Swamplot Archives by Tag: East Downtown

Friday, February 26, 2010

Deep Inside City and County Negotiations for an East Downtown Dynamo Stadium

February 26, 2010 – 12:00 pm

When last we looked in on the stalled Dynamo Stadium deal for East Downtown, Commissioner El Franco Lee was holding the ball. Today, the HBJ’s Ford Gunter provides a few clues about the dealmaking behind the scenes:

Lee has steadfastly refused to comment on the issue, and did not respond to interview requests. Speaking in Lee’s place during several recent interviews, [Harris County Community Services Dept. Director David] Turkel has become more guarded, citing the delicate situation and his desire to avoid hampering a possible agreement. In a nutshell, though, Lee wants concessions from the city and the team that he has not yet received.

“Lee is not comfortable putting it on the agenda as is, because it will get voted down,” Turkel says.

For one, the county is looking at who will own the stadium after the lease runs out in about 30 years, and how that would affect a deal in which the city would buy out the county’s share. Precinct 2 Commissioner Sylvia Garcia wants Dynamo family ticket packs priced comparably to movie tickets, which has been more or less agreed upon.

What is Lee really after?

Continue Reading This Story >

12:00 pm | 6 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Buying and Selling, Financing, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Proposed Developments
Read more about: , , , , , , ,
Wednesday, February 17, 2010

How To Get More Houston Neighborhoods To Support the Downtown Dynamo Stadium Deal

February 17, 2010 – 10:40 am
   

It’s easy! Just start talking about an alternative plan for a stadium in some other area of the city. Neighborhood groups will be very supportive. Hey, it worked for Bellaire! “The [Bellaire City] Council voted 6-0 in favor of a resolution calling on the three parties to close a deal on a stadium just east of U.S. 59 near the East End. It also asked the dealmakers not to support a recently emerged proposal to build the stadium along Bellaire’s northern border.” [Houston Politics]

10:40 am | 5 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Neighborhoods: Bellaire, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Neighborhoods: Westpark, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
Read more about: , , , , , , ,
Thursday, February 11, 2010

Boxing Out Dynamo Stadium

February 11, 2010 – 12:12 pm

Will the Houston Dynamo get to build their stadium in East Downtown — or off Westpark, near the Galleria? So far, the odds are . . . neither. The final go-ahead for building a soccer stadium on the EaDo site will require county commissioners to formally join the new East Downtown TIRZ (boundaries shown outlined above). But they can’t vote on that proposal until commissioner El Franco Lee puts that decision on the agenda. So far he hasn’t done that — and he apparently won’t talk to the press or constituents about his intentions.

Meanwhile, over in Bellaire, city officials are rushing to put in some “stop-gap” zoning changes to the Research and Development District at the northern edge of the city. Most of the site of Midway Companies’ proposed Dynamo Stadium development there lies within Houston city limits, but a small portion on the east side is apparently in Bellaire’s RDD.

What sort of zoning changes are being discussed? Instant News Bellaire’s Angela Grant explains:

The new Comprehensive Plan envisions the RDD as a mixed-used urban area that includes residential, retail and offices, along with METRO’s future light-rail station. But as the zoning codes are currently written, developers could construct car lots, warehouses or other things that conflict with the “urban village” idea. . . .

The main change would be that developers wishing to construct residential, commercial or mixed-use buildings would need to go before the city in a planned development process to have their ideas approved before moving forward. The city would get a chance to review the plans, consider whether they conformed with the Comprehensive Plan, and reject any developments that did not.

Map showing outline of TIRZ 15: Gensler (PDF)

12:12 pm | 7 Comments | Read more about 77003, Attractions, Development Restrictions, Neighborhoods: Bellaire, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Neighborhoods: Westpark, Proposed Developments
Read more about: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Friday, February 5, 2010

Dynamo Stadium: What Difference Does the Location Make?

