ENERGY CORRIDOR TO GET ‘BOTH BRICK AND STUCCO’ ALEXAN COMPLEX 
More Alexan-brand apartments are going up, The Memorial Examiner reports. But unlike that pair of ’em planned for those 2 stacked lots in the Heights, this one beyond the Beltway will have almost 6.25 acres all to itself. Trammell Crow says it should have ready this spring the 4-story, 354-unit Alexan Enclave at 13411 Briar Forest Dr., just off Eldridge Pkwy. in the Energy Corridor. Worried that the complex will disrupt the stylistic unity of the area? Or that it might be built with strange, atypical materials? There’s no need, Trammell Crow explains: “The traditional, exterior facade, which will incorporate both brick and stucco, is in keeping with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhoods.” [Memorial Examiner; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: Trammell Crow Residential
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Energy Corridor
COMMENT OF THE DAY: VISIONS OF A FREEWAY LINED WITH OFFICE BUILDINGS 
“I live in the area and I think it’s a big improvement on a used car lot. I would love to see the remaining car dealerships gradually moved away and a continuous strip of mid/high rises from Memorial City to Hwy 6. Now that would be a true ‘Energy Corridor.’†[outwest, commenting on A New 17-Story Office Tower Just Like the Others in the Energy Corridor] Illustration: Lulu
Here’s a look at the design from Morris Architects for the new 17-story Energy Tower IV. Does it seem familiar? That’s because it’s going to be identical to 2 existing ones: Energy Towers II and III. Construction, reports the Houston Business Journal, is expected to start next month. Developed by Mac Haik Realty, the new tower is planned to be 450,000 sq. ft., bringing the total amount here in the Energy Plaza at Kirkwood and I-10 to more than 2 million sq. ft. of office space. Prime Property adds that the building will be open in 2014.
- Houston developer to add new tower to Energy Corridor [Prime Property]
- Mac Haik Realty to move forward on next Energy Corridor tower [Houston Business Journal]
- Previously on Swamplot: All Those New Energy Corridor Office Buildings
Rendering: Mac Haik Realty
- 1603 Cherry Ridge Dr. [HAR]
- 2127 Linea del Pino St. [HAR]
- 2015 Shadowbriar Dr. [HAR]
A day after this Memorial West home hit the market late last month, its price rose by $15,000 to $465,000 — where it remained until today. Now, in honor of the new deep discounts on the iPhone 4S, it’s been cut to $425,000. The tidy ranch-style home sits upon the clipped suburban grasslands of Britmore (one “t”) Oaks, a neighborhood that appears to have pine trees and magnolias as well as the namesake oaks. Like its neighbors, It’s a mid-fifties single-story. The street is 2 blocks south of I-10 off Brittmore Rd. (2 “t”s), has drainage gulleys, dead-ends 9 homes in, and takes a bit of a jog right out front of the property.
“I love burst mode on my Samsung S3,” writes the Swamplot reader who used it to capture these photos looking north from the Katy Freeway just west of Hwy. 6. “What’s the deal with the giant flagpoles?” More than 2 dozen of them are up now, arranged in a semicircle on I-10-facing property, immediately west of Sam’s Club adjacent to a building under construction. As of yesterday evening only 1 flag was up, flying at half-mast.
- 12707 Emsworth Cir. [HAR]
Decorative panels mimic and emphasize the vertical orientation of windows on the front of this 1977 Fleetwood home just past the Energy Corridor. Around back, though, it’s all windows overlooking the pool. Behind the property, a shared alley provides access to the home’s 2-car garage as well as the garages of similarly pooled-up homes on the street. The alley also ups the distance between the back fence and the homes beyond it.
Last week, this corner-lot property resurfaced when a new agency relisted it at an even $312,000. The initial asking price back in February 2011 had tested the waters at an unusual $343,343, with a dive 2 months later to $328,328 — before throwing in the towel in October.
- 2218 Holly Knoll St. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: CLEARING OUT THE ENERGY CORRIDOR “Seems like there is one come down in 77079 almost everyday. Prices are really getting up there too.” [Candor, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Queensbury Clearing]
ARCO OFFICE GOING DOWN; DOWNTOWN HOUSTON CLUB BUILDING WILL STAY PUT 
Dismemberment of the former ARCO office building west of Eldridge at 15375 Memorial Dr. should begin sometime within a month or two, Catie Dixon reports. What will new owner Skanska USA do with the 21-acre site — rumored as a possible location for the new Phillips 66 headquarters? Skanska is currently hunting for an architect to provide a master plan, Dixon writes, “potentially with a couple of offices.” Meanwhile, the other pre-owned office building purchased recently by the Swedish construction firm appears safe from the wrecking ball: The company’s regional manager tells Dixon he expects to begin remodeling the Houston Club building at 811 Rusk St. downtown by the end of 2012. [Real Estate Bisnow; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Houston Club building: Silberman Properties
ConocoPhillips refining offshoot Phillips 66 will build a new headquarters facility no more than 10 miles away from the company’s current location, “within the I-10 and Beltway 8 corridors,” according to an email sent to employees this morning. The company had already indicated that Phillips 66 employees would leave the company’s iconic current facility at Dairy Ashford and Eldridge, but the announcement that the oil company’s headquarters will be built from scratch is new.
If, as rumored, Skanska USA Commercial Development is the buyer of this sprawling former ARCO building at 15375 Memorial Dr. west of Eldridge, the Swedish construction giant will soon be the owner of a small one-of-each collection of Houston office types: The Houston Club building Downtown, the 20-story tower Kirksey designed for the company that just began construction on the Galleria side of the West Loop, and this 21-acre Energy Corridor campus. According to reports, the company is likely to tear down both the Memorial Dr. building and the one Downtown and build office buildings on each site from scratch.
- Houston office developers rev up Energy Corridor projects [Houston Business Journal]
- Previously on Swamplot: First Sign of Skanska: Where the New Spec Office Tower Near the Galleria Will Go, Skanska Helping Houston Club to Early Exit, Will Skanska Knock Down the Houston Club?, Skanska Post Oak Tower: We Don’t Need a Bank To Build This
Photo: Silberman Properties
