Anyone know if the hotels are validating?
Century Square paid parking starts May 11
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Last: 6 yr ago by halibut sinclair
australopithecus robustus
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Gopitt-
I hear ya. I don't think they will erode ngate just like greater Austin hasn't eroded dirty 6th, West 6th and Rainey.
I think it will just carve out two different crowds.
I hear ya. I don't think they will erode ngate just like greater Austin hasn't eroded dirty 6th, West 6th and Rainey.
I think it will just carve out two different crowds.
Captn_Ag05 said:
Anyone know if the hotels are validating?
I think they have their own parking areas
This is a good point. Things change over time. NG may well go down while Downtown Bryan goes up.gopitt said:
Austra- I agree, and you and I usually have different visions. The sales numbers are there at Northgate now, but I think Century Square and downtown Bryan will eventually erode those numbers. For an area that the city touts (Northgate) it has really turned into somewhat of a dump. Money needs to be put into that area to put some life into it. Not an attractive venue by any means. Sixth St. and other bar areas always have continual upgrades. New building fronts, etc., which is totally lacking in Northgate. The city and landlords can do much better.
australopithecus robustus
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Downtown Bryan will go up, albeit very slowly.
Northgate won't go down. It's right across from campus.
Northgate won't go down. It's right across from campus.
While I applaud Downtown Bryan for the attempts to bring more bars and restaurants, if you live in College Station, especially on the South End, you will not make the trek to Downtown Bryan because it's like 6 miles away. LOL.
I envision South College station seeing an uptick in restaurants and bars (that don't charge for parking), and that is beginning to happen with the development of Tower Point, adding RxPizza, Casa de Brasil, Mad Taco, Hullabaloo Diner and Bar, etc. along with the Thirsty Elephant, which is a pretty nice neighborhood bar. I don't think the concept of Century Square is going to appeal to the 25-40 somethings who live in South CS as much, because they want convenient, but close to home. That's just the trend is to go more suburban bars, closer to home.
For that reason, IMO, Century Square will remain a nice option, that I don't know will be able to attract enough to sustain it, especially if it continues to charge for parking. The only wild card, will be the influx of students in the Fall and Spring, who are spending mommy and daddy's money. That could sustain Century Square, even with the parking, because they simply don't care how much things cost when they aren't earning the money themselves.
I envision South College station seeing an uptick in restaurants and bars (that don't charge for parking), and that is beginning to happen with the development of Tower Point, adding RxPizza, Casa de Brasil, Mad Taco, Hullabaloo Diner and Bar, etc. along with the Thirsty Elephant, which is a pretty nice neighborhood bar. I don't think the concept of Century Square is going to appeal to the 25-40 somethings who live in South CS as much, because they want convenient, but close to home. That's just the trend is to go more suburban bars, closer to home.
For that reason, IMO, Century Square will remain a nice option, that I don't know will be able to attract enough to sustain it, especially if it continues to charge for parking. The only wild card, will be the influx of students in the Fall and Spring, who are spending mommy and daddy's money. That could sustain Century Square, even with the parking, because they simply don't care how much things cost when they aren't earning the money themselves.
Well, it depends on how you define "going down." I think what gopitt and others are suggesting is the valuable real estate right across the street from campus is being leveraged for "best use" (most profitable). Over time it appears that high rise apartments are displacing one or two story bars, etc. because they are considered "best use." In that regard, I don't think there's any question the area has gone "down" since we were in school.australopithecus robustus said:
Downtown Bryan will go up, albeit very slowly.
Northgate won't go down. It's right across from campus.
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It would be a tall order, with impeccable timing mathematically, to put together all those parcels with multiple commercial leases expiring at several different times. I could see a little of that happening here and there, but not in our lifetime
Leases are easily broken, especially for developers with deep pockets. New construction is inching more and more closely to the bars. I think you will see some new high rises sooner rather than later at NG.
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Leases can be broken, yes. Easily is debatable, given the ROI many of those businesses have
I don't think any major redevelopment of Northgate would happen until the Hurricane Harry's lot is reveloped, followed by the lots where Taco Bell, IHOP, Chipotle, and McDonald's, and the buildings at University and Stasney are. So, a long time.
Yeah, and I thought Cafe Excell, a NG institution, would be there forever and it was gone in the blink of an eye with high rise development. La Bodega, my favorite NG hangout disappeared shortly thereafter.
This is coveted real estate and developers will pay top dollar to get rid of these eyesores. Landlords are too cheap to upgrade the shoddy bar district. Fancy high rises will take their place. I think everyone will agree the development in NG in the last few years has been phenomenal. The last target is the bars.
This is coveted real estate and developers will pay top dollar to get rid of these eyesores. Landlords are too cheap to upgrade the shoddy bar district. Fancy high rises will take their place. I think everyone will agree the development in NG in the last few years has been phenomenal. The last target is the bars.
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Point taken but those were free standing properties, not multiple properties in a row that all share party walls. Most of them with different owners and all of them with different tenants.
The city owned the Cafe Eccell property and the lease expired.
The Cafe Eccell owners sold the Bodega property when they lost The old Cafe space. Notably, the Bodega property has yet to redevelop, and when it does it will be a bar/restaurant. The new owner of the property is the Chimy's owner and he told me as much.
The city owned the Cafe Eccell property and the lease expired.
The Cafe Eccell owners sold the Bodega property when they lost The old Cafe space. Notably, the Bodega property has yet to redevelop, and when it does it will be a bar/restaurant. The new owner of the property is the Chimy's owner and he told me as much.
It makes no sense that high rises would replace all the NG bars as proximity to the bars themselves is one of the largest selling points for those high rises.
Maybe somebody will get smart and put a bar on the ground floor of a high rise. Kinda like World of Beer.MBAR said:
It makes no sense that high rises would replace all the NG bars as proximity to the bars themselves is one of the largest selling points for those high rises.
halibut sinclair
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We ate at Moe's last night. We paid for an hour but went over our time. Nothing happened. No note. I would estimate that 2 out of 5 cars had warning notes on them. When we pulled out, the two parking enforcement ladies were both on the corner by the movie theater just chatting. So, they will warn you to pay, but it looks like that's all the teeth they have. I cannot imagine they will start towing. Can you imagine the blowback?
Just make friends with someone that works in the offices in Century Square -- go with them every time you go -- use their key fob for the garage --- voila, free parking.
OR even better -- convince your current office to lease office space at Century Square.
OR even better -- convince your current office to lease office space at Century Square.
We went again tonight. Didn't pay. Got a note. That is all. Park away, my friends.
A no paying for parking pact?
Went to Mo's. Cheese curds were excellent. Wings were pretty tasty too as was the rest of our meal. Service was prompt and attentive. Went to the car and got the note on the windshield. Drove home. All in all, a nice little outing.
Oogway said:
Went to the car and got the note on the windshield. Drove home.
I paid for my parking and put the slip on the dash and I got a note saying I don't pay for parking. Apparently they just assume you don't pay. Tried to call the number on the note and no one answered.
gopitt said:
The sales numbers are there at Northgate now, but I think Century Square and downtown Bryan will eventually erode those numbers.
I don't think that's going to be the case at all. You're talking about two totally different demographics/markets. Northgate will always appeal to the cheap, low income college student and happens to be well positioned right across from the campus. Century square and downtown Bryan are trying to appeal to older & more established people. Just because downtown Bryan takes off, doesn't mean NG will lose buseiness, they both can thrive.
Do you know how many college students come to A&M from out of town and graduate 4+ years later and pretty much only know how to get around the major College Station streets like Texas ave, university, George bush, and that's it? Even in today's world of everybody having a phone with GPS, it's a lot more than you think, sadly. Met tons of people when I was a student who didn't know where Jose's or even Luby's were and they are right down Texas towards Bryan. Cheap college students won't want to go to downtown Bryan just for distance and comfortability/familiarity alone.
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(Northgate) it has really turned into somewhat of a dump. Money needs to be put into that area to put some life into it.
Agreed, but college students aren't that picky where they waste their money.
Now I won't pretend to have much insight on zoning economics and you might very well be right that eventually NG gets taken over by high rises because those generate way more revenue, but NG is not going to be closing down anytime soon because of a change in the drinking scene.
The city is exploring the idea of selling the Northgate garage either to a developer to turn into mixed use development or to another company that will run the parking.
Yeah I don't think it's been quite the cash cow they thought it would be. The Eagle says usage has fallen thanks in part to people using Uber and fewer students driving cars.Captn_Ag05 said:
The city is exploring the idea of selling the Northgate garage either to a developer to turn into mixed use development or to another company that will run the parking.
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