Headlines

• Hotel Occupancies Downtown, in Galleria, Med Center, and Westchase Expected To Return to Pre-Recession Levels by Year’s End [Houston Chronicle]
• BP’s Texas Refinery Could Sell for Less Than Half of Asking Price, Say Analysts [Bloomberg]
• Hines-First Baptist Church Leasing Deal Could Bring in More Than $1M in Tax Revenue [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• BBVA Compass Plaza To Feature New Restaurants from Chefs of Mockingbird Bistro, Hugo’s [Culturemap]
• Calliope’s Po-Boy Wants Help Renaming East Downtown Restaurant [Eating Our Words]
• Pasadena Breaks Ground on First Habitat for Humanity Subdivision [Pasadena Citizen]
• Contractors Suing METRO over Safety Monitoring System Technology [KUHF]
• State Reduces Yale St. Bridge Load Limit Again, Affecting Some SUVs, Pick-Up Trucks [Click2Houston]
• Houston Ranks as America’s 22nd-Best City, Behind Austin [Bloomberg Businessweek via Houston Business Journal]

Photo of Galveston Pleasure Pier: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• U.S. 290 Projects 20 Years Ahead of Schedule Thanks to New Funding [Houston Business Journal]
• KKR Joining Hines and Cockrell’s Plan for 971-Acre Pinto Business Park at Beltway 8 and I-45 [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Sam’s Club Opening Pearland Location Today [Houston Business Journal]
• Galveston Lowe’s Delayed Again [Galveston County Daily News]
• Restaurants, Bars Around Minute Maid Park Also Lost This Astros Season [abc13]
• Saks Fifth Avenue in Galleria Opens New Bar on Third Floor of Men’s Department [Culturemap]
• City Council Approves Skate Park, Area for Special-Needs Kids for 10-Acre Site in Greenspoint [Click2Houston]
• Uptown Houston Commits $85.5M to Post Oak Blvd. Improvements, Bellaire Transit Center [Ultimate Memorial News]
• Woodlands, Shenandoah, Oak Ridge North Officials ‘Not Sold’ on Flyover at Research Forest Dr. [Woodlands Villager]
• NRG Energy Wants To Buy Pollution Credits from DFW Area To Offset Excessive Emissions from Fort Bend County Power Plant [Houston Chronicle]
• Rowing Clubs Feud Over Lake Woodlands Boat House [Woodlands Villager]
• 713 Clothing Store Along North Line Extension Route Destroyed by Fire [abc13]
• Bats Infest Southwest Houston Condo on Turtlewood near Bellaire Blvd. [abc13]

Photo of 713 Inc. Art & Apparel, 1912 N. Main at Henry: Candace Garcia

• Houston First Picks Rida Development To Develop Convention Center Hotel [Houston Chronicle]
• Dallas-Based Investment Fund Velocis Buys Second Houston Office Property [Houston Business Journal]
• City’s Property Tax Rate Expected To Stay the Same [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston’s Arts Industry Generates $978M in Annual Economic Activity [Houston Business Journal]
• Conroe May Annex 55-Acre Boy Scout Camp Up for Sale [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Metro Installs 100th Bus Shelter This Year, at West Tidwell and Wheatley [KUHF]
• Last Year’s Drought Killed More Than 300M Trees Statewide, Finds Texas A&M Survey [Click2Houston]
• Slideshow: Latest ‘Houston. It’s Worth It’ Photo Book Looks at 100 Years of Rice University [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Slideshow: 17 Non-Generic Houston Dining Rooms That Don’t Feel Dated [Eater Houston]
• Houston Architects, Builders, Interior Designers Wanted for Two Competitive HGTV Series [Mike McGuff]
• Orange Show Throwing Garage Sale at Its Warehouse This Saturday [Glasstire]

Photo of bus shelter installation, West Tidwell and Wheatley: KUHF

• Nearly Half of Board Members Who Approve $37M in Development Tax Breaks for Downtown Have Real Estate Ties [Texas Watchdog]
• Alliance Residential Breaking Ground on 320-Unit Apartment Compound in Energy Corridor Within a Month [Prime Property]
• Studio Movie Grill To Finalize Purchase of League City Land for $9M, 12-Screen Movie Theater at I-45 and Victory Lakes Dr. [Galveston County Daily News]
• Dynamo Turns Down Houston Rockets Owner’s Offer To Buy the Team [Houston Business Journal]
• Champions Residents Say Shootings, Robberies Regular Since 2 Late-Night Bars Opened [Cypress Creek Mirror]
• With 2 Months Left in Official Hurricane Season, Houston Threats May Be Over, Says Expert [KUHF]
• ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ Ship Could Dock in Galveston’s Harbor This Winter [Galveston County Daily News]
• Slideshow: 25 Years of the George R. Brown Convention Center [Culturemap]
• More Concentration, Critical Mass Key To Growing Houston’s Startup Scene [Houston Strategies]

