Lake Thicket - Do a Good Job

From: Pierre Latour
Sent: Friday, June 01, 2012 11:37 AM
To: Jessica Murray, Skanska
Subject:  Lake Thicket - Do a Good Job

Jessica,
Thank you for this prompt, thoughtful reply to my text to Skanska, Matt Daniel, below. I particularly noted your fourth bullet.

Since I walked your property 2x/week for 30 years, I am well aware of the deterioration after Transocean moved out, Ike hit and summer 2011 drought damaged flora. I welcomed your purchase to fix up the place.

Like most MTHA residents and neighbors, I want your investment to succeed long term, enhance my property value if you can. Be proud to have an attractive and profitable development next door.

One rule 101 of real estate investing is check the neighborhood, talk to people, confer with them about your plans that could affect them, allay fears, convince them you know what you are doing. Many big developers offer a rendering and model of their proposed project, to win buy-in and enthusiasm from those interested and affected. So I encourage you to communicate with Phil Richardson and MTHA representatives.

I am not your adversary, I wish you well and success. I help finance keeping Memorial Thicket and my own yard in pretty good condition to attract corporate developers like Skanska. So does BP-Amoco and the Energy Corridor.

Our area is known as Westlake for a reason; nature gave us lakes and natural wildlife. This was once a giant thicket. You are surrounded by creeks, bayous, drainage ditches, natural and manmade ponds and Harris County park. Make the most of it.

You should take comfort that your new MT neighbors care so much about what you plan to do next door. You know retirees and families will pass by your property walking, jogging and riding bikes to Terry Hershey County Park, Langham Creek and Buffalo Bayou, with lots of wildlife. Surely you can understand the affection for Muscovy Ducks that hatch up to 24 ducklings annually, only to lose half within three months to natural predators (hawks, raccoons) who have a natural right to be predators. Those Texas Vultures may not be Endangered, but they are Protected Species. I saw a big flat turtle in Exxon-Mobil’s lovely lake on 26May12; Lake Thicket used to have them too. Look at those brown tree ducks standing like soldiers at attention, attached 16TreeDucks.

Besides preserving Lake Thicket to delight your future tenants and support premium rents, be sure your engineers know about the 12 inches in 4 hours rains your property has experienced every decade or so for thousands of years (that would be 100/millennium). Water drains off in several directions, hopefully to Langham Creek across the street. Some does flow through Memorial Thicket and a big pipe under my back yard. I have seen it at capacity 3x since I invested in MT. I advise you not to increase drainage flow to Memorial Thicket, to avoid damage and anger from MT property owners. But of course you already knew that and would never do such a thing. Elementary.

Seems reasonable for neighbors to expect Skanska to be a quality outfit, creating a first class development next door. Hope you find this helpful.

Pierre R Latour
Memorial Thicket Homeowner Since 1982