Alief population shifts on KHOU 11
Tiffany D. Thomas
Joe Lippeatt
Very interesting video. A big part of the difficulty attracting businesses and job providers seems to be commercial real estate.
Alief has a lot of “investment” properties that sit vacant for years. Many of these buildings or units are technically available, but functionally unusable. About ten years ago, I tried to move my business into an empty space near my home. The owner was difficult to track down. When I finally did find them, the rent per square foot was extremely high. After chatting about the property (to buy or lease), it became clear they were not interested in leasing. Their priority was to hold the property and waiting for its value to increase. It was an "investment", not an actual opportunity for a business.
That creates a ripple effect. Businesses are understandably hesitant to move into half empty shopping centers, which only reinforces the vacancy problem.
There are good examples of how this can work when investment and follow through happen. Home Coffee on Kirkwood is a great one. That building was a vacant Long John Silver’s for nearly twenty years, with repeated break-ins and illegal dumping. With investment, it is now a thriving coffee shop within walking distance of the community center. The long abandoned shopping center next to Popeye’s that was finally torn down is another example of progress, even if redevelopment has not happened yet, the optics of blight are gone.
I do not pretend to know the full solution, but allowing property to sit vacant for ten or twenty plus years is clearly a big part of the problem.
Navasota is a strong example of what change can look like. About fifteen years ago, nearly their entire main street was empty aside from a few antique shops. Today, after focused investment and changes at City Hall, nearly every building has been renovated and is occupied.
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Tiffany D. Thomas
Sent: Monday, December 29, 2025 11:50:31 AM
To: Tiffany D. Thomas <deshel...@hotmail.com>
Cc: 'Miracle Bui' via AliefLife - The Alief Super Neighborhood Council <alie...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [alieflife] Alief population shifts on KHOU 11
Stan Jarreau
A wise man gets criticized He learns.
An ignorant man gets criticized he gets mad.
On Dec 29, 2025, at 11:50 AM, Joe Lippeatt <ext...@gmail.com> wrote:
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/alieflife/79BB2122-EC5E-41E5-B755-37142C983651%40gmail.com.
