Headlines

• ‘Downstream’ East Side of Houston Will Grow While Upstream West Side Will Slow, Predicts Economist Bill Gilmer [Houston Chronicle]
• Microsoft and Altus Group the First Tenants in Moody Rambin’s 10-Story Town Centre I Development [Houston Chronicle]
• Camden Property Trust Starts Construction of $90M Multifamily Project Camden McGowen in Midtown [Houston Realty Report; previously on Swamplot]
• Transwestern Development Planning To Build Memorial-Area Multifamily Project Called Tanglewood Wood Hollow [Houston Business Journal]
• Duke Realty Corp. Acquires 250,660-SF Building Point North Four and Land To Expand Its Point North Cargo Park Next to IAH [Prime Property]
• Edens Investment Trust’s Acquisition of AmREIT Expected To Close This Month [Houston Business Journal]
• HISD Considers Delaying School Projects Several Months in Hopes of Getting Better Bids Amid Drop in Oil Prices [Houston Chronicle]
• Rice Village Loses Kate Spade Saturday, Blue Elephant Retail Stores [Houstonia]
• What an Astrodome Indoor Park Might Look Like [Urban Land Magazine]
• $1.25M Project To Refurbish Memorial Park’s Seymour Lieberman Exer-Trail Set To Begin Today [Houston Chronicle]
• Menil’s Byzantine Fresco Chapel Reopens as Installation Space, Minus the Frescoes [Houstonia]
• Never-Opened Club Envy Strip Joint Spot on Richmond Ave Connected to Unsolved Murder Has Been Sold, Will Become Office Space [Houston Chronicle]
• Giant Foam Sculptures of Art Guys on N. Shepherd Used Car Lot Being Fixed Up with New Paint, Suits, Mustache [Glasstire]

Photo of I-10: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Camden Property Trust CEO Says Financial Backers Now Redlining Houston Area Because of Downturn [Houston Chronicle]
• $8M in Renovations of Galleria Office Tower I and Galleria Financial Center Currently Underway [Prime Property]
• Luxury Homebuilder Gracepoint Homes Awaiting ‘Flood’ of Exxon Employees for Its New Developments North of Houston [Houston Business Journal]
• New ‘INRIX Drive Time’ Feature on Redesigned HAR.com Lets You Search for Properties by Hoped-For Commute Time [Houston Business Journal]
• Slideshow: Houston Houses Under 1,000 SF [Houston Chronicle]
• Arturo’s Uptown Italiano in Uptown Park Negotiating Possible Deal To Close, Make Way for Tex-Mex Restaurant from Lasco Enterprises [Culturemap]
• Galveston Historical Foundation Restoring Pre-Civil War Cottage in Its Warehouse; Will Serve as Museum [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Preservationists, City Prepare To Mediate Dispute Over Historic Freedmen’s Town Bricks [Houston Public Media]
• City Program To Replace Broken and Dangerous Sidewalks Near Schools and Disabled People’s Homes Has 557-Person Waiting List [Click2Houston]
• Shanghai Company 3D Prints 6-Story Apartment Building and Home Using Recycled Construction Materials [3DPrint]

Photo of El Real Tex Mex, 1201 Westheimer Rd.: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Kimco Realty Corp. Has Acquired 64 Acres Near Grand Parkway Extension for 400K-SF Retail Power Center [Houston Business Journal]
• City Considering Moving Its Police and Courts Operations into Former Exxon Tower Downtown [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Metro Area’s Arts and Culture Industry Generated More Than $993M in Taxable Sales in 2013, Finds State Report [HBJ]
• El Tiempo 1308 Cantina To Leave 1308 Montrose at the End of March for New Home at 322 Westheimer [Food Chronicles]
• BBQ Restaurant The Republic Smokehouse and Saloon Opening in Former Blackfinn Space in Midtown [Culturemap]
• Gallery She Works Flexible Now Open in Space Formerly Occupied By Domy Books and The Brandon [Houstonia; previously on Swamplot]
• The Winners of the Urban Land Institute’s 2015 Development of Distinction Awards [Prime Property]
• City Council Approves Budget for Uptown Bus System Along Post Oak [Click2Houston; more here; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of US-59 at 610: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Ranked No. 1 on Forbes’ Annual List of America’s Fastest-Growing Cities 2015 [Forbes]
• Houston Area Absorbed a Record-Breaking 8.1M SF of Industrial Space in 2014, According to CBRE [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston ‘Red-Lighted’ By Lenders in Light of Tumbling Oil Prices, Says Apartment Builder [Houston Chronicle]
• Butler Brothers To Begin Building Tuscan-Inspired Piazza Lucca Development on Memorial Dr. [Prime Property]
• Here’s a Rendering of Richdale Apartments’ French Chateau-Inspired Le Palais Midrise Going Up on Former Houston Ballet Building Site [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Lasco Enterprises Posts Ads for Staff at Unnamed Galleria-Area Tex-Mex Restaurant, Possibly in Place of Arturo’s in Uptown Park [Culturemap]
• Little Free Library in Shepherd Park Plaza Area Ordered To Come Down Because It Doesn’t Have a Permit [Click2Houston]
• Metro Planning To Test Out ‘Flex’ Bus Service in Acres Homes [Houston Chronicle]
• A View of a Changing Dowling St. from Wolf’s Department Store and Pawn Shop [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Main St. downtown: jsulak via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Everson Developments Starts Construction on Spec Havenwood Office Park on Site of Brookhaven Business Park in Spring [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston’s Economy Ranked Among the World’s Top-Performing Metro Areas in Brookings Institution Report [Houston Business Journal]
• Whole Foods Market Opening in Former Flagship Randall’s at 1407 S. Voss Rd. on April 8 [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• H-E-B Breaks Ground Today on 62K-SF Store at Palmer Shopping Center in Texas City [Galveston County Daily News]
• Nara Sushi & Korean Kitchen in West Ave To Close January 31 [Food Chronicles]
• Truluck’s and Starbucks Headed to Hughes Landing Development [Your Houston News]
• The Rise of the $1 Million Housing Market in the Heights, Oak Forest Area [The Leader]
• The Case Against the 50-foot Right-of-Way for Houston Townhome Developments [Purple City]
• Public Comment on Proposed Ellington Spaceport Open through January 31; Officials Hope To Get Approval This Summer [Houston Public Media]
• The World’s Largest BBQ Pit For Sale for $350K, on the Side of the Road on Hwy. 290 Between Austin and Houston [Texas Monthly]
• Oak Forest Nanny Says Hacker Broke into Baby Monitor [Click2Houston]

Photo of Marriott Marquis Convention Center Hotel: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Community College To Move Missouri City Campus To New Building, Increase Its Size by More Than 50% [Houston Business Journal]
• Mapping Which Houston Development Projects Are Moving Forward or Stalled After Oil Prices Drop [Houston Chronicle]
• Landmarked Home at 2126 Pine Valley Designed by Claude E. Hooton Hits the Market for $2.115M [Houston Chronicle]
• Unnamed Asian Fusion Restaurant To Replace Just-Closed Osteria Mazzantini in the Galleria, To Open in May [Culturemap]
• Chipotle-Esque Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill Opening First Houston Location, in Gateway Memorial City [Culturemap]
• Old and New Collide in Houston’s East End [Houston Chronicle]
• Debating the Merits of Houston’s Suburban Sales Tax [Houston Chronicle]
• MFAH Expansion Aims To Make the Museum District a Real, Walkable Neighborhood [CityLab]
• Plan To Expand Metro Park and Ride Lot at I-10 and Grand Pkwy. Nixed To Avoid ‘Traffic Headache’ [The Highwayman]
• Downtown Construction Affecting Bus Routes in the Heights, Residents Complain [The Leader]
• Flooding a Problem for Residents Living Near Hwy. 288 on Pembrook St. and Richmeadow Dr. [MyFoxHouston]

Photo over Montrose Blvd.: Jackson Myers via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Issued a Record-Breaking $6.1B in Permits Last Year, Up 41% Over the Year Before [Prime Property]
• Falling Oil Prices Might Not Be Felt in Houston Real Estate Market Until Late 2015 or in 2016, Says Trulia Economist [Houston Chronicle]
• $56M Senior Living Community Tower at Buckingham To Begin Construction on Woodway Dr. Later This Year [Houston Business Journal]
• Woodlands Development Co. Coming Up with New Name for Gated Neighborhood on Mitchell Island [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• MFAH Will Demolish Glass-Block Glassell School Building Designed by Astrodome Architect S. I. Morris Soon, To Make Way for $450 Million Expansion [Hyperallergic]
• Walmart Neighborhood Markets Held Grand Openings for Stores in Atascocita, Cypress and Pearland Wednesday [Prime Property]
• Independence Heights Area a Ghost Town After HISD Bought Land To Expand Booker T. Washington HS [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Team Behind Documentary on Westheimer Music Venue Numbers To Launch Kickstarter Campaign [Houston Chronicle]
• City Council OKs Permit for Army Corps of Engineers To Dismantle Nuclear Reactor Barge Sturgis [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• I-10 To Close Between Meadow and U.S.-59 For Real This Weekend for Work on New Meadow Street Bridge [The Highwayman]

