Once again, modern Dallas is about to leave Houston behind (Fort Worth: camping, live in)

[Mister Nifty]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Las Colinas is to Dallas what The Woodlands Waterway is to Houston. They look & even function the same way though The Woodlands with its towering pines is 100 times more beautiful than Las Cleanass.

Weren't there talks not long ago about moving Exxon-Mobil's corporate headquarters from Las Colinas to The Woodlands too? It would only make sense. They're basically already there, most of the jobs & training facilities are down in Houston.

Okay. The Woodlands. Let us compare and contrast it with Las Colinas. Both were planned. Las Colinas is closer to DFW airport. Las Colinas will be served by DART rail in the near future. Las Colinas is sitting at the heart of a major metropolitan area as well as the freeway system serving it. The Woodlands has more shopping. Las Colinas is located a lot closer to a lot more shopping.
It is good business for companies to research whether they should relocate their corporate headquarters. If Exxon decides to move from the Dallas - Fort Worth area to Houston, then it would surprise me. If anything, because of the negative politics directed towards them, I can see the corporate headquarters for a lot of the energy companies based in Texas and in Houston moving out of state and that city to be located in the areas where the greatest amount of their opposition exists.
In other words, most of the office personel would remain in Houston while the corporate headquaters moved out to be based elsewhere. Moving the energy headquarters from Houston to Las Colinas wouldn't really help as they would still be based in Texas.
Don't be surprised if this happens as, like you said, it only makes sense.

[Mister Nifty]

Originally Posted by AlGreen

submerged freeways are more attractive, but modern?

No. Submerged freeways are nothing new. Dallas submerged freeways to connect neighborhoods as Houston submerged freeways to hold flood waters.
The significance of the submerged (sunken) freeway between downtown Dallas and Uptown is its prime location between the Dallas Arts Center on the downtown side and the Hunt sister and the Ritz on the Uptown side. Because its original design had it submerged, development in downtown Dallas in the mid eighties began pouring out to the north in what would eventually become Uptown.
As an important piece of the puzzle to this transformation, the development of Victory Park to the north of the West End of downtown Dallas and to the west of Uptown, the location of American Airlines Center, sparked competition between what would become the prime real estate for development in central Dallas, Victory Park or the area in and aournd the Dallas Arts District.
As a result, the 41 story condo in Victory Park probably won't ever be built while the Museum Tower in the Arts District probably will.
Laying a park over the sunken part of Woodall Rogers Freeway will not only create a plaza like area fronting the Dallas Arts District, kind of a big deal, but it will create one in the prime real estate in all of central Dallas, a really big deal.
The significance?
This park over a sunken freeway is going to spark other such projects in the Dallas - Fort Worth area.
If I might, then allow me to continue blabbering about the real estate in Dallas. It is not only very competitive and creative, but experimental. You know, in Dallas - Fort Worth, one has the TOD, the transit oriented development (Mockingbird Station and Parklane), the SOD, the shopping oriented development (Northpark and Preston Center), the IOD, the industry oriented development (Telecom Corridor), and the ROD, the residential oriented development (Uptown).
As I've often said, as tall buildings are constructed in Houston, new industries are established in Dallas - Fort Worth.
In the long run, having the latter is more lucrative.

[Lakewooder]

In Dallas, they are 'below grade'

In Houston they are 'submerged'

[Mister Nifty]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

In Dallas, they are 'below grade'

In Houston they are 'submerged'

Wow, I didn't realize that Houston had submarined freeways. That is a concept worth looking into, indeed. Some think this is what Houston is going to look like in the not to distant future because of subsidence. But, you know, when life gives you a lemon, make lemonaide. Looking at that picture, one can envision the off ramps being converted over and becoming boat ramps into the next great Venice like waterway of the south -- Hou . . . blub blub . . . ston. Imagine riding your boat into Houston and having the tips of its buildings rising dramatically out of the water in front of you? When a Hurricane comes into Houston in the future, citizens will just laugh at it! And, think about it, ships will be able to float about the whole city unhindered unloading directly to each residence. And one will never have to water their lawn in Houston ever again! Water shortage? Never in Houston! Want to eat fish tonight? That will never be a problem in the modern submarinaburb called Houston!

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

In Dallas, they are 'below grade'

In Houston they are 'submerged'

Looks a lot like the famed shot Dallasites like to take at night after the Trinity swells its levees.

[Lakewooder]

Maybe - but I don't think we are going to put that tollway in there..besides ours doesn't have an oil slick.

[Mister Nifty]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Looks a lot like the famed shot Dallasites like to take at night after the Trinity swells its levees.

If you look carefully over to the right, Braes Bayou is also flooding into the middle of downtown Houston. This flood didn't happen too long ago as I can see Minute Maid Field to the far left of the picture.

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by Lakewooder

Matt you are up at 3 am bragging about a '22-24' lane freeway in Houston then accusing Dallas of being 'suburban sprawl at its worst'?

freeways aren't directly related to suburban sprawl. some of our densest cities have them

[AlGreen]

Originally Posted by Metro Matt

Modern is Houston's all new Katy Freeway & its not submerged at all.

Its something like 22-24 lanes wide making it the widest freeway in the US (and possibly the world) for a sustained distance.

I've driven it many times already & let me tell ya its a MONSTER!

It almost makes Dallas' bragged about High 5 intersection look like a kids toy.

Houston has several freeway stacks that are right at or close to being as big.

the katy freeway is very exciting to drive on

[AlGreen]

atleast houston isn't putting up some cheesy, tacky bridges over 5 feet of water...just thought i'd even it out a little bit