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Old 12-28-2009, 04:41 PM
 
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,782,472 times
Reputation: 3672

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Interesting article; go to the link for full article and explanations.

A decade of development: 10 projects that changed Houston - from CultureMap Houston

1. Randall’s Food Market, Midtown. This grocery made Midtown a more complete neighborhood. Urban dwellers have had restaurants and nightclubs galore. But until Randall’s opened in 2002, the all important supermarket element was missing.
2. Sharpstown Center, Southwest Freeway at Bellaire Blvd. As 2009 came to a close, the mall was renamed PlazAmericas; it will house an 83,000-square-foot mercado with mariachi bands. Across Houston, places like Sharpstown mall and the surrounding 1960s-vintage neighborhoods are now in transition.
3. Palisade Palms. East Beach Drive, Galveston. Palisade Palms attracted development to the east end of Galveston, counter to the trend for west end construction. Galveston had demonstrated that it could be a major vacation-home market.
4. Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar, downtown Houston. This 1,200-room hotel, which opened in December 2003, brought momentum to the eastern part of downtown. As the largest hotel in town, Hilton Americas gives Houston the ability to draw major conventions. When the national economy rebounds, Houston could see some large, tangible benefits from having a vibrant convention industry.
5. Bridgeland. Near U.S. Highway 290 and Fry Road, northwest Houston. This 11,400-acre master planned community elevated the Highway 290 corridor to a major growth sector for decades to come.
6. Metro Rail. A 7.5-mile rail line running from downtown to the Reliant Stadium area. The expansion of the rail will change the way we live and create development opportunities near Metro stops.
7. Anadarko Tower, The Woodlands. With the Anadarko Tower, The Woodlands was confirmed as prime location for major corporations and it is essentially a full-fledged city today.
8. Andrau Airpark, Westheimer Road. That was the largest land sale in the Houston city limits in 50 years.
9. Sugar Land Town Square, U.S. Highway 59 at Highway 6 in First Colony. Sugar Land Town Square was one of the first of the new wave of mixed-use projects that brought retail, residential, offices and hotels together in a walkable mix. This project was the forerunner for other mixed-use developments.
10. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., FM 1405 and Spur 55 in Baytown. With Wal-Mart as an industry leader, Houston’s port could become a primary destination and distribution point for goods from Asia.
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Old 12-28-2009, 04:44 PM
 
Location: Charleston Sc and Western NC
9,273 posts, read 26,384,620 times
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How has the renaming of a mall in Sharpstown just a few weeks ago made the list for the decade?

Also..Walmarts and Randalls???? Jeez.

Royal Oaks was purchased in the mid-90's. This article is random.
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Old 12-28-2009, 05:33 PM
 
Location: A little suburb of Houston
3,702 posts, read 18,154,336 times
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I agree w/ EA (sorry can't rep you again so soon). How does renaming a mall become a major project. I understand the big Walmart distribution center in Baytown though. That thing is huge.
The rail? that has not happened yet either, so it is hardly an accomplishment now.
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Old 12-28-2009, 05:42 PM
 
Location: The Greater Houston Metro Area
9,053 posts, read 17,119,709 times
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It is a little premature to assume the re-cycled PlazAmericas will greatly change our Houston culture. I seem to remember a huge Mercado, near the Mama Ninfa's on Navigation, built with public money, that was supposed to revolutionize our culture, back in the late 80's. Turned out to be quite a dud.
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Old 12-28-2009, 05:55 PM
 
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,782,472 times
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Don't ask me! Ask Mr. Bivins, the article writer.
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Old 12-28-2009, 06:10 PM
 
Location: ✶✶✶✶
15,218 posts, read 30,415,301 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cheryjohns View Post
It is a little premature to assume the re-cycled PlazAmericas will greatly change our Houston culture. I seem to remember a huge Mercado, near the Mama Ninfa's on Navigation, built with public money, that was supposed to revolutionize our culture, back in the late 80's. Turned out to be quite a dud.
It's indeed too early, but it's also too early to write it off. There were a lot of projects in the late 80s that failed after the oil bust. There are some today feeling a similar effect. But the Sharpstown area needs something positive to be done with that mall to turn the corner, so if it does, that's a big swath of oil bust casualty territory reclaimed right there. Sounds like progress to me.

It seems this collection of developments seems to be aimed at their local impact as much as the city at large, or developments that went up following others that made the real impact, or are mostly symbols of a new identity or trend. Randall's took a dive into uncharted water opening a supermarket in Midtown. But the Hilton Americas came along with the Toyota Center, which brings people to downtown for many things year-round. Indeed, having the "skyscraper" in The Woodlands is as good a sign as any that the bedroom community is turning more into what people moved out of the big city to get away from in the first place.

Pretty thoughtful list when you sit and think about it.
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Old 12-28-2009, 06:23 PM
 
Location: Charleston Sc and Western NC
9,273 posts, read 26,384,620 times
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I think the Anadarko tower was built long before the decade as well.

Also, That PlazAmericas better have a police department IN it. I don't see how making it a Mercado does anything for Sharpstown except cater to the population that's already brought the area down.

Bridgelands is struggling..I thought Market Street was before Sugarland...

Like I said, this list is strange.

Oh well, next.

Last edited by EasilyAmused; 12-28-2009 at 06:36 PM..
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Old 12-28-2009, 08:33 PM
 
Location: Pasadena
882 posts, read 2,236,897 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EasilyAmused View Post
I think the Anadarko tower was built long before the decade as well.
Actually Anadarko Tower WAS built in this decade, groundbreaking in 2001, completed a year later.

Anadarko Tower - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Old 12-28-2009, 09:02 PM
 
Location: #
9,598 posts, read 16,502,858 times
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How is Reliant Park not on this list
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Old 12-29-2009, 10:13 AM
 
Location: Houston/Brenham
5,819 posts, read 7,178,620 times
Reputation: 12309
Terrible list. It doesn't have Reliant Stadium, Minute Maid Park, Discovery Green... all had more impact on Houston, and on surrounding development. I could list many more developments with more impact than the ones listed here.

And putting PlazAmerica on there? It hasn't even happened yet. How can it be one of the things that CHANGED Houston? It may CHANGE us, but it hasn't CHANGED us.

This list stinks.
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