HOUSTON | The Langley | 228 FT / 69 M | 20 FLOORS - Page 2

toxteth o'grady · #21 Posted **May 16, 2013, 8:58 PM**

Demo's the easy part.

Urbannizer · #22 Posted **May 30, 2013, 1:22 AM**

Quote:

Oops! Controversial Ashby high rise build accidently crushes a neighbor's fence: Bricks are flying!

Bricks are flying at 1717 Bissonnett as demolition crews make way for the ever-controversial Ashby high rise . . . And when we say "flying," we mean it.

Workers have been caught taking down a brick wall of the former Maryland Manor in a less than careful manner.

Like the new 21-story tower that will replace it, the old apartment building sits just feet from neighboring homes. While crews attempted to keep debris inside the property line, one gentle push of the old apartment building's brick wall caused it to collapse — and destroy the fence of an adjacent residence.

That homeowner, Scott Reamer, caught the entire incident on camera (see the video above).

While developers Buckhead Investment Partners managed to beat back a six-year grassroots effort to stop construction from beginning on the the high rise, area residents remain committed to keeping close tabs on the project. The smashed fence video is now being used by the Stop the Ashby High Rise group.

"The Stop Ashby task force main concern right now is safety," Kathryn McNiel, a volunteer with the group, tells CultureMap. "This is a huge building on a very small space and just doesn't belong in a residential neighborhood like this. We plan to hold them accountable for every step along the way."

In early May, nearby residents filed suit against Buckhead with a claim that the tower will "cause harm to them and their homes." The video from Reamer — who is not listed as part of the lawsuit — certainly seems to support that charge.

“We have never believed this project could be built safely,” Jamie Flatt, another Stop Ashby member who lives next to the building site, said in a statement.

“The bricks that came flying over my fence landed only six inches away from my gas meter. It is ridiculous that the City allows a 21-story building to be built five feet away from someone’s back fence.”

Article: http://houston.culturemap.com/news/r...ks-are-flying/

Chicago3rd · #23 Posted **Jun 1, 2013, 2:11 PM**

Can't wait for this baby to go up. Walk past it every day. They are going to have views of skylines on all sides!

Urbannizer · #24 Posted **Jun 1, 2013, 4:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicago3rd

Can't wait for this baby to go up. Walk past it every day. They are going to have views of skylines on all sides!

Hey if you walk past the site everyday, do you mind taking photos of the demo and construction progress? :-)

toxteth o'grady · #25 Posted **Jun 3, 2013, 3:09 PM**

And the demos?

Chicago3rd · #26 Posted **Jun 12, 2013, 9:13 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ()_T

Hey if you walk past the site everyday, do you mind taking photos of the demo and construction progress? :-)

Sure....nothing there now...trees and all. But will update progress.

Chicago3rd · #27 Posted **Jun 19, 2013, 1:51 AM**

The lot as of today

Shasta · #28 Posted **Jun 19, 2013, 4:20 AM**

Funny, I knew the affordable apartments full of Rice graduate students was going to go away, but I don't think I mentally prepared myself for all of the mature trees to be clear cut.

Sorry, but this is a horrible place for a tower. We have so few beautiful and "historic" areas of town but this was one of them. Unbelievable that some of those 1920s charmers are going to have a cheap, precast tower as a neighbor.

Chicago3rd · #29 Posted **Jun 20, 2013, 1:38 AM**

[QUOTE=Shasta;6169472]Funny, I knew the affordable apartments full of Rice graduate students was going to go away, but I don't think I mentally prepared myself for all of the mature trees to be clear cut.

Sorry, but this is a horrible place for a tower. We have so few beautiful and "historic" areas of town but this was one of them. Unbelievable that some of those 1920s charmers are going to have a cheap, precast tower as a neighbor.[/QUOTEs]

Was sort of shocked when they were cutting them down. Tall palms and some smaller oaks. Most places I have lived would have transplanted them....sold them. Not Houston.

