ricco67 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 how about a synopsis of the video before we blindly click on a link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Mayor Wants Central Park For HoustonConstruction Could Be Finished Within 3 YearsPOSTED: 5:33 pm CDT October 19, 2004UPDATED: 5:43 pm CDT October 19, 2004HOUSTON -- Houston will have its own version of New York's Central Park, if Mayor Bill White has his way, Local 2 reported Tuesday.The mayor outlined a proposal to purchase land in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston and turn it into a 13-acre Central Park."Most of the world's major cities have thought ahead and retained green space right in the heart of the city. And the city of Houston is doing the same," White said. "Today is an important day in our efforts to improve the quality of life for all citizens in Houston, Texas."The mayor said $35 million of donated private money and money earmarked for tourism would pay for the purchase."No property taxes will be involved in building this park. We want to keep the green -- the trees, the grass, the natural background, but we're not going to be into amateur park designing at the mayor's office. We're going to get world-class professionals to assist us," White said.The long-term plan could ultimately include waterfront living along Buffalo Bayou.If city council approves the proposal, construction could be finished within three years.Copyright 2004 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111486 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 how about a synopsis of the video before we blindly click on a link?<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Well, it has to do with the topic on hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I'll add another point to ricco's excellent post on the advantages of a subway line. The longest a train on the Red Line can be is two cars, due to the length of the downtown blocks. Longer trains would block intersections when the train stops.However, with a subway line, three car trains can be operated as demand increases.And of course there's the increased speed between stops in the subway.As for the flooding issue, let's not forget that much of the existing downtown tunnel system was not flooded during Allison. Yes there were problems, but the majority of the tunnels were not affected. And nobody's screaming "don't build it becuase it will flood!" whenever a downtown developer announces that they are building a new tunnel segment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I watched the video... From what I could see of the quickly flashed renderings, it looks as if that 1 block west of Crawford was not included in the park after all... The way KPRC kept comparing this little 13 acre park to NY's magnificent Central Park... that's going a bit overboard isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 When I initially watched the report and looked at it overall, I seriously thought what the big fuss was about. It would be nice to have a park that close to the city where it can be accessed by people just hopping on a bus or walking from their downtown lofts, but to compare it to Central Park in NYC is like calling the neighborhood of montrose into a major metropolitan city. Ricco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Neither of the auto tunnels that were built beneath the Houston Ship Channel ever flooded (except for when the first one was flooded on purpose). Why would a subway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 Good column about the park from Ms Sarnoff.Oct. 30, 2004, 4:51PMTime will tell if park is really a catalystMayor's plan to add public space downtown draws mixed reviewsBy NANCY SARNOFFCopyright 2004 Houston ChronicleSome folks in Houston are scratching their heads over Mayor Bill White's recent announcement to spend millions of dollars developing an urban park in downtown Houston.At a conference held earlier this month on downtown development, White revealed his plans for a 13-acre park near the George R. Brown Convention Center, the Toyota Center and Minute Maid Park.He said the park would trigger an "explosion" of retail and residential projects, strengthening the city's property tax base.But will a park in front of the convention center really make that happen?Something magic?"I don't think there's any magic one thing that we can do," said Leon Davis of Davis Bros., a real estate, oil and gas and venture-capital firm. It would be smart to look at the people who actually use downtown parks here.Take Tranquillity Park, or the one in Market Square. Sure, you see people walking through those parks during the course of any day, but they're usually using them as short cuts to get from one place to the next as quickly as possible.It's often too hot or toorainy to spend much time in a park that offers little more than green grass, a few benchesand a fountain or two.And how can the park be kept from becoming a refuge for the homeless?"You'd have to have the police there making sure people aren't using it as a place to live," said Andrew Segal of Boxer Property, a real estate firm.More than just grassPerhaps these reasons explain why the private donors contributing to the new downtown park have hiredthe head of one of New York City's most successful parks to be an adviser on the Houston project. Daniel Biederman, executive director of Bryant Park in the Big Apple, was in town for the mayor's announcement.He said the key to a successful park is to offer more than public green space.Bryant Park, for example, draws thousands of visitors each day with chess tables, a reading room, a French-style carousel, 25,000 varieties of flowers, free wireless Internet access and restaurant pavilions.The park draws not just families, but single folks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricco67 Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 I walked the area where the proposed park is supposed to be at, and I'm not entirely sure it's big enough to hold a small festival and/or be able to handle enough trees/variety of terrain to make it interesting. This is going to sound a bit nerdy, but I would LOVE to have a place where chess players can just setup a board and wait for competition. It can either be in the form of tables/benches or semi-life-sized pieces. (think Mel brooks...I'll leave it at that)Ricco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtown_resident Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 