Headlines

• Land Tejas Reveals Details for First Large Sterilized Lake in Balmoral Master Planned Community [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Rolled Ice Cream Maker I-CE NY Plans To Open 5 Houston Locations in Next 2 Years, Starting with The Woodlands Mall in June [HBJ]
• Sideout Volleybar Officially Opening June 1 Near White Oak Music Hall with Bar Attached to Sand Volleyball Courts [HBJ]
• Getting to the Bottom of What Happened to the Proposed Original Ninfa’s at Uptown Park [Culturemap]
• Old MFAH Surface Parking Lot Closes as New Underground Parking Lot Opens [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• The First Comprehensive Database of Parks in the Houston Area [The Urban Edge; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston ISD Could Be On the Hook for Another $60M in ‘Recapture Fees’ [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Needs To Do a Better Job of Marketing Itself [Bisnow]

Photo: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Hines’s Downtown Tower 609 Main Signs First Energy Tenant [HBJ ($)]
• Avera Cos. Acquires 40 Acres in the TGS Cedar Port Industrial Park Near Baytown for Vinmar Distribution Facility [Realty News Report]
• Land Tejas Names Builders in West Lake Houston Development Etteridge [Houston Chronicle]
• The Zip Codes in Harris County That Face the Most Evictions in Court [The Urban Edge]
• Greater Houston Area Added 41,900 Jobs Over Past Year, According to the Texas Workforce Commission [Houston Public Media]
• Houston Ranks No. 9 in the U.S. for Startup Activity, Down 3 Spots from Last Year [HBJ]
• Galveston Bay Action Network App Lets People Report Pollution in Galveston Bay [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• Flash Flood Watch in Effect for Southeast Texas, Including Houston Area, Until 1 p.m. Today [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of the KPRC demo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Hines’s 609 Main Skyscraper Opening Party Includes Giant Earth Harp, Performances of Board Meetings Gone Wrong  [Bisnow; previously on Swamplot]
• Wildwood Corporate Centre I Office Building in Spring Gains 2 Tenats [Realty News Report]
• B&B Butchers Owner Signs Lease for New Restaurant Inside Former Texaco Building Downtown [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Pet Supermarket Has Opened 3 Stores in the Houston Area, 7 More Planned [Houston Chronicle]
• Warby Parker Bringing First Houston Outpost to Heights Mercantile — Not River Oaks District [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Evelyn’s Park Restaurant Ivy & James Now Officially Open [Eater Houston]
• Galveston Finishes Multi-Million Dollar Sand Replacement Along the Seawall [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• Galveston Bay Projects Could Receive $46M from BP Oil Spill Settlements [Galveston County Daily News ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Portions of I-45 Will Be Completely Closed This Weekend, Again [Houston Chronicle]
• Shepherd Park Plaza, Heights Residents Report Feeling Harassed By Drone Creeping Around Their Property [The Leader]
• Salaries, Rents Make Houston Appealing To New Grads, Finds Indeed and Trulia Report [HBJ]

Photo of Iglesia La Luz del Mundo: Patrick Feller via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Among Top 10 Most Expensive Cities in the World for Construction, Finds New Report [HBJ ($)]
• Greater Houston Partnership Director: Economic Recovery Slow but Steady for Region [Community Impact Newspaper]
• HP, ABS Campuses Begin To Take Shape in Springwoods Village [Houston Chronicle]
• Central Market at 3815 Westheimer Rd. Reveals $10M Facelift That Includes Chocolate Factory Bean to Bar [HBJ]
• Houston-Area Transit Ridership Grew by 4M Passenger Boardings in 2016 [The Urban Edge]
• Win for Uber as Texas Ridesharing Rules Bill Passes Through Senate [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Mapping Where Houston Saw the Most Violent Crime [Click2Houston]
• Smelly Sargassum Seaweed Shows Up on Galveston Beaches Again [KHOU]

