block and a half and is right in the heart of Ensemble Station. We stop for a beer at Natchatee, a little hamburger joint with music, and an interesting art collection including a great Art Guys piece. It's a little repurposed bungalow, that sits just south of Mid Main and it's the first of the bohemian section which has developed over the years around the Continental club. Just across Main street lies the Ensemble Theater, a mainstay and the only thing in the area for ever. After sticking our heads in some of the eclectic shops, we hurry past The Continental Club and Tacos A Go Go and back across Main Street, just south of Alabama, for an art exhibition at Inman gallery, one of several galleries with exhibitions that night, which are housed in the ground floor of Isabella Court, probably one of the coolest early Houston apartment buildings, with a most remarkable courtyard. We meet up with our friend, and he gives us a quick tour of his new apartment. Afterwards we all head back to catch the late show at Continental Club. This bohemian, neighborhood spans possibly four or five blocks on both sides of Main and Milam and packs a wallop and the great thing was,we never had to get in our car. We ended up for some late night spring rolls at Mai's. Had a nightcap across from Continental club After finishing off a couple Ice coffees, we connect with our Uber driver and head home. We had so much fun, with so much to see and do all in one little neighborhood in Midtown. What a great night. Now that's what a great neighborhood can offer. But you can't tear down all of the old just to put up a lot of cold slick steel and glass, mixed use development and get the same funky feel you get in the heart of Midtown. Its the fabric that makes the difference. In my opinion the width of the streets in Midtown really work against any neighborhood feeling—the narrower streets on the east side work so much better. If the main arterials could be reconfigured a la Bagby, it’d help a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 I agree that they're too wide. That would be great. I don't know if they plan on continuing the north south streets like Bagby and soon to be Caroline.The federal govt. had all of the north south streets completely rebuilt with new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping just 18 years ago so I doubt they would want to give us more money to take lanes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyt36 Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 35 minutes ago, bobruss said: I agree that they're too wide. That would be great. I don't know if they plan on continuing the north south streets like Bagby and soon to be Caroline.The federal govt. had all of the north south streets completely rebuilt with new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping just 18 years ago so I doubt they would want to give us more money to take lanes out. 35 minutes ago, bobruss said: I agree that they're too wide. That would be great. I don't know if they plan on continuing the north south streets like Bagby and soon to be Caroline.The federal govt. had all of the north south streets completely rebuilt with new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping just 18 years ago so I doubt they would want to give us more money to take lanes out. Any chance the 45/59 realignment will reduce the Midtown drive-through traffic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triton Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 8 hours ago, Houston19514 said: It came from this New Development Map that was referenced in another thread https://www.berkadia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Q2-2018-New-Development-Maps_Houston-FINAL.pdf I realize they're giving a specific address here but considering that they don't list the other two towers that Caydon has planned here, it seems more reasonable that those 600 units are spread out across all three towers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angostura Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 Individual buildings aside, for the purposes of neighborhood feel, I think the distinction between old and new is less important than the distinction between fine-grained and course-grained. By fine-grained, I mean places like the northern end of Main St downtown, the good parts of 19th St, or the area around Natachee's and the Continental Club, where each tenant/owner occupies only a fraction of the block face. So every ten steps or so, you're passing by something different. Course-grained, on the other hand, is when a single use (apartment building, office tower, parking garage, CVS) takes up an entire block face. There's so little good fine-grained development in Houston, it's important to preserve what we have and encourage more. Fine-grained correlates with older buildings, and course-grained with newer development (there are a number of reasons for this, including complexity of regulations, setbacks, parking rules, availability of financing, etc.), but I would give up an old-coarse-grained block for a new fine-grained block with very little hesitation. Back to the topic of the thread: what I like about the "tower on a podium" development style is that you get the feel of a midrise building from the street level, but the density of a high-rise. And if done well, by keeping the laneways narrow and including well-done GFR, you can even get some faux-fine-grained development. