Actually, that's not totally true. If the ballpark doesn't get built, the convention center doesn't expand and the hotel doesn't get built. The city was more than ready to concede that the convention center would never be a major draw before Minute Maid passed and the arena was passed. That was a HUGE deal to people on city council, believe me. As for the build up around the ballpark, keep in mind a couple things... First, parking. You need a lot of it for the ballpark and many of the lots closest to the park would not sell their properties knowing they could make money. Second, space already owned. The Catholic church there owned a TON of space and obviously had no intention of moving. Not exactly the most conducive thing to entertaining sports fans. Third, building renovation. Many of the buildings within a few blocks of the ballpark were renovated for living/office space. There were also several buildings turned into lofts. As a result, there were not entertainment spaces built in those areas. Those were individual choices by the people who bought the buildings. Fourth, the success of Main Street. When MMP was built, no one expected Main St. to become the central entertainment area. That happened and it shifted the emphasis from entertainment/shopping development on the east side to living space and office space. Lastly, greenspace. A couple large chunks of property on the east side were bought by the city and designated as green space. They effectively cut off a lot of the central business district from the convention center, TC and MMP. That was a decision (and a good one I think) made by Mayor White as part of a land swap deal that allowed Lakewood to by Compaq Center. --- You have to remember that none of this stuff happens in a vacuum. When MMP was being built, there was NOTHING on that end of town. There were few parking spaces, a lot of abandonded buildings, some homeless shelters and a huge chemical dump. As downtown changed with the building of MMP - the first real shot at bringing people downtown - people migrated to different areas for different reasons. The end result is a downtown that grows around what is most convenient. There wasn't space available on the west side of town for an arena or a ballpark or they would be right in the center of the entertainment district, but that doesn't mean they haven't dramatically effected development on the east side.
i hear all of that. and you're right. i still find it disappointing. it's not the same downtown ballpark experience that we see in other cities...even cities with new ballparks in downtown areas.
No question, but most of those were built right in the center of their downtown's busiest entertainment districts. We just didn't have the space for a ballpark or an arena in ours. Now, you go to a play or a concert at Jones Hall or the Hobby Center or Verizon Wireless Theater or the Wortham Center and you get a GREAT experience because of proximity.
1. i'm not sure about the first point. Coors Field is in a warehouse district, not very different from MMP's position. i would talk about Wrigley and Fenway, but that's not fair because they've had 100 years to develop those areas. 2. totally agree. the experience in the theater district is amazing. i'm not railing on Houston...or MMP. i love them both, a ton!! i just had different expectations about development around the ballpark. i assumed it would have more of the urban/mlb/downtown/density feel to it. and perhaps it will, ultimately.
but baltimore is a dump dude. and the area immediately around camden is full of parking lots and on one side houses. im not a fan.
i think it might be a good thing that downtown develops slowly. in new york, when a neighborhood starts to get "hot", developers come in and suck the life out of it. they build things quickly to cash in, which in turn prices the people, who made the area desirable in the first place, out of the area. what's left is a gentrified "mall". i agree with those who say downtown has changed dramatically. it was a ghost town in the 80's at night and it is a whole different place now. i have high hopes. i think it wouldn't be a bad investment to buy a loft now before it's too late.
Three parking lots next to South Texas College of Law (3 blocks from Toyota Center on San Jac & Polk) are being closed. One of them already is closed and coinstruction has already started. The guards at the law school said it will be shops, restaurants, and high rise apartments. That's progress. If they could make the buildings 2 or 3 stories of stores with apartments on top that would be PERFECT.
I think it's worth mentioning that MMP got people downtown. From all the talk about parking problems before the stadium was built, you could tell that most people had no idea how downtown was built and the resources available (in this case, parking.) Going downtown for a game brought people to restaurants they would of never gone to. It brought them to the AWESOME Bayou Place. It was the reason so many new establishments (bars, clubs restaurants) decided to make the HUGE investment in downtown knowing it wouldn't pay off for a few years. I think there is one other thing worth bringing up... DO WE WANT DEVELOPMENT NEXT TO THE PARK!!!???? EDIT: BallPark Place The ballpark place website is gone but I'm sure many remember how it was smack in the middle of the awesome skyline view through left field. The only way this wouldn't look awkward is if there were a lot of high rises so it would seem like the ballpark is smack in the middle of down town. You guys must not of visited the ballpark as it was being built. That was a really crappy part of town.
this is an excellent point, and i could not agree more. this was the real strength of the ballpark's contribution, i think.
