Headlines

• Construction of $80M Nau Center for Texas Heritage Cultural Center Downtown Put on Hold [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Medistar Corp. Planning New Office Space on 23 Acres Across Almeda from Texas Medical Center [HBJ]
• New AmREIT Owner Reconsidering Previously Announced $1B Redevelopment Plan for Uptown Park [HBJ]
• Detering Co. Has Sold All of Its Washington Ave. Property to 3 Buyers, Relocated to North Houston [Houston Chronicle]
• JLL Reports 2.5M SF New Sublease Space Has Hit Houston Office Market Just This Year, Half in West Houston [Realty News Report]
• Chevron Says It’s Still Planning To Build 50-Story Downtown Tower, Could Start Construction As Soon As Next Year [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• The Woodlands Recorded $168M in Commercial and Residential Land Sales in 2014 [Realty News Report]
• The Annual Income Needed To Afford a Median-Priced Home in Houston is $49,983.37, According to Mortgage Tracking Site [Culturemap]
• Late-Night Third Ward Spot Maxwell Street Grill on Almeda Has Closed [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Metro Breaks Ground on $25M East End Overpass, Expects To Complete It in 18 Months or Less [Houston Chronicle]
• Officials Considering Adding Stops, Extending Hours of Woodlands Express Coach Bus Service To Fight Continuing Decline in Ridership [Houston Chronicle]
• Texas Land Commissioner Launches Search for New Company to Run the Alamo After Ending State Contract with Daughters of the Republic of Texas [San Antonio Express-News]

Photo of Discovery Green: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• The Woodlands’ First Whole Foods Market, in Hughes Landing, Opens Today [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Bovine & Barley Set To Open Downtown in April in Former El Centro Space at 416 Main [Food Chronicles; previously on Swamplot]
• Harwood Grill Will Take Over Just-Closed 60 Degrees Mastercrafted Space in Upper Kirby Next Month [Culturemap]
• Lincoln Bar + Kitchen Opening in Former Brixx Spot on Washington Ave [Eater Houston]
• Security, Traffic, Impact on Growth Among Concerns Expressed About Mayor’s Plan To Move Justice Complex to Exxon Tower [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Artist Ed Wilson Re-Awarded GRB Commission That Houston Arts Alliance Withdrew Last Year [Glasstire]
• Months-Long Beach Reconstruction Project at West End of the Seawall Could Be Completed By Sunday [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• With Nudge from Joel Kotkin, British Magazine Declares Sprawl ‘Perhaps Houston’s Biggest Strength’ [The Economist]
• Sunday Streets, Now Under Corporate Sponsorship, Will Kick Off Again on March 29 on Lower Westheimer [Houston Public Media]

Photo of Sugar Land Town Square: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• February Single-Family Home Sales Down 5.8% from Last Year, Finds HAR [Realty News Report]
• After Demolition of Northern End Zone, Athletic Director Says New Project To ‘Restore’ Rice Stadium Should Be Announced By End of Year [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• YMCA of Greater Houston Buys Land in the Katy Main Street Development for Second Katy Location [Prime Property]
• Gupta Partners Selects Moody Rambin To Lease and Manage 6 Houston Office Buildings Totaling 600K SF [Prime Property]
• Just Falafel To Open Downtown This Spring at 500 Dallas within One Allen Center [Eater Houston]
• Conroe Legislator’s Bill Would Require Every County or City in Path of High-Speed Rail To Vote on Proposal [HBJ]
• Federal Judge Allows Houston, San Antonio Taxi Companies To Continue Fight Against Uber, Lyft [Houston Chronicle]
• Neighbors Say As Many As 15 Squatters Have Taken Over Home in Oyster Creek Country Subdivision in Fort Bend County [Click2Houston]
• Post Oak Blvd. Retailer, Restaurateur, Leasing Broker Claim Planned Dedicated Bus Lane Will Result in Lower Sales, Closing of Businesses [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Filmmakers Behind Astrodome Documentary Waiting for Final Act Before Finishing Film [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Astrodome’s ‘Battle of the Sexes’ Tennis Match Between Bobby Riggs, Billie Jean King To Become an HBO Film [Houston Chronicle]
• Freedom Rider Recounts Arrest After Sitting at Whites-Only Counter at Coffee Shop in Houston’s Union Station in 1961 [Houston Chronicle]
• Why Are the Dining Options in the Texas Medical Center So Unhealthy? [Houstonia]