February 5, 2010 – 12:18 pm
   

“Talk to Houston Dynamo CEO Oliver Luck, and you get a much different view of the depth of Bellaire-area stadium proposal by the Midway Companies that’s taken on a life of its own in the past week, largely due to the buzz phrase, ‘privately funded.’ ‘We have not been presented a plan by the Midway Companies,’ Luck said. ‘I can’t say whether there’s “no public money” involved. ‘We (the Dynamo) won’t talk to the city or county about this deal — we have pushed that responsibility to Midway. We know what our conditions are, and basically, it’s replicating the financial structure of the downtown deal. That’s sort of a threshhold question. If they can do that, we’ll go ahead. If they can’t, it won’t happen.’ Under the East Downtown (a district now known as EaDo) deal, the Dynamo would pay about $60 million with the city of Houston and Harris County each guaranteeing about $10 million through a special tax reinvestment district.” [West University Examiner; previously on Swamplot]

12:18 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Financing, Neighborhoods: Bellaire, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
Read more about: , , , , , , , , ,
Tuesday, January 26, 2010

What’s the Dynamo Stadium Westpark Option?

January 26, 2010 – 4:22 pm

Houston Dynamo fan and attorney Eric Nordstrom — who’s also a supporter of a new East Downtown stadium for the soccer team — writes in with a question:

I appeared at Commissioners’ Court this morning on behalf of the Dynamo Supporters’ Alliance to speak in support of county participation in TIRZ 15, which is the last hurdle to clear before the Houston Dynamo can begin construction of their stadium at the proposed downtown location. As you know, this deal has been held up for quite some time as it works its way through the political process. The Dynamo Supporters’ Alliance is dedicated to keeping this issue on the front-burner with our elected officials, especially now that the smoke has cleared from the municipal elections. It is important to us to get the message out about this project for it truly represents a remarkable commitment by the team to expend $60,000,000 of its own capital . . . Opponents often ask why, if the Dynamo want a stadium, don’t they pay for it themselves. The Supporters’ Alliance is dedicated to communicating the message that that is precisely what the Club is trying to do. If the City and County will fix the roads, we’ll build the house.

However, after my three minutes were up, Commissioner Radack asked if I was aware of a project currently under development by Midway Companies to construct a multi-use facility in Precinct 3 with 100% private financing, “a mile from the Galleria” near Westpark. To be honest, I was not aware of such a project, and though our first choice is the downtown location, I am intrigued by the location Commissioner Radack suggests. I’m wondering if any of your readers out there can fill in the gaps.

Rendering of proposed new Dynamo Stadium at Texas and Dowling, East Downtown: ICON Venue Group

4:22 pm | 19 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Financing, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Proposed Developments
Read more about: , , , , , , ,
Monday, May 18, 2009

Getting Around the East Downtown Soccer Blockstopper

May 18, 2009 – 5:07 pm

Worried the Dynamo soccer stadium planned for the superblock between Texas, Dowling, Hutchens, and Walker is gonna block traffic between Downtown and the East End? Citizen rail designer Christof Spieler solves the tangle:

There are two parts to this idea. The first is to make Texas alongside the stadium a two-way street. Instead of two eastbound traffic lanes and two light rail tracks, Texas gets two eastbound traffic lanes, two westbound traffic lanes, and two light rail tracks. That all fits in the existing right of way. The second part is to use the “squiggle” in the light rail tracks for traffic lanes as well. This does two things: it gives the westbound traffic on Texas a way to go, and it cleans up those messy intersections.

So now, to get from the East End to Downtown, you simply follow Harrisburg, which flows right into Texas, and then you make a left turn onto Capitol. And you will not hit an awkward intersection or have to cross the rail line to do it.

Map: Christof Spieler

5:07 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Streets, Traffic, Transportation
Read more about: , , , , , ,
Monday, May 4, 2009

Dynamo Downtown Dinghy: All Aboard, Quick!

May 4, 2009 – 11:14 am

The giant inflatable-boat-like structure shown here afloat in an otherwise-empty East Downtown six-pack superblock is the latest rendition of . . . the new Houston Dynamo soccer stadium! The Houston Chronicle’s Bernardo Fallas has details:

The Dynamo want to have the roughly $85 million, 22,000-seat stadium ready for opening day 2011. They envision an all-round two-level, all-seater venue with 34 suites, 86 concession point-of-sales, a 3,000 square-foot club level and a party deck on the southeast corner.

Loving that subtle “soccer fans on a life raft” imagery? It gets better: The open-air stadium’s playing surface will be a full story underground!

