- 1111 Grand Estates Dr. [HAR]
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Richmond
The finishing touches have been applied to the first Houston-area outpost of Urban Bricks Pizza Co., in time for the location’s end-of-January grand opening. The Boerne-based pizza place has squeezed in next to Zesty Cleaners and James Avery in the newest piece of the growing strip center puzzle known as the Shops at Bella Terra, itself sandwiched between the Lakes of Bella Terra and Parkway Lakes subdivisions south of the EZ TAG-only intersection of Westpark Tollway and the Grand Parkway. The most recent add-on to the center is near the bottom left corner in the detention-pond-spangled siteplan below:
Lakeside Pizza Views
- 1634 Lone Stirrup Dr. [HAR]
There’s a 7-entry roster of Total Wine & More locations now included in the Yellow Pages listing for the Houston area — though the first Houston outpost of the Maryland-based liquor store only opened up in late October, in the decommissioned Office Max near Willowbrook Mall. But apparent new addresses for the store (known in Connecticut for its run of criminally low alcohol prices) include the former sites of 3 of Houston’s 4 remaining Fresh Market locales (all of which shut down in May).  Those old Fresh spots (the ones of Holcome Blvd., Memorial Dr., and San Felipe St.) have all been issued recent remodeling permits with Total Wine noted as the occupant. Other locations apparently in the works are in Baybrook Mall (which is hiring) and a box site in Richmond at 5472 W Grand Pkwy., reclaimed following Sports Authority’s fall and retreat from Texas.
- Previously on Swamplot:Â Fallen Sports Authority Files for Bankruptcy, Prepares for 140-Store Shutdown; Undermined Sports Authority To Abandon Texas As Other Big Boxes Advance with Guns;Â Rice Epicurean Giving Up the Groceries, Leasing 4 Locations to Fresh Market
Photo of Total Wine & More at 7640 Cypress Creek Pkwy. in Willowbrook: Total Wine & More
Box Wine Refresh
- 7218 Foster Island Dr. [HAR]
TxDOT has been doing some circling around over the thoroughly soaked Brazos River valley this week grabbing a few snapshots, including some taken yesterday morning as 31 East and Central Texas counties picked up flood-related disaster declarations from the governor’s office. Running north-to-south (right-to-left) under the murky waters shown above is FM 723 in Rosenberg, TX; you can spot the bridge rising up to cross the river’s normal channel on the left side of the photo, while SH 36 stretches away to the northwest.
Flash- and non-flash flood warnings are in effect around the region through at least Friday night, depending on how intense the rest of this week’s predicted downpours turn out to be. Meanwhile, the already-feet-past-the-previous-record flood gauge at nearby Richmond, TX, is still creeping upward this morning toward 55 ft.:
Water Under the Bridges
- 314 S. 9th St. [HAR]
Is the sky really the limit when the neighborhood has its own landing strip, or is that what it takes for commutes from Richmond? That’s where a Covey Trails property,  located out FM 1093 near FM 1463, took off at $1.2 million in its listing over the weekend. Hangar (top) and hangouts (middle) are harbingers of the adventurous array — and many, many murals — found within the unassuming house, which previously kept its active inner life to itself. But now lookie here:
Over the Top
- 6326 Old Pecan Dr. [HAR]
Construction work has begun on the exciting new Sam’s Club #6867, which will face onto the Grand Pkwy. just north of Bellaire Blvd. in Richmond, as this reader photo taken from Parkway Lakes Ln. attests. The 136,454-sq.-ft. store will be surrounded by a sea of 529 parking spaces and 13 cart corrals on a 15-acre site just south of the Westpark Tollway:
@ Westpark Toll Rd.
For the low, low price of $445,900, the seller of this Corvette Stingray convertible will throw in the 4-bedroom brick crashpad in Richmond pictured above — absolutely free. “Have you always wanted an estate home and convertible sports car? Well here is your chance to have BOTH,” reads the real estate listing for the brick-wrapped domicile on an almost-2-acre lot in the Richmond bedroom community of Plantation Meadows. “Buy the home and get the Corvette Stingray Convertible included. Your kids will love the spiral staircase leading up to a loft that can easily be their playroom.” Sadly, that part of the listing arises from the not-so-mobile living room. At least it provides sufficient space to house extra family members who won’t be able to fit into the 2-seater.
Would You Buy a Used Car from This House?
- 1118 League Trace [HAR]
THE COVERED-UP HISTORY IN THE FORT BEND COUNTY COURTHOUSE BASEMENT 
Renovations to restore as much as possible of the 1908 Fort Bend County courthouse, standing at 500 Jackson St. in Richmond, have revealed a couple of surprises from the building’s past, reports the Sugar Land Sun: “Beneath the building’s carpeting was finely-made Italian Terrazzo flooring, dating back to the courthouse’s original construction. . . . While installing the building’s electrical system and sump pump in its basement, a walled-up room with glazed tile was uncovered. [Director of Facilities Management Don] Brady said the hidden room is likely a segregation-era restroom for African-Americans.” [Sugar Land Sun] Photo: Terry Jeanson