Photo of Heights Hike and Bike Trail: El Kento via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Here’s the Completed Memorial Park Master Plan, Ready for City Council’s Vote on April 1 [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• Availability of Office Sublease Space at a 10-Year High in Houston, According to NAI Partners Report [HBJ]
• Harris County Set To Have 3.4M New Residents by 2050, the Most in Texas; Fort Bend To Have 2.1M Newcomers [HBJ]
• The Story Behind the Creation of Houston’s First General Plan [The Architect’s Newspaper]
• New Bills in State Legislature Aim To Get Rid of ‘Equal and Uniform’ Clause at Core of Property Tax Appeal Lawsuits [HBJ]
• Cottonwood, Liberty Station Partners Planning New Montrose Bar La Grange in Former EJ’s Space, Set To Open in Mid-April [Culturemap]
• Del Frisco’s Grille Opening at Hughes Landing in The Woodlands on May 29 [Eater Houston]
• New Hungry’s Designed by Palmer Schooley with Cantilevered Patio Set To Open This Fall Next to Current Location on Rice Blvd. [Houston Chronicle]
• Salata Relocating Downtown HQ to 26K-SF Facility with Test Kitchen at 16720 Park Row in West Houston [HBJ]
• Spare Key Opening in Second-Story Aerie Atop Midtown’s Cook & Collins at 2416 Brazos Later This Month [Food Chronicles]
• The Rise, Fall, and Renewal of the Third Ward as Seen in a Mile-and-a-Half of Holman St. [Houstonia]

Photo of Jersey Lake, Jersey Village: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• 350 New Home Sites in Conroe’s Grand Central Park Development at Former Camp Strake To Begin Construction Early Next Year [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• H&M To Open Fifth Houston-Area Store This Fall with 20K-SF Location in CityCentre [Prime Property]
• Blue Bell Building Fifth Houston-Area Branch Distribution Facility, in Tomball [HBJ]
• Houston Office Rents Among the Top 5 Fastest-Rising, According to Report [HBJ]
• Houston’s Apartment Boom Contributed $22.6B To Local Economy in 2013, Multifamily Boosters Claim [HBJ]
• Harmony in Spring Adds Taylor Morrison, Shea Homes as Homebuilders [Prime Property]
• Stern and Bucek Design for Weingarten Mansion Renovation Includes Expanded Kitchen and Master Suite [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Opening of Southern Goods in Former Table 19 Space at 632 19th St. Delayed By Permitting Process [The Leader]
• Complaints About Memorial Park’s Master Plan [Houston Press]
• Mom Would Like to Revive the Tradewinds Skating Rink in Oak Forest [The Leader]

Photo of Houston Club building demo: El Kento, via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Inside the New Petroleum Club Atop Total Plaza at 1201 Louisiana [Prime Property]
• Sneak Peek at Southwest’s New $156M International Terminal at Hobby Airport, Opening in October [HBJ]
• CBRE Trying To Sell 987 Acres for New Development in Lake Jackson [Prime Property]
• Fisher Homes ‘Still Figuring Out’ What To Do with Oak Forest Place Apartments at Rosslyn and 43rd [The Leader]
• Fire Ant Brewing Company Brewpub Planned for 304 Market St. in Old Town Tomball Will Require Zoning Change [Community Impact News]
• Sale, Closure of Upper Kirby’s 60 Degrees Mastercrafted Blamed on Westheimer Street Construction [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Looks Like Hefley’s Is Closing After Bar’s W. Gray Property Listed on LoopNet [Eater Houston]
• North Italia Now Open in BLVD Place [Eater Houston]
• W. 43rd St. Residents Want Slower Traffic on Their Garden Oaks Street [Houston Public Media]
• Slow, Clicky Reveal of What Houston’s Population Will Look Like in 2050, According to State Demographer [Houston Chronicle]
• The Highs and Lows of the Astrodome, the ‘Stadium of the Future’ [NY Times]

