Hanover Autry Park: Mixed-Use At Allen Parkway & W. Dallas St.

[Amlaham]

8 minutes ago, shasta said:

Walked around Autry Park Saturday Evening.

The weather was perfect..yet, the park and place was a ghost town.

MF Lobster was empty.

The boot store, which was an odd choice to begin with, was vacated.

The clothing store has a sign "Appointments Only" so they don't even have set hours any more.

What is that Urban concepts cannot work in Houston?

I thought Autry Park had a much better shot than Regent Square but I guess not.

Is it the retail/restaurant selection?

Would a popular coffee shop or a pizza parlor create more urban synergy than a $100 a plate restaurant?

I still have hope that Autry Park + Regent Square will tun into an urban neighborhood.

Mexican Sugar appears to be a good choice for RS IF it is a Pappasitos/Lupe Tortilla priced type of  restaurant and NOT a Hugos priced type of restaurant.

Both developments feature an Ice Cream spot and for Regent Square, the Flight Club is still a success.

What does these developments need to do the create Urban Synergy...are Houstonians really that anti-urban?

 

 

It doesn't have anything to do with being urban, its all about the selection of stores here. Price point could possibly be an issue but then look at the ROD and the Montrose Collective, they're always busy and those are thee most urban developments in Houston IMO. The POST is also jam packed almost every day. This development is beautiful but I wouldn't highlight its "urban concept" just yet. The site currently only has 4 very expensive restaurants (2 of which don't even open until 5pm), 1 ice cream shop, 1 clothing boutique, and 1 store that exclusively sells western boots (very niche). So if you're going there on a Saturday afternoon and don't want to buy western boots or eat ice cream, there no reason for anyone to stroll around here. 

Another example is the MKT (I know its not too urban), but its always packed, everyone is lounging around because there is so many options. 

Everyone I know and specifically the young generation is dying to have more walkable urban communities, but this development does not cater to everyone 🤷‍♂️ and thats ok, but its not because urban concepts doesn't work in Houston, its because you have an extremely small selection of expensive places that are open a few hours a day. 

The same could be said about regent square, no one is going to stroll around closed businesses with nothing to do. 

 

Side note, when Autry park does their Farmers market, it draws a huge crowd!

[Renaissance1999]

Selection of stores is really important as well as having walkability and public space like a square. Autry Park for now seems to be designed for residents to enjoy as it doesn't have a big public gathering place like Sugar Land Town Center, City Centre in Memorial, or La Centera in Katy. These places always have people walking around and enjoying the open squares almost all the time. Autry Park doesn't have the space for that so I wouldn't be surprised to see it empty most of the time. These days coffee shops are driving peoples attraction so hopefully they add one soon.

[freundb]

Give me POST or MKT type developments with apartments above them all day. Every time I come back from Chicago I'm sad I can no longer walk around to different hot spots. Hopefully Autry Park will gain some traction here, and more walkable developments pop up.