Headlines

• High Rent Near West U Drives Panda Garden To Shutter After 25 Years, New Location Planned [HBJ]
• Energy Corridor Restaurant Carmelo’s Cucina Italiana Closes for Renovations [Culturemap]
• Ice Cream—Filled Waffles Are Heading to Garden Oaks and Katy [Eater]
• February Opening Slated for First Inner Loop Perry’s Steakhouse at River Oaks Shopping Center [HBJ, previously on Swamplot]
• 288 Exit on I-45 N. Closing Permanently as TxDOT Begins Construction [Houston Public Media]
• Lone Star College Buys Land for Magnolia Campus [Community Impact]
• CBD Infused Coffee Setting Up Shop in EaDo [Eater]

Photo of Glassell School of Art: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Developer Skanska To Move Offices from 3009 Post Oak to Its Under-Construction Capitol Tower Downtown [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Lost Renters in 2018 After an Earlier Spike in Demand Due to Harvey [Houston Chronicle]
• Brenham’s Truth BBQ Opens Houston Location on S. Heights Blvd. at Wash Ave [Eater Houston]
• Houston’s Dual MLK Parade Rivalry Remains Alive and Well [Houston Public Media]
• Annual Count of Houston’s Homeless Population Begun This Week [Houston Public Media]
• Nearly 200 Transportation Proposals Land Before Houston Galveston Area Council in Response to Its Call for Projects [Houston Public Media]
• Get To Know Conroe, Montgomery, and Montgomery County at a Glance [Community Impact]
• Sugar Land Seeks Private Developer To Build Hotel and Convention Center at 59 and University Blvd. [Community Impact]

Photo of train near Sawyer St. rice silos, First Ward: o texano via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Hilton Americas To Undergo $37M Update [HBJ ($)]
• Boutique Heights Hotel Planned on 20th St. Wins City Approval To Move Forward [HBJ ($)]
• David’s Bridal Emerges from Chapter 11 Restructuring Without Closing Any Stores [Houston Chronicle]
• Group Behind Coltivare Leases Neighboring Blue Line Bike Lab Space [Culturemap]

Photo of Heights Central Station: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Disney Cruise Line To Double Galveston Departures Following New Agreement the Port [Houston Chronicle]
• Owners of Chimichurri’s Buy Neighboring Kingwood Restaurant Sharky’s Waterfront Grill and Plan To Reopen It [Houston Chronicle]
• Affordable Housing HQ Breaks Ground Across Emancipation Ave. from Emancipation Park [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• Dish Society Opens in Heights Central Station at 11th St. and Yale [Culturemap]
• MD Anderson Cancer Center To Open New Woodlands Clinic Under Construction at College Park and Fellowship Dr. by September [Community Impact]
• Handful of Hwy. 290 Lane Closures Planned This Weekend From 610 Out to Grand Pkwy. [Community Impact]

Photo of mural at Wash Ave and Braeshear St.: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Decades-Old Rice Silos Crumble in East Pearland To Make Way for New Industrial and Commercial Business Park [Community Impact]
• Exxon Starts Shutting Down Baytown Refinery So That It Can Conduct Major Planned Maintenance Overhaul [Houston Chronicle]
• Downtown’s Houston Center Will Undergo Complex-Wide Renovation [Houston Chronicle]
• Waiting on Dozens of New Garbage Trucks, City Will Use Rental Trucks in the Meantime [Houston Public Media]
• Texas Legislators Consider Slapping More Restrictions on Sand Mining in Order To Curb Flooding It May Cause [Houston Public Media]
• 2019 Houston Open Scheduled for Oct. 7 to 13 at Humble’s Golf Club of Houston [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Houston Central Library, Jesse H. Jones Building: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Stretchy Palestinian Ice Cream Coming to Richmond Ave. in Woodlake [Eater]
• Weingarten Sells Heights Office Building [HBJ ($)]
• 20th St. Hotel Maison Robert To Feature Pool, Bar, and House Florist Neighbor [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Restoration of Historic Third Ward Mural Damaged in Harvey Underway as Roof Repairs Near Completion [Houston Chronicle]
• Humble City Council Okays “Prudent” Commercial Development Builds in Flood Plains [Community Impact]
• Pan-Asian Teahouse 7 Leaves Chooses Bellaire Blvd. for First Texas Location [Eater]
• Hanover Plans Mixed-Use Development Possibly Featuring Hotel, Office, Residential Space Downtown [HBJ ($)]
• Rothko Chapel Closing in March for Renovations and New Building for Visitors [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Fred Hartman Bridge: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Pelican Builders Developing 17-Story Tanglewood Condo Tower on San Felipe [HBJ]
• Proposed Kingwood Highrise Could Damage Wetlands, Exacerbate Flooding [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• Next Transit Steps for Light Rail Lines in Community’s Hands, Says METRO Chairwoman [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• New Tiki Cocktails Headed to The Heights as Tikila’s Snags Former N. Shepherd Dive Bar Spot [Eater]
• Urban Bricks Debuts with Drive-Thru Pizza on Westheimer Near Phoenicia [Culturemap]

