Regent Square update: Please leave Allen Parkway alone!

Swamplot has an update on the Regent Square development, which is what used to be the Allen House apartments. One bit of the developers' plans caught my eye:

They had originally asked the city to make W. Dallas one lane in either direction, with a shared left-turn lane, but have delayed it for a bit while the city analyzes all the streets over the next few years. Also mentioned further down the road would be a stoplight at Allen Pkwy & Dunlavy

I hate hate hate the idea of a stoplight on Allen Parkway at Dunlavy. I admit the intersection is not as safe as it could be, and that it will get worse once the new, much more dense, development is open, but I can't stand the thought of spoiling that deeply satisfying and largely unimpeded drive with a light. It's just wrong, and it's not something I want to be rational about. Please, City of Houston, don't give in on this!

On another matter:

The timeline was presented: they'll start in September with preliminary clearing and site work and start construction in October. They'll finish the north block in Sept 2010 and the south block around Dec 2010. They think they'll have to update some of the storm sewers around W. Clay and Dunlavy.

I note that the plans include a 22-story condo tower, in addition to the office space and other mixed-use development. There was a story in the Chron the other day about the boom in high-end high-rise development here, and how construction on these beasts usually doesn't start until about 30% of the units have been presold. I wonder therefore if this means the Regent Square folks are meeting their projections, or just telling us what they hope will happen.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on June 02, 2008 to Elsewhere in Houston