COMMENT OF THE DAY: KICK BACK, RELAX, AND ENJOY THE BUST 
“Downturn or not, Houston was so lacking in new development, ALL of what is getting built needed to be built . . . we were sooooooo far behind. The building boom allowed Houston to catch up to where it should have been — so these other delays/cancels are good for now. The pent-up demand will fill up what’s already in the works, and the delays/cancels can get after it at another time. What Houston has developed in the last several years has transformed the city, for the better. During the slowdown, we can catch our breathe and savor/enjoy the successes of the recent boom, and regroup and prepare for the next great haul.” [TXT, commenting on The University of Texas ‘Invasion’; Houston’s Hottest Neighborhoods] Illustration: Lulu
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Agree we needed the development but now it’s perhaps time to focus on neighborhood infrastructure needs as opposed to spending money to help entice new skyscrapers to be built. During the whole boom, the city money went to commercial which is how the tirz system makes it happen.
@ TXT: There is absolutely no such thing as development that “needed to be built” or “what should have been”. That’s all just a contrivance. Be grateful that you live in a place and time in the history of our species in which indoor plumbing is so ubiquitous that it can be taken for granted.
@ Commenter7: Now its time to focus on the circumstances that make it very likely that the City of Houston’s bonds will be downgraded again and possible that there end up being in-court workouts between its bondholders and pensionholders, with those interests directly opposed to the interests of constituents.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/houstons-conundrum-closing-its-pension-funding-gap-1447631766
^ This article was spot on the money, but it was written before the second bottom fell out from under the price of oil. If it were written again then it’d probably be written differently, in a more dire tone.