From Swamplot:
http://swamplot.com/a-new-main-st-ap...te/2014-05-05/
Quote:
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Alliance Residential hasn’t even finished construction on the 203-unit Broadstone apartment complex at 3800 Main, on the southwest corner of Main St. and Alabama in Midtown — but already equipment crews are tearing up a neighboring 1.03-acre lot across Travis St. for a second phase of the development.
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This is a stone's throw from the HCC/Ensemble Station. The number of new and existing units within two or three blocks of that station will soon be approaching 700 with these two new buildings plus the Ventana (two blocks east), Isabella Court, etc. That station already handles a substantial number of riders coming and going from HCC at all hours. Soon the MATCH will be a block away (breaking ground tomorrow - May 7) and the planned Mid-Main mixed project will be directly across from the same station (mixed use including an additional 350 or so apartments). Of course the Ensemble Theatre is right there two, along with the Cram & Ferguson Trinity church, morning lines around the block at Breakfast Klub and late night crowds at Continental Club, Double Trouble, etc.
The bad news in the area has always been the large homeless population which doesn't do much for the area's reputation. I hold no personal grudge, but it is fair to point out the price that is paid by all of the neighborhood in terms of a general sense of mayhem (shopping carts, trash, people sleeping on stoops and dumpster diving) and particularly because of panhandlers. While this situation is not unusual in urban America (as anyone who has spent time in San Francisco or New York can attest) BUT Houston generally doesn't have the density of ordinary folks on the street to offset the presence of a relatively large number of hobos who can be aggressive asking for a handout (who may or may not be chemically or mentally unhinged
). The reason that these guys are in midtown and downtown is not rocket science: it is where all of the social service organizations are located. I'm not suggesting that this can be fixed by simply moving all of these people out. I also don't want to turn this into an anecdote rehash party because I have lived all over town and this area isn't any more dangerous in reality than areas that are considered to be far safer. What's at stake here is perception.
The good news is this: the influx of new businesses and
hundreds of residents will dilute this underbelly. If you walk down the street and the
only person you see is a bum, it can be disconcerting. If you walk down the street and there is a bum along with some students, people walking the dog, a group going out for a drink etc., you don't care, or at least you care less. I'm looking forward to seeing how this area evolves in the next few years as those who need social services are not the only people visible on the sidewalk.
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This project is about to get out of the starting blocks.
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