Upper Kirby

Green Machine in Upper Kirby

77098, Alternative Energy, Green Design, Home Listings, Homes for Sale, Upper Kirby

Homes for Sale

05/03/16 5:15pm

Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: That Warm, Tingly Feeling

Interiors, Upper Kirby

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2727 Kirby Dr., Unit 19L, Upper Kirby, Houston, 77098

2727 Kirby Dr., 19L [HAR]

77098, Condominiums for Sale, Home Listings, Homes for Sale, Upper Kirby

04/28/16 11:30am

Now Leasing: 59 Diner’s Former Shepherd Location Next to The Halal Guys

Restaurants, Upper Kirby

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Former 59 Diner, 3801 Farnham St,, Upper Kirby, Houston, 77098

The original Shepherd-side location of 59 Diner is now up for lease, with teal-and-bubblegum exteriorÂ still intact. The whole 59Â chain shut downÂ suddenly at the end of February,Â amidÂ aÂ tangleÂ of formal and informal disputesÂ regardingÂ employee pay.Â The listing indicates thatÂ the 6,000-sq.-ft. building (officiallyÂ located at 3801 Farnham St.) can be divided, as long as the future tenant wants at least 2,000 ft.

The ex-diner property is next door toÂ the smaller building now housingÂ The Halal Guys, whose red-and-yellow stripedÂ canopyÂ is visible on the right in the east-facing photo above. The formerÂ carwash reopened as the New-York-food-cart-gone-international-chain’s first Texas location a few weeks before the 59 closures;Â hundreds of customers linedÂ up outside the tiny venue during the opening weekend rush, some allegedly fillingÂ 59’s parking lotÂ whileÂ waiting for hours for gyros and chicken.

3801 Farnham St.Â [LoopNet]
59 Diner Owner Showed Up to Pay Employees â€” and It Got TenseÂ [Houston Press]
Longtime Houston diner shutters remaining locationsÂ [HBJ]
Previously on Swamplot:Â 59 Shake: You Want Fries with That?

Photo: LoopNet

Upper Kirby

77098, Buildings for Lease, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Upper Kirby

04/27/16 4:45pm

Demo Crew Takes a Little Off the Top, Shears Sides of Corporate Plaza I Midrise

Office Buildings, Upper Kirby

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Corporate Plaza I Demolition, 2600 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston, 77098

That’s 2 storiesÂ down and 8 left to go forÂ the last holdout in the former Corporate Plaza office park, seen hereÂ from theÂ northeastÂ looking across Kirby Dr. toward 59.Â The freeway-facing and side facades of the once-10-story midrise have been totally removed, and the remaining facade is beginning to look a bit patchy around the top; piles of debris can be seen stretching out to the north of the structure, across the now-barren Upper Kirby plain where the partially demolished Corporate Plaza parking garage nearly demolished part of the demo team back in February.

Previously on Swamplot:Â Long Drawn-Out Breakup of Corporate Plaza Nearing Final Stages at Kirby and 59 Watch Corporate Plaza Fail to Demolish Its Demo Crew with Surprise Garage Collapse;Â Shredding of Corporate Plazaâ€™s Parking Garage Now In Progress on Kirby Dr.; Sweeping Up the Crumbs at the Former Home of Miyako, Red Onion, and Madras Pavilion; Demo Crew Now Chewing Through Former Miyako, Red Onion, Madras Pavilion Office Complex on Kirby at Norfolk

Photo: Lulu

Office-Appropriate Cut on Kirby

77098, Demolitions, Midrises, Office Buildings, Upper Kirby

03/16/16 4:00pm

Long Drawn-Out Breakup of Corporate Plaza Nearing Final Stages at Kirby and 59

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Corporate Plaza I Demolition, Kirby at Norfolk, Upper Kirby, Houston, 77098

The progress on theÂ piece-by-pieceÂ disassembly ofÂ Corporate Plaza IÂ can beÂ seen inÂ the aboveÂ overcast shot of the building’s increasingly skeletal profile, here partially obscured by 2 American Red Cross buildings and by a Texas Direct Auto billboard. The 1972 midrise on 59 just west of Kirby Dr. is the last and tallest of the 3 similarly-clad office buildings previously occupying the site; the tower’s facadeÂ started to go missing shortly before the way-faster-than-intended teardownÂ of the last of the plaza’sÂ 7-storyÂ parking garage, which nearlyÂ turned the tablesÂ the demo team on itsÂ way down last month.

Status Check

77098, Demolitions, Midrises, Office Buildings, Parking-Garages, Upper Kirby

03/02/16 11:30am

Brand New Vintage Blue Tile Street Sign Now in Place on Upper Kirby Curb

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Blue tile sign at 2500 block of Westheimer Rd., Upper Kirby, Houston, 77098

Houstorian James Glassman sends this photo of a shiny new blue tile street sign along a Westheimer Rd. curb just east of Kirby Dr., where months of road and sidewalk construction is wrapping up. The fresh mosaic is in the style of those installed around Houston in the 1920s and into the 1950s before the rise of auto traffic made foot-level street markers less practical than eye-level signage.Â

The new sign doesn’t yet appear on the online map maintained by Joey Sanchez of the Blue Tile Project, which documents the locations of the original tile markers, though Sanchez noted the sign this morning on the project’s Twitter feed:

Westheimer Blues

77098, Historic Preservation, Houston History, Signage, Upper Kirby

02/10/16 2:00pm

Watch Corporate Plaza Fail to Demolish Its Demo Crew with Surprise Garage Collapse

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Yesterday’s unexpected acceleration of the parking garage demolition at Corporate Plaza hasn’t stopped plans to continue the ongoing deconstruction at Kirby Dr. and 59. An office worker across Kirby caught video of the narrow remaining slice of the 7-story structure tipping over and collapsing onto the excavator that had been tugging at a spot on the 5th floor.

The video (which also contains running commentary and a few surprised expletives) shows the other excavator and the rest of the demo team gathering as the dust clears to check on the operator, who emerges from the machine unscathed moments later. A Cherry Companies spokesman told CBS that the demolition work would continue as scheduled despite the office park’s attempt to turn the tables.

Turnabout at 59 and Kirby

77098, Construction Accidents, Demolitions, Office Buildings, Parking-Garages, Upper Kirby

01/28/16 3:15pm

Shredding of Corporate Plaza’s Parking Garage Now In Progress on Kirby Dr.

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Teardown work started yesterday morning on the parking garage behind the Corporate Plaza II and III buildings (shortly after Blanco’s got hosed down less than a mile away). North and east of the garage (that’s center and left in the above photo), the last crumbs of Miyako, Madras Pavilion, and Red Onion were swept away earlier this month.

A reader with eyes glued to the unfolding carnage sent the above overview shot, which shows the Corporate Plaza I midrise hiding unsuccessfully behind the disappearing parking garage as it awaits its own upcoming erasure. The next-door headquarters of the Houston chapter of the American Red Cross are visible on the right side of the photo, as a West University water tower gives the building bunny ears.

Another reader sends these shot of an excavator gingerly yanking at the bottom of one of the interior support beams of the 7-story structure early yesterday afternoon:

And Then There Was 1

77098, Demolitions, Office Buildings, Parking-Garages, Upper Kirby

01/18/16 2:30pm

Sweeping Up the Crumbs at the Former Home of Miyako, Red Onion, and Madras Pavilion

Office Buildings, Parking, Quicklink, Shopping Centers, Upper Kirby

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SWEEPING UP THE CRUMBS AT THE FORMER HOME OF MIYAKO, RED ONION, AND MADRAS PAVILION Corporate Plaza 2 and 3 Demolitions, Kirby at Norfolk, Upper Kirby, Houston, 77098 A reader surveys the scant leftovers of the once-restaurant-filled office park at Kirby at Norfolk this morning. The knock-’em-down phase of the demolition of Corporate Plaza II and III, which began in mid-December, appears to have wrapped up and transitioned into the haul-’em-away. The complex’s still-standing parking garage,Â pictured on the right, was issued its demo permit on Friday. The last structure of the office park trio, the Corporate Plaza I midrise (hiding unsuccessfully behind the garage), has recently acquired a sash of debris netting around the middle; Nancy Sarnoff reports that Corporate Plaza I will be demolished as well. The complex should be fully done in by the end of April. [Chron.com, previously on Swamplot] Photo of 3910 and 3930 Kirby Dr.: Swamplot inbox

77098, Demolitions, Office Buildings, Upper Kirby

Bars and Clubs

01/14/16 10:15am

Not-on-Kirby Kirby Ice House Gets the Blues between Richmond Ave and W. Alabama

Homeowners' Associations, New Construction, Upper Kirby

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Construction of Kirby Ice House at 3333 Eastside St., Upper Kirby, Houston, 77098

Down the street from Lamar High School, theÂ would-have-been-Little-Woodrow’s now going instead by Kirby Ice House (“A Neighborhood Pearl”) is setting up shop at 3333 Eastside St., between the parking lot used for the weekly Urban Harvest Farmer’s Market and the Bammel Park townhomes. A post to the establishment’s Facebook page earlier this weekÂ shows that the under-construction building has just finished turning an icy blue, and the accompanying captionÂ says that work is moving into “the detail phase”.

The bar’s across-the-street neighbors include nonprofit women’s career services center Dress for Success and the main building of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston — both groups expressed concern about the bar’s location in 2014 after the president of the Bammel Park Homeowner’s Association sounded a neighborhood-wide email alarm. Dress for Success filed a protest of the ice house’s TABC license that July; the license was issued in December of that same year.

A rendering of the building’s exterior shows the ice house standing next to a townhouse-free field:

Ice on Upper Kirby

77098, Alcohol Licenses, Bars, New Construction, Nonprofits, Upper Kirby

12/16/15 12:30pm

Demo Crew Now Chewing Through Former Miyako, Red Onion, Madras Pavilion Office Complex on Kirby at Norfolk

Office Buildings, Uncategorized, Upper Kirby

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Demo of 3910 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston, 77098

All eyes (well — at least 4) were on 3910 Kirby just north of 59 yesterday as excavators began snacking on the space formerly occupied by South Indian restaurant Madras Pavilion: reader J. Clark captured some sky-high views of the ongoing demolition; another anonymous tipster snapped shots from lower levels and the ground. The Corporate Plaza III building (shown en dÃ©shabillÃ© above) also previously housed Central-American restaurant Red Onion and sushi joint Miyako.

A fence has gone up around both Corporate Plaza III and Corporate Plaza II, next door at 3930 Kirby. Demo permits for both structures were issued on Friday, and work began yesterday morning to bring the northern building down. Corporate Plaza I, the taller sibling of the doomed twins, is visible on the right behind the parking garage on the same property:

All-You-Can-Excavate

77098, Demolitions, Office Buildings, Upper Kirby

Apartments

06/24/15 3:15pm

Almost the Very End of the Kirby Court Apartments

Redevelopment, Upper Kirby

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Pre-Demolition Work on Kirby Court Apartments, 2700 Steel St. Between Kirby Dr. and Virginia St., Upper Kirby, Houston

Pre-Demolition Work on Kirby Court Apartments, 2700 Steel St. Between Kirby Dr. and Virginia St., Upper Kirby, Houston TheÂ casement windows are out from the 1949 Kirby Court Apartments along oak-lined Steel St., just west of Kirby from the Whole Foods Market. There’s been no formal announcement of plans for the site; Hanover, for the time being, is laying back from its plans to build an apartment tower and restaurant row along the Kirby frontage at the north side of the street.

The last residents of the 2-story, townhome-style apartments moved out at the beginning of the year. Here’s a quick tour of the scene on the very quiet street, which appears ready for demolition:

South of West Ave

77098, Apartments, Demolitions, Redevelopment, Upper Kirby

05/05/15 12:00pm

New Replacement Oak Planted in Front of Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Is Taller Than the One Its Owner Chopped Down

Landscape, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

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Replacement Oak Tree in Front of Wendy's Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston

The sixth and last of the replacement street trees was planted in the public right-of-way surrounding the Wendy’s drive-thru at 5003 Kirby Dr. over the weekend. “It is a big specimen tree, taller than what was removed,” writes the reader who sent in these photos of the installation paid for by a special city fund for Houston parks — so we can all see for ourselves. The previous weekend, 5 replacement oaks were put in along the side street, North Blvd. Crews hired by the franchise owner, Mohammed Ali Dhanani of Haza Foods, had chopped down 6 trees on adjacent city property last October. You can compare the current scene in these photos and in our story last week with how it all looked before the chainsaws were fired up.

Regrowth

77098, Fast Food, Landscape, Streetscapes, Trees, Upper Kirby

04/30/15 1:00pm

Kirby Dr. Wendy’s Replacement Trees Are Kind of a Big Deal

Gardening, Landscape, Restaurants, Streetscapes, Upper Kirby

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New Trees at Wendy's Drive-Thru Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston

New Trees at Wendy's Drive-Thru Restaurant, 5003 Kirby Dr., Upper Kirby, Houston A row of 5 already-growed-up oak trees took up their new home along the North Blvd. flank of the Wendy’s drive-thru at 5003 Kirby Dr. last weekend, to replace the same number along the public right-of-way that went missing after dark last Halloween on account of they were chopped into pieces by order of the franchise owner. “The new trees at Wendy’s are so big they had to close the road to install them,” writes the reader who sent in these photos. “. . . almost as big as the ones cut down.”

One more tree is still to come — for this spot on Kirby Dr., right in front:

Fast Landscaping

77098, Fast Food, Gardening, Landscape, Streetscapes, Trees

Apartments

04/28/15 2:00pm

Demolition Work Is Beginning Now on the Kirby Court Apartments

Demolitions, Upper Kirby

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Demolition of Kirby Court Apartments, 2612 Steel St., Upper Kirby, Houston

Demolition of Kirby Court Apartments, 2612 Steel St., Upper Kirby, Houston Crews are gutting the innards of the Kirby Court Apartments on Steel St. just west of Kirby, a reader tells Swamplot. Dumpsters are on the scene, chain-link fences are up, and trash is being thrown out of the backs of the 2-story townhouse-style garden apartment buildings; to our source it appears that asbestos abatement may be in progress.