North rail line may be spurring development

Chron: on the verge of a boom

Jay Blazek Crossley, Jun 07, 10.

The Near Northside, directly adjacent to Houston’s downtown, is experiencing an increase in developments and rising property values, according to the Houston Chronicle. The Chronicle notes that these recent developments are possibly related to the coming North Line light rail extension that the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County is building, first of the 5 new planned light rails that make up METRO’s current rail transit expansion plans.

The Chronicle notes that local business and property owners are concerned about the perceptions about problems that occurred during construction of METRO’s first light rail line, the Main Street Line, but that some are also foreseeing the benefits of increased transit access for the neighborhoods. METRO is conducting an set of mitigation measures to alleviate the effects on small businesses and neighborhoods during construction.