Friday, February 15, 2008

Ashby Highrise Concerns

This post has been long and late in coming. What is going on with the Ashby Highrise?
From stopashbyhighrise.org

The Buckhead developers ,Kevin Kirton and Matthew Morgan, requested a meeting with representatives of the Stop Ashby High Rise Task Force to discuss alternatives to the construction of the 23-story commercial/residential building at 1717 Ashby that they originally proposed.

Apparently they're willing to negotiate a deal where:
  1. They'll Reduce the height of the structure to 19 stories by building fewer, bigger condominium units, but they reserved the right to build as many units as originally proposed if they could not sell enough of the larger units.
  2. If they received a cash payment of $2.65 million, they would build a 6 story building consisting of two floors or parking and four floors of apartments.
As of this morning the Council approved a motion by Council Member Clutterbuck to delay consideration of the high density ordinance for two more weeks. The Buckhead developers have also agreed to delay any permitting on the Ashby High Rise for this same two week period.

My 2 cents (i have to):
Some have tried to argue that people should not fight change. I agree some change is inevitable and allows us to progress as a community....

but somehow i don't think that this is the case....as with a lot of development in Houston, the main focus is usually on $$ to be made... of course... but shouldn't there be some consideration and thought taken on how they might also improve or add to a neighborhood....thus making such a development even more desirable? Thoughtful design is good design. There's nothing that says that developers and residents couldn't have a mutually beneficial relationship.

Well, just in case you have my same sentiments maybe you'll want to sign the petition to stop the ashby 23 storey highrise. ;)

Have a great weekend!

Other reads:

+ Ashby highrise ordinance delayed again
+Houston Strategies
+Recent Houston Chronicle Article

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If you look at it from a green building perspective, it is much more environmentally conscious to build high density, joined walls dwellings, with common use areas, than a few single family homes.

From the vehicle impact study done, the five hundred or so extra vehicles that pass thru the area will be diluted throughout the rest of the days traffic.