COMMENT OF THE DAY: WRAP KNAPP WITH VELVET ROPE LINES “Good riddance! This landmark has for too long stood in the way of shiny-shirt progress. Think of how many bars with names like ‘Elite,’ ‘Wealth,’ or ‘Entitled’ you could fit on that property! For my money, I might just have to call [it] the Bourgeoises, in honor of the now defunct Proletariat. And by ‘in honor of’ I mean ‘urinating upon the memory of.’†[Nord, commenting on GM Wants To Take Away Knapp]
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE HAVE ALL THE CURSES GONE? “Cursed restaurant locations are a fun game! It’s probably due to feng shui. The old Hard Rock Cafe/Fire + Ice. Pizzeria Uno/Corelli’s/Floridita/Tommy Bahama/Sushi King. Sausalito/Palazzo’s/Pan Y Agua/some wine bar. Serrano’s/Los Tonyo’s/Fox Diner/Crome/Pravada. Renata’s/Hessni’s/Side Street Brewing/Mia Bella” [iMidget, commenting on Do Not Resuscitate; Move to Harwin]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: SURE, BUT WOULD WE GET TO DEMOLISH THAT, TOO? “There are more than just two options (that we relocate the facade and strip it of its artistic integrity, or that we demolish it). For the price of meticulously deconstructing it, storing it indefinitely, and ultimately (maybe) reconstructing it, we could commit contemporary design principles (to modern building materials, as they should be) to designing a completely new artistic expression, one that is neither a half-hearted attempt at some ill-defined goal or that sullies the meaning or memory of Sterling Laundry, but which has a purpose that is an end in itself.” [TheNiche, commenting on Saving Time on the East End Line: Sterling Laundry and Long-Term Storage]
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: (DON’T FEAR) THE SCULPTURE “More gargoyle!” [wilf, commenting on Piney Point Village Megamansion: Now $10 Million Off!]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL “Well, I don’t know if this is staged or what, but I teach 7th grade English and my students have had a BLAST writing a descriptive paper about this apartment! They were in major gross-out mode…I got lots of good adjectives out of them!” [Clare, commenting on Inside the Messiest Apartment in Houston. Ever.]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE AGE OF APPRECIATION “[In] my humble observances, I have noticed that the new construction only maintains plateau value or loses it while the older homes in the area gain. Sure, many homes may be sold for lot value, but if you buy a 60 year old home vs a 5-10 year old home, the difference is relative. (See low-end River Oaks, West U, Bellaire, Heights, Braeswood, etc). In the Heights, the kept-up bungalows outpace the new-builds (on a square-footage basis) by far. They also sell in a few days (with many offers) vs months.” [justguessin, commenting on Swamplot Price Adjuster: $2 Million Plus In Town]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: CUE THE WILSHIRE VILLAGE SALE AND REDEVELOPMENT RUMORS “I heard (not joking) that KB homes (I think, or another home builder) was looking at this site for a new style of very small and relatively inexpensive 1,000 sf-ish single family hyomes on very small lots. The [target] pricepoint was about $150k I believe.” [Charlie, commenting on Boyd’s Wilshire Village Prayer, with Photos]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT’S THE PLAN? “. . . It would be nice if someone would come up with a ‘master plan’ for these areas of unrestricted land and at least ask the developers to work within that plan. I suspect if some had been a little nicer the developers of 1717 Bissonnet might have been nicer as well. They did buy the land in good faith as they say. They were not legally obligated, nor are they, to get anyone’s permission to build whatever they wanted to build beyond meeting the requirements of city code. There was also no indication on the part of the city or anyone else what was “desired†for that area. As it stands, it’s a hodgepodge of multi-family and commercial. Neither of which fits the definition of ‘single-family’ which seems attached to every argument made against 1717 Bissonnet. I’m not sure you can have a perfect plan but someone needs to at least attempt some sort of plan for future development in Midtown and the Museum District and Montrose and the Heights and of course Galleria which at this point is at critical mass in terms of traffic. . . . We don’t have zoning but we do have unrestricted land. Which is the same thing when you think about it. No one thought about possibly restricting the unrestricted land until the plan for 1717 Bissonnet was announced. . . . The problem here should have been addressed a long time ago. As for urban planning, it should have happened yesterday. Hopefully tomorrow the next mayor will make some sort of ‘master plan’ a priority for these unrestricted areas and we will have something developers and neighborhoods can work with. . . .” [Matt, commenting on Comment of the Day: Missing That High-Density High