Category Archives: Elsewhere in Houston

On beautifying the city for the Super Bowl

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Chris Andrews has some thoughts about what Houston should and shouldn’t do in preparation for Super Bowl LI in 2017. Things More Important Than Beautification Projects to a Super Bowl Visitor As a sports fan, and through my own experience, … Continue reading →

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More on San Felipe Highrise Lawsuit II

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the latest adventure in urban planning via the courtroom. The basics are covered here so I’m going to cut to the speculation about effect. Observers have said the Ashby case could have an effect on … Continue reading →

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The Astrodome isn’t officially a historic landmark just yet

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The decision has been delayed until there can be a meeting to discuss it in Houston. Honoring a request by Harris County officials to table the vote and meet much closer to Houston, the Texas Historical Commission voted Wednesday at … Continue reading →

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Yale Street Bridge replacement set to begin

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And inevitably there’s an issue. Time is running out for the historic Yale Street bridge over White Oak Bayou as its condition deteriorates and surrounding development places increasing demands on it. Some in the Heights- area community believe more should … Continue reading →

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Another San Felipe highrise lawsuit

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s like deja vu all over again, only different. A NEW LAWSUIT filed last week against the developers of the 2229 San Felipe office tower currently under construction between Shepherd and Kirby is a bit different from the one that … Continue reading →

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How are those new Chapter 42 regs working?

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A little too soon to tell. Planning and Development Director Patrick Walsh said the changes were designed to make the city competitive with its suburbs by creating more housing options, holding down prices and spurring redevelopment outside the Loop. “It’s … Continue reading →

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Chron agrees that the Astrodome Park plan is silly

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So there you have it. There is something uniquely Houston about tearing down an historic structure to build a memorial commemorating the history of that very structure. But that is exactly what the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the … Continue reading →

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Emmett doesn’t like Astrodome Park

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And he’s not afraid to say so. Hoping to jump-start another discussion about redeveloping the Astrodome, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Thursday called the Houston Texans and the Rodeo’s proposal to demolish the iconic stadium and replace it with … Continue reading →

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Astrodome Park: The population isn’t the problem

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Greg Wythe addresses one of the central questions about the proposed Astrodome Park in this comment that I thought was worth highlighting on the front page. As it turns out, there are a number of apartments situated to the east … Continue reading →

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Studemont Junction

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Swamplot has an update and some pictures from the to-be-redeveloped Grocer’s Supply truck lot near Studemont and I-10, basically on the north doorstep of my neighborhood. SIGNS ARE UP at the soon-to-be-former Grocers Supply distribution center across Studemont from Kroger … Continue reading →

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Could Astrodome Park actually work?

Posted on July 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Gray asks a good question about the proposal to turn the Astrodome into green space. Could that really be a park like Discovery Green? It’s easy to imagine that green space being useful, say, for a Super Bowl party, … Continue reading →

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Meet your first parklet

Posted on July 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s in the Heights, because of course it is. A parking space converted into Houston’s first parklet brought a mini-media frenzy — and fun street party — to 19th Street in the Heights, where New Living artisans, city officials and … Continue reading →

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The Rodeo and the Texans would like to demolish the Dome now, please

Posted on July 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, I don’t know how well this will go over. County leaders said Thursday they are open to considering a $66 million plan devised by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the NFL’s Houston Texans to demolish the iconic … Continue reading →

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One Bin For All RFPs

Posted on July 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday was a big day for the One Bin for All proposal. Thursday [was] the deadline for private companies to submit bids to the city to build and run the facility. The bid guidelines call for a 75 percent diversion … Continue reading →

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Helping the hungry of Montgomery County

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Though many are familiar with [Montgomery County]’s growth, thanks to the wealth of The Woodlands and the coming Exxon corporate campus just down Interstate 45, fewer see the poverty and hunger dispersed … Continue reading →

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One less food desert

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: With high hopes of more to come, Mayor Annise Parker, Council Members Stephen Costello and Dwight Boykins, the Houston Redevelopment Authority (HRA) and others broke ground on the first project to target a Houston food desert. With … Continue reading →

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The bricks of Freedmen’s Town

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Surely we can do something about this. Most in the Fourth Ward community know the lore – that freed slaves and descendants first laid the bricks on the streets 100 years ago. Now most agree the roads need repairs, but … Continue reading →

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Here comes the 346

Posted on June 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’re getting another area code. Starting July 1, Houston area residents might see phone numbers that begin with 346, when a new area code comes to town. The Public Utility Commission of Texas last year announced a new area code … Continue reading →

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We’ve got slogans, yes we do

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve also got No Limits, apparently. Alex Tonelli, a 2011 graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a San Francisco entrepreneur, has never visited Houston. But he has impressions: Extreme heat, strip clubs, NASA and an oil-dominated economy. … Continue reading →

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Astrodome preservationists make their case for historic landmark status

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Ted Powell and Cynthia Neely, the driving forces behind the push to designate the Astrodome as a national and state landmark, write an op-ed outlining their reasoning. As the Texans and the Rodeo view a third-party investor as not boosting, … Continue reading →

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On the bayou and erosion

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A portion of the work being done on Buffalo Bayou, known as the Memorial Park Demonstration Project, is drawing opposition for being too big a change to the natural state of the bayou. Borne of a 2010 workshop hosted by … Continue reading →

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The cars in the bayous

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, does this sound like a great opening to a crime novel. Houston’s bayous, dotted by marshy banks and filled with bass and catfish, weave through the city, providing an appealing landscape for joggers and cyclists. But beneath the murky, … Continue reading →

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City drops bid for downtown post office

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that. The city of Houston has withdrawn from bidding on the downtown post office, Mayor Annise Parker wrote in a letter to City Council members Tuesday. City officials said they wanted to keep their options open in … Continue reading →

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Holmes Road

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It kind of blows my mind that something like this could be the case in 2014 in Houston. Holmes Road in south Houston, for a stretch, feels less like a city street and more like a weathered country road in … Continue reading →

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They don’t make historic landmarks like they used to

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If it can still be demolished, it’s fair to ask what was the point. The impending designation of the Astrodome as a so-called “state antiquities landmark” has offered new hope to those who want to save the iconic stadium, but … Continue reading →

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Another expansion of single stream recycling

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Annise Parker and Harry J. Hayes, Director of the Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD), are pleased to announce the addition of 62,000 to the City’s popular automated curbside recycling program. As part of the expansion, residents … Continue reading →

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It’s not so cheap to live in Houston any more

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the downside of a hot job market and an improving national reputation for being a cool place to live. Business and city leaders often tout the Houston region as one of the most affordable markets in the country. But … Continue reading →

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A step forward for the historic Astrodome

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From CultureMap: Efforts to make the Astrodome a State Antiquities Landmark took a key step forward Tuesday as the state Antiquities Advisory Board voted unanimously to forward the application to the Texas Historical Commission. Such a designation would prevent the … Continue reading →

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Judge will allow Ashby to rise

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We have a decision. Developers can move forward with the proposed Ashby high-rise after a much-anticipated ruling Thursday by a judge who agreed the tower is a nuisance for its immediate neighbors but concluded there was no way he could … Continue reading →

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Planning to plan

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not really sure what to make of this. “We’ve had a lot of planning in this city and most of us continue to do a great deal of it,” said Central Houston president Bob Eury. “What we haven’t had is … Continue reading →

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Everybody wants to help the judge rule on the Ashby lawsuit

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I really don’t envy Judge Randy Wilson the task he has. Lawyers aren’t the only ones peppering the judge in the Ashby high-rise case with last-minute paperwork. A former city councilman, a pro-developer interest group and residents who live near … Continue reading →

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The city and the downtown post office

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure what all the fuss about this is about. Developers eager to purchase the high-profile U.S. Postal Service site downtown – envisioned in recent years as a park, outdoor amphitheater or a development with housing and entertainment venues – … Continue reading →

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More demolitions coming

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston next week will launch an effort to scoop up dangerous properties left to rot in so many aging neighborhoods, raze them and resell the land. Officials say the program, approved unanimously Wednesday by the City Council, could more … Continue reading →

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Radack finally gets to implement his feral hog plan

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t wait to see how well this works out. Locally sourced pork finally may be on the menu for needy Houston-area families as Harris County Precinct 3 launches its most ambitious effort yet to eradicate feral hogs damaging parkland … Continue reading →

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