I like the comparison of Bryant Park in NYC as it's far more appropriate than Central Park - I too surveyed the area and agree that it's size is limiting the projects scope. However, starting small is a good idea as well. Downtown Houston is not that big. Developing a green pocket which truly functions as a gathering space will be a great accomplishment.The key is seeing the project through - a task that Houston fails at so often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 But who is going to use a park that is surrounded by parking lots and a big, inhuman convention center? Who's going to walk over there and play chess? And who's going to build a residential tower on the ugly side of downtown just because there's a park at the bottom that nobody uses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Things change.Five or six years ago, who would build a house east of Taft? or east of Main St.? Or in Midtown? And now those neighborhoods are booming. Freeman's Town in the Fourth Ward has nearly disappeared under Perry homes, and residents of the Third Ward are getting nervous. As has been seen in Midtown, the time to buy parkland is when the opportunity presents itself. If only the city had bought the Superblock ten years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtown_resident Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 H-Town Man...that will likely be a challenge no matter where it's built. I do believe that the evolution of the downtown/midtown/neartown area will take us in a direction where these public spaces get the appropriate use they've been developed for...and not the homeless shelters that they tend to become. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talbot Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 It isn't much info, but:Downtown park gets green light05:37 PM CST on Wednesday, December 1, 2004From 11 News Staff Reports Houston's city council has given a green light to more green space downtown. The city government will spend $8 million dollars to buy the so-called superblock in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. And a new, quasi-government corporation will receive $750,000 taxpayer dollars a year for developing and maintaining that new downtown park. But some councilmembers criticized the plan questioning its cost and arguing the city first needs to open parks in other neighborhoods.Hopefully they can maintain the park properly without putting tax payers money to waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Is this the same as the "big park" announced a few weeks back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssullivan Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Yes. Same project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 So now it's a "Super Block"? How cheezy. This project is a waste of City funds. We could have done much better than this. A Super Block near the GRB is going to do about as for downtown as Minute Maid Park did.This "if you build it, they will come" philosophy has to stop. How about developing something where underserved people actually live?Is that too much to ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2112 Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 So now it's a "Super Block"? How cheezy. This project is a waste of City funds. We could have done much better than this. A Super Block near the GRB is going to do about as for downtown as Minute Maid Park did.This "if you build it, they will come" philosophy has to stop. How about developing something where underserved people actually live?Is that too much to ask?<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Well, sometimes it does work. They built Bayou Place and Rice Apartments, and the DID come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Great. Another place for the homeless to loiter. That's EXACTLY what we need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Dallas Business JournalMonday, December 20, 2004 Crescent completes Houston saleCrescent Real Estate Equities Co. has finalized the sale of 5.3 acres of land to the city of Houston. The sale, which was disclosed as being under contract on Oct. 19, generated proceeds of about $23 million, Fort Worth-based Crescent (NYSE:CEI) said Monday. The land is adjacent to the 5.5 acres located in front of downtown's George R. Brown Convention Center that Crescent sold to the city at the end of 2002. The land allows the city to consolidate its land in order to develop a 13-acre urban park. Crescent owns and manages a portfolio of more than 70 office buildings totaling more than 29 million square feet primarily in the Southwest. Web site: www.crescent.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted December 23, 2004 Share Posted December 23, 2004 Great. Yet another place for the homeless to congregate... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw2ntyse7en Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 Great. Yet another place for the homeless to congregate...Does the negative of that outweigh the postive aspects of a new public park? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw2ntyse7en Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 Hmm..Maybe I can jack the prices up on the boxes that hold all of our Christmas gifts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 Only if HPD allows it.. Glen <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Why not? They already allow it everywhere else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 It will be at least interesting to watch how the city handles the likely large hobo population once this park is finished, as it is being created, as I see it, at least in part, to be an image enhancer for the city. It could be the prime litmus test for Houston's unofficial hobo policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squatterkid Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 y'all are complaining about a new park? Like it or not, homeless people exist. It must be hard to see with your nose that high in the air. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 Maybe we need to build a nice shelter like Austin did, then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwright1 Posted December 25, 2004 Share Posted December 25, 2004 This is excellent news. Downtown Houston needs a nice park and what a perfect location. Any renderings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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