01/13/10 1:05pm

When will the ongoing feud between Hans’ Bier Haus and the 2520 Robinhood at Kirby condos be optioned for television? Fortunately for the scriptwriters among you busy preparing your treatments, the tale of the little open-air bar in the Rice Village and the residents of the 16-story condo tower next door who like to pour water and heave beer cans, bottles, eggs onto its patrons isn’t just a simple melodrama. It’s a simple melodrama with a rich lineup of stock supporting characters. Reporter Angela Grant introduces a few of them in her report on yesterday’s court hearing:

The helpful concierge. Reggie McGowan, the condo-building concierge Bill Cave dragged by the necktie into the elevator on the night of December 13th, had no idea what was happening, and feared the angry and shouting Bier Haus co-owner was going to bring him up to the roof and throw him off:

When the pair exited the elevator onto the 4th floor, McGowan said he heard Cave say that water was spraying the bar and he wanted to turn it off.

“I said oh, I understand. I can take care of that,” McGowan said. “I had already picked up the hose Wednesday morning of that week.”

The disgruntled former employee. Condo management company employee Alton Smith was fired on December 15th, after a confrontation with 2 of the 3 condo residents the lawsuit claims had been throwing items at the bar. Conveniently, both of those men — Mark Theusen and Richard Booker — “happen to serve on the condo association’s board of directors, which is responsible for firing decisions,” writes Grant.

The water that rained down on partygoers at Hans’ Bier Haus two nights earlier came from a hose that was connected to a spigot on a patio belonging to Robert Souders, the lawsuit’s 3rd defendant. But Smith told the court he had seen the hose in the same Bier-Haus-soaking configuration at least 2 times before that night. Writes Grant:

“Angry about his firing, Smith approached the Hans’ Bier Haus owners, told them what he knew about the incidents and he named the three defendants as the perpetrators.”

More bit parts that may soon be available:

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01/05/10 5:11pm

The long-simmering feud between Rice Village bocce bastion Hans’ Bier Haus and some residents of the 2520 Robinhood condo tower next door has reached the courts. The condo association and residents are now subject to a restraining order that forbids them from tossing “produce, water, or anything” onto the bar patrons below. Hans’ Bier Haus’s owners are seeking a permanent injunction and compensation for the damage and lost business caused by projectiles coming their way from the 16-story condos. And 3 Robinhood residents have apparently been planning their own civil lawsuit against the bar owners.

But as of today, the battle’s obviously become much more serious, as the story has found its way into . . . the newspaper! Writing in the Chronicle, Mary Flood adds a colorful account of a few details bar co-owner Bill Cave appears to have glossed over in the description he gave to the Houston Press — namely, how he wound up with a misdemeanor assault charge after a scuttled gig on that fateful December 13th:

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01/04/10 12:32pm

HOLIDAY FIRE ROUNDUP A former auto parts store converted to a house of worship for the local congregation of a Nigerian-based church burned in the early hours of New Years Day, in a fire begun from a candle at the altar. The facility at 9430 West Bellfort, which backs up to Braeburn Valley West, was completely destroyed, except for some metal siding. Congregants, who are now holding services in a northside restaurant, have vowed to rebuild. A few days earlier, in the gated enclave of homes just north of Rice University known as Shadowlawn Shadyside, another fire struck a $12 million mansion with some history behind it: “The home was designed by New York architect Harrie T. Lindberg for William Stamps Farish, the founder of Humble Oil, which was one of the companies that eventually became Exxon Mobil Corp. According to a biography of [Howard] Hughes, the mansion at 10 Remington Lane was where Hughes married Ella Rice, the sister of Farish’s wife.” [abc13; Reuters]

12/14/09 1:45pm

You know you want to see it: Yesterday’s “controlled demolition” of the hobbled 31-story Ocean Tower condo at the northern end of South Padre Island. Controlled Demolition’s dynamite work took down the tallest reinforced-concrete structure ever to be imploded.

A few more videos below. South Padre sure knows how to party!

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12/11/09 9:04am

Here’s a little drive-by tour with expert commentary on the lost and leaning Ocean Tower on South Padre Island, slated for implosion this Sunday at 9 a.m. The condo tower has supposed to have 31 levels, but accumulated many more stories: Construction was halted last year after one side of the building sunk more than 14 inches into the sand.

Three months after topping out the tower last spring, developer Antun Domit sent a letter to buyers noting that a problem of “differential settlement” had occurred:

Unfortunately, there is a layer or stratum of which the engineers tell us is “expandable clay”, meaning that it is a clay stratum that compresses [when] weight is placed upon it. Although our foundation is engineered to a depth above that stratum, the weight pressing on the stratum has caused sinking of the building on it.

But there’s a fix for that!

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10/19/09 10:26am

FAILING THE PARTICLE BOARD REVIEW Levels of soot in Houston now exceed the EPA’s longstanding annual limit: “The area of concern is along the Ship Channel, the only place in Texas where levels of the tiny particles surpassed the EPA’s annual limit from 2006 to 2008, according to the most recent data available. The agency uses a three-year average to determine whether an area is in compliance. Monitoring shows air near the Ship Channel is getting cleaner, thanks in part to new rules for idling trucks and the paving of gravel parking lots. But EPA and local officials don’t know whether the improvements will be enough to drop the rolling average below the annual limit of 15 micrograms per cubic liter of air, since that average includes higher 2006 levels.” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]

10/16/09 1:44pm

PINE BARK BEETLES GET TO WORK ON THE WOODLANDS Drought-stressed trees in The Woodlands are under attack! “Since July, nearly 1,000 pine trees have been removed because they were attacked by pine bark beetles, community officials said. And that does not include the hundreds of dead trees on residential property. Recent rain and cooler weather has lessened beetle activity, but sparse, brownish-orange pine trees can still be spotted throughout The Woodlands, which is known for its forested landscape and protective tree covenants. ‘It’s been a major outbreak,’ said John Powers, interim co-manager of the Community Associations of The Woodlands. ‘In July and August, we were adding dozens of trees to the tree removal list every day.’ The infestation isn’t just in Montgomery County. It’s affecting trees throughout Southeast Texas, including Harris, Chambers, San Jacinto and Waller counties, according to the Texas Forest Service.” [Houston Chronicle]

10/08/09 2:59pm

TROLLING THE TOWN FOR TRUMP CHUMPS “The seminar, one of seven held in the Houston area this week, attracted people hoping to find a gold lining in the economic downturn. Banking on the Trump name to draw crowds, the classes promoted a method of house-flipping some Houston financial advisors call a high-risk sleight of hand, difficult to pull off without a measure of deception. Trump didn’t make an appearance: the class was taught by his ‘No. 1 instructor,’ Stephen Goff, who says he has flipped 200 properties with great success. ‘People ask me, “Steve, if you’re making so much in real estate, why do you travel the country teaching people?”’ said Goff, wearing a charcoal suit and a button-down shirt the color of money. ‘If it was in your heart to help people, and Donald Trump asked you, what would you do? I got on the first plane.’ Goff led the seminar in the call-and-response style customary to revival meetings. . . . [Retired real estate agent Jayne] Pace said Goff reminded her of Houston’s ‘prosperity preacher,’ Joel Osteen, but without the same megawatt smile.” [Houston Chronicle]

10/02/09 3:50pm

DOWNTOWN’S PIGEON POOP POWDER KEG WILL NOT GO BOOM Swamplot reader ms. rosa reports on tonight’s scheduled demolition of the 1906 Savoy Apartments building (later the Savoy-Field Hotel) at Main St. and Pease Downtown: “Just spoke with Cherry [Demolition]. They will start tearing down the building tonight (Friday, October 2, 2009) at 7:00pm. It will not be imploded (as hoped!)” [Swamplot; previously]

09/24/09 11:17am

City officials have decided to give the owner of the original 1906 Savoy Apartments building on Main St. Downtown an extra week to knock down the structure before going ahead with their own emergency demolition plan. The building’s owner — listed in Harris County records as Michael Nassif — will now have until midnight next Friday, October 2nd, to have a contractor of his own choice begin dismantling the structure. If that doesn’t happen, the city-selected contractor will complete the demo that weekend — and leave the property with a lien for the $448,600 cost.

While negotiations have focused on how quickly work can begin, residents of the Beaconsfield across Pease St. may be more interested in how long the demo will take — and how it will be done. Architect David Hall, who has studied the building for several developers, spoke to abc13 reporter Gene Apodaca about the asbestos embedded in the building’s crumbling interior plaster:

“It’s full of environmental issues. There are pathogens that are a result of the pigeon droppings, there are areas of the building I measured where pigeon droppings were six inches thick,” said Hall.

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09/23/09 9:43am

WHEN BURGLAR BARS KILL Additional obstacle in last night’s fire at the Copperwood Townhomes, on Imogene St. at the northern edge of the Westwood Golf Club: “The burglar bars ‘slowed us down a little bit getting in,’ said HFD District Chief Tommy Dowdy. ‘If (the occupants) tried to get out through the window, it would have been a deterrent.’ Firefighters discovered the man’s body in a ground-floor apartment.” [Houston Chronicle]

09/22/09 3:12pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: NOT MUCH HAPPENING SOUTH OF CLEAR BROOK LANDING “. . . Beamer Road is a special case because of the Brio Superfund Site. There was a waste processing plant that had disposed of a great deal of material from various refineries by dumping it into earthen pits. That was not standard practice; this was Houston’s Love Canal. The Brio site has been contained to prevent additional seepage through the groundwater, but the pollution that’s there would be far too expensive to remediate. So yeah, unless your friend got a chunk of that sweet sweet settlement, he’s probably **** out of luck.” [TheNiche, commenting on Comment of the Day: Where the Townhomes Ain’t]

09/21/09 1:21pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT LIES BENEATH “. . . roads go over top of petroleum pipelines all the time with an agreement & bond to protect them. Citie$, countie$ and large entitie$ do it all the time. The whole of the Woodlands Town Center, including the regional mall there, is built atop a pipeline, which runs alongside the foundation of the Anadarko Tower. Even Lake Robbins, though it’s not at all deep, is on top!” [movocelot, commenting on Comment of the Day: Where the Townhomes Ain’t]

09/17/09 3:24pm

HEIGHTS HOME FIRES STILL BURNING Early this morning: the 10th and 11th in a series of set blazes in the Heights, all targeting vacant homes. The latest were on 9th St. and 12th St.: “Before today, all the other fires had occurred along Ashland between 10th and 11th streets. Today’s fires were within three blocks of the previous blazes. District Chief Arthur Broussard said both fires appeared suspicious, and the second one appeared to start near an exterior staircase. Firefighters put it out within 15 minutes. ‘It’s pretty brazen, pretty brazen,’ he said of the second fire starting such a short distance from where firefighters and police were still on the scene of the first one.” [Houston Chronicle]