Photo: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston No. 2 Nationwide in Housing Starts, Behind Dallas, Finds Metrostudy [Realty News Report]
• First-Quarter Home Prices in Houston Outpace Most Texas Cities, Finds National Association of Realtors [Houston Chronicle]
• Co-Living Startups Will Disrupt the Apartment Rental Market, Unless They Don’t [Houston BisNow]
• Houston Officials Apparently Haven’t Been Keeping Very Good Track of Low-Income Housing Funds [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• How the 1-Acre Morse-Bragg Cemetery Near Uptown Became a Historical Landmark [Houston Public Media]

Photo of KPFT at 419 Lovett Blvd.: Patrick Feller via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Unilev Capital Corp. Planning $3M Renovation of Galleria-Area Office Building Three Riverway [Houston Chronicle]
• New Greenway Plaza Owners To Upgrade the Urban Plaza [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Tool-Flo Starts Construction on New Pearland Headquarters [Houston Chronicle]
• Landry’s Bringing Shark Attack-Themed Amusement Attraction to the Seawall [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Gilmer: Houston Economy Headed for Lackluster 2017 with Overbuilt Office and Multifamily Markets, Tepid Job Growth [Realty News Report]
• 10 Cool Residences in Houston and Across Texas [abc13]
• Ordinance Banning Houston’s Homeless Encampments Goes into Effect [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of 1210 Bayport Blvd.: Patrick Feller via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Brookfield Unveils DesignHive Office Space Redesign Contest Entries in 1600 Smith St. Downtown [HBJ]
• Sneak Peek Inside Thor Equities’s Kirby Collection Under Construction in Upper Kirby Area [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• How Houston Is Meeting Growing Demand for High-Rise, Midrise Properties [Houston Chronicle]
• The Types of Multifamily Projects Lenders Will Back in Houston [HBJ ($)]
• Bryan Caswell New Restaurant Oxbow 7 Opening July 18 in Le Méridien Houston Downtown [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Galleria-Area Restaurant Sullivan’s Steakhouse Closing May 23 [Culturemap]
• Is the Oil Bust Really Over for Houston? [Houston Public Media]
• Texas Historical Commission’s New Website To Help Sell and Lease Downtown Buildings in Small-Town Texas [Bisnow]
• The Property Brothers Went to Galveston for Fifth Season of HGTV’s ‘Brother Vs. Brother’ [Houstonia]

Photo: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Single-Family Home Sales in Houston Up 3.1% Year-Over-Year in April, Finds HAR [HBJ]
• Nitya Capital Picks Up 510-Unit City West Apartments in Westchase [Houston Chronicle]
• Wildwood Corporate Centre Near The Woodlands Gains 2 Tenants with One on the Way Out [Houston Chronicle]
• Late Heart Surgeon Denton Cooley’s River Oaks Home on the Market for Nearly $4.5M [HBJ]
• The City’s Plan for Fixing Lower Westheimer’s Narrow Lanes, Failing Infrastructure [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• Historic Galveston Trolleys Shipping Out to Iowa for Repairs Ahead of Return to the Streets [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Houston-Based David Weekley Homes Ranked No. 14 on Professional Builder Magazine’s 2017 Housing Giants List [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of 3505 Sage Road: Patrick Feller via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Parkway Starting a Series of Renovations in Greenway Plaza [Houston BisNow]
• The Most Expensive Homes Listed by HAR in Houston’s Priciest ZIP Codes [Houston Chronicle]
• What Makes The Heights Houston’s Hottest Dining Neighborhood, According to Chefs [Eater Houston]
• Newk’s Eatery Opening Fifth Houston Location May 15 in Sugar Land [Houston Chronicle]
• The Human and Capital Costs of Making Houston Bike Safe [abc13]
• ACLU Issues Texas “Travel Advisory” after Governor Signs SB4 [Texas Tribune]
• Finding Other Cities that are Kind of Like Houston with the Federal Reserve of Chicago’s New Data-Mapping Tool [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Brays Bayou: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Katy Shopping Center Grand Crossing II Trades Hands [Houston Chronicle]
• Arrimus Capital Acquires Campus Vue Apartments Near the University of Houston [Houston Chronicle]
• Patrinely Group Delivers 266-Unit Multifamily Complex Folio West at 2525 Citywest Boulevard [Realty News Report]
• Average Rent for Houston Apartment Down $38 a Month Over the Last 12 Months, Finds Axiometrics [Realty News Report]
• Camden CEO: Houston Apartment Renters Are ‘Having a Field Day’ Amid Oil Slump [HBJ ($)]
• How New-to-Houston Law Firms Have Impacted the Commercial Real Estate Market [HBJ ($)]
• Housing and Community Development Department Launches Fair Housing Campaign [The Urban Edge]
• Top 5 Neighborhoods in Houston To Save Big on Your Next Home [Click2Houston]
• Long-Running Heights Restaurant Shade Turning into Alice Blue [Houston Chronicle]
• TxDOT Officials Hosting Hearings on Draft Plan for I-45 Widening North of Downtown [Houston Chronicle]
• A Glimpse into What It’s Like To Be a Cyclist and Pedestrian in Houston Right Now [The Urban Edge]
• How Hillcroft Ave. Points to the ‘American City of the Future’ [LA Times]