Photo of Wells Fargo Plaza: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• New UTHealth Med Center Campus Will Be the Largest Academic Psychiatric Hospital in the Country [Houston Public Media]
• Construction Underway on 3 New CCISD Schools To Be Completed This Year [Community Impact; previously on Swamplot]
• Baytown Business Park off of Grand Pkwy. Changes Hands as New Industrial Builds are Planned [HBJ]
• Star Pizza Opens Third Location on Westheimer Pkwy. in Katy [Houston Chronicle]
• Legislators Consider Using “Rainy Day” Funds for Harvey Recovery, Teachers, and School Safety [Texas Tribune]
• New Houston Developer Building Industrial Spec Projects Near Denver Harbor, Aldine [Bisnow]
• Pax Americana on Montrose Shutters Over the Weekend [HBJ]
• Cornyn Opposes Rumored Redirection of Harvey Funds for Border Wall [Houston Public Media]
• Public Works Raises Million-Gallon Water Tower on Wilson Rd. In Humble [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of The Shops in Houston Center: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Understory Food Hall Adds Fast-Casual Mona Fresh Italian to Roster [Eater]
• White House May Now Redirect Money Intended for Harvey Relief to Border Wall [abc13]
• New 68-Acre “Elevated” Housing Development To Be Built in 500-Year Humble Flood Plain [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Makes New York Times List of 52 Best Places to Travel in 2019 [New York Times]
• Cost of Downtown Historic Esperson Complex’s Debt “Attractive” to Office Owners [GlobeSt]
• Looking for 3 More Tenants, Asiatown’s Bellaire Food Street Scraps Food Hall Plans Less Than a Month from Opening [Eater]
• TxDOT To Close 288 in Pearland, I-45 in The Woodlands for Bridge Work this Weekend [HBJ]
• Houston Among 17 Cities To Announce Bid To Host 2026 FIFA World Cup [Click2Houston]

Photo of the vault at Hotel ICON: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Heights Mercantile, Other Radom Heights Properties Sold to North Carolina Developers [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Developers Swindled Chinese Investors Who Poured $50M into Alleged Mixed-Use Project [The Wall Street Journal ($)]
• After 2-Plus Years of Construction, Bissonnet Reopens in Both Directions Between Buffalo Spdwy. and Kirby [Culturemap]
• Bayshore Medical Center Opens 15,800 Sq. Ft. Center for Neurosciences and Orthopedics on Spencer Hwy. in Pasadena [HBJ]
• After Yearlong Absence, Cousins Maine Lobster Food Truck Returns to Houston, Enters Talks To Join Lyric Market Food Hall [Culturemap]
• Former DoubleTree Downtown Begins New Life as C. Baldwin Hotel This Summer [HBJ]
• How Minneapolis’s Multifamily Rezoning Plan Got Approved, And How the City Will Put It in Play [Curbed]