Photo of New I-69: Alliance for I-69 Texas

• Houston Ranked Second in List of Metro Areas with Strongest Recoveries, Finds Brookings Institution Survey [KUHF]
• Peter Piper Pizza Opens First of Projected 25 Restaurants in Houston Region [Houston Business Journal]
• At 100 Years Old, Rice University Becomes an Official Texas Landmark [abc13]
• Counting Coffee Shops, Food Trucks, and More, ‘Lower Westheimer’ Ranks As Nation’s 20th-Hippest Neighborhood on Forbes List [Forbes via Prime Property]
• TxDOT To Widen US 90 from SH 61 to FM 1009 in South Liberty County [Cleveland Advocate]
• At Least 16 Pedestrian Crosswalk Signals Are Broken, Bagged, or Missing [Galveston County Daily News]
• Woodlands Township To Consider $380K Reforestation Bid Following Loss of 25,000 Trees in Drought [Courier of Montgomery County]
• Flare-Up at TPC Plant Off Highway 225 Has Neighbors on Edge [Click2Houston]
• Number of West Nile Virus Cases in Houston Reaches 60 [abc13]
• Galveston City Council Forms Committee To Handle Common Residential Complaints [Galveston County Daily News]
• The Storybook Tale of Disney-esque, Walkable Westbury Gardens [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Lovett Hall, Rice University: Shu-Wei Hsu via Flickr [license]

• Alabama Theater Trader Joe’s Opens Today with a Handful of Art Deco Details Intact, Spoof Movie Posters [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Disney Magic Ocean Liner Sets Sail from Port of Galveston for First Time This Saturday [Galveston County Daily News]
• $25M Bellaire Boulevard Reconstruction Project Breaks Ground; Will Add Lane, Upgrade Utility Infrastructure [KUHF]
• Customers Lined Up Outside Highland Village Apple Store Since Thursday Morning To Buy New iPhone 5 Today [Click2Houston]
• New HPD Uniform May Remove ‘Space City’ from Shoulder Patch [abc13]
• Menil Collection Marks 25 Years with Celebration This Saturday [Your Houston News]
• Sunday Fundraiser Will Kick Off Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse Restoration Campaign [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Space Shuttle Endeavour over Houston: NASA

• Harris County Housing Authority May Sell Swampy 92-Acre ‘Patriots by the Lake’ Property Eyed for Veterans Development after VA Drops Out over ‘Distorted’ Facts [Houston Chronicle]
• Harris County Foreclosures Back To Pre-Recession Levels [KUHF]
• Graphic of Houston Housing Values from 2006 to Today [Prime Property]
• BP In Talks To Sell Texas City Refinery to Marathon Petroleum [Houston Business Journal]
• Highway 290 Expansion Project Forcing Haunted House Near West Road To Relocate [KHOU]
• New Heavy Trash Pickup Schedule, Grouped by Neighborhoods, To Begin in November [Hair Balls]
• Space Shuttle Endeavour Stops By Houston Landmarks Before Making Way to Permanent Home in L.A. [Click2Houston; slideshow here]
• Houston Ranked One of Nation’s Dirtiest Cities [Travel and Leisure via abc13]