Photo of Houston Club building: Christopher Andrews via Twitter

• Buildings with Shops, Restaurants, Grocery Stores Will Better Withstand the Oil Price Drop, CBRE Claims [Houston Chronicle]
• Estimated Annual Lease for Downtown Exxon Tower for HPD and Courts Would Cost City Approx. $25M, Says Newly Discovered Memo from December [Houston Chronicle]
• Gardere Renews Office Lease in Downtown’s Wells Fargo Plaza, Downsizing To New Gensler-Designed Space [Prime Property]
• Historic Garrow House Designed By Birdsall Briscoe Built in 1913 in the Montrose Area on the Market for $2.395M [Houston Chronicle]
• Seafood Restaurant Black & White Moving into the ‘Cursed’ Stella Sola Space at 1001 Studewood [Eater Houston]
• Vote on $350M Bond Proposal That Extending Woodlands Pkwy. to Hwy. 249 Scheduled for May 9 [HBJ]
• City Council To Consider Parking District Plan for the Menil Collection [Prime Property]
• 4 Closings, Including Northern Part of Hardy Toll Rd., Northwest Segment of Sam Houston Tollway, Planned This Weekend [The Highwayman]
• Slideshow: The Construction That Changed Houston’s Skyline [Houston Chronicle]
• Teachers at Condit Elementary Hope To Find Places To Park During Construction [West U. Examiner]

Photo of Westpark Tollway at S. Rice Ave.: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Hilcorp Files for Additional Permits for New 24-Story Headquarters Going Up on Former Macy’s Site Downtown [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• American Liberty Hospitality Tables Plans for Hotel Project Next to Its $50M Hampton Inn—Homewood Suites Property Under Construction Downtown [HBJ]
• Hines Launches Retail Division [Prime Property]
• California REIT Buys Westgate Wood Group Mustang Engineering Buildings for $135M [Realty News Report]
• Joel Kotkin Launches Houston-Based Center To Promote Suburban-Style Growth, Oppose ‘Forced Densification’ [Prime Property]
• Report Says Better Incentives, More Financing Options Would Encourage Commercial Building Owners To Invest in Green Technology [Houston Chronicle]
• New 41K-SF Walmart Neighborhood Market Now Open in Cinco Ranch at 24919 Westheimer Pkwy. [Prime Property]
• How the New Post Oak Whole Foods Is Changing the Fabric of the Area and Blurring the Lines Between Urban and Suburban [OffCite]
• Pinkerton’s Barbecue Opening in Former Auto-Repair Shop at 2612 Joanel St., Just South of River Oaks, in August [Food Chronicles]
• Downtown’s Prohibition Supperclub & Bar To Add Beer Garden, Food Vendors, Living Wall, Greenhouse to Its Basement This Summer [HBJ]
• Crisp Wine Bar Eatery Expanding to The Woodlands with New Location at 2520 Research Forest Dr. Opening in April [Food Chronicles]
• Slideshow: The Oldest Buildings in the Houston Area [Houston Chronicle]
• A Look Back at the Houston Portrayed in a 1974 ULI Meeting Brochure [Not of It]
• With 1 Day To Go, Melange Creperie Less Than $1K Away from $50K Fundraising Goal To Move Indoors [Kickstarter]
• Level Office Co-Working Space Now Open at 802 Milam Complete with High-Tech Coffee System, Stocked Bar [Prime Property]

Photo of Baywood Country Club, Pasadena: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• After LaSalle Withdrawal, 1000 Main Tower Sells To Seattle Firm with German Investors for Slightly Lower Price: $435M [Realty News Report]
• Stream Realty Logged More Than 700K SF in Industrial Deals in the First 45 Days of 2015 [Houston Chronicle]
• 35 Brownstone-Style Homes with ’19th Century, East Coast Charm’ Going Up in Imperial Sugar Land Later This Month [HBJ]
• Aspen Heights Planning Private Dorm on 6-Acre Site Near UH at MLK and OST [HBJ]
• Medical Office Complex Next to Telfair Costco Starting Construction This Month [Realty News Report]
• Avanti Senior Living To Open $15M Center in Shenandoah in Late 2015 [Prime Property]
• Crave Cupcakes Drops Cupcakes from Name in New Store at 2501 Research Blvd. in The Woodlands [HBJ]
• Samurai Noodle Opening This Friday in Durham Shopping Center off I-10 [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans Opening March 9 in the Shops at Durham; Gumbo Jeaux’s Opening 2 Doors Down, Too [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Ronnie Killen’s Pearland Gas Station Venture Will Be Called Killen’s Hamburgers; Construction Starting Soon [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of Texas Medical Center: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• First Phase of the ‘Houston’-Themed Renovation at Houston Airport Marriott in IAH Nears Completion [Prime Property]
• Shea Homes, Westin Homes To Offer New Homes in the Village of Sawmill Lake in Sienna Plantation This Spring [Prime Property]
• Finger CEO Says Location of His New Apartments Will Help Him as Houston Apartment Market Spirals Down Amid Oil Slump [Houston Business Journal]
• Site Selection Magazine Ranks Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land Area Second Among Metros for Corporate Relocations and Expansions [Prime Property]
• The Commoner Now Open Downstairs at 410 Main in Former Clutch City Squire Space [Eater Houston]
• Cullen’s Opens Casual Italian Concept Bravissimo! Adjacent to Cullen’s American Grille and Whisky Bar on Space Center Blvd. [Food Chronicles]
• Jinya Ramen Bar Pushes Back Midtown Debut 2 Weeks to March 16 [Eater Houston]
• First Texas Location of Boutique Store Monkees Now Open in Same Center as New Tanglewood H-E-B [Houstonia]
• Woman Dies After Being Hit By Metro Train on Main St. at Drew [Houston Chronicle]
• La Marque Leaders Reviewing New Orleans’ Post-Katrina Blight Efforts As Model To Deal with Its Own Aging Infrastructure [Galveston County Daily News ($)]

