How active is downtown houston? (Dallas, Atlanta: shop, activity, residential)

[msamhunter]

Originally Posted by yaya97

When were you there the last time? Mass ave has some good bars and yes there is Broad Ripple ( again bars and college people) but the circle?? Go on a nice wek end and it has 30 people. I go often

I'm downtown all the time. The circle is not an entertainment venue, it's a monument and a museum (very little people know the museum exists). You'll have to go a couple of blocks south to South Meridian where all of the clubs and bars are or head down Virginia into Fountain Square or just NE to Mass Ave or the wholesale district where a bulk of the restaurants are. Also some nice restaurants in Fletcher Place which is just south of CityWay like Bluebeard. West 10th by the medical district is also seeing more and more activity around the Avenue as more and more student housing goes up in and around there. WRSP has the zoo, museums and the canal so a lot of family activity, esp. during the daytime when dealing with kids.

[Truth713]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

The problem is people don't want to live downtown so the risk of building an empty high rise is high. Downtown should stay offices and the developers and residents need to focus on neighborhoods like EaDo, 5th ward, 3rd ward, etc.

Wrong in june 2012 a report had most of the apt downtown at or barley below their capacity. This was residental not counting people who have long stay hotels

http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_...ion_Part_1.pdf

If those numbers are right then DT has one of the lowest vacany rate for houston districts. Which is why people like fingers are taking the risk and buliding 300 plus units.

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by GeorgiatoChina

The difference is you aren't driving through a sea of parking lots or huge house to get to this stuff. You are walking to it while interacting and sharing energy with the other people and what's around you.

Things getting boring in the Atlanta forum, huh?

[Mr.Awesome]

I'm a cop who's worked night shift in downtown Houston for over 2 years. I'm not trying to get into arguments with people on either side, but given the OP's expressed desire, I don't think downtown Houston would be a good fit.
I work from 10pm-6am, and on week days, no matter what people say, downtown is pretty much empty. Sure there are sporting events and restaurants that people go to, but like others have said, everyone drives their cars down there, takes care of business and leaves. Not much pedestrian traffic except to and from the parking lots.
Weekends are fairly busy, but not really family friendly, its mostly people going to the clubs and bars, or Jones Hall, Alley theater, House of Blues etc, so you've got your run of the mill drunks and occasional fights.
As far as residential, I've been on calls to just about every loft/apartment/residence in downtown, and it's mostly young professionals and older wealthy empty nesters. I don't think I've seen a child at any residence.
With that being said, I love downtown. It's got some really neat buildings, and several great restaurants and bars. I'm at Flying Saucer pretty much once a week.
There's plenty to do downtown, I just don't see that many people living there. I'd advise moving to one of the awesome neighborhoods nearby and commuting to the venues. And to people ready to jump on me for disparaging Houston, I'm not. I think it's a great city, and every city doesn't have to try to be like NYC. I'm just answering the OP's question.

[yaya97]

Originally Posted by msamhunter

I'm downtown all the time. The circle is not an entertainment venue, it's a monument and a museum (very little people know the museum exists). You'll have to go a couple of blocks south to South Meridian where all of the clubs and bars are or head down Virginia into Fountain Square or just NE to Mass Ave or the wholesale district where a bulk of the restaurants are. Also some nice restaurants in Fletcher Place which is just south of CityWay like Bluebeard. West 10th by the medical district is also seeing more and more activity around the Avenue as more and more student housing goes up in and around there. WRSP has the zoo, museums and the canal so a lot of family activity, esp. during the daytime when dealing with kids.

Don`t get me wrong. I find DT indy actually very beautiful in terms of buildings and parks BUT there is almost NO public transport. In terms of restaurants I am very rarely disspointed. Top notch BUT .... I am sorry if you go on a Saturday, under the sun, very few people walk around. Have you noticed that there are almost no cafes on the Riverwalk? maybe you will see 15 people walking a dog... Also have you noticed that the DT Nordstroms closed like 2 years ago?? I know someone who worked there told me that people just dont go downtown ( and prefer to shop at malls like castleton or fashion mall...).

[Truth713]

The retail task force created after the closing of Macy released their poll finding..http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_..._Responses.pdf

The finding was the majority of poll takers where women , in their early 30, single professionals.

Their biggest garp parking, lack of original retail(other words something they could not anywhere else) saftey..

Its really one of those annoying circles... People will not move downtown due to lack of options, stores will not open downtown due to lack of after work hr populations...round and round..

Houston has the numbers to have one of the most active downtowns in the nation.. with in a 2 mile radios is 54,000 people or ten mins out

The truth is that Houston will have low turn out till the city gets serious about mass transit.. the complaint are the same every poll , people would come DT but

1.There is no origainal retail to warrant the trip

2. They do not want to deal with the traffic and parking

3. They do not want to deal with pan handleing..


Here are some of my ideas of what might help..
1.Instead of free after parking make the rail free after six
2. take that DT 6 dollar flat rate cab , and make it for the uptown area which is what a few miles away.
3. create a actual cab hub instead of having these guy hang around grey hound all day hoping to get a decent fair. place them somewhere highly visbale some where within the convention district

[Spade]

Originally Posted by Truth713

Wrong in june 2012 a report had most of the apt downtown at or barley below their capacity. This was residental not counting people who have long stay hotels

http://www.downtownhouston.org/site_...ion_Part_1.pdf

If those numbers are right then DT has one of the lowest vacany rate for houston districts. Which is why people like fingers are taking the risk and buliding 300 plus units.

And if those 300 plus units sell out, that tells me that DT is desirable if you just build the units. You build the units, the grocery stores, the dry cleaning, the restaurants, the shopping districts, etc. will come.

[tc33]

As active as a public library on Sunday.




Just kidding. Last time I was in downtown at night waking around by some clubs, I was impressed how many people were out and about.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by marcopolo2000

Well clearly the OP thinks otherwise; thats why they are inquiring about Houston's downtown. I'm not sure why you and a couple of others are taking offense to the fact that Houston probably isn't what the OP is looking for when it comes to urban living downtown.

Regarding the bolded comment, it's because this is CD. I first got involved in this site when I was looking for opinions about a couple of different cities we were considering when moving from Houston. For those cities we sought info about, we got some solid data and insights, along with some random nonsense from boosters and haters alike. Like us, I'm sure the OP is able to sort the wheat from the chaff and draw his or her own conclusions.

[yaya97]

Originally Posted by jm02

Regarding the bolded comment, it's because this is CD. I first got involved in this site when I was looking for opinions about a couple of different cities we were considering when moving from Houston. For those cities we sought info about, we got some solid data and insights, along with some random nonsense from boosters and haters alike. Like us, I'm sure the OP is able to sort the wheat from the chaff and draw his or her own conclusions.

Right on and this has been a wonderful source! To resume if the job comes through there are some vibrant places outside of DT to go!