Shasta · #30 Posted **Jun 20, 2013, 4:59 AM**

PM realty spent a few days preserving trees and moving them to another site before they broke ground on the Wesleyan Tower currently going up. I was impressed. Of course, PM Realty is a Dallas-based company.

Sad to see this local company (the two developers live in The City of West University Place) not do the same. They could have used the positive p.r. by donating those trees to a local park but Houston is a city to make a quick buck.

Quite frankly, I was glad to see the uprising of the local neighborhood. It gives me hope that one day Houston will grow up.

verybadgnome · #31 Posted **Jul 8, 2013, 5:45 PM**

I spent a couple days in Montrose over the long 4th of July weekend and biked down Hazard street to this area. Saw a lot of anti-Ashby signs on lawns of very nice houses. I still don't see what the big deal is about *especially* considering this is Houston, Texas we are talking about. I would also like to ask the locals about the traffic situation if the Ashby does not get built. Will it mean that people will be driving further to get to work and hence more congestion, albeit not in their neighborhood?

toxteth o'grady · #32 Posted **Jul 8, 2013, 6:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shasta

Sad to see this local company (the two developers live in The City of West University Place) not do the same. They could have used the positive p.r. by donating those trees to a local park but Houston is a city to make a quick buck.

The Next Great American Clear-Cut?

Chicago3rd · #33 Posted **Jul 12, 2013, 3:01 AM**

http://www.1717updates.com/

shakman · #34 Posted **Jul 12, 2013, 3:04 PM**

Quote:

We are grateful to the community for its flexibility and support as we continue with the safe construction of this exciting new development.

I am sure the nearby residences greatly appreciate this quote from the posted link to the main article.

toxteth o'grady · #35 Posted **Jul 12, 2013, 5:09 PM**

"...These temporary sidewalk and parking lane closures allow for the safe removal of existing street trees, which has been permitted by the City after careful consideration by several tree experts. It was determined that these trees would not survive the stress from the construction process and that they could not be transplanted due to their proximity to the street curb. However, our Replanting Plan calls for replacing them with more trees than are being removed, and these new trees will have an aggregate caliper-width greater than that of the trees that they will replace. We are also pleased to announce that we have offered to donate six 65-gallon trees via Trees for Houston to be planted in locations to-be-determined by the Southampton and Boulevard Oaks civic organizations..."

That's the party line as of June 3.

Urbannizer · #36 Posted **Jul 21, 2013, 12:31 AM**

Today by LarryDierker on HAIF

AviationGuy · #37 Posted **Jul 21, 2013, 12:54 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by toxteth o'grady

"...These temporary sidewalk and parking lane closures allow for the safe removal of existing street trees, which has been permitted by the City after careful consideration by several tree experts. It was determined that these trees would not survive the stress from the construction process and that they could not be transplanted due to their proximity to the street curb. However, our Replanting Plan calls for replacing them with more trees than are being removed, and these new trees will have an aggregate caliper-width greater than that of the trees that they will replace. We are also pleased to announce that we have offered to donate six 65-gallon trees via Trees for Houston to be planted in locations to-be-determined by the Southampton and Boulevard Oaks civic organizations..."

That's the party line as of June 3.

Glad to hear that there's more to the story than meets the eye. Thanks for the information.

photoLith · #38 Posted **Jul 21, 2013, 10:12 PM**

Tower of traffic? These people are idiots. I lived in Houston House downtown and that has way way more residents than this will and Houston House caused no traffic. What are they thinking that 10,000 people are going to be living there? Those ugly yellow signs all over that hood are way way more damaging to the aesthetics of the neighborhood than this tower ever could be.

toxteth o'grady · #39 Posted **Jul 22, 2013, 3:38 PM**

I love the Yao Ming reference. Points for creativity.

toxteth o'grady · #40 Posted **Jul 27, 2013, 7:13 PM**

Drove past today (sorry, no pictures). Graffiti has been covered over. I was not aware this was across the street from the Hillel House.