Density]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MISSING THAT HIGH-DENSITY HIGH DENSITY “Houston has a lot of high-density *potential*. Unfortunately it isn’t developing out that way. Instead, high-density developments [are] being put in low-density areas. Which makes them pockets of density without the benefits. West Ave., Regent Square, and the infamous Ashby Highrise are all examples. For urban density to work, it must reach a ‘critial mass’ of proximity, diversity of commerce, employment, and on-the-spot residences all within walking distance. Put the three developements above near each other, and near downtown, and you’d have a true move toward urbanism. Alone, none are big enough to be self-sustaining as a true urban lifestyle. Putting them in lower-density areas and residential neighborhoods dilutes the effect, greatly reduces the benefits of density, and causes a lot more strain on infrastructure this isn’t adequate for the density. If Houston want’s to become a true urban city, it won’t happen in the disjunctive manner we’re currently seeing. Our current path will only lead to those that want traditional neighborhoods upset with large-scale develpers and those that want true urbanism not getting it either.” [Dave McC, commenting on Boyd’s Wilshire Village Prayer, with Photos]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ENGULFED! “In a century or two, Houston will be underwater.” [markd, commenting on Comment of the Day: Where the Skyscrapers Will Be Built]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE THE SKYSCRAPERS WILL BE BUILT “. . . in a century or two, Houston will be very densely populated. . . . I think Houston is relatively lucky to have street grids across most parts of the city, as opposed to the suburban lollipops in, say, Pearland’s newer subdivisions. When the skyscrapers come — and they will — then Houston’s grids will handle the load better than the lollipops would; and if worse comes to worse, old blocks can be razed for new streets, or our existing streets can be turned into one-way, so that for example you might have Bellaire and Westheimer only go westbound, and Richmond and San Felipe only eastbound (or vice versa).” [J.V., commenting on City to Ashby Highrise: Yes You Can!]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: AFTER THE ASHBY HIGHRISE “. . . My take on it is that this building MIGHT NOT be too bad, once the teeth-on-edge construction period is finished. (And I seem to be the only person who thinks the construction hassles should even matter to anyone. Big crane delivery and setup on Bissonnet, anyone?) But since there seems to be no legal way to stop this one, you can be sure that there will be some serious efforts to put rules in place to prevent any more. My own tongue-in-cheek explanation for why the neighborhood was so taken by surprise is that no-one ever thought for a minute that it made any kind of sense to build a high-rise on Bissonnet, for goodness sake.” [marmer, commenting on City to Ashby Highrise: Yes You Can!]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: I WAS A SCHMUCK FOR MICHAEL B. SMUCK “. . . We, as managers, were forced to lie to residents about repairs as no company would sell us supplies. We had numerous occassions where trash service and water were stopped due to non-paynment. New residents were moved into dirty apartments with shoddy repairs, old uncleaned carpet and were expected to deal with it. All ‘extras’ tenents had come to expect were discontinued when MBS took over. I was also employed when our christmas paychecks bounced, although it didn’t happen at all properties. Forget a refund on your deposit as well. Even if the apartment was left in perfect condition we were forcefully told to find something to charge them for to keep all their money. Keep in mind all of what I experienced happened before Katrina — I was long gone by then. Working for those people made me leave the apartment industry for good.” [Laura, commenting on The Lodge at Baybrook: Smuck Survivor]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE HOUSTON FLOOD HOUSE “. . . Lifting every flood-threatened home one story would solve so many problems – where to park the cars, where to store the trash can, where to house the nanny, where to store the wine (doesn’t everybody have these problems?) Just like old-time Louisiana homes. (Anyone been to Laura Plantation?) A while back there was discussion on Swamplot concerning a prototypical or traditional Houston architecture type. I think it should be dog-trot style, with roof-top garden, and raised on gulf-coast-style columns.” [movocelot, commenting on From Show House to Wet House to No House: Saying Goodbye the MacGregor Way]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE TO SEND THAT NEW TRAVEL TRAILER FOR ITS SHAKEDOWN CRUISE “The question I have is whether or not it’d survive the conditions at Burning Man.” [‘stina, commenting on Faro Out Extra-Vehicle Activity: Cricket Trailer Prototype Hits the Streets]