Most of the undeveloped land in Midtown is on the south side of Main Street. Now, that's changing.
Mid-Main is one of Houston's newest rising hotspots. It looks a lot different than it did eight years ago when Jeff Roeske and his sister opened funky eatery Tacos A Go-Go.
"Knock on wood and thank God that we're looking into expanding," Roeske said.
"Some of the major apartment builders have started buying sites there and are under construction at this point in time," Bill Franks with Midtown Management District said.
Once vacant lots and warehouses, the blocks between 3400 and 3700 Main are now host live music, arts, theatre, eclectic restaurants and boutiques.
"We definitely have taken that area and tried to help do things with it," RHS Interests President Bob Schultz said.
And the area features a bar that doubles as coffee house.
"There are some Saturday mornings that before we open there's 18 people standing outside," said Bart Maloney, owner of Big Kats Tattoo & Barber Shop.
And now, the lines at the barber shop are about to get longer.
"Our interest in the area has sort of grown over time," Schultz said.
A 360-unit mid-rise apartment complex, over 30,000 square feet of retail space is on the way. It'll include an 800-spot parking garage with zip cars, catering to young professionals and college students without cars.
"I think we've seen the city is evolving and starting to value time and not in the car and not having to commute so long and being able to walk to places near your house," Schultz said.
The future here is promising: two renovated parks, 453 new apartments and 74 new town homes. In all, $14 million in new buildings. And Schultz has more plans to convert some of the older buildings.
It's inviting more business, more money and, Roeske hopes more people to mid-Main.
Plans for the new apartment/retail space will be announced later this month, along with a construction timeline. We've also heard there are plans for a multi-level parking garage near Sparrow and the Breakfast Klub to alleviate parking problems.
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