- 945 Waverly St. [HAR]
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We’d like to thank personal coach Cricket Buchler for being today’s Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.
Searching for a creative, personalized holiday gift for friends, family members, or employees? Consider the gift of a fun and inspiring 90-minute personal coaching session with coach Cricket Buchler. An experienced corporate trainer who has helped top executives, Hollywood celebrities, and employees in a range of industries address personal and professional development issues, Cricket also works one-on-one, guiding clients to explore and unlock possibilities and design plans to realize change, and coaching them through their journey toward an intentional life.
A coaching session can be a great gift for anyone on your list who is looking to take the next step forward in life, work, or relationships, but feels a bit stuck as to what next steps might look like. You’ll find a sampling of testimonials from former clients on Cricket’s website, along with more information about coaching sessions. Mention Swamplot when you book online and receive a 30 percent holiday discount.
Becoming a Swamplot sponsor is a great way to reach Swamplot readers. If you think that might be a good move for your business, contact us on the Swamplot sponsorship line.
Sponsor of the Day
- 28752 Woodsong Trl. [HAR]
THE NEW STANDOUT ON THE CORNER OF FAIRFAX AND WILSHIRE Meanwhile, in L.A.: The Petersen Automotive Museum reopened to visitors this week after a reddish redo spearheaded by NY design firm Kohn Pedersen Fox — to somewhat mixed reviews from architecture critics. Is the building’s new swirly facade of stainless-steel ribbons “kind of hideous,” “too Vegas,” or just “gloriously badâ€? [The Architect’s Newspaper; LA Times]
- 4130 Grennoch Ln. [HAR]
Our thanks today go to The Westin The Woodlands for being Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day.
As it nears completion, The Westin The Woodlands already stands tall along the northern bank of the Woodlands Waterway — the picturesque, tree-lined canal and path system that winds through The Woodlands’ downtown, connecting attractions such as the Riva Row Boat House and The Woodlands Mall to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The design of the building is the product of a partnership between Boston-based Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Houston office of Gensler. The cast stone and glass façade of the hotel hugs the curve of the water, with the resulting geometry reflected throughout the hotel’s exterior and interior. Dallas-based waldrop+nichols studio designed the interiors.
The hotel at 2 Waterway Square Place will include 302 guestrooms and suites, 15,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space, a pool on the rooftop, and 2 new food-and-drink establishments: CURRENT restaurant and SideBar, an indoor-outdoor nightlife venue. The Howard Hughes Corporation is planning an official unveiling and opening of the 13-level hotel for late February, 2016. You can see more renderings and get additional information on this page of the Westin Hotels website.
Interested in reaching Swamplot readers with your company’s message? Take the first step toward becoming a site sponsor by contacting us on the Swamplot sponsorship line.
Sponsor of the Day
Not humungous enough in River Oaks, and other woeful tales of inadequacy.
- 23 N. Heritage Hill Cir. [HAR]
Were you kinda liking that new billboard installed on the second story of the building at 312 Main St. — the one that posed serious, possibly life-changing questions to passengers exiting the Preston St. light-rail station? Well, you’ve got less than 10 days to enjoy it, depending on long fast used-car-dealer Texas Direct Auto wants to take to comply with a city citation posted to the building yesterday — unless it can get those pesky inspectors to back off.
A notation on the red tag declares that the facade-smothering sign is in violation of the city’s sign code — namely that it was not erected in connection with a “business purpose”: “A business purpose shall not include any property, building, or structure erected or used for the primary purpose of securing a permit to erect a sign,” the note reads. (That echoes a portion of the definition in section 4602, in case you’re following along at home with regulations in hand.) Here’s a snapshot of the documents stuck to the building’s ground floor, as submitted to the Twitterverse by Houston Chronicle writer Evan Mintz, whose employer last week declared in an editorial that the sign should be illegal:
A Red Tag Downtown
Today Swamplot is sponsored by Judy Thompson, exclusively a buyer’s agent.
Judy Thompson has operated the West U Real Estate website since 2003. The site provides regular assessments of Houston residential market conditions for homes in 10 separate price ranges in 19 popular Houston Zip Codes. Thompson’s regularly updated calculations take into account the amount of inventory currently available and the pace of sales in the previous 12 months. Color-coded charts show whether by each calculation the current market favors buyers, sellers, or neither (a “normal” market). A portion of the latest overall chart is reproduced above.
A separate chart on the site plots the average of the weighted averages from the market conditions chart, attempting to illustrate the change in housing inventory in 6 MLS areas over time. (The lowest point was the 2-month supply that held roughly from spring 2013 to spring 2014 — “that crazy free-for-all when anything decent had multiple offers by day 3,” Thompson notes.) The average inventory currently is just under a 6-month supply, according to her latest data.
More detailed figures for each Zip Code are provided on separate charts. Thompson has worked as a buyers’ agent exclusively since 1997.
Becoming a site sponsor is a great way to expose Swamplot readers to helpful information. If that’s something your business offers, please contact us on the Swamplot sponsorship line.
Sponsor of the Day
A demure mod professional building ends decades of surface-lot squatting, and other tales of tearing-down:
- 201 Promenade St. [HAR]
Today’s Swamplot Sponsor is the SkyHouse River Oaks.
The SkyHouse River Oaks welcomed its first residents just before Labor Day weekend. Since then, a number of community events have been held in the building’s 25th-floor SkyLounge and surrounding dual pool decks (see photo at top) — including a fundraiser for Lucky Dog Rescue and a FEED Foundation supper that together raised nearly $20,000 for the 2 nonprofits. These and other events, including a reveal party and several holiday happenings, have introduced the building and its dramatic skyline views to thousands of Houstonians.
In place of a traditional model apartment, the SkyHouse’s “creative suite” features a unique ode to Houston created by MP Studio, a division of Meeks+Partners. Take in a tour and you’ll find a number of creative uses of space — such as a closet converted into a bar — and several quirky elements, such as the Beyoncelier chandelier pictured in the photo above. The SkyHouse River Oaks is located at 2031 Westcreek Ln., just minutes from the River Oaks District, the Galleria, Highland Village, and Uptown. More information, including floor plans and pricing information, is available on the SkyHouse River Oaks website.
Becoming a site sponsor is a great way to reach Swamplot readers. If you think that might be a good move for your business, contact us on the Swamplot sponsorship line.
Sponsor of the Day
-  12 Stonegate Dr. [HAR]
Thanks go to today’s Sponsor of the Day: historical fencing school Sword to Sword.
Sword to Sword is the only school in the Houston metro area to offer historical European martial arts classes, covering the 13th through 18th centuries with German longsword, Italian rapier, dagger, saber, wrestling, quarterstaff, and other fighting traditions of the medieval and Renaissance periods. The school holds classes evenings and weekends, 5 days a week, in 2 locations: At 1212A Cedar Post Ln. near Blalock and I-10 and across I-45 from The Woodlands at 27326 Robinson Rd. Suite 112.
The school tries to foster a club-like atmosphere, with students helping each other to train hard and have fun. Loaner equipment is available for newcomers, and coaching is available at all levels — from novices who’ve never held a sword before all the way to competitors in international tournaments. Weekend and weeknight classes are available; they cost $40 per 2-hour session or $120 per month for unlimited attendance. Friday night sessions are typically followed by a BYOB social. More info is available at the Sword to Sword website.
Becoming a site sponsor is a great way to reach Swamplot readers. Want to find out more? Contact us on the Swamplot sponsorship line.
Sponsor of the Day