Photo of Endeavour over Astrodome yesterday: National Weather Service

• Trader Joe’s Opens This Friday in Alabama Theater [Houston Chronicle; slideshow; previously on Swamplot]
• Skeleton of Drive-Thru Galleria Bank Tower Reaches Highest Point at 22 Stories [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Housing Inventory at a 10-Year Low as Home Sales Rise for 15th Straight Month [Prime Property]
• Demand Beating Supply in Much of Houston Home Market [Houston Chronicle]
• Woodlands Home Sales Up, Helped By Mexican Nationals Moving To Area [Ultimate Woodlands News]
• Why Spring Branch Never Became Its Own City [Houston Chronicle]
• Museum Park Super Neighborhood Wants Input on Proposals Produced in Rice Design Alliance Charrette [Houston Chronicle; designs]
• Food Trucks Face Opposition from Councilmembers for Downtown Access [KHOU]
• Bobby Heugel and Anvil Partners Will Manage Original Ninfa’s, Antone’s Famous Po’ Boys [Culturemap]
• Galveston Chamber of Commerce Throws Support Behind $3B, 75-Mile Ike Dike [Galveston County Daily News]
• Nearly a Dozen Galveston Traffic Lights Face Wrong Way on One-Way Streets [Galveston County Daily News]
• Harris County Transit Gives Pasadena September 30 Deadline for Decision on Funding Bus Service [Pasadena Citizen]
• Reliant To Use $1.2M Worth of Fake Grass for Non-Texans Games [Houston Chronicle]
• Slideshow: Spencer Ogden Energy’s AstroTurf-Carpeted ‘War Room’ atop BG Group Place Downtown [Culturemap]
• Endeavour To Reach Houston Around 9 am Today, Be On View at Ellington Field Rest of Day [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Hermann Park: elnina999 via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Mall of Mainland in Texas City on the Market Since May, Going for $15.4M [Galveston County Daily News]
• Hines, Houston’s First Baptist Church Revive Deal for 16-Story Office Tower on Church Land Along I-10 Near West Loop [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot; more info]
• Revival Market Owners Opening Italian Restaurant on White Oak Next Spring [The Leader]
• Brazos Transit Authority’s Park and Ride Unreliable After Changing Bus Service Provider [Click2Houston]
• Space Shuttle Endeavour’s Flight Over Houston Delayed Another Day [SciGuy]
• Tour the USS Fort Worth in Galveston Today Through Thursday [Houston Chronicle]
• Harris County Unveils Mobile Version of Flood Warning Website [KUHF; site]
• Hard To Lease: Nine Percent of NASA’s Real Property Assets Nationwide Sit Unused [Fox News]

Photo of former Fiesta, 3803 Dunlavy St.: Candace Garcia

• New Apartments Planned for Energy Corridor, Senior Living Complex for Katy [Houston Chronicle]
• Frost Bank Signs Up for Prominent Corner in BLVD Place, Now Under Construction [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston’s House Price Index Up 5.82 Percent Since 2007 [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Couple Buys $1.36M Southern Living Showcase Home in Bellaire [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Real Estate Swindler Gets 30-Year Sentence [Houston Chronicle]
• Resident Sues League City for ‘Illegal Dump Site’ Across from Austin St. Home [Galveston County Daily News]
• Endeavor’s Houston Visit Delayed to Tuesday, Cut Short Because of Weather [abc13]
• Galveston Port Officials Mull Borrowing $12M for Upgrades To Public Docks [Galveston County Daily News]
• Rice Economic Summit Addresses Problems with Houston Infrastructure, Transportation, Suburban Growth [Houston Chronicle]
• Bike Boardings on Houston Buses Up 50 Percent Over Last Year [KUHF]
• TxDOT Finally Publishes Comments from Last Year’s Public Forum on I-45 [Off the Kuff]
• Galveston Downtown Cultural Arts District Now an Official Texas Cultural District [Galveston County Daily News]

Photo of Police Station, 61 Riesner St.: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Transwestern Planning 3-Building Westgate Spec Office Complex North I-10, East of Barker Cypress [Houston Chronicle]
• Finalists Selected To Develop Second Convention Center Hotel, North of Discovery Green [Houston Business Journal ($)]
• Lone Star College—University Park Building New Energy and Manufacturing Institute on Former Compaq Campus at 249 and Louetta [Houston Business Journal]
• County Approves Engineering Contracts for Tomball Tollway [Houston Politics]
• Downtown Light Rail Will Be Closed This Weekend [Hair Balls]
• Ellen DeGeneres Offering Free Rides on Metro Rail [KHOU 11 News]
• ‘Neighbors’ Report Crime Spike in Sharpstown [abc13]
• Tenants at Villas of Hillcroft Apartments Stuck without Power Since Tuesday Night [Click2Houston]
• Candlelight Estates Homeseller Stages Garden with Used Plants [The Leader]
• Houston’s First American Girl Store Opening in Memorial City Mall This Weekend [Culturemap]
• Galveston City Council Approves Second Public Housing Plan To Avoid Funding Cutoff [Galveston County Daily News]
• Plans for Combo Cinnabon, Schlotzky’s, and Carvel Ice Cream Store in Galveston Held Up Over Drive-Thru [Buzz Blog]
• Galveston Tourism Surpasses Pre-Hurricane Ike Levels [Houston Business Journal]
• Jersey Village Man Pays $137 Traffic Fine with Origami Pigs in Donut Boxes [KHOU 11 News; video]