Photo of Central Bank Plaza: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Developer Acquires Mall of the Mainland, Plans to Improve Shopping Center’s Facade [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Northeast Houston’s Lack of Identity Hurting Development in the Area, Real Estate Experts Say [HBJ]
• California Homebuilder Shea Completes Model Homes in Creekside Park in The Woodland, Its First in Texas [HBJ]
• The Bryan Museum, Celebrating History of Texas and the Southwest, To Open in Former Galveston Orphanage in Mid-May [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Studio Movie Grill Opening at Pearland Pkwy. and Beltway 8 Later This Year [Prime Property]
• Azuma Group To Open Izakaya in Midtown in Mid-March in Former Farrago Space at 318 Gray [Food Chronicles; previously on Swamplot]
• Sugar Land Allocates $13.55M To Begin Construction on 128 Acres of Parkland Along Brazos River, Festival Site [Houston Chronicle]
• Inside the Legendary SugarHill Studio off OST, a Rare Glimpse at 74 Years of Music History [Houston Chronicle]
• ‘Booty-Hungry Pirates’ Set To Ruin Post Oak Blvd., Houston’s Best Tourist Attraction, with New Bus Lane Project [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Heights Association Spring Home & Garden Tour To Showcase 6 Newly Constructed and Renovated Historic Homes April 11-12 [Houston Lifestyles & Homes]

Photo: Jan Buchholtz via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Direct Energy Shrinking Greenway Plaza Office Space by 13%, Extending Lease [Prime Property]
• Howard Hughes’ Condo Tower with ‘European Sensibility’ Along Woodlands Waterway Next to Westin Will Be 22 to 26 Stories, Have About 90 Units [HBJ]
• Hines To Open ‘European-Style’ Residential Community Somerset Green with Canal, Small Parks on Former Industrial Property Just Inside Loop at 6900 Old Katy Rd. [Houston Chronicle]
• Slow-to-Develop Northeast Side Showing Signs of Speeding Up [Prime Property]
• Star of Hope To Break Ground This Year on 48-Acre Complex Near U.S.-288 and Reed Rd. for Homeless Women and Families [Houston Chronicle]
• NRG Stadium Needs to Upgrade WiFi System To Meet NFL Standards for Superbowl 51 in 2017, Says NFL Official [MyFoxHouston]
• Velvet Taco Confirms It’s Opening in Former The Rig Space at 4819 Washington Ave [Eater Houston]
• Arturo’s Uptown Italiano Will Officially Close March 1 [Eater Houston]
• James Turrell Skyspace at the Live Oak Friends Meeting House, Closed Since 2013 Following Water Damage, Has Reopened [Glasstire]
• State Approves 10-Year Transportation Spending Plan with $25M Still Allocated to Dedicated Bus Lanes Along Loop 610 [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Galveston Trolley, Out of Service Since Ike, To Return in 2017 [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Houston Food Truck Park, East Downtown: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• $5M in Renovations Focusing on 3 Greenway Plaza Meant To Attract New Tenants Once ExxonMobil Leaves for Springwoods Village [HBJ]
• City of Galveston Rumored To Be Considering Buying Vacant Del Papa Building at 6702 Broadway [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Houston Office Market Now a ‘Tenants’ Market’ with Landlords Reducing Rents by $3 to $5 per SF, Says Broker [Realty News Report]
• Houston Suburban Employment Rising While City Center Jobs Not Growing At All, Finds City Observatory [Houston Chronicle]
• With Recent Purchase of 5 Apartment Complexes, New York-Based Gaia Real Estate Now Owns 5,670 Units in Houston [Prime Property]
• Sprouts Farmers Market Opening First Inner-Loop Location on March 11 Across from Yale St. Walmart [HBJ]
• Looks Like Someone Might Be Remodeling the ‘Cursed’ Stella Sola Space at 1001 Studewood [Eater Houston]
• Carrabba Family Closes Piatto-Heights Restaurant at 11th and Studewood Less Than a Year After Opening [Houston Chronicle]
• The Webster and Tod’s Are the High-End Retailers Going into the Galleria’s New ‘Jewel Box’ Pad Site; La Perla, Céline Stores Also Headed to Mall [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• H-E-B off Beechnut and the Beltway Closes Indefinitely After Toilet Paper Set on Fire in Back of Store [abc13]
• Residents at Meeting Oppose Woodlands Pkwy. Extension Included in $350M Bond Package, Don’t Want To Pay for More Traffic [Houston Chronicle]
• Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs Now Seeking Public Feedback on New Civic Arts Plan After Houston Arts Alliance Debacle [Houstonia]

