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Fairview

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2203 Crocker St., Montrose, Houston, 77006

The agent who put the 16-year-old house at 2203 Crocker St. on the market this week wants to make sure you know exactly what you’re buying. The listing for the property (which describes the home as “Needs work! Never updated. Never remodeled. Located within 241 feet from nuisance bar.”) digs deep into gritty details great and smallÂ — from photos focused on the missing caulk between the kitchen tiles, to a 2-page disclosure document listing assaults, intoxication calls, and other incidents ostensibly reported to the police from in and around the property’sÂ catty-corner neighbor, bearaoke hotspot Crocker Bar.

The listing’s photo captions highlight additional details of the property’s physical defects and historyÂ — sometimes using the bright red text above, and other times employing fragments of narration that raise questions even as they answerÂ them. Here’s theÂ shot from the listingÂ labeled only as Bird Got Trapped in Wall:

Full Disclosure

77006, Bars and Clubs, East Montrose, Fairview, Home Listings, Homes for Sale, Montrose, Real Estate Marketing

06/24/16 11:15am

Avenue Grill Only Lightly Toasted By This Morning’s Electrical Fire

First Ward, Restaurants

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Avenue Grill, 1017 Houston Ave., First Ward, Houston, 77007

Avenue Grill, 1017 Houston Ave., First Ward, Houston, 77007 The holdup on Houston Ave. this morning, reportsÂ a reader stuck in the resultingÂ traffic, is the aftermath of a minorÂ fireÂ at the Avenue Grill on the corner with Center St. The 1940s structureÂ (which the restaurant’s operations purportedly moved into in 1962 after 12 years of business across the street) appearsÂ unharmed by the flames, which HPD tells Dale Lezon started in the building’s electric sign. The restaurant’s property went stealthily onto the market back in August of 2014 before it was found out the following March; county records don’t appear to show a change of hands since then.

Fire Breaks Out at Avenue Grill near Downtown Houston [Houston Chronicle]
Previously on Swamplot:The Slow End of the Avenue Grill at the End of Center St.

Photos of fire response at Avenue Grill at 1017 Houston Ave.: Swamplot inbox

What’s Cooking in First Ward

77007, Fires, First Ward, Restaurants

06/23/16 4:45pm

Tout Suite Tears Down the Wall at Memorial City Mall

Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail

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Tout Suite, Memorial City Mall, 303 Memorial City Way, Houston, TX 77024

Tout Suite’s second outpost is now open in the pedestrian crossroads atÂ the west end of Memorial City Mall.Â The kioskÂ version of the East Downtown cafe is currently serving drinksÂ and pastries along withÂ at least a few larger entrees. The opening follows the removal of the construction barricades formerly surrounding the space, finishing work previously started by mall vandals or impatientÂ caffeine addicts:

Mall Mini

77024, Memorial City Mall, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail

Downtown

06/23/16 2:45pm

Shots from a Doomed Allen Center Skybridge of a Companion Meeting Its Fate

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Allen Center Skybridge Remodeling, 500 Dallas St., Downtown, Houston, 77002

Currently underway: the partial disassembly of 1Â of the 2 skybridges connecting One and TwoÂ Allen Center at the corner of Dallas and Smith streets downtown. The bridge pictured above is expected to survive the planned 3-tower redevelopment — a permit to remodel it was issued on Monday with some other OKs on the work, which includes turning the rubble-filled space to the east into a Smith-St.-facing events lawn and concert space. Renderings previously released by Brookfield suggestÂ that the other skybridge, from which the above photo was taken,Â won’t be so lucky:

Last Days Downtown

77002, Allen Center, Bridges, Demolition, Downtown, Proposed Developments, Remodeling

06/23/16 11:30am

TIRZ 8 Now Studying Where the Sidewalks End Near Hobby, How to Pretty Them Up

Glenbrook Valley, Hobby Airport

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The Gulfgate-Mall-seeded TIRZ that absorbedÂ many of the commercial corridors around Hobby AirportÂ back in 2014 has been weighing plans forÂ redeveloping the acquired zone, working with the Houston-Galveston Area Council through the organization’s agreeably-named Livable Centers program. A few public workshopsÂ were held last month;Â a reader tells Swamplot that the management district’sÂ consultants have alsoÂ been interviewing areaÂ real estate folks as they comeÂ upÂ with ideas for new developments to suggest.Â The next workshop is planned for the evening of Wednesday, July 13th; the district is pushing anÂ online surveyÂ in the meanwhile.

Presentation slides from the most recentÂ workshopÂ included the mapÂ belowÂ ofÂ sidewalks in the area being studied (roughly bounded by I-45, Almeda Genoa Rd., Mykawa Rd., and Dixie Dr., as shown above) — roads marked in green have new sidewalks, yellow lines highlight sidewalks rated by the district as good,Â red shows sidewalks rated as poor, and brownÂ shows roads with sidewalks rated as missing:

77061, Hobby Airport, Hobby Area Management District, Houston-Galveston Area Council, Public Meetings, TIRZ 8

Making a Scene

06/22/16 12:45pm

Tookie’s Now Selling Seafood on Stilts in Seabrook

Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Seabrook

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Tookie's Seafood, 1106 Bayport Blvd., Seabrook, TX, 77586

Seabrook’s Tookie’s Burgers’ new marine-minded companion is up and running this week atÂ 1106 Bayport Blvd.Â The original rural-drugstore-themed Tookie’s opened in 1975 butÂ was destroyed by Hurricane Ike;Â Barry and Melissa Terrell boughtÂ and reopened the 3,800-sq.-ft.-ish burger stand in 2011Â beforeÂ getting startedÂ on an elevatedÂ 12,000-sq.-ft. Tookie’s-branded seafoodÂ spot (shown above in late spring prior to final construction touches) in the lot next door.Â

The new Tookie’s, standing on stilts some 3 blocks from the SH 146 bridge over Clear Lake and Galveston Bay, is more hurricane resistant than the still-functioningÂ originalÂ (or at least less flood-prone). The raised space is designed to hold around 400 people (counting a 100-person banquet space), though the company says they’re running at about half capacity for now while the staff gets the hangÂ of things. Here’s a peek at the building from earlier this year, with the yellow signage of the original Tookie’s just visible in the distance to the upper left:

Jumbo Shrimp Shop

77586, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Seabrook

Apartments

06/22/16 11:00am

Hanover Montrose Looking Increasingly Pale as Opening Nears

Highrises, WAMM

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Hanover Montrose, 3400 Montrose Blvd., WAMM, Houston, 77006

Rendering of Proposed 30-Story Hanover Apartment Tower at 3400 Montrose, Montrose, Houston The eastern face of 3400 Montrose Blvd. appears to be losing color this week as the building’s mid-AugustÂ opening looms ever closer. A reader sendsÂ the above over-the-Walgreens shot of the Skybar-replacing apartment towerÂ (which now looks to have most of its balcony railings in place as well), capturing part of the building’sÂ patch-by-patch transition this week from concrete gray to previous-rendering white.

And anyone jonesing forÂ someÂ up-in-the-air viewsÂ following the closure of the Chase Tower Sky Lobby can get a half-strengthÂ fix from this shot of Downtown, taken by the tipster earlier this spring from a ledge on the building’s 28th floor:

Almost Showtime by Disco Kroger

77006, Apartments, Construction Sites, Highrises, Paint Colors, WAMM

Downtown

06/21/16 4:45pm

One Last Look from the Chase Tower Observation Deck, Now Closed to the Public

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Sky Lobby, 600 Travis St., Downtown, Houston, 77002 sky-lobby You’ve missed your last chance to catch a view like these from the Chase Tower at 600 Travis St., unless you’reÂ thereÂ on business. Craig Hlavaty reports thatÂ HinesÂ has permanently closed the downtown skyscraper’s 60th floor Sky Lobby to the public, just 3 years after thatÂ 2013 redo by Gensler, to cut down on tenant-bothering “extra non-business-related traffic” on the floor (which is also an elevator swapout zone.) Time to updateÂ that list.

The Sky Lobby at Houston’s Chase Tower is now closed to the public [Houston Chronicle]
Previously on Swamplot: The Best Places To Watch Houston Go By

Photos: Bill Barfield (top) andÂ Russell Hancock (bottom) via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Grounded Downtown

77002, Downtown, Openings and Closings, Skyscrapers

06/21/16 3:00pm

Uptown PAC Feels Out New Routes Toward Stalling Bus Lanes, All New Highrises

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The Uptown PAC angling to stop both a planned Dinerstein highrise (which they say would increase area traffic) and the Post Oak Blvd. dedicated bus lane project (designed to reduce area traffic) has been ramping up for a legal fight lately: On Monday the organization askedÂ the city toÂ stop approving permits for any new highrise developments in the area, and to stop work on the bus lanes, both pending the completion of a new traffic study.Â Paul Takahashi writesÂ that the group is also taking legal fund donations and looking at filing lawsuits over the matters.

What is the PAC worried about, exactly? Back in 2014, when the group formed to fight the bus lane project and a nixed AmREIT tower previously planned next to the Cosmopolitan condos (where many of its members reside), spokesman for the groupÂ said it was worried that ambulances wouldn’t be able to quickly move through increased gridlock stemming from additional development. The talking points have expanded significantly since then; now ABC 13 reporter turned hired investigator-slash-media-attention-consultant Wayne Dolcefino is onÂ the case (the self-consciously horse-centric video belowÂ was released late last month), and recent talking points even include calls for the bus lane money to be used to fix flooding issues in not-in-UptownÂ Meyerland and Greenspoint instead:

Stop Requests on Post Oak

77056, Buses, Highrises, Lawsuits, Political Campaigns, Proposed Development, Public Transit

Eastwood

06/21/16 11:30am

Interpreting Parking Lot Cryptograms Around the Big-Box-To-Be in Eastwood

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Lovett leasing flier for Cullen St. Retail, Cullen at I-45, Eastwood, Houston, 77003

Lovett has been dropping a few crumbs regarding the selection of restaurants and shops that will fringe the parking lot of theÂ retail development planned for the former Fingers Furniture warehouse site on Cullen Blvd., across I-45 from the University of Houston’s main campus. No anchor tenant for the site hasÂ officially named (thoughÂ talkÂ of WalmartÂ has made itsÂ way to several tipsters in theÂ Eastwood Civic Association this spring, along with assurances that the marker memorializing theÂ former site ofÂ Buffalo Stadium’s home plateÂ will likelyÂ be preserved).

A site plan from December (shown above, with north angled roughly toward the top right corner)Â showsÂ several pad sites along the feeder road marked up as QSR (presumably Quick Service Restaurant).Â A later sketch now up on Lovett’s website as well adds more clues, however — including Â a cryptic label on what could be the first Starbucks to venture into the East End:

Cullen at I-45

77003, 77023, Affordable Housing, Apartments, Eastwood, Proposed Developments, Religious Facilities, Restaurants, Retail, University of Houston

06/20/16 5:00pm

Mural-Slathered Memorial Mansion Tones Down to Original $1.5 Million Pricetag, 3 Couches and a Jukebox

Memorial Plaza

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12930 Memorial Dr., Memorial Plaza, Houston, 77079

AÂ perennial contender for theÂ dubious honorÂ of Houston’s gaudiest mansion may be trying to shake its claim to the title. The mansion at 12930 Memorial Dr. is back on the market this month for at least the sixth time in 5 years — and back down to an asking price ofÂ $1.5 million, after aÂ 2014 upward jumpÂ and subsequent slow decline. Ownership of the house was traded back and forth between Costello family members until an April sale to an entity called Triple Gate Investments;Â the new sellers seem to beÂ aiming for a moreÂ understated presentation. In this round of listing photos, all but a few of the house’s 11,760 sq. ft. have been stripped ofÂ furniture, chandeliers, andÂ giant high-heel statuary, allowing distraction-freeÂ contemplation of the colorful interior.

Even the apply-your-own-head wildlife has been reset to its original state:

New Management

77079, Faux-Finishes, Home Listings, Homes for Sale, Memorial Plaza, Real Estate Marketing

06/20/16 1:45pm

Old New Hope Church Site in First Ward Marked Up for Townhomes

First Ward

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Former New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 1221 Crockett St., First Ward, Houston, 77007

The Texas Revolution-themed southeast corner of Goliad and Crockett streets looks to beÂ getting blanked out to make way for more townhomes in the increasingly formerly industrial section of First WardÂ betweenÂ Sawyer St., Washington Ave., and White Oak Bayou. Chris AndrewsÂ notedÂ the planning commission application askingÂ Â the city toÂ chop upÂ the land beneath the former New Hope Missionary Baptist ChurchÂ buildings into 7 smaller pieces. AlsoÂ probably getting chopped up into smaller pieces: the structures themselves, which the city’s archaeological and historical commission saysÂ mayÂ have been among those designed by 1940s African-AmericanÂ church architectÂ James M. Thomas.

Remember Goliad Grove

77007, Churches, Demolitions, First Ward, Proposed Developments, Townhomes

06/17/16 1:00pm

Does the British Panda Suit Maneuver Face Extinction in Houston?

Homes for Sale, Interiors, Real Estate Agents, Spring

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Capital-R Realtor Jessica Arnett brought a price-reduced 4-bedroomÂ house in SpringÂ into the national spotlightÂ this week by dressing up inÂ aÂ panda suit throughout the property’s listing photos. While there’s more than one way toÂ panda to potential buyers,Â this particular tacticÂ has been tried before: Arnett reportedlyÂ saysÂ the idea came fromÂ a British home listingÂ from last month,Â in which the sellerÂ did roughly the same thing.

Arnett has already received calls from other real estate agents asking whereÂ to obtain aÂ panda suit. ButÂ the stunt itself may beÂ endangeredÂ —Â the British seller hasÂ alreadyÂ reversed courseÂ onÂ bearing it all, andÂ theÂ photos in his listing have been replaced with more standard fare.Â And Arnett readilyÂ admits that this kind of marketingÂ likely doesn’tÂ have much room toÂ grow and multiply — whileÂ the Houston Chronicle reported earlier this week that she was open to the possibility of using the suit a sparing once or twice a year, her tone had changed byÂ the time she spoke toÂ Realtor.com’s Judy Dutton:

Endangered Salespitch in Spring

77373, Home Listings, Homes for Sale, Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Marketing, Sales Pandas, Sales-Techniques, Spring

06/17/16 11:30am

A Step Toward Starbucks Infill in Industrial Northwest Houston