Continue Reading This Story >

11:14 am | 20 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Financing, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Proposed Developments
Read more about: , , , , , ,
Wednesday, April 29, 2009

And How’s Our House Doing This Week?

April 29, 2009 – 8:51 am

Swamplot reader Scott Broschart sends in a photo he took last Monday from the roof of the Herrin Lofts in East Downtown, looking west toward the GRB Convention Center. “Take a look in the windows of the yellow town houses across the street,” he says.

Okay . . .

Continue Reading This Story >

8:51 am | 11 Comments | Read more about Construction Problems, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Real Estate Marketing, Townhomes
Read more about: , , , ,
Monday, March 16, 2009

Openings and Closings: Chili’s Chills, Movie Munchies, Green Performers

March 16, 2009 – 5:23 pm

Hey, what happened to Monday? Swamplot spent most of it fighting off a few tech demons. But hey, here’s some news!

  • Opened: The new and expanded Children’s Museum had its grand opening this weekend. Now twice its original size, the 90,000 sq. ft. museum features exhibits of children in various states of play. Also inside: an expanded branch of the Houston Public Library.
  • Opening: Backe’s Bullpen, a fine drinking establishment in Dickinson, will open with the backing of Astros pitcher Brandon Backe, reports the Galveston Daily News’s Laura Elder. Last October, Backe was arrested after a run-in with police at a Galveston bar.
  • Closed: Mike McGuff notices that the Meyer Park Chili’s, once “the big teen hangout in southwest Houston,” shut down in February.

Continue Reading This Story >

5:23 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Attractions, Neighborhoods: Dickinson, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Neighborhoods: Meyerland, Neighborhoods: Museum District, Neighborhoods: West University, Nightlife, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail
Read more about: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Openings and Closings: Super Happy Baking Brothers

March 4, 2009 – 11:16 am

As the retail churns . . .

  • Reopening Soon: The original Three Brothers Bakery next to Brays Bayou in Linkwood, closed since Hurricane Ike, has a permit in hand to rebuild. Cynthia Lescalleet reports in the River Oaks Examiner:

    While the exterior of the building, 4036 South Braeswood Blvd., will retain the colors, 60s-vintage architectural elements and windows of its past, the inside has been reconfigured a bit to be “cozy,” with a more efficient layout.

    Among the tweaking are the addition of a small room for wedding consultations and staff offices that look out over the interior so they can see and connect with the customers they’ve missed since Hurricane Ike damaged the business, [co-owner Janice] Jucker said.

    “We’re almost like therapists over the bakery counter,” she said.

    But: no plans to return to the River Oaks Shopping Center or Sugar Land.

    Any future expansion would likely be into properties the bakery would own and build itself, she said: “We want control over our destiny.”

    Near the end of the 10- to 12-week building project, the building’s crooked sign will be re-set. If you see a straight sign, that’ll mean the bagels are almost ready.

Continue Reading This Story >

11:16 am | 1 Comment | Read more about Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Neighborhoods: Linkwood, Neighborhoods: Museum District, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail
Read more about: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Friday, February 20, 2009

Allen Stanford’s Downtown Houston Loft Legacy: Tell it to the Arbitrator

February 20, 2009 – 1:36 pm

Allen Stanford’s international “banking” empire is falling apart. How’s his work as a Houston real estate developer holding up?

Stanford Development Corporation still owns a couple of units on the top floor of the Stanford Lofts, the 5-story East Downtown condo building topped with a starred tiara that the company completed in 2002, just a few blocks east of Minute Maid Park. But owning the condos didn’t prevent the condo owners association from filing a construction-defect lawsuit against the Stanford Lofts developers and builders in 2007, charging Stanford Development with “breach of contract, Deceptive Trade Practices, breach of warranty, fraud, and negligent design, construction, and supervision.”

The summary of problems with the building included in the original complaint is 9 pages long, and includes failure to meet building codes, wall cracks and leaks, structural movement, and a series of defects causing continuing problems with water infiltration. The repair estimate: more than $2 million.

The case has dragged on for some time. Attorneys for the Stanford Condo Owners Association complained that Stanford Development was dragging its feet, arguing last year in response to a stay request:

Continue Reading This Story >

1:36 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Buying and Selling, Condos, Construction Problems, Neighborhood Disputes, Neighborhoods: East Downtown
Read more about: , , , , , , , , ,
Thursday, February 5, 2009

A First Glimpse of the New Dynamo Stadium

February 5, 2009 – 4:55 pm

11 News is showing some rough images of that new Dynamo soccer stadium planned for a site just east of Downtown, bordering Texas, Dowling, Hutchens, and Walker:

“We think it’s about an $80 to $85 million stadium. (It will have) 21,000 seats, but nothing fancy though. It’s very functional,” said Dynamo GM Oliver Luck. . . . “It’s gonna be much more fan friendly in terms of concessions and restrooms and some of those things that we just don’t really have over at Robertson Stadium. Most importantly, it’s going to be much easier to get to in terms of the parking and access. A rail line will literally run right next to the stadium,” said Luck.

Continue Reading This Story >

4:55 pm | 21 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Proposed Developments
Read more about: , , , ,

Thelma’s Bar B Que: Smoked Out

February 5, 2009 – 10:42 am

Thelma’s Bar B Que — on the corner of Live Oak and Lamar in . . . oh, all right: EaDo — is closed, after the restaurant was singed by a fire last Friday. Robb Walsh from Eating . . . Our Words reports from the scene:

The front of the business appeared as ramshackle as always, but a sign on the door announced the bad news. The rear of the building where the barbecue pit used to be was badly damaged as was the kitchen area. The old-fashioned cinderblock barbecue pit used at Thelma’s had a small metal door on the outside where the wood was loaded and a grate with a steel door inside the building where the meats were cooked. The fire appears to have originated in the fire box or chimney as that part of the building has been torn away.

Photo: Flickr user Jennifer Lynn

10:42 am | 3 Comments | Read more about Hazards, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail
Read more about: , , , , , ,
Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Older Names for Houston’s Naughty Bits

February 3, 2009 – 5:13 pm
   

The East Downtown Management District rolled out its new EaDo identity package last month, but John Nova Lomax prefers the older and rougher neighborhood names: “The 400 block of deep Milam was a sink of vice and sin called Catfish Reef. Lower Washington Avenue was a swanky district called Vinegar Hill. A good chunk of Fourth Ward, or FoWa for short, was given over to Houston’s Red Light District (ReLiDi) and was known as The Reservation, while the toughest corner in Fifth Ward (FiWa) was known as Pearl Harbor. Mid Lane near the non-yet-built Galleria was a Mad Men-like seen of whiskey-fuelled poolside soirees that earned it the name Sin Alley. Even the Richmond Strip seems evocative compared to these moronic, truncated, New York-wannabe handles.” [Hair Balls; previously in Swamplot]

5:13 pm | 10 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Quicklink, Real Estate Marketing
Read more about: , , , , ,
Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The Super Happy Fun Land Sock Monkey Rescue Plan

January 7, 2009 – 4:52 pm

Former Heights landmark Super Happy Fun Land may reopen in its new East Downtown EaDo location soon, writes Omar Afra in the Free Press. What’s happened since we last checked in?

To give you a brief synopsis, Houston’s favorite uber-eclectic outsider arthouse and music venue SHFL operated out of a house in the Heights for 5 years until the property owners squeezed them out. Well, the silver lining was that they found a new home in a gigantic warehouse just east of downtown that could facilitate larger shows, more art, and crazier antics. So we at Free Press Houston decided to have a giant shindig at the new venue to celebrate our 5th anniversary and the opening of the great new spot. The place was packed. Err, too packed. The fire marshals came and, lo and behold, SHFL did not have adequate occupancy permitting to permit such an event. They of course got ticketed out the watoozy and have since been jumping through all the municipal hurdles required to submit building plans, acquire permits, and such to open their doors legit. It looked rather bleak for a while as the city does not exactly get excited about doing what it takes to get outsider-art venues open. After having their plans denied several times and given the run around for nearly a year, the good folks at SHFL have got their chance. Their plans were recently approved and they are set for a final inspection in early January to get their occupancy permit. Problem is, they need help.

How can you help Super Happy Fun Land open again?

Continue Reading This Story >

4:52 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Attractions, Development Strategy, Neighborhoods: East Downtown, Nightlife, Openings and Closings
Read more about: , , , , , ,