Rice Village

Proposed Developments, Rice Village

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Rice is getting ready to plop a few units of student housing on the corner lot long-occupied by the Morningside Court Apartments, a 54-unit building just south of Rice Village that the school bought in 2001. Wasting no time, Rice kicked all the tenants that weren’t students out of the complex that same year — according to Nancy Sarnoff — but kept the 5 buildings standing until last summer. (During that limbo period, the school’s attention was on the opposite side of the Shakespeare St., where the 4-story Rice Village Apartments,Â also for students, went up in 2008 in place of houses and smaller apartments.)

Three stories of townhouse-like dwellings appear now to be planned for the former Morningside Court corner, where their main entrances will front Shakespeare St. On Thursday, Houston’s planning commission decides whether they can be built up close to that road — about 20 ft. from it as opposed to what’d typically be some extra distance.

Rice acquiring apartments for conversion into student housing [HBJ]
Previously on Swamplot: Daily Demolition Report: Neither Meadows Norwood

Images: Houston Planning Commission

2401 Shakespeare

77030, Apartments, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Rice Univeristy, Student Housing, Wessex

08/29/18 5:00pm

Rice Village Dat Dog Receives TABC Blessing

Quicklink, Restaurants, Rice Village

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RICE VILLAGE DAT DOG RECEIVES TABC BLESSING Across the street from Torchy’s and next door to Hopdoddy Burger Bar, the vacant corner storefront at 5504 Morningside now has clearance to serve guests alcohol. It’s the most recent development for the space since a TABC notice appeared in the window, signalling that New Orleans hot dog chain Dat Dog was on its way there. Inside, the lights are on but there’s still nothing inside. Co-working space Platform Houston was the last to occupy its 2,919 sq. ft. Photo: Swamplox inbox

77005, Quicklink, Restaurants, Rice-Village, Signage

08/28/18 9:45am

Tiger Noodle House Seizing Ten Thousand Villages, Handful of Parking Spots

Renovations, Restaurants, Retail, Rice Village

2424 Rice Blvd., Suite A. is about to become part of Katy Chinese chain Tiger Noodle Houseâ€™s 2-restaurant dynasty. Since nonprofit home goods shop Ten Thousand Villages left the storefront — its last in Houston — between H&R Block and neighboring occult shop Serenity Studio, all of its meterless parking spots have been hogged by the dumpster shown above.

It’s been on standby as renovators take things out of the 2,664-sq.ft. interior.Â Now, they’re about to start putting things in: a building permit filed yesterday gives clearance for the restaurant conversion to begin.

Photo: Swamplox inbox

Village Arrivals

77005, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail, Rice-Village

07/09/18 3:00pm

ArtMix Studio Debuts in Times Blvd. Storefront That a Part of G&G Model Shop Still Won’t Let Go Of

Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Rice Village, Signs

2 Comments

Since longtime Times Blvd. tenant G&G Model Shop left its storefront last August, the space has been whitened, renovated and snapped up by ArtMix Creative Learning Center — a children’s art school that relocated from 3701 W. Alabama St. earlier this year. But the model shop — located at 2522 Times for over 60 years — remains attached to the space. A G&G representative told Swamplot previously that the metal sign would follow the business over to its new spot in the strip center at the corner of 59 and Shepherd (home to a few more elderly Rice Village expats as well).

But just last Thursday, a poster on HAIF noted that address is still crowned by a temporary vinyl banner:

Rice Village Relics

77005, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Rice-Village, Signs

03/07/18 12:00pm

Colorful Bubble-Like Patterns Now Popping Up Along Amherst Street and Its Banks in Rice Village

Public Art, Rice Village

New possibly aquatic-themed street and sidewalk art is bubbling up on Amherst St. west of Kelvin Dr. in Rice Village. The photo at top views a few of the freshly-laid, not-quite-concentric circles from outside the Everything But Water swimwear store that occupies part of the recently renovated retail building on Amherst St. The designs are being placed there by Crossroads Decorative Pavement — whose truck is on site in the photo above looking toward Kelvin.

Here’s a view of what’s under foot on the southern bank of Amherst:

Moistening the Pavement

77005, Public Art, Rice-Village

02/02/18 12:00pm

Rice U. Apparel Store Preparing To Nest Next to Coming Rice Village Shake Shack

Openings and Closings, Retail, Rice University, Rice Village

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Now on its way to a portion of the Village Arcade building on Amherst that La Madeleine restaurant abandoned last March: Shop Rice Owls, a clothing and merchandise store selling exclusively Rice University gear. The 1,071-sq.-ft. off-white-walled space beneath the rooftop Rice Village parking garage was once the east end of La Madeleineâ€™s space on the corner of Amherst and Kirby. A partly-built Shack Shake has since taken over the French bakery’s former home — but not all of it, leaving room for the off-campus store to squeeze in between the back side of the fast-food spot and the staircase leading up to the garage.

A view looking east down Amherst shows more renovated storefronts lining the street to the right of the stairs, in place of the black-awninged brick building that stood on the block before 2016: Â CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Rice Village Homecoming

77005, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Rice Univeristy, Rice-Village

01/12/18 4:00pm

Rice Village Yankee Candle Going Dark This Month

Openings and Closings, Retail, Rice Village

Thereâ€™s some news about the space next door to Athleta in the Rice Village Arcade shopping center on University Blvd. where mannequins were spotted limbering up on the sidewalk the other day: it’s about to shut down. A source tells Swamplot that national retailer Yankee Candle will close the store — one of 8 locations in the Houston area — on January 28.

A sign in the storefront window announces its last big blowout:

Leaving the Village

77005, Openings and Closings, Retail, Rice-Village, Shopping Centers

01/08/18 2:30pm

The Undressed, Huddled Figures Found Warming Up This Morning Outside a Rice Village Clothing Store

Retail, Rice Village

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Spotted in the pre-retail hours at 2512 University Blvd. by morning Rice Village dog-walker Gerrit Leeftink: This convocation of under-dressed athletic figures — in warm-up mode outside the local outlet of women’s clothing chain Athleta.

More views of the gathering, as participants awaited their new attire indoors:

Street Mannequins of University Blvd.

77005, Retail, Rice-Village

Comments

12/26/17 4:15pm

Comment of the Day: Rice Village, Class of ’47

Houston History, Quicklink, Retail, Rice Village

COMMENT OF THE DAY: RICE VILLAGE, CLASS OF ’47 “Collegiate Cleaners is now Rice Villageâ€™s oldest business, by both age and location.” [James Glassman, commenting on Old Rice Village Shops in Exile Reconvene at the Strip Center off 59] Photo: Collegiate Cleaners

77005, Comments, Houston History, Retail, Rice-Village

06/27/17 2:30pm

Checking in on the Work Underway at Baileson Brewing Company, the Tiniest Car-Repair-Shop-Turned Brewery Ever to Hit Bissonnet

Proposed Developments, Renovations, Rice Village

The startup 3-barrel “nano-brewery” carving its ferment-and-serve spaces out of the former Bissonnet Auto Service Center garage on Bissonnet St. between Kirby and GreenbriarÂ isÂ scheduled for a Labor Day Weekend opening, according to a recent report in the Chronicle. New glazedÂ overhead doors have beenÂ installed in the 2 garage bays, but according to this photo of the spot from earlier today, there’sÂ still a bit of work going on inside.

If future passers-by do a double-take after seeing drinkers out on the front patio of the single-story structure at 2322 Bissonnet, it might be because the brewery-barÂ will be next door to the former Kay’s Lounge, also a single-story building serving drinks onÂ a front patio, which was demolished last fall. These homes are scheduled to go up on that site.

Houston’s Baileson Brewing edges closer to opening later this summer [Houston Chronicle]
Previously on Swamplot: Baileson Brewery Planned in Former Auto Shop Next to Emptied Kayâ€™s Lounge Spot

Photo: Swamplot inbox

77005, Bars, Breweries, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Rice-Village

06/27/17 11:00am

If You Like the Idea of Living Upstairs from Kay’s Lounge, Here’s the Next Best Thing

New Construction, Proposed Developments, Rice Village, Townhomes

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NewlyÂ postedÂ to MLS: a listing for 1 of the 6 ~~townhomes~~Â patio homes from Frasier Homes intended for the site of the former Kay’s Lounge. Garages, spare bedrooms, and side yards only will grace the ground floors of the propertiesÂ in this shared-driveway 6-pack, however, because Kay’s Lounge itself — an establishment that was founded back in 1939 — was demolished last year.Â The new residential compound covers both the Kay’s lot, formerly known as 2334 Bissonnet, andÂ the oneÂ immediatelyÂ to the west at 2332 Bissonnet, which formerly housed an adjacent structure as well asÂ longtime bar’s parking lot.

But if it’s the idea of living veryÂ close to storied nightlife that attracted you to this property in the first place, don’t beÂ disappointed: Just next door to this property, in the formerÂ Bissonnet Auto Service Center at 2322 Bissonnet, a new brewery and lounge called Baileson Brewing CompanyÂ is about to open. The fourth-floor patios at the top of the homes at 2332 Bissonnet (pictured at top right in the rendering above) will overlook Baileson’s driveway-turned-drinking-patio directly.

Here’sÂ the second view from the listing, showing how the shared-drive fronts of the 3 units on the Baileson side might look if they’re completed before the other 3 are begun (they’d be in the foreground):

New Neighbors in Rice Village

77005, Bars, Patio-Homes, Proposed Developments, Rice-Village, Townhomes

05/10/17 11:30am

The Rice Village Plans To Remake Amherst St., Lure Shoppers Into an Alley

by Christine Gerbode

Redevelopment, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail, Rice Village

5 Comments

Remodeling along the lines of what’s depicted here is now underwayÂ on Amherst St. between Kelvin St. and Kirby Dr., according to aÂ Rice Village District rep. A couple of newly released drawings shown here fill inÂ details to some of the previously mentioned changes planned forÂ the south side of Amherst, including the conversion of part of the roadway itself intoÂ more walking and sitting room behind some protective planters. And that narrow passageway in the building, running between Amherst and University Blvd., appears to be gettingÂ its own signage labeling it as The AlleyÂ (complete with light-up arrow directing shoppers inside).

The plans also call for some rooftop greeneryÂ and the chopping off of some pointy brick pediments —Â a swap which the District says will make all that 2-hours-free rooftop parking more visible, in the wake of theÂ recent parking scheme changes:

Retail Redistricting

77005, Construction, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail, Rice-University, Rice-Village, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers

03/21/17 2:30pm

Rice Village La Madeleine Will Shut Down Sunday for Shake Shack-ification

by Christine Gerbode

Rice Village

8 Comments

Shake Shack planned at 6205 Kirby Dr, Rice Village, Houston, 77005

Rice Village, Houston, 77005 The 26th will be the last day of business for the La Madeleine on Kirby Dr. at Amherst St., a rep for the Rice Village District says this afternoon. After that the space’ll getÂ a significant makeover, part of the ongoing de-suburbanization of the 1990s Village Arcade buildings. Changes planned for the space appear to include a total blackout of the corner’s pediments, aÂ gutting of the existing canopy level (paired with a boxy see-through enclosure of that area) and a hip-high hashtag-biscuitpaintwall-style landscaping feature (replacing the existing hedge as Amherst’s walkable zone gets widened). The companyÂ says the burger place should be ready to open sometime around November.

Previously on Swamplot: Leafy Galleria Shake Shack Spot To Open Next Friday, Serve Other Houston Restaurants’ Food;Â Before-ish and After Views of the Rice Village Design Overhaul Now Underway on University Blvd.;Â Shake Shack Will Take Over La Madeleine’s Rice Village Space

Images: Rice Village District (rendering), Swamplot inbox (photo)

Kirby Corner Shake-Up

77005, Adaptive Reuse, Redevelopment, Remodeling, Restaurants, Rice-Village

Art

02/07/17 10:00am

Owls, Giant Aluminum Owl Origami Now Stationed Watchfully by Rice Village Parking Garage Entrance

by Christine Gerbode

Rice Village

6 Comments

Owl Sculptures by Dan Mabry, Kelvin St. at University Blvd., Rice Village, Houston, 77005

Rice Village, Houston, 77005 The sculpted birds above are now staring intently in various directions from justÂ south ofÂ the entrance ramp for the Rice Village’s rooftop parking lot between University Blvd. and Amherst St. The new bird-studded cage hangs aroundÂ the upper half of the Kelvin St.Â access staircase for the lot, previously shielded from prying eyes by a since-removed blinder of brickÂ (as pictured second above at the start of the work last year, before much of theÂ paint-up or knock-out action had taken place on the eastern side of the structure). The birds are the work of Californian metalworker and periodicÂ perched bird sculptor Nathan Mabry.Â Changes to the building roughly align with theÂ older renderings of the remodel, though the space was previously depicted with an extra new window (along with someÂ ghostly stand-in art):Â