It's always nice to hear when money is dedicated to upgrading attractions in Houston that have a fond memory in your heart. The train located next to the Houston Zoo at Hermann Park is one of those attractions with memories I personally hold dear.

Anne Marie Kilday reports from the Houston Chronicle that the 35-horsepower locamotive and train could be receiving money for upgrades to the train and track system.

Under a proposal from the Hermann Park Conservancy and the Houston City Council's quality-of-life committee, the little train could be getting a $4 million upgrade, with new tracks and trains, a new train station and three new train stops.

Two new stops will be located near the MetroRail depots at Hermann Park/Rice and at the Houston Zoo. The third new train stop will be near the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Houston Garden Center and Miller Outdoor Theatre. - The Houston Chronicle

Residents of real estate developments in the area, such as the Mosaic at Hermann Park, are bound to enjoy the features that this proposal could bring to Hermann Park's Lake Plaza. The Houston City Council is to discuss this proposal on Wednesday.

What part of Houston holds memories from your childhood?

You really do take a lot of the nice buildings in Houston that we have for granted sometimes. Over at the Houston Chronicle, Nancy Sarnoff posted a nice bio on Gerald Hines, the developer of buildings such as the Galleria and the water wall of the Williams Tower.

It's hard to imagine this city without a Galleria, Williams Tower, JPMorgan Chase Tower, Pennzoil Place or any of the number of Hines buildings designed by world-renowned architects I.M. Pei, Cesar Pelli and the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. His collaboration with the late Philip Johnson resulted in a showcase of buildings that some say was the architect's best work.

"Gerald Hines put us on the map in terms of great buildings," said Barrie Scardino, executive director of the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects. "Architecturally, Houston would be pretty poverty-stricken without him." - The Houston Chronicle

I've personally been to the water wall and I highly suggest any visitor to Houston visit this wonderful work of art. Get directions by visiting this link at Google Maps.

Back in December of 2006, Harris county released new flood plain maps and many properties in Houston that weren't in a flood plain were now classified to be in a flood plain, therefor making it mandatory that the homeowners carry flood insurance. When the maps were released, new homeowners in the new flood plain boundaries were allowed 6 months to obtain flood insurance at non-flood plain rates. The current deadline is June 18, 2008.

Here were are in May, 2007, and this deadline is quickly approaching! If your home is located within the new flood plain boundaries, be sure to take advantage of the cheaper flood insurance offered by the National Flood Insurance Program.

An increase in jobs is always a good sign that the real estate market in a city if growing. Marvin over at Creiz blogged a couple of months ago about how the jobs in Houston have grown from January 2006-2007 than any other metropolitan area in the nation. He also continues to speculate about the increase in traffic, and how our city would be much nicer with "greenery" in and around town.

I've personally been seeing the prices in Downtown Houston increase in value over the recent years. Many of my clients are actually seeing six figure yearly appreciation rates at certain points in the inner 610 Loop market.

Downtown [Houston] real estate is going to continue to increase in value so where will the majority of people (in the low to mid income range) end up looking for houses? More often than not they will probably be looking for real estate in the suburbs as property gets more and more expensive closer to downtown. - Marvin