New Outer Loop Freeway? (Houston, The Woodlands: sales, 2014, house)

[LilyMay]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Houston is becoming a high energy Boron molecule. (with 5 business centers around the nucleus CBD.)

When I first came to Houston and noticed all the business districts, I immediately though of Los Angeles. Both cites are quite sprawling (LA obviously more so, but then it's also much larger) and have a number of spread out business districts. LA does have, however, a relatively less important downtown than Houston, but basically what you have is a city that as it expanded, saw businesses grow out in their own little clusters to accomodate people moving out from the city.

In LA there's downtown, obviously, but also Santa Monica, Burbank, Long Beach, and places in Orange County like Irvine. Those are just the spots that come to mind off the top of my head.

I think Houston simply follows the path of a large, sprawling, rapidly growing city. As people move outward, it makes plenty of sense to have businesses move outward to make their own little business districts just as if it were a collection of smaller cities rather than one big city with only one major business hub.

[jfre81]

Originally Posted by LilyMay

In many cases these sorts of big infrastructure projects can see effectively lose-lose.

Well, not for the developers.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by m48xhp

It already has. Exxon moving up there, Anadarko is already there and goign to build another tower, Waste Connections moved from CA to The Woodlands.

It is becoming a corporate utopia.

Exxon didn't move to the Woodlands. They moved into Houston's ETJ in the Spring area. The campus will be annexed by the COH once its complete. The tax dollas!

[case44]

I've known about Grand Parkway for a long time, but I seriously don't think that much of it will be completed in my lifetime. They've got to finish acquiring the right-of-way.

One interesting thing to note is this: Part of that eastern stretch will run along State Highway 146 and go through the Fred Hartman Bridge near Baytown, so that would be a spectacular piece of a partly-completed puzzle.

[LilyMay]

Originally Posted by jfre81

Well, not for the developers.

Excellent point!

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by case44

I've known about Grand Parkway for a long time, but I seriously don't think that much of it will be completed in my lifetime. They've got to finish acquiring the right-of-way.

One interesting thing to note is this: Part of that eastern stretch will run along State Highway 146 and go through the Fred Hartman Bridge near Baytown, so that would be a spectacular piece of a partly-completed puzzle.

How old are you? 90?

[case44]

Originally Posted by Trae713

How old are you? 90?

Try 45.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by jfre81

So, in order for "this area" to succeed in landing this business, we'll expand and further stretch the meaning of "this area" until there is nothing but "this area."

Ingenious.

actually the area as already defined by the census consist of 10 counties.
For the most part most of the rings have been confined to only one county.
The flaw in your logic is that Houston is stretching out to meet these highways.
That is false, The highways are actually stretching out to meet other counties in the metro.


While all of 610, Beltway 8 and most of 1960 have been confined to Harris, Waller, Montgomery, Brazoria, and Chambers are starting to get a piece of the action.

I am surprised that they have not been crying for a piece a long time ago. I hear that little can be done in DFW without the smaller burbs crying for a piece of the action.


Anyway you guys are acting like these projects are going far out of the Houston metro. In actuality it is just peeking out of the central county.

Compare transportation in DFW and Chicago with that of Houston.

DFW:


Chicago:


Detroit:




Houston:



I know these are old and it doesn't show 59 and beltway 8, and two additional counties (Austin and San Jac) are missing but what it does show is that Houston doesn't serve its metro uniformly as some other cities do.

people say that Houston MSA doesn't have room for 10 Million people, I ask why not. If these outside counties grow their counties the area can easily get to 10M. There are 9 counties totaling 8300 sq miles to support the 4M additional people.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by Trae713

Exxon didn't move to the Woodlands. They moved into Houston's ETJ in the Spring area. The campus will be annexed by the COH once its complete. The tax dollas!

Houston should annex all that **** and tell the NE people who complain about the city limits to suck its fat one. A lot of Greenspoint isn't in Houston City limits either. I did not know that. HP's US operations headquarters arein Houston ETJ in Greenspoint. I would annex that **** too. And annex all of the land around the Energy district. All of Katy, Spring, Cypress. Everything.

[Lost_In_Translation]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

Houston should annex all that **** and tell the NE people who complain about the city limits to suck its fat one. A lot of Greenspoint isn't in Houston City limits either. I did not know that. HP's US operations headquarters arein Houston ETJ in Greenspoint. I would annex that **** too. And annex all of the land around the Energy district. All of Katy, Spring, Cypress. Everything.

You'd annex it but would you put a bird on it?

The ETJ was meant originally to prevent Harris county from dividing up into a hundred different municipalities and choking off the develop of the city of Houston but now that Houston covers all of Harris county and is looking to gobble up sections of other counties it may find it a little more difficult because why would other counties voluntarily give up their tax base to benefit a city not located within them. Houstons ETJ I imagine will begin to run into some serious turf wars soon.