Town Center plans tourism study

[RSS]

The Town Center Improvement District will spend about $35,000 to measure the impact of tourism on The Woodlands. "We are very, very excited," said TCID Chairwoman Nelda Luce Blair. "We know tourism has a tremendous impact intuitively. It gives us a real professional look at how important it is."http://feeds.chron.com/~r/houstonchronicle/nbwoodlandsnews/~4/161675581

More... (http://feeds.chron.com/~r/houstonchronicle/nbwoodlandsnews/~3/161675581/5167017.html)

[neverwas]

???

this is a strange thing?

in the meeting Tuesday night, they mentioned 2 or 3 times how 70% of the people visiting TCID were non-residents and spending lots of money to support us.

Why do we need another duplicate study to prove what TCID already knows??

[mdonn76405]

Do some research and find out who got the contract to do the study. You will be surprised.

[IndianSpringsGuy]

You guys floor me. The statement was non-residents, not tourists. The statement is actually within the context of the article. And what is wrong with the contractor? Constant complaining and distrust for such normal activities for a tourist area. The price is reasonable. So what is the complaint? That we have someone looking into tourism? That a reputable company is contarcted to do the work? So who want to tell us what the impact of tourism is on our community and what we can do to improve the influxx of dollars?

[Candleman]

Studies like this are usually a waste of money and many times when you follow the trail, it will lead to friends helping friends. ISG after a few more years of living in Montgomery County you might understand.

[Wilson]

Yeah, I don't really get it... I am "floored" that anyone would be supportive of this kind of spending. How many trees would $30K+ buy?

[IndianSpringsGuy]

[QUOTE=Wilson;5562]Yeah, I don't really get it... I am "floored" that anyone would be supportive of this kind of spending. How many trees would $30K+ buy?[/QUOTE

Well, if this turns out to be a waste of money, so be it. But the truth of the matter is that one of the goals of the Towncenter is to appeal to tourists and bring in the dollars of tourists. It is envisioned that the waterway will eventually be a huge success in the tourist industry. We already know that The Woodlands has stretched out to Latin families for a summer home to those living in the far south to vacation homes for Mexicans. Those families have relatives who will come here for tourism and so on. San Antonio is the competition but having both near each other brings a great tourism opportunuity. It started by competing with the Galleria. You really believe this is not money well spent? If so, you might not do very well in your own business. Only if I had the money to make such studies!

[mdonn76405]

Nelda already said that 70% of the spending is from outside The Woodlands. So we need to spend more money, WHY?

[Candleman]

[QUOTE=Wilson;5562]Yeah, I don't really get it... I am "floored" that anyone would be supportive of this kind of spending. How many trees would $30K+ buy?[/QUOTE

Well, if this turns out to be a waste of money, so be it. But the truth of the matter is that one of the goals of the Towncenter is to appeal to tourists and bring in the dollars of tourists. It is envisioned that the waterway will eventually be a huge success in the tourist industry. We already know that The Woodlands has stretched out to Latin families for a summer home to those living in the far south to vacation homes for Mexicans. Those families have relatives who will come here for tourism and so on. San Antonio is the competition but having both near each other brings a great tourism opportunuity. It started by competing with the Galleria. You really believe this is not money well spent? If so, you might not do very well in your own business. Only if I had the money to make such studies!

So the goal is to transform The Woodlands from "Your hometown" to Disneyland. Enjoy the traffic, and the concrete!!!!

[Candleman]

Who will benefit from the tourist industry. Will it be business or the homeowners?

[Wilson]

No thank you! Not all of us support this ;)

[mdonn76405]

But you will be paying for it.

[mdonn76405]

From Hometown, to Township, and finally,

Disneyland. Look out Florida, Nelda's got your number. I mean check out her house.

http://www.theblairhouse.net/index.cfm

[schnauzermom]

From Hometown, to Township, and finally,

Disneyland. Look out Florida, Nelda's got your number. I mean check out her house.




So she has a nice home. It's The Woodlands there are LOTS of homes just like hers out there. If you have an issue with Blair it should be about her leadership, NOT what her house looks like.

[mdonn76405]

I don't have an issue with her house. I have a nice house and yacht myself. In Fact I'm going to look for a new one tomorrow, a yacht. But I,m not so ego pushed that I have to put on line.
Understand the real picture.
I was born in San Antonio where the original River Walk is. It is wonderful and Crowded. It is also in the heart of DOWNTOWN.
The Woodlands River Walk is being expanded in to Lake Woodlands, for the boats.

Note: Seen the Eagles lately.

