The Evolution of Belton TX Nightlife: How Level 3 Is Redefining the Scene
Belton, TX, has always had its small-town charm, but when it comes to nightlife, the city is evolving. While the area has traditionally been home to restaurants with bars, the demand for vibrant nightlife, live music, and craft cocktails has been growing. At the center of this transformation is Level 3, a stylish, high-energy bar […]
Perspective
Mike Tyson has dropped a few jewels of wisdom on us over the years. One of his lesser-known quotes came when he pointed at his head and said “In here it’s a bad neighborhood, and you’re always by yourself.” Those words ring so true in so many ways. While I’ve always considered myself an optimist, […]
The Build: The Final Chapter
It was in 2019 that we began this project. We spent a lot of time in planning, engineering, and designing, so most of 2019 was paperwork, but the construction began in 2020. At that time I started this blog series, “The Build”, wherein I set out to document the entire process, from start to finish, […]
The Build, Part IV: Slab
In the last entry we covered civil, and truly only scratched the surface (pun intended). Since that writing, we finished all the underground utility work and passed the city inspections with flying colors. The power pole has been set and connected by Oncor so we have electric service as needed. With the civil work complete […]
The Build, Part III: The Civil
It’s been a whole minute since my last entry, and that’s primarily due to being locked in the slow, agonizing process of waiting. There’s a lot of that in projects like this. Planning a multi-story building that requires multiple engineers, an architect, a designer, a lender, your local government, and independent subcontractors from all over […]
The Build, Part II
In the first chapter, we discussed planning and assembling the team. Now we can move on to figuring out how to pay for it. Even with the largest commercial projects, you always begin with a “projected” budget. Or, what most folks would call a guess. No matter how vague, this is where it always begins. […]
Let’s Build Something Cool
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” – Mike Tyson There’s so much wisdom in that one statement, and it rings true in so many fields. Most commercial construction ventures are painstakingly planned out, from site location down to the most minute details. And yet, invariably, you’ll see every one of […]
This Show Must Go On
If you know me then you know I’m a huge supporter of our Vive Les Arts Community Theatre. I’ve been on and off the board for years and still volunteer for almost every show. Beyond entertainment, it brings an entirely unique educational experience for both kids and adults and it allows anyone, and I mean […]
To the Moon: A Love Story
You can pretty much love anything in this world: other people, food, surfing, a pair of shoes, you name it. The anthropomorphic nature of our species makes it common to love objects, infusing them with human traits and characteristics to the point where we imagine that this “being” is actually capable of receiving our affectations. […]
The Gateway to Progress
Given that all of our news lately is so depressing, I want to take a moment to talk about something good. Is it poor timing to write about great things when the world is still dealing with such weighty issues? Perhaps, but I think some of us out there are ready to hear a different […]