Photo: elnina999 via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Sneak Peek of Harris Health System’s $98M Smith Clinic Outside Med Center, Opening Next Month [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Ritz Camera and Wolf Camera Stores Shutting Down Just About Everywhere [Houston Business Journal]
• Oil Prices Above $70 a Barrel Will ‘Keep Houston Going,’ Says Economist [Houston Business Journal]
• Broken Spoke Cafe Owner Thinks Landlord Will Try To Rebuild After Fire [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot]
• Rice Village Wine Bar Opening Second Location in Frostwood [West University Examiner]
• Hotel Planned for Seawall Blvd. Would Exceed Galveston Height Limits [Galveston County Daily News]
• Houston Real Estate Swindler Charged with Auto Theft [Houston Chronicle]
• Texas Watchdog’s Funding Runs Out; May Close Up Shop [Hair Balls]
• Excessive Pollution Reported at Baytown Refinery [abc13]
• Woodlands Safe from Hoarder-House-Harbored Hantavirus [KHOU 11 News]

Photo of Smith Clinic, 2525-A Holly Hall St.: Harris Health System

• Brazoria County Opening First Sam’s Club in Pearland September 27 [Pearland Journal]
• Judge Emmett Says Money Will Go Back to Metro if November Transportation Funding Ballot Measure Loses [KUHF]
• Ike Lore Becomes Tourist Curiosity in Galveston, Kemah [Galveston County Daily News]
• East End Considering Streetcar for ‘Friendly, Approachable’ Means of Transportation [Houston Chronicle]
• U of H Considers Smoking Ban on Campus [KHOU]
• Houston Among Top US Cities in Economic Index Thanks to Strong Job Numbers, Housing Values [Business Journals]
• Remüv’s “Hate!” Tag on I-45 Railroad Bridge Near Downtown May Be Houston’s Lamest Graffiti [Art Attack]
• Texas Home & Garden Show Takes over Reliant Center This Weekend [Culturemap]

Photo of Galveston sunset: Jackson Myers via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Astros Obscure Fans’ View of Downtown with ‘Ugly’ Bank of Billboards [Houston Chronicle]
• Second, Older Burial Site Uncovered in Path of Grand Pkwy.; Judge To Rule This Week on How to Proceed [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Investors Spent Nearly $4B To Acquire Houston-Area Office Properties in Past Year [Houston Business Journal]
• Treasures Strip Club Can Remain Open for Now, Despite Houston, Harris County Public Nuisance Lawsuit [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• Killen’s Steakhouse Kills Planned Move into Old Stella Sola Spot in the Heights [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Space Shuttle Endeavour To Stop by in Houston on Way to Permanent Home in L.A. [Houston Chronicle]
• Bellaire High School’s Future Farmers of America’s Livestock Trailer Burglarized [Click2Houston]
• Sugar Land Skeeters Break League Attendance Record with 22,886 Visitors This Past Weekend [Houston Business Journal]
• Little Free Library Comes to Cleveland [Cleveland Advocate; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Minute Maid Park billboards: Hiren Joshi

• Clariant Oil Breaks Ground on New Campus Headquarters in The Woodlands [Houston Business Journal]
• First Pinkberry in Houston’s City Limits Now Open in Highland Village [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Fifth Barnaby’s Cafe Now Open in Old Convey Sushi Spot in Market Square [Culturemap]
• Houston Sees Largest Rent Increase Nationwide with 11.2% Hike, Finds Study [Trulia via Houston Business Journal]
• Galveston Parking Plan Could Generate $1.7M in Revenue, Officials Guess [Galveston County Daily News]
• West Nile Virus Cases Continue To Rise in Houston, Harris and Fort Bend Counties [abc13]
• Woodlands ‘Hoarding’ Home Quarantined for Hantavirus [Woodlands Villager]
• Fan Injured by Falling LED Display Access Panel During Texans Game at Reliant Stadium [abc13]
• Thieves Steal Prized Peacock, Chicks from Spring Breeder [KHOU]
• Tall Ship Elissa Begins 2 Months, $2M Worth of Repairs [Galveston County Daily News]
• New Book Highlights ‘Spectacular’ Outdoor Living Spaces in Texas [Houston Chronicle]
• Here’s an Idea for KBR’s 136 Acres of East End Property: A Major College Campus [Houston Strategies; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Miller Outdoor Theatre: elnina999 via Swamplot Flickr Pool