Photo of Sculpt Fitness, 3334 Edloe St.: Swamplot inbox

• Construction Underway on 45-Acre Expansion of Port Houston Container Terminal in Pasadena [Bisnow]
• METRO Considers Increasing HOV Requirements to 3 Passengers During Peak Travel Times [abc13]
• American Bureau of Shipping Moves into New 10-Story Headquarters at CityPlace 2 in Spring [Maritime Executive]
• Shutdown Halts Houston’s Harvey Recovery Work, Flood Bond Implementation [Houston Public Media]
• Memorial Park Adjacent Midrise The Sophie at Bayou Bend First Phase of Construction Complete [Forbes]
• Houston’s Residential Construction Value Up by 22.8% in 2018 [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of East River Development at 4100 Clinton Dr.: Eric Sandler via Instagram

• French Bakery Mademoiselle Louise Moves into Ground Floor of Skyhouse Main Downtown [Eater; previously on Swamplot]
• County Commissioner Eyes 5 Acres North of Clay Rd. for Rebuild of Twice-Flooded Community Center [Houston Chronicle]
• Greenway Plaza Taco Joint Dream Tacos Closes After 6 Months in Business [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Unicorn-Themed Dessert Bar Slated for February Opening Likely Next to Velvet Taco on Westheimer [Eater]
• Bellaire Works with Houston Neighbors, Engineers To Study Flood Drainage for Future Solutions [Houston Chronicle]
• Pit Room Owner Plans Tex-Mex Concept in Former Cane Rosso Spot in Montrose [Culturemap]
• Self-Driving Car Prototype To Hit Houston Streets for Closed Trials [Freight Waves]

Photo of Avenida De Las Americas: via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• HAR 2019 Chair Optimistic About Affordability and Opportunities for New Houston Residents This Year [Houston Chronicle]
• Williamsburg Enterprises Intends to Invest $100M in 2019 in Blighted Retail Properties [Bisnow]
• Tensions Continue To Escalate Between HISD, Parents, and Activists After Most Recent Town Hall [Houston Public Media]
• How Cy-Fair ISD Transports More Students Than Any Other School District in Texas [Community Impact]
• An Interview with the Co-Founder of Coworking Concept Coming to 1923 Washington Ave. in 2019 [HBJ ($)]
• Dirt Bar Co-Owner Rescues Heights-Adjacent Vara’s Sports Bar To Preserve Its Quirky Dive Vibes [Culturemap]
• Wire Fraud Scam Targeting Houston Area Homeowners Picking Up Speed [abc13]
• Spring Firefighters Looking Forward to New Station and Equipment This Year [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Downtown Houston: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Texas Maintains its #1 Standing on Uhaul’s Annual Top 50 Growth States for Third Consecutive Year [HBJ]
• Houston Gas Prices Are Dropping and Experts Expect It To Continue Throughout January [Houston Public Media]
• How New York Made The Country’s Largest Affordable Housing Development Work [CityLab]
• Local Expert Predicts Houston’s New Home Sales Likely To Stagnate, Possibly Even Fall in 2019 [HBJ ($)]
• Plans Released of Maison Robert, the 37-Room Hotel Replacing Demolished 1904 Home on 20th St. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Eight Candidates File in Special Election to Replace Carol Alvarado’s House District Seat [Texas Tribune]
• Grand Parkway Land Value Has Increased as Much as 52 Times Its Original Value 10 Years Ago [HBJ ($)]
• The Star: Former Texaco Headquarters Reveals Challenges of Historic Mixed-Used Redevelopment [Bisnow]

Photo: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Katy Boardwalk District Will Have a 90-Acre Nature Preserve Within Its 169 Total Acres of Mixed Use [Houstonia]
• Rice Researchers Say Texas Has Enough Sun and Wind To Quit Coal for Good [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• TxDOT Invites You To Weigh In on Future State Rail Plans [Culturemap]
• City Council Tables Vote Authorizing Memorial Park Golf Course Redevelopment Until Next Week [Houston Public Media]
• 60 Industrial Properties Are Currently Under Construction in Houston Following Record Year for Warehouse Building [Realty News Report]
• City Council OKs Release of $1.17 Billion in Federal Housing Bucks To Cover Home Repairs, Affordable Rental Construction [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Buffalo Bayou: Ruben S. via Swamplot Flickr Pool