Photo of Adickes Sculpturworx Studio: Brandi Lynn via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Skanska To Move Forward on $110M Highrise West Memorial Place II, on Site of Former Arco Bldg., Lake Thicket [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Caroline’s ‘Complete Street’ Reimagining May Need To Be Reimagined After Bids Are $3M More Than Planned [Houston Chronicle]
• Howard Hughes Developing Loyalty Card Program for Woodlands Apartment Residents with Discounts to Local Amenities [HBJ]
• Zagat-Like Apartment Review Startup RentLingo Adds Houston To Its Service Area [Houston Chronicle]
• Barringer Bar & Lounge Rumored To Be Reopening in Former Club Next at 108 Main [Eater Houston]
• Berryhill Oak Forest Opening at 1201 W. 43rd St. Pushed Back to January 28 [Eater Houston]
• Osteria Mazzantini in the BBVA Compass Bank Building at 2200 Post Oak Closes for Good [HBJ]
• Owner of Hugo’s in Montrose Files Lawsuit Against Hugo Caliente in Town & Country Village, Citing Name Confusion [abc13]

Photo of Hermann Park Centennial Gardens: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Restaurant, Retail Tenants Could Open in Midtown’s Long-Vacant Central Square Plaza Complex at 2100 Travis in July [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Rockwell Management Buys Westchase Building at 9900 Richmond Ave [Prime Property]
• Downtown/West Inner Loop, Greenway Plaza/Upper Kirby, The Woodlands, and Katy Most Likely To See Lower Apartment Rents in Slowdown, Says MPF Research [Prime Property]
• Whole Foods Market Opening 10th Houston-Area Store on March 18 in Hughes Landing on Lake Woodlands [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille Relocating from Clear Lake to New Section of Baybrook Mall in November [Prime Property]
• Removal of Historic Freedmen’s Town Bricks Halted In-Progress After Judge Grants 14-Day Restraining Order [Houston Public Media]
• Freedmen’s Town Labyrinth Built in Former Prayer Garden of Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church [Culturemap]
• San Francisco-Based Architecture for Humanity, Known for Disaster-Rebuilding Efforts in the Gulf Coast and Beyond, Has Closed [SFGate]
• Rice University Student Turns Dorm Room into Ball Pit with 13,000 Plastic Balls [Buzzfeed]

Photo of window reflections, Main St.: jsulak via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• CEO of Houston’s Biggest Builder Lennar Corp. Seeing Slight “Pullback” in Higher End Housing Here, Taking a ‘Wait-and-See’ Approach To Local Growth Amid Oil Price Decline [Prime Property]
• More New Retail Expected in 2015 Than Anytime in Last 6 Years, Including 32 New Grocery Stores, Claims Wulfe & Co. [Houston Chronicle]
• Federal Government Moves To Seize 11 Properties in Southeast Houston, Huffman, and Channelview Connected to Human Trafficking [Click2Houston]
• Montgomery County Cities Complain About Groundwater Restrictions [Houston Chronicle]
• 2 Artists Removing Their Works from City Hall To Protest Treatment of Artist Whose GRB Commission Was Offered, then Withdrawn by Houston Arts Alliance [Glasstire]
• A Map of Household Income in Texas, Down to the Neighborhood, Based on the Latest Census Data [HBJ]

Photo of the Menil Collection: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• HEI Hotels and Resorts Sells Galleria-Area Aloft Hotel to New York-Based Westpark I, Will Continue To Manage [Realty News Report]
• Chicago-Based Waterton Associates Buys Villas at Hermann Park at 6301 Almeda, Plans Upgrades, Rent Hikes [Houston Chronicle]
• Photo Tour of Almost Complete One Lakes Edge Apartments in The Woodlands’ Hughes Landing [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Sunrise Luxury Living Submits Plat Application for Montrose Blvd. Apartment Complex on Former Site of El Tiempo 1308 Cantina [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Beckrew Wine House To Open in Former Tasting Room River Oaks in February [Eater Houston]
• Houston-Galveston Area Council Requests $278.74M in State Funding for 14 Houston-Area Road Projects [Houston Chronicle]
• Loose Dogs ‘Terrorizing’ Residents in Spring’s Five Oaks Neighborhood [Click2Houston]

Photo of Rice University: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• That Giant Sucking Sound You Heard Last Year in Houston Was 6.8M SF of Office Space, Absorbing Workers [Realty News Report]
• First Building in 2-Building Northwest Houston Industrial Park DCT Northwest Crossroads Logistics Centre Now Fully Pre-Leased [HBJ]
• First Ward Morphs from Industrial Hub to Upscale Artsy Nabe as Sawyer St. Warehouses Are Primed for Development [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• HISD Rejects Plan To Take Westbury Manor Apartments Near Westbury High Because of Cost, Impact [Houston Chronicle]
• As Mango’s Closes, Crepe Kiosk Melange Creperie Starting Kickstarter Campaign for Its Own Restaurant Space [Houston Chronicle]
• World of Beer Taking Over Cafe Japon Space in Upper Kirby Later This Year [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Ula’s Mexican Restaurant & Cantina Moving into Coppa Ristorante Space on Washington Ave in Coming Months [Eater Houston]
• Berryhill Baja Grill and Cantina To Open January 21 in Oak Forest at 1201 West 43rd St, Near Ella [The Leader]
• Walter’s Patrons Blame Confusing Signs After Around 2 Dozen Cars Towed Near Downtown Club Tuesday Night [Houston Chronicle]
• MFAH Installing Full-Size Indoor Ice Rink Open This Weekend Only, To Promote Its Monet Exhibition [Houstonia]
• I-10 To Be Closed Sunday in Both Directions Around Meadow and U.S.-59 for Construction of New Bridge [Houston Chronicle]
• Interactive Map of the Many Construction Projects Runners Will Pass by in Sunday’s Houston Marathon [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Dynamo Stadium: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• LaSalle Investment Management Has Backed Out of $450M Bid To Buy 1000 Main Tower Downtown, According to Real Estate Alert [Houston Business Journal]
• How a Small Change in Texas’s Property Tax Code Helped Corporations Avoid Paying Millions in Property Taxes [Texas Observer]
• HISD To Vote Today on Using Eminent Domain Powers on Westbury Manor Apartments To Expand Adjacent Westbury HS [Houston Chronicle]
• 45K-SF World Gym Opening in About a Week in the Redeveloped Macy’s Building at Mall of the Mainland [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Berryhill Baja Grill on Montrose Blvd. Has Closed [Food Chronicles]
• 3-Story Lounge Henke & Pillot, Named After Grocery Chain, Planned for Former ERA Spot at 809 Congress [Eater Houston]
• City Overcharged 241,000 Water Customers by a Total of $24.9M [abc13]
• How Houston’s Required 25-Ft. Setback from Major Thoroughfares Has Uglified It [Purple City]
• Nassau Bay To Replace All 234 City Street Lights with Solar Fixtures This Spring [Click2Houston]

Photo of Sesquicentennial Park: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Downtown Living Initiative Nearly Maxed Out After Fairfield Residential’s 290-Unit Project at Main St. and Jefferson Approved for Financial Incentives [Houston Chronicle]
• Hooked on Growth, The Woodlands May Turn to Tax Incentives To Counteract Slowing Pace of Commercial Development [Houston Chronicle]
• $49M Katy Mills Convention Center Complex Will Center on Boardwalk Around 80-Acre Retention Pond [Community Impact News]
• Gaia Real Estate Sells 300-Unit Township Apartments at 401 South Bender Ave. in Humble To Local Developer [Prime Property]
• Philadelphia Firm Pays $52.5 Million for 843-Unit Trails at Dominion Park Apartments in North Houston [Prime Property]
• 5.34M of the 17M SF of Office Space in the Pipeline for the Houston Area Is Still Unleased [GlobeSt.com]
• Average Apartment Rental for 2-Bedroom in Houston $1,040, Second Highest in Texas Behind Austin, Finds ApartmentList [Culturemap; report]
• After Agreement Last Month, City in Talks with 2 More Companies To Remove Dozens of Billboards Across Houston [Houston Chronicle]
• Johnny Steele Dog Park in Buffalo Bayou Park To Hold Grand Opening This Saturday [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Stewart Beach Master Plan Includes Boardwalk, Dog Park, Pavilion, Food Truck Park, Roller Skating Rink [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Harris County To Restore 4,000SF 1973 Mural on Old Continental Can Company Factory Spanning Full 5900 Block of Canal [Houston Chronicle]
• Residents Near Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay Refinery Find Cars Coated in Silica Sand-Aluminum Oxide Powder [abc13]

Photo of Spur 527: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Atlanta Developer Plans To Build New Apartment Comlexes in Cypress, West Houston, Spring, and Near Tomball [Houston Business Journal]
• A Look at the 62 ‘Southern Architecture-Inspired’ Townhomes of Crain Square, Replacing Part of the Shell Tech Center on Bellaire Blvd. [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Anvil Bar & Refuge Closes Temporarily for Deep-Cleaning, Fresh Paint in First Part of Remodeling Process [Houstonia]
• Cinco Ranch, Montgomery County To Start Using Reclaimed Wastewater for Public, Residential Irrigation [Houston Chronicle]
• Some Crestwood Residents Complain Memorial Park Changes Will Decrease Their Property Values, Create Traffic and Safety Issues [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Ranked No. 7 Among the Top 25 Best-Performing Large Cities in 2014 By Milken Institute [Houston Business Journal]
• Mattress Mack Will Reimburse Customers Who Spend $7,000 on Furniture — if Oil Rises to $85 a Barrel or Higher at End of This Year [Reuters]

Photo of Sidney Sherman Bridge on Loop 610 over Houston Ship Channel: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool