Can Downtown Houston be Revitalized?

[Double L]

I've been following development in Houston for ten years and I'll admit, we've done a lot, I mean we've done a whole lot. However Downtown still doesn't feel like a lived in neighborhood. It still seems to only cater to office workers and homeless people, the residential population remains small.

In the past ten years, we've built a theater district, established the downtown Houston alliance, we brought light rail, we had a nightlife district that formed on Main Street north of Texas Avenue that lasted from 2004-2005. We built the Houston Pavilions to bring retail and entertainment, we built a baseball stadium, a basketball stadium and coming soon a soccer stadium. Finally our greatest achievement, Discovery Green brought residential, office, hotel development not to mention a grocery store.

I'm worried, I'm thinking we've done all we can do for downtown. If things don't turn around soon I think we might all have to face the facts that Houstonians would rather live in four story townhouses in the western half of the inner loop then live in downtown Houston.

[KevinFromTexas]

I really think what kills Houston's street level life in downtown is the underground tunnel system. According to the Census Bureau, Houston has more downtown residents than Austin's downtown does, (14,342 in Houston to 11,000 and change for Austin), but feels quieter and even dead by comparison. BUT, it's not that there aren't people there, the Census numbers don't lie. I think what it is really is the tunnel system. There's other issues, too. Where is the nearest grocery store to downtown? What about other everyday needs type stores? Houston may have several thousand downtown residents, but if they have to leave downtown and travel a few miles, they'll probably go by car. And so downtown loses those pedestrians even though they live there.

I've also noticed that you can't confine residential areas and amenities to one small area of a downtown and expect the rest of downtown to thrive. You really have to spread residential properties around downtown and attract those amenities near them and start to connect each residential node. Doing that you end up creating neighborhoods in downtown all with different vibes. I think of all the new pockets of residential in downtown Austin, and they're all different from each other, but are becoming more lively as they grow. And some of the new growth they've encouraged is starting to grow closer to the other areas.

The other thing is, downtowns aren't really healthy because of bars and nightclubs. You can bring lots of them to downtown, and you will get a lot of foot traffic, but it won't encourage downtown residential growth in the way that everyday needs stores (grocery stores) will. Bars and nightclubs are mostly for tourists and only young people. A lot of Austinites I know hardly ever visit 6th Street anymore. It's more of a tourist destination, but without any kind of touristy marketing.

Theatres and sports complexes are nice, too, but they aren't really the type of thing to encourage people to live downtown. I've said it before that they're sort of like urban theme parks. You'll mostly get people visiting them from areas outside of downtown or even outside of the city. A few of the attendees might walk a block or so to a nearby restaurant, which is good, but then they also walk to their car and leave downtown.

Really what generates downtown residential growth are things that are much less sexy than museums, theatres and sports arenas, it's more boring things like infrastructure improvements (sidewalk improvements) and retail growth. It's kind of a catch-22, though, because you need residential growth to spark retail development and growth, but you need retail in place to attract residential growth.

[Double L]

A few things...

I think Houston does have lots of pedestrians downtown and in all areas of downtown. It's just that most of them are office employees and once the office hours end they disappear. That isn't to say Houston is alive but I think it does say that the underground tunnel isn't the issue since downtown sidewalks are busy from 9:00-5:00.

Also, we are getting a very nice locally owned downtown grocery store soon.

My knowledge of downtown's residential buildings is that they are spread across all of downtown.

I agree with you on theaters, stadiums and nightclubs.

The downtown Houston alliance has taken part in very nice infrastructure improvements, although the east end is still lacking in that regard.

[urbanactivist]

^Kev very good points, but I think it's worth noting that DT Austin has a larger "active" residential population than DT Houston. Of those 14,000 or so people, at least 6,000 is at the Harris County Prison. So that's 10,000 active residents in DT Austin versus 7-8,000 active DT Houstonians.

But about the tunnels, we are most definitely in agreement... mainly because it squashes the desire for street-level retail in downtown. The tunnels are enclosed and exclusively to the workday population, so all of the businesses there close down during evening hours. And thus DT Houston becomes a literal ghost town. Houston Pavilions has made an impact, but most of its business is, as you put it, "theme park" generated by the House of Blues and the other bars that are there. They do hit some daytime workers and convention tourism, but that's it.

There are two significant grocery stores on the rail line... Randall's in Midtown and Fiesta about 2 miles further down. Problem is the Fiesta is overrun by homeless and other difficulties, so most of the downtown people aren't going to shop there. DT Austin definitely has the leg up in this area because Whole Foods is a grocer that fits both the consumer needs and income levels of a typical DT resident. Thankfully DT Houston will be getting a very nice grocer in the next few weeks, and EaDo will have even another option opening at the same time. The picture is looking up, but not there yet.

The residential scope is growing rather nicely, but I think it's going to take continued growth of Midtown and EaDo to "wall in" DT first to generate more interest.

[JAM]

I don't think there really is a comparison between Austin and Houston DT. Austin DT is the only game in town. Wanna party - head DT. Wanna do something interesting besides sit in your boring suburb, head DT. Wanna go to a museum, head just north of DT. Wanna live in a high rise condo, head DT.

Houston's DT is so much bigger than Austin that you probably need twice as many people living DT to make the same impact.

If I moved back to Houston, I probably wouldn't look to live DT, I'd look at Galleria or some other place near DT, but DT is too much of a risk financially speaking.

Houston has so many other options that I feel a better comparison would be Dallas. If you make that comparison, then Houston is definitely taking the lead and moving in the right direction.

[TexasBoi]

Speaking of the tunnels. I think this video focuses on how much of a problem tunnel systems have on downtowns. This is about Dallas downtown. But I'm sure Houston can relate to it and it expands on what Kevin said in his initial post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTEEUjoOaBo

Only five minutes.

[KevinFromTexas]

It's funny, I always forget about the tunnels whenever I'm in Houston. I never have any desire to visit them. I collect postcards, though, and I would imagine there are places that sell them there.

[texcolo]

It's not just the tunnels, Dallas and Houston have large downtowns with large scale buildings... so it just seems quiet.

[urbanactivist]

Originally Posted by texcolo

It's not just the tunnels, Dallas and Houston have large downtowns with large scale buildings... so it just seems quiet.

That's a big part of it too, no doubt. Dallas has a large downtown, but Houston's is twice the size of it (in terms of layout, how many blocks, etc.) Which means there's more empty lots for parking, longer distances to travel between points of interest, etc. The focal points of DT Houston are very far apart, and every street has large dead zones.

IMO we could have the most impact by starting small. There's no way we're going to light all of downtown on fire, but rather we should focus energy on Main St. between Texas and Dallas (check out Downtown Houston's interactive map to see what I'm talking about). This area is the commercial, residential and entertainment heart of Downtown. Two of the most significant park developments in Houston are in this corridor... Market Square is on Texas west of Main, and Discovery Green is on Dallas east of Main. And before long, it will be a major transit hub as the East End/ Southeast Rail lines will run along Texas Avenue. Any big push to get pedestrian life in Downtown has got to start here.

Thankfully, this is also right where Phoenecia Specialty Foods is opening up... Downtown's most significant grocer in the last several years. So it will hopefully be a huge help.

One last thing, keep your eye on DT Houston next weekend, when we host the Final Four. There's going to be some massive concerts in downtown both at Discovery Green and Market Square, and they are specifically going to try and draw lots of people in.

[JAM]

Originally Posted by texcolo

It's not just the tunnels, Dallas and Houston have large downtowns with large scale buildings... so it just seems quiet.

ya, that is my opinion too. The tunnels close after work for the most part, so people have to use above after that.

DT nightlife in the early 1990's used to be quite vibrant. The night life biz got hit hard by two natural disasters, first a flood, then Katrina. And also one man-made disaster, Superbowl preparation - which tore up streets and sidewalks. The night life biz got killed three times by this, and Houstonians simply just found other places to go. Katrina brought in some real professional and quite aggressive pan-handlers to the downtown area. Houston was a bit late to the revitalization game as well. The Galleria took advantage of this. I never really was a huge fan of the Galleria area, but it is coming along quite nicely.

I used to live in Midtown in the late 90's till 2003. I'd often take the trolley to see a baseball game and then walk home. The walk was a bit scary because of the dead zones mentioned in an earlier post, but not too bad, as I always felt I could outrun the bad guys - they're typically pretty lazy and wouldn't bother chasing you anyway. My point is, if Houston could somehow provide protection and drive out the scoundrels, and advertise they have done so then DT could have a much better chance of excelling. It just needs to reach a critical mass, where normal people outnumber the crazies on a regular basis where ever you go.

[diskojoe]

Originally Posted by JAM

I don't think there really is a comparison between Austin and Houston DT. Austin DT is the only game in town. Wanna party - head DT. Wanna do something interesting besides sit in your boring suburb, head DT. Wanna go to a museum, head just north of DT. Wanna live in a high rise condo, head DT.

Houston's DT is so much bigger than Austin that you probably need twice as many people living DT to make the same impact.

If I moved back to Houston, I probably wouldn't look to live DT, I'd look at Galleria or some other place near DT, but DT is too much of a risk financially speaking.

Houston has so many other options that I feel a better comparison would be Dallas. If you make that comparison, then Houston is definitely taking the lead and moving in the right direction.

did you not hear about the DART? you can hit DART from plano to dt dallas. What suburbs around houston do the trains pick up at to drop people DT? They Dont. AS sad as I am to say it, houston is falling Behind dallas. Dallas is zoned Properly, Houston is not Zoned at all.

[diskojoe]

Originally Posted by JAM

ya, that is my opinion too. The tunnels close after work for the most part, so people have to use above after that.

DT nightlife in the early 1990's used to be quite vibrant. The night life biz got hit hard by two natural disasters, first a flood, then Katrina. And also one man-made disaster, Superbowl preparation - which tore up streets and sidewalks. The night life biz got killed three times by this, and Houstonians simply just found other places to go. Katrina brought in some real professional and quite aggressive pan-handlers to the downtown area. Houston was a bit late to the revitalization game as well. The Galleria took advantage of this. I never really was a huge fan of the Galleria area, but it is coming along quite nicely.

I used to live in Midtown in the late 90's till 2003. I'd often take the trolley to see a baseball game and then walk home. The walk was a bit scary because of the dead zones mentioned in an earlier post, but not too bad, as I always felt I could outrun the bad guys - they're typically pretty lazy and wouldn't bother chasing you anyway. My point is, if Houston could somehow provide protection and drive out the scoundrels, and advertise they have done so then DT could have a much better chance of excelling. It just needs to reach a critical mass, where normal people outnumber the crazies on a regular basis where ever you go.

Yeah, sadly the revitalization of Main street probably killed it. There used to be 10 times as many clubs downtown on main. Nice clubs too.

[JAM]

Originally Posted by diskojoe

did you not hear about the DART? you can hit DART from plano to dt dallas. What suburbs around houston do the trains pick up at to drop people DT? They Dont. AS sad as I am to say it, houston is falling Behind dallas. Dallas is zoned Properly, Houston is not Zoned at all.

Well, I meant living DT, not getting there. Yes, Dallas is superior in that respect, although Houston is working on it. Dallas has some awesome spots to live such as Uptown - I used to live there and walk to DT Dallas, but I was referring to DT proper, the actual biz district, which is what I think Double L was referencing.

[JManc]

there is nothing downtown that really has the draw to pull in people on a regular basis and despite the new development, it's still kinda rundown. the only reason i have for going downtown is to go to the flying saucer, a huge pub.

[urbanactivist]

It's certainly getting better. I only moved here in 2005. So I neveer saw any of the stuff going on before/after the SuperBowl. But from what I understand, the rail line's construction was very difficult on Main Street businesses too. But now that's over, and there's a plethora of space to take advantage of.

In a dream world, this is what I'd do...

1) Close down all of the "shady" businesses on main street, and put them on another edge of town. If there's no shady convenience/ liquor store to go to, then the homeless people won't go there. They can congregate in another quadrant of downtown.

2) Open up a couple of signature stores. Touristy stuff, or things that will appeal uniquely to Houston. For example a BUC-EE'S would be very cool and it doesn't have to be a gas station. They have now earned a reputation for their great food and interesting merchandise that they could franchise outside of the gas business.

3) Have the businesses validate or discount DT parking. Gotta draw general people in first, and that alone will encourage pedestrians.

4) More business interest will follow and Main St. will work as a restaurant/retail district.

I think it can work!!

[urbanactivist]

Originally Posted by JAM

I don't think there really is a comparison between Austin and Houston DT. Austin DT is the only game in town. Wanna party - head DT. Wanna do something interesting besides sit in your boring suburb, head DT. Wanna go to a museum, head just north of DT. Wanna live in a high rise condo, head DT.

Houston's DT is so much bigger than Austin that you probably need twice as many people living DT to make the same impact.

If I moved back to Houston, I probably wouldn't look to live DT, I'd look at Galleria or some other place near DT, but DT is too much of a risk financially speaking.

Houston has so many other options that I feel a better comparison would be Dallas. If you make that comparison, then Houston is definitely taking the lead and moving in the right direction.

DT Houston is certainly under par to the other major Texas cities, but the imporvements in the last ten years have really REALLY helped. Discovery Green and Market Square park are awesome. Everyone that goes there enjoys those two additions to downtown. And the pedestrian friendliness is slowly starting to come online. I personally would jump at the chance to live in DT Houston. Just waiting on the financial opportunity.

[JAM]

Originally Posted by urbanactivist

DT Houston is certainly under par to the other major Texas cities, but the imporvements in the last ten years have really REALLY helped. Discovery Green and Market Square park are awesome. Everyone that goes there enjoys those two additions to downtown. And the pedestrian friendliness is slowly starting to come online. I personally would jump at the chance to live in DT Houston. Just waiting on the financial opportunity.

ya - once it starts to happen, it could have a snow ball effect. Anyone who works DT Houston would have a big incentive to live there. And that's a lot of people!

[urbanactivist]

I think many people forget about the rail line... at least they forget just how much stuff it actually connects. I spend a lot of time in DT for rehearsals, music performances, etc. but most Houstonians really don't have much need to stay connected to DT or the rail line. But please remember that our rail line connects ALL of the city's major sports venues, the top-tier performing arts venues, the Museum District, and several other points of interest in the city. Not to mention it's "primary purpose" of connecting Downtown to the Medical Center. Though short and unimpressive compared to cities like Dallas and Atlanta, the MetroRail still accomplishes a lot.

Problem is that Houstonians forget about it. The only time that our MetroRail is on the general public's radar is during the Rodeo. People park all along the line and ride to Reliant. But that's it. We've got the attractions down, but the rail line needs more everyday stuff. With so much vacant land in Midtown, it is ripe for a Target or other major retailer. That would help our rail line out alot.

Then there's the other problem... the homeless. They can hop on th train and not have to pay the fare. Metro needs to put something in place that prevents unpaid riders from entering the train. It's hugely important!!!

[JAM]

Originally Posted by urbanactivist

I think many people forget about the rail line... at least they forget just how much stuff it actually connects. I spend a lot of time in DT for rehearsals, music performances, etc. but most Houstonians really don't have much need to stay connected to DT or the rail line. But please remember that our rail line connects ALL of the city's major sports venues, the top-tier performing arts venues, the Museum District, and several other points of interest in the city. Not to mention it's "primary purpose" of connecting Downtown to the Medical Center. Though short and unimpressive compared to cities like Dallas and Atlanta, the MetroRail still accomplishes a lot.

Your absolutely right. It may be one of the most impressive starter lines ever! Just about every stop puts you in walking distance of some good stuff. Something you didn't mentioned - I used to take it to get from Midtown to Rice Village. Its a bit of a walk, but its a nice one.

[Trae]

Originally Posted by urbanactivist

I think many people forget about the rail line... at least they forget just how much stuff it actually connects. I spend a lot of time in DT for rehearsals, music performances, etc. but most Houstonians really don't have much need to stay connected to DT or the rail line. But please remember that our rail line connects ALL of the city's major sports venues, the top-tier performing arts venues, the Museum District, and several other points of interest in the city. Not to mention it's "primary purpose" of connecting Downtown to the Medical Center. Though short and unimpressive compared to cities like Dallas and Atlanta, the MetroRail still accomplishes a lot.

Problem is that Houstonians forget about it. The only time that our MetroRail is on the general public's radar is during the Rodeo. People park all along the line and ride to Reliant. But that's it. We've got the attractions down, but the rail line needs more everyday stuff. With so much vacant land in Midtown, it is ripe for a Target or other major retailer. That would help our rail line out alot.

Then there's the other problem... the homeless. They can hop on th train and not have to pay the fare. Metro needs to put something in place that prevents unpaid riders from entering the train. It's hugely important!!!

All the rail line needs now is some friends (more rail lines). There needs to be a system. People in Uptown wanting to go Downtown for a show don't need to go park near the rail and ride it in. They will just park Downtown. But, if there was rail going from Uptown that connected to the current line, then the current line will get more use. People know and acknowledge that it is there, but it needs to connect to more residential places first. Same reason why there hasn't been as much development along the line. There needs to be other lines, too.