Nelda's House is huge and away from the congestion that we are going to suffer as we turn this Hometown in The Woods into Downtown San Antonio.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/woodlands/news/5167017.html

"We are very, very excited," said TCID Chairwoman Nelda Luce Blair. "We know tourism has a tremendous impact intuitively. It gives us a real professional look at how important it is."

The board hired The Perryman Group of Waco to measure the fiscal impact of tourism dollars in Town Center from outside Montgomery County. The study will include tourism's impact on the budget, income, retail sales, employment and restaurants in the downtown area of The Woodlands.

In a related matter, the TCID heard a report from The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center on the success of its business since opening in 2005. The hotel is distinct in the industry because it is generating as much money for lodging as it is for food and beverage sales.

NOTE: The Marriott as well as 75% of the land in TCID is owned by the Developer.

"It is about 50 percent room nights and 50 percent food and beverage," said Fred Domenick, general manager of the hotel. "We are only one of five in the Marriott chain that does as much in room nights as food and beverage."

The occupancy at the hotel has remained steady at about 75 percent, but the rates have jumped from $129.88 per night in 2005 to $188.25 in 2007. Food and beverage sales also increased from $13.1 million to $17.1 million over the same period.

"You know, you throw one heck of a party," Blair said. "Lots of people think so, too."
The Marriott continues to get above its share of the hotel market in the area and consistently high marks from customers, Domenick said.

I have lived in the Houston area for almost 60 years. I moved out here like so many others, to live in nice houses away from DOWNTOWN.
Smell the coffee, it is all about money, not the wishes of the residents.

[mdonn76405]

http://blogs.chron.com/woodlands/archives/2007/09/taking_the_puls.html

September 28, 2007
Taking the pulse on tourism in Town Center
The Town Center Improvement District announced this week it will spend about $35,000 to measure the impact of tourism on The Woodlands.

The board hired a firm to measure the fiscal impact of tourism dollars in Town Center from outside Montgomery County. The study will include tourism's impact on the budget, income, retail sales, employment and restaurants in the downtown area of The Woodlands.

The district now generates about $1 billion in retail sales annually, as well as 300,000 hotel room nights in the district's eight hotels. But how much of that is attributed to tourism has never been measured.

The downtown area of The Woodlands has exploded with growth in the last five years. It will be interesting to see who is spending the money and who pockets it.
Posted by Alan Fossler at September 28, 2007 11:22 AM

[IndianSpringsGuy]

Who will benefit from the tourist industry. Will it be business or the homeowners?
Both. Are you against having a town center and a business area in The Woodlands? Town Center was planned from the beginning. The River Walk was an idea that came later but, it has great potential for homeowners who will benefit from taxes, and the businesses which will try to make money out of their investments. There remains great opportunities for business owners. Why not put together a business plan yourself and leverage those oportunities? I know a fireman that did it and is being quite successful. I don't know why anyone knocks it, except that it is not a residence village. Town Center has already provided many varying places to eat and things to do out of a previously boring place. We need more and there is a lot more planned.

[mdonn76405]

It will be interesting to see who is spending the money and who pockets it.
Posted by Alan Fossler at September 28, 2007 11:22 AM

Fossler is a Chronicle writer. ISG, why do you think a liberal newspaper would make this comment?

[mdonn76405]

You are right ISG, the more people we bring here, the more money, traffic, people, and reason to build more buildings, roads, restaurants, high rises, hotels........etc. This means the need for more police, clean up crews, and of course apartments for the low wage earners, More schools for their children, more buildings, Schools, maybe another stadium, more parking lots, widen Research, Gosling, Woodlands Parkway. How about some sound walls, and not but least some imminent domain to acquire land to put all this on.
If we are lucky we can plant some fake trees, with stuffed birds and squirrels. And how about the Eagles, Remote control maybe.
Wouldn't you know it; Channel two just did a story about over crowding at the College. Time to expand. Welcome to The Woodlands, soon to be The Concrete Jungle.

[Candleman]

ISG, according to your own web site "indianspringsguy
An advocate of saving the great Piney Woods of Texas and quality living where noise and light pollution are minimized. ""I believe that The Woodlands quality has deteriorated over the past five years and am now an activist for permanent improvements in the community."

This seems to contradict you ideas of more more more. You want more business which increase traffic which increases pollution, noise, light, crime, congestion, overcrowded schools. You think it is shameful for a homeowner to cut down a skinny scragly pine tree, but you seem to be OK with HEB and other business ventures to take out every single tree on their property. You can't plant trees as fast as buliders take them down. You seem to think the increase in sales tax revenue will benefit the homeowner. I have to ask you how? Property taxes will not go down, and if they do they will just increase the appraised value so it's all the same in the end. Any saving to the homeowner will be displaced by longer commute times which equals more fuel used. More people in The Woodlands will result in more auto accidents, auto thefts, which will increase auto insurance. So please tell me where the savings and benefit is for the homeowner who doesn't have an agenda.

[mdonn76405]

I'm watching my waist line, so I cook at home. Also we are all athletes, and the Army makes me stay in shape.
Business ops, my wife's law office is in the Galleria, and mine is in the Middle East. I move out here for peace and quite from police work and wars.
Nelda said she already has enough money coming in from outside. Why do we need more. Does she need another mansion or Serendipity. Thats her little sky scraper boat. It's on her website.
Greed ruins everything and corrupts. History proves that.

[Wilson]

I agree with Schnauzer. Any comments directed to Nelda's house, location, whatever, just takes away from the real issues and frankly, I think trivializes the argument about her politics.

[mdonn76405]

You are right and you are wrong. Try a Google search on Nelda and see what you find. She has a law office in every major city in Texas. She makes her money on the misfortunes of others. If you don't pay your new taxes, Nelda's firm will be calling you. She thumped her nose at TEC by saying, "THEY DON'T SCARE ME", as she and her husband paid their fines. She is so rich, she brags about it on line, and thumbs her nose at the law. When I attended the governance school put on by the WCSC, the first place we viewed was Nelda's house.
I have a problem with any child can grow up to be President; If your rich!
That is why the richer get richer, the poor get poorer, and you and I pick up the tab.
She paid the Eppstein Group 2 Mil to lobby for this takeover. The Chronicle reported that Kenny Speight and Barry Milleson were contacted out of the blue to educate us on this vote.
Speight's wife works at Nelda's firm and Barry's boss's daughter sits on the TCID board. I could write a novel on Nelda and her connections and how many unfortunate people built that house with their shattered dreams.
Can I have an Amen?

[skeptic]

We can't have garage sales because we don't want the traffic, i.e. riff raff, in our neighborhoods. What do you think will happen with expanded tourism? If I wanted to move to a tourist trap, I would have stayed in Houston 14 years ago. How can ISG call this a boring place? I loved the peace and quiet of Mitchell's Woodlands. I don't need more restaurants etc. to be entertained.

[Wilson]

Welcome to TOTW, Skeptic!!! Enjoy your stay :)

[mdonn76405]

Man continues eminent domain fight
By Tiffany Williams, Courier staff10/01/2007
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
SOUTH COUNTY - A Tamina resident continues to fight for land he claims to own, despite losing the most recent court battle.



Ivy Bell believes he owns a 1.078-acre tract next to his home and property. The city of Shenandoah used condemnation proceedings to take ownership of the land in March 2006. Then, the Shenandoah Industrial Development Corporation sold it for commercial use.
A lawsuit was filed to remove Bell from the property, but a temporary injunction to keep developers from entering the property until the issue is resolved was granted to Bell earlier this year.
Last month, however, County Court-at-Law 2 Judge Jerry Winfree denied Bell's motion for a new trial in an attempt to reverse the condemnation.
Bell's attorney, Harold Denton, filed an appeal Sept. 18 in the 9th District Court of Appeals in Beaumont after Winfree's ruling.
Denton claims Shenandoah did not notify Bell of the eminent domain proceedings in 2006.
"They slipped it under the rug," Denton said.
Peterson Commercial LLC, a Houston-based development company, purchased the land for about $11,000 from the SIDC earlier this year. Bell said he realized the property had been sold when construction vehicles rolled onto the property to begin clearing it for development late last spring.
Bell's home is on one acre adjacent to the property in question. His wife also operates a business on the land.
Denton says Bell owned the land through a little-known provision in the law called adverse possession, which allows a person who has "notoriously" lived on and improved an unclaimed piece of property for at least 10 years to take ownership of it.
Bell said he has obviously lived on and improved the property since he moved to Tamina in the late 1980s.
According to Denton's third amended motion for a new trial filed Sept. 18, developers want to use the land as a detention pond for private businesses.
R.A. "Mickey" Deison, attorney for the city of Shenandoah and SIDC, contends Bell never openly claimed the property, never went through the proper proceedings to become the owner and never contested the eminent domain.
Deison said Bell's appeal is "wholly without merit" and predicted it would be rejected.
He said he is equally pleased the court set a $360,000 bond that Bell will have to pay to keep construction from beginning on the property.
"That is a very expensive piece of property," Deison said. "It is holding up some development ... that is expensive for clients (to delay). The court has set a bond in recognition of the value of that."
While the SIDC sold the property for $11,000, Bellwould receive only about $2,000 from the SIDC for the acre. Bell's home sits on another acre, which is valued at $116,000, according to the Montgomery County Appraisal District.
Tiffany Williams can be reached at twilliams@hcnonline.com.



©Houston Community Newspapers Online 2007