Headlines

• Simon Premium Outlets Eying 192-Acre Texas Instrument Site on Southwest Fwy. for New Outlet Mall Called Legacy [Culturemap]
• Toll Brothers Developing 692-Acre Woodson’s Reserve Community on Route of New Grand Pkwy. Extension Near ExxonMobil Campus [Realty News Report]
• New Children’s Nature Park at Buffalo Bayou To Feature 33-Ft. Slide Down the Banks, 3-Level Tree House [Houston Chronicle]
• El Tiempo Suing Licensee in Charge of Derailed Webster Location; Says It’s No Longer Involved in Opening [Food Chronicles]
• Polovina Italian Cafe on Washington Ave Locked Out by Landlord for Not Paying Rent; Owner Opening New Restaurant Across the Street [Eater Houston]
• Good Dog Houston Tired of James Coney Island Reps Not-So-Discreetly Inspecting and Taking Photos of Its Hot Dogs [Eater Houston]
• TxDOT Cutting Back Carpool and Toll Lane Plans for U.S. 290 Widening [Houston Chronicle]
• Rural Landowners Along Proposed Route for Dallas-to-Houston High-Speed Rail Project Feel Left Out of the Loop [Houston Public Media]
• Texas Joins 15 Other States That Have Decided To Stop Installing Possibly Dangerous Guardrail [Click2Houston]
• Gulf Coast Water Authority Pursuing Ways To Buy More Water [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Pasadena Homeowner Shared House for Years with Thousands of Bees [KHOU]
• The Bellewood Dr. House with Computer-Controlled Lights, 4 Miles of Cable and 3 Air Compressors’ Worth of Halloween Decorations [KHOU]

Photo of Fourth Ward townhouses and Downtown: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Sale of Downtown’s 1000 Main Has Attracted a Dozen Bids; Could Become Houston’s Biggest Deal Ever [Realty News Report]
• Marquette To Break Ground on 28-Story Residential Tower on Texas Ave. between Austin and LaBranch on November 5 [Houston Chronicle]
• Construction Starts on 68K-SF Medical Office Building and Surgery Center in Spring Valley Near Katy Fwy. and Blalock [Prime Property]
• Houston Area Led Country in Construction Hiring with 13,500 Jobs Added Over 12 Months Ending in September [Houston Public Media]
• 5 Residential Projects Under Construction Downtown with 9 More Planned, According to Central Houston [Houston Business Journal]
• Hearsay Gastro Lounge’s New Hearsay on the Green Now Open Inside Embassy Suites Next to Discovery Green [Houston Business Journal]
• City Lowers Fundraising Requirement To Keep Gus Wortham Golf Course from $15M to $5M, but Doesn’t Like Houston Golf Association’s Plan To Take Over All 4 City Courses [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Galveston Home Sales Increased 11%, Sales Volume Up 22% So Far This Year, Finds Sand ’N Sea Properties [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Roof of Vietnamese Buddhist Center at 10002 Synott Rd. in Sugar Land Collapses Overnight; No One Injured [abc13]
• Lyft Preparing To Pause Operations in Houston Over New Background-Check Regulations That Take Effect Next Week [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Downtown from site of Elan Heights: Ashley Day

• Houston Multifamily Market Nearing Historical High of 91% Occupancy, According to CBRE [Prime Property]
• Website for Hines’s 609 Main Includes Promo Video, Floor Plans, Simulated Downtown Views [Prime Property; site; previously on Swamplot]
• Ruggles Green Opening in January on Research Forest Dr. in The Woodlands; Cheese Shop, Nestlé Toll House Café Headed for Waterway Square [The Woodlands]
• Amalfi Ristorante Italiano & Bar Scheduled To Open at 6100 Westheimer on November 10 [Food Chronicles]
• HPD Data Appear To Show That Car Crashes Have More Than Doubled at Intersections Where Red-Light Cameras Were Removed [Houston Chronicle]
• Children’s Discovery Center, Heritage Museum Slated To Take Over Former Imperial Sugar Container Warehouse in Sugar Land [Your Fort Bend News]
• A Real Estate Photographer and His High-Flying DJI Phantom Quadcopter Shoot a Lot of Roofs [Houston Business Journal]
• Pending Approval This Thursday, Grand Pkwy. Toll Rates Will Increase Starting January 1 [The Highwayman]
• An Unofficial Guide to November 2’s Sunday Streets Event Along Dowling, Alabama, and Almeda in the Third Ward [OffCite]

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Shorenstein Properties Selling 28-Story Amegy Building at Five Post Oak Park [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• ShowBiz Cinemas Planning New Multiplexes with Bowling Alleys at I-10 and Highway 146, Beltway 8 and Highway 90, and Beltway 8 and Wilson Rd. [HKA Texas]
• Trader Joe’s in Cinco Ranch Will Open Next February [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital’s New 9,600SF Freestanding Emergency Care Center at Hwy. 290 and Fairfield Creek Dr. in Cypress Expected To Open Next Fall [Impact News]
• Niko Niko’s To Open Fourth Location, in Former Chili’s at Beltway 8 and I-10 Next Spring [Montrose District]
• The More Than 165-Year-Old Burial Crypt Located Under the Franklin Street Bridge over Buffalo Bayou [Houston Chronicle]
• The 4 Most Haunted Places in Houston, According To Some Unidentified People on the Internet [CBS Local]

Photo of Buffalo Bayou Park: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Colliers Report Counts 70 Industrial Buildings Currently Under Construction in Houston [Realty News Report]
• Tenaris Buys Its 11-Story Headquarters Building at 2200 West Loop South for $10M More Than Seller Paid Last Year [Houston Chronicle]
• Zillow Forecasts Houston’s Home Value Appreciation Slowing to 2.1%, Home Values Increasing 3% in Coming Year [Houston Business Journal]
• Newland Properties Still Has About 40 Acres of Sugar Land Property at U.S.-59, and University Blvd. Left For Sale [Houston Business Journal]
• Demolition of Wheatley High School Building Now on Hold Pending Outcome of December 1 Trial [Houston Chronicle]
• Former MF Sushi Chef Chris Kinjo Planning To Open New Restaurant in Museum District Next Year Designed by MC2 Architects [Culturemap]
• Pondicheri Quietly Opens Its Second-Story ‘Bake Lab + Shop’ [Culturemap]
• Farmboy Brew Shop Now Open in Garden Oaks Shopping Center [The Leader]
• Repeal of Old Town Tomball’s Depression-Era Ban on Hard Liquor Is on November 4 Ballot [Houston Chronicle]
• Suburban Sprawl in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery Counties Shrinking Forests, Displacing Wildlife [Houston Chronicle]
• All Gates at Both IAH and Hobby Airport Now Offer Free Wi-Fi [KHOU]
• A Short History of How Marfa Became Marfa [Curbed]

Photo of the East Downtown: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Latest Memorial Dr. Strip Center Breaks Ground Near Westcott St. [Prime Property]
• Dallas, Houston Face the Largest Housing Shortages for Baby Boomers in the Country, Finds Metrostudy Report [Houston Business Journal]
• Exxon Mobil CEO Says Sorry, Company’s Headquarters Won’t Be Moving from Dallas to Houston [Fuel Fix]
• New Rice University Analysis Questions Whether Ike Dike Would Stop Storm-Driven Flooding of Galveston Bay [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Texas Renaissance Festival Will Likely Put Extra Traffic on I-45 and Texas 249 Heading Towards Todd Mission [The Highwayman]
• East End Named Houston’s Fifth Cultural District by Texas Commission on the Arts [Houston Public Media]
• Imagining What Thanksgiving Would Have Looked Like Had the Pilgrims Landed on the Third Coast [Prime Property]
• The New I-10 Access Ramp from 290 Is a Thing of Beauty and Wonder [Houston Press]
• Ebola Halloween Decorations in Front of Dallas Home Draw Police, Shock Neighbors [WFAA]
• Frank Gehry Says 98% of Everything Built and Designed Today Is ‘Pure Shit’ [Gizmodo]

Photo of home at 502 Archer St. (on AIA Home Tour this weekend): Ben Hill

• Urban Eats Bistro, Market Opening November 12 on Washington Ave [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• 2.7-Acre Property Between Uptown Park and Landry’s Headquarters Up for Sale [Houston Business Journal]
• The Nightingale Room Bar Expected To Open in Late October at 308 Main St. Downtown [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Owner of Onion Creek, Dry Creek, and Cedar Creek Buys Majority Interest in Montrose Bar Lowbrow, Around the Corner from the Menil [Culturemap]
• New Historical Marker Notes Former Site of Cooley Elementary at Rutland and 17th St. in the Heights [The Leader]
• Southmore Station the Only Instance in 3 Years Where Protests Successfully Halted the Relocation of a Post Office [Houston Advocate]
• Rice University Aims To Reduce Emissions by 20% over Next 10 Years, Be Climate-Neutral By 2038 [Rice University]
• Metro Considering Developing a Rider Code of Conduct To Resolve Issues Like Smoking, Eating [Houston Chronicle]
• Map: See How Long It Takes Houston Residents To Travel To Work, by Census Tract [The Woodlands]
• Coyote Sightings Reported in Neighborhoods Near Memorial Park [Culturemap]
• How Kingwood Has Remained True To Its Initial Design as a Secluded White Middle-Class Sleeper Community [OffCite]
• Acres Homes, Where Horses and Cars Collide [Houston Chronicