Texas Medical Center in HOU poised to overtake Downtown Dallas in 5-6 years (Houston: stores, relocating)
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Indeed, Houston and Dallas are quite different. Houston does not have anything like the endless expanse northward created because of two parallel phenomenons of the platinum business corridor of Dallas Parkway and the golden retail corridor of Preston Road.
Downtown Houston doesn't have the close proximity of a major airport like Love Field which has helped create Highland Park Village shopping center and a luxury car mecca along Lemmon Avenue to name a few advantages.
How far away is Hobby Airport from downtown Houston? Well, if Uptown Houston is 8 miles from downtown Houston, then by the map I'd have to say that Hobby airport has to be about 20 miles away. In actuality, Uptown Houston is just 5 miles from downtown and Hobby is 12 miles from it.
In comparison, Love Field is five miles away from downtown Dallas.
There is no better quality urban area in all of Texas than what has developed in and around greater downtown Dallas. You can check this all for yourself on the earth version of google map. It is as plain as day. The Art District and Fair Park of Dallas are next to or in close proximity to downtown Dallas unlike Herman Park and its museum district. Unlike Memorial Park and Uptown Houston which are five and six miles away, respectively, Turtle Creek and Uptown Dallas are right there next to downtown Dallas. The Texas Medical Center is almost four miles away from downtown while the three medical centers in and around downtown Dallas are likewise in close proximity.
How can anyone continue making the argument that the three urban areas of Houston are close together or somehow connected?
Houston and Dallas have always had a different philosophy in how to go about revitalization. As Houston has focused a lot of its energy within the aproximate one square mile that is its downtown, Dallas has tended to focus its attention on the eight square mile surrounding its downtown. As a result, downtown Houston is cut off by elevated freeways in every direction. Meanwhile, downtown Dallas is about to be connected north to Uptown by way of a park built above a submerged freeway, connected to the west by way of a suspension bridge, connected to the southwest to the pretty neighborhood of Oak Cliff by way of a Trolly, and, finally, connected even further to the surrounding northwest and southeast segments by two expanded orange and green lines of the DART transit lines.
There really isn't any comparing the two in my opinion. Dallas is so far ahead of Houston that it actually seems like it is the major city of the two.
This cite shows just how close downtown Dallas is to Southwestern Medical Center, Baylor Medical Center, and Methodist: http://www.dallascityhall.com/forwar...nsCorridor.pdf Baylor Hospital - Texas - Map and Area Photos
You know what I'm not here to bash Dallas. Because I love Dallas/Ft.Worth actually. I think Houston is alot better but I still won't bash the city, however I will speak on some comments you've made that are very out of the loop. First of all who cares if Downtown Houston doesn't have an airport close by. It's plenty of cities that don't have airports close to downtown and function just fine without one. That's a pretty weak argument. What's next? Houston doesn't have any 7-11's therfore it isn't making any real strides in America. Highland Park Village is no more impressive then many shopping destinations all located in the 610 Loop area of Houston. We didn't need a airport to create better shoping destinations then Highland Park Village. Now if the urban area surrounding downtown Dallas was so cool how come the numbers don't add up as too how many people are living in and around that area. People still choose to live in the suburbs that make up DFW. I bet if we looked at who's moving into the core of Houston. Houston numbers would be more impressive. Also to say Houston has only focused on downtown Houston is bull****. When's the last time you been to Houston, in the mid 90's? You have midtown/Neartown/TMC a hop skip away from downtown Houston. All these areas are experiencing revitalization. Not to mention Houston is now filling in areas of east downtown Houston that was once vacant to dense up the inner loop area. Don't get me wrong Dallas is doing real good as far as building up those areas. I'm impressed. But besides the bridge what are you all doing that Houston hasn't and still is doing to revitalize the downtown area and surrounding areas?
Little sister D is always trying to wear big sister Houston's clothes
Seems trolls are two things in here: Someone who aggitates and someone who makes a good argument. Once again, I'm not speaking to the people in Houston and Dallas -- good or bad, they've already made their choices -- but to the people on the outside considering visiting or making a move to Texas. If I truly were a troll, I would have said something like this: In regards to where to live in Texas? Well, as Austin is known to be weird, weirdos will naturally congregate to that city regardless; meanwhile, while San Antonio does have its charm, it tends to be too much on the Hispanic side. There really aren't any other cities in Texas worth living in outside of Dallas - Fort Worth and houstoN, other than Longview, Paris and Midland.
Anyway, try taking the time to think about what I just presented in the last post. Perhaps you should sit down and meditate on it even. If the eight square miles surrounding the one square mile of greater downtown Dallas are redeveloped successfully, then that will leave downtown Dallas in the middle as a vacuum. This is the most effective way of going about it.
And just what part of the the surrounding eight square miles of downtown Dallas ain't the city of Dallas trying to redevelop?
Perception wise, every building put up in downtown Houston doesn't do anything to make it look any bigger as things have gotten to the point that they just get lost in the other square kleenex boxes stood up on end.
Also perception wise, I think downtown Dallas has all the tall building that it will ever need. The shorter buildings being built in the city in clusters within the eight square miles immediately surrounding its downtown just makes it look the more massive of the two. In truth, it is more massive.
In comparison to downtown Dallas, the seemingly better developed downtown Houston is surrounded on all sides by elevated freeways. Isolating it even further, downtown has been cut off to the east by the very same entertainment venues that were built to attract folks, with these being a convention center and two sport's stadiums. Cutting it off to the north of downtown Houston is a large railway interchange; furthermore, splitting downtown into two parts is a bayou created by two converging bayous which tends to cause floods during tropical storms and hurricanes.
The best develped part of downtown is the west, northwestern portion of it where Allen Parkway and Memorial travel along both sides of one of these bayous in a pretty park like area.
You see, this is just the straight up truth.
Last edited by Mister Nifty; 12-19-2010 at 10:39 AM..
Reason: tweaking
You know what I'm not here to bash Dallas. Because I love Dallas/Ft.Worth actually. I think Houston is alot better but I still won't bash the city, however I will speak on some comments you've made that are very out of the loop. First of all who cares if Downtown Houston doesn't have an airport close by. It's plenty of cities that don't have airports close to downtown and function just fine without one. That's a pretty weak argument. What's next? Houston doesn't have any 7-11's therfore it isn't making any real strides in America. Highland Park Village is no more impressive then many shopping destinations all located in the 610 Loop area of Houston. We didn't need a airport to create better shoping destinations then Highland Park Village. Now if the urban area surrounding downtown Dallas was so cool how come the numbers don't add up as too how many people are living in and around that area. People still choose to live in the suburbs that make up DFW. I bet if we looked at who's moving into the core of Houston. Houston numbers would be more impressive. Also to say Houston has only focused on downtown Houston is bull****. When's the last time you been to Houston, in the mid 90's? You have midtown/Neartown/TMC a hop skip away from downtown Houston. All these areas are experiencing revitalization. Not to mention Houston is now filling in areas of east downtown Houston that was once vacant to dense up the inner loop area. Don't get me wrong Dallas is doing real good as far as building up those areas. I'm impressed. But besides the bridge what are you all doing that Houston hasn't and still is doing to revitalize the downtown area and surrounding areas?
Midtown Houston? Are you speaking of that fictional dream that can't ever find its way into existence because of all the elevated freeways in the way hindering its progress? Indeed, Midtown as a dream is quite impressive.
If the port of Houston is a big plus for the Houston area, the unique locations of the three airports in the Dallas - Fort Worth area are a big plus also.
Truly, there is nothing in Houston that can match the phenomenon of commercial shopping districts created by the parallel byways of the platinum business corridor, with this being Dallas Parkway, and the nearby golden retail corridor, with this being Preston Road. As they stand now, these two corridors stretch for twenty-three miles alongside each other and, as is often bragged about, there is nothing in the way from keeping them from one day stretching all the way to the Oklahoma border.
Also just as unique is Lemmon Avenue as it works to create along with Love Field airport a synergy unique only to the Dallas area. In comparison, downtown Houston hasn't anything resembling it in close proximity.
So, this isn't even a matter of my opinion as you are just simply wrong.
(P.S. Look, the city of Houston when it finishes its next light rail expansion will place the city, and even you will have to admit this, about fifteen years behind the city of Dallas. The light rail lines themselves are what is helping redevelop the eight square miles surrounding downtown Dallas. Add along with this a commuter and a trolly line. The suspension bridge extending over the Trinity River will connect one of the poorest parts of Dallas to downtown and the Arts District. The Trinity River itself is going through a massive redevelopment into parks. The Katy Trail is already a classic to go along with the already classical area of Turtle Creek. West Village and City Place? Baylor Medical Center to the east. The Dallas Fair Grounds, at the very least, is a match for Herman Park. The only part lagging in redevelopment of the eight square miles surrounding downtown Dallas is the southern portion of it as Oak Cliff towards the southwest is really coming along)
Last edited by Mister Nifty; 12-19-2010 at 11:09 AM..
Reason: tweak
Don't feed the troll (Mister Nifty). People with actual knowledge in the real estate business have said that the stuff Nifty is saying isn't credible at all and he doesn't know what he's talking about. I forgot which thread it was, but it was something we all already knew. He doesn't know what he's talking about.
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