Photo of Millennium Kirby: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• TIRZ Funding, Management Districts, Incentive Programs Seen as Key to Revitalizing ‘Largely Abandoned’ Richmond Strip [Houston Chronicle]
• 9 New Houston-Area Medical Office Buildings Opened in Second Half of Last Year; 6 More Under Construction [HBJ]
• Houston Office Vacancy Rates Could Reach 15%, Rental Rates Likely To Drop, CBRE Predicts [HBJ]
• Homebuilders Now Focusing on Million-Dollar Homes in Houston, Northeast, California, Minneapolis [New York Times]
• Speedsportz Racing Park To Break Ground at Grand Texas Theme Park in New Caney Next Month, Open in Late 2015 [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Heights Restaurant Asia Market To Move Restaurant Part to 4822 Fulton St., Keep Market Part at 1010 Cavalcade [Culturemap]
• Bovine & Barley Set To Open Downtown on March 17 in Former El Centro Space at 416 Main [Food Chronicles; previously on Swamplot]
• East End Property Owners Oppose East End Zoning Proposals, Complain They’re Not Being Represented [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Montgomery County Commissioners Approve May 9 Election To Vote on $350M in Proposed Road Bonds [Houston Chronicle]
• Galveston City Council To Vote Thursday on Revival of Trolley System Put Out of Operation by Ike [Houston Chronicle]
• Conservation Groups Step Up Efforts To Preserve Peckerwood Garden Near Hempstead [Houston Chronicle]
• Bill Proposed by Texas Senator Would Block Sale of Alamo to Foreigners [Texas Tribune]

Photo of Houston Ship Channel: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Alegacy Development Starting Construction of 87-Acre Industrial Park in Waller County [Prime Property]
• Nation’s Total Existing Home Sales at Their Lowest Rate in 9 Months, but Still Higher Than Same Time Last Year [Realty News Report]
• Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas Among Metro Areas with Highest Economic Segregation, Finds University of Toronto Study [Washington Post]
• Revival Market, Coltivare Owners Planning 8-Row Flint Icehouse and Tacos in Former Heights Gas Station at Yale and 11th [Food Chronicles; previously on Swamplot]
• Interior Photo of Jackson Street BBQ Before Its Opening Next Month in Former Houston Live Spot Near Minute Maid Park [Eater Houston]
• LA Crawfish Opens Franchise Location in Webster at 939 Bay Area Blvd. [Prime Property]
• Houston Bicycle Museum Opens This Week at Temporary Location in Renovated Museum District Bank Building at 1313 Binz [Houstonia; previously on Swamplot]
• Chicago Tribune Study Finds Chicago Red-Light Cameras Have Mixed Results [Houston Chronicle]
• Oil Giants Asking Texas Supreme Court To Take Away Houston’s Ability To Regulate Pollution [Houston Public Media]

Photo of Miller Outdoor Theater, Hermann Park: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool