I had reasons to drive through the 3rd Ward on business last week. I was impressed with the level of high end/ high density real estate development that is going on. The transformation of the 3rd Ward is happening much quicker than even the optimists predicted.
What I wasn’t aware of is that 75 % of the current residents of the 3rd Ward are renters. Which means developers are buying tracts of land from landlords instead of owner occupiers. That scenario means development will happen quickly as landlords are easier to come to terms with.
I am very sympathetic to people who fight against gentrification. However in Houston in particular and Texas in general, real estate gets put to its highest and best use without regard to much sense of history.
If the 3rd goes high end/ high density as it appears it will, that is a game changer for the University and attendance at football and basketball games. Over the next 10-15 years the current 3rd Ward will transform to being part the residential area of the medical center and downtown and it will drag U of H with it. UH will no longer be the university in a bad part of town but a high end public university located in a high end residential part of Houston.
This feels like it will easily degenerate into a political thread but I’ll try not to be the one to start it. I doubt creating a bubble between low income housing and the University of Houston will have a positive impact on UH football and basketball recruiting.
Who said anything about most or even half? I said it won’t have a positive impact. Are you saying that some players stay away from UH because it’s too close to third ward?
I said it won’t improve recruiting and you turned it into me saying we lose most of our current recruits. How am I the one using the straw argument ole king of hyperbole?
Couldn’t we all agree that the 3rd ward, being situated next to the Med Center and Downtown, is going to be developed in a big way. It is a keystone that attaches the Med Center, Downtown, U of H, Rice University and TSU.
The people I was with last week said the developers moving in are significant. They also seemed to think that the area could develop into a night club and live music area for Houston as it is the home of the blues in Houston.
That’s a silly argument. Rice is right next to the Med Center, had rail way before UH, is smack dab in the middle of the most gentrified, richest zip codes in Houston with residential towers surrounding it, and it hasn’t helped their attendance one bit. Heck you could walk in for free after half time not to long ago.
The only thing that helps attendance is winning. End of story.
Improving the area around UH can only be beneficial for the University, students, visitors, staff, coaches, and everyone else. There’s a large bubble between low income housing in Houston and Tuscaloosa, but that wouldn’t stop anyone from playing for Alabama.
I think the 3rd Ward is the next big real estate play in Houston. It is perfectly situated between the med center and downtown. Plus 75% of the real estate is not owner occupied. You know landlords, they will sell anything (including their mothers) at the right price.
3rd ward development can only help UH. I’m sorry the historical legacy of 3rd ward isn’t something pleasant for a lot of people. I think the 3rd ward is on it’s way to being the next heights.
3rd Ward would take about 10-15 years to resemble anything like the Heights.
The area north of UH to 45 and northwest of UH are prime for redevelopment because of the many vacant lots. I hope UH is buying some of these properties for expansion. They could put large parking lots there and when needed, repurpose for facilities.
South and southwest of campus are good residential areas. If they don’t have HOAs, they need to get them to keep their neighborhoods up to better standards.
If the property north and northwest of UH develops property with apartments, shops, restaurants and bars, the home values south of the campus will definitely rise. Hmmm, I better start looking.
UH isn’t buying those properties, but real estate folks are starting to grab them. Lot more apartments and other things are starting to go in around campus.
The storied Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston’s Third Ward will begin a new chapter in January when construction on its multimillion-dollar expansion kicks off.
The church, founded in 1962 by Rev. Bill Lawson and 13 students from Texas Southern University, will double space for congregants to worship with a new 80,000 square-foot sanctuary and additional education complex. The educational complex will sit on the site of Frenchy’s Chicken, a beloved Third Ward institution.
Frenchy’s Chicken will move to an interim location at Blodgett and Scott Street by the end of the year while the new flagship location at Alabama and Scott is built, said Rev. Marcus D. Cosby, pastor at Wheeler Avenue.