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoric Posted August 10, 2018 Share Posted August 10, 2018 (edited) - Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diaspora Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 This thread has some great suggestions regarding Midtown that align with a number of efforts underway. The entirety of Midtown is currently working with COH Plannning & Development to address/change ordinances to encourage some of the very things I'm reading above, here. If you have the time and interest P&D has the final public workshop for the Walkable Places Pilot Project on September 6, 2018 at Trinity Episcopal (Main Street entrance) from 4:00 to 6:00. https://www.facebook.com/events/241468949940281/ Mark your calendar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angostura Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 17 hours ago, Diaspora said: This thread has some great suggestions regarding Midtown that align with a number of efforts underway. The entirety of Midtown is currently working with COH Plannning & Development to address/change ordinances to encourage some of the very things I'm reading above, here. If you have the time and interest P&D has the final public workshop for the Walkable Places Pilot Project on September 6, 2018 at Trinity Episcopal (Main Street entrance) from 4:00 to 6:00. https://www.facebook.com/events/241468949940281/ Mark your calendar. There was talk of extending the area exempt from parking minimums all the way to 59 on the south and the spur on the west. Did this make it into the final recommendation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diaspora Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 Many times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted August 14, 2018 Share Posted August 14, 2018 On 8/9/2018 at 11:08 PM, Triton said: I realize they're giving a specific address here but considering that they don't list the other two towers that Caydon has planned here, it seems more reasonable that those 600 units are spread out across all three towers. But it's a different developer. Caydon is not PM Realty Group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corbs315 Posted August 16, 2018 Share Posted August 16, 2018 Did they buy the Art Supply building? It's on the platting agenda this week as moving to Almeda and Oakdale. Quote e. A down-sized version of The Art Supply at 2711 Main Street will be relocated to the proposed site resulting in a smaller area building, while maintaining the same mixture of uses of their current store, including art studios and living spaces. Like the current location on Main Street, they intend to create a building that will be attractive to those driving or walking. Quote (5) Economic hardship is not the sole justification of the variance. Economic hardship is not the justification of this variance. The justification for this variance is the need and desire of the developers to provide a pedestrian, eyes-on-the-street, safe, and visually active addition to the Almeda corridor. The irony of this proposal is that the conditions at the current location on Main Street have created an economic hardship forcing the move from Main Street to this site on Almeda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDierker Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoric Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 (edited) - Edited July 12, 2019 by Timoric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 2 hours ago, Timoric said: What is up with the Billboards in Houston, are they grandfathered in to only keep the old ones or they still putting up new ones? They used to be such an eyesore when I lived off I-45 back in the day Only keep the old ones. Occasionally some are taken down under a complicated legal agreement that no newspaper article I've read has adequately explained. But the ones on interstates are more protected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanize713 Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 So when I-45 is rerouted this one goes away for two reasons? No longer on an Interstate and not really business viable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstontexasjack Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 38 minutes ago, urbanize713 said: So when I-45 is rerouted this one goes away for two reasons? No longer on an Interstate and not really business viable? Whatever the nature of the agreement allowing for the billboard on the underlying land (lease or easement), it's a fair bet the fee owner of the property should be able to reach a deal to buy that out in order to develop the land after this portion of the freeway is demolished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 im sure that billboard wont survive the removal of pierce elevated... no one would see it. currently its money because the traffic is backed up and can easily view this bad boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diaspora Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 At this point the Pierce is being "decommissioned" -- while these are early days, "demolished" and "removal" are not on the agenda alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I think they have some sort of clause that allows them to replace in a different location when something like the moving of a freeway occurs. The billboard lobby is pretty strong and they fight the removal of billboards tooth and nail. Many years ago there was an ordinance to get rid of inner loop billboards after a certain amount of time but I'm not sure whatever happened and if its still in affect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angostura Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 AKAIK, where CoH holds sway, they've mostly been removed. Where TXDOT has jurisdiction, they're allowed to stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 I always get sidetracked when going up S. Main towards Midtown. I stop at all the TMC projects first which takes an hour. Probably heading toward Caydon here shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Picture day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoustonIsHome Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 I'm loving it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillip_white Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 https://skyrisecities.com/news/2018/08/district-transform-three-block-site-midtown-houston Renderings are out again. This article is stating two highrises bookending a podium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinsanity02 Posted August 19, 2018 Share Posted August 19, 2018 15 minutes ago, phillip_white said: https://skyrisecities.com/news/2018/08/district-transform-three-block-site-midtown-houston Renderings are out again. This article is stating two highrises bookending a podium. Good Job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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