Photo of 2717 Engelke: Patrick Feller via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Mayor Turner Outlines Plans for Innovation District Downtown [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Avera Construction Completes Design-Build Office Building for Bihner Chen Engineering in Katy [Realty News Report]
• Inside King’s BierHaus, Opening Today Near the Heights [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• HISD’s Recapture Proposition Passes This Time Around [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Construction Starts on I-45 Widening Project in Galveston County [abc13]
• Fifth Ward Residents Fear Growing Trash Pile Causing Health Problems [abc13; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Heights Blvd.: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• E Contractors Breaks Ground on 2-Story Office Building in Sugar Land [Houston Chronicle]
• Weingarten Realty Investors Sells Off Broadway Shopping Center in Galveston [Houston Chronicle]
• Island Grill To Open in Coming Weeks in Former Little Liberty Space in Rice Village [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Dallas-Based Snappy Salads Preparing To Enter Houston Market Next Month on Fountain View [Houston Chronicle]
• Roostar Vietnamese Grill Opens Second Houston Location with Spot in the Uptown/Galleria Area [Houston Press; previously on Swamplot]
• Massive Fire Destroys Long-Running Charlie’s BBQ in North Harris County [Click2Houston]
• Houston-Based Ignite Restaurant Group Said To be Filing for Bankruptcy [Bloomberg]
• 610 Loop Between I-10 and Southwest Freeway the Most Congested Stretch in Texas [KHOU]
• Galveston Residents To Vote Saturday on Bond Issue for Road and Drainage Improvements [Houston Public Media]
• American National Insurance Building in Galveston Kills 395 Migratory Warblers, Orioles [KHOU]

Photo of Hobby Family Pavilion: BOldbury via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• NexPoint Residential Trust Acquires Multifamily Project in Northwest Houston, Selling Off Another in Seabrook [Realty News Report]
• Crestwood Moving from Bank of America Center to BG Place [Houston Chronicle]
• King’s BierHaus Opening Near the Heights on May 8 [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Sam’s Boat To Expand to Katy’s Stableside at Falcon Landing Early Next Year [Houston Chronicle]
• Chef Ryan Hildebrand Opening FM Kitchen + Bar on Shepherd Drive in the Next Few Weeks [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Green Stormwater Management Could Be the Answer to Houston’s Drainage and Flooding Issues [Realty News Report]

Photo of Armadillo Palace: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Leasing Begins at 25-Story Residential Tower at Kirby Collection, Under Construction on Kirby Drive [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Folio West Apartments Open in Westchase District [Houston Chronicle]
• HCA To Buy 3 Hospitals in Houston from Tenet Healthcare, Another from Community Health Systems [Realty News Report]
• European Grocery Chain Lidl Going Through Permitting Process To Open Store in Conroe [Houston Chronicle]
• Jinya Ramen Bar Signs Lease at New Market at Springwoods Village [Houston Chronicle]
• John S. Jacob: Houston Sidewalks Aren’t Improving Fast Enough [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• WalletHub Ranks Houston Among the Best Cities To Start a Business [Culturemap]
• The Places the New Travel Channel Show ‘Places to Love’ Went to in Houston [Culturemap]
• The Worst McMansion Sins, as Documented by the Blog McMansion Hell [Hyperallergic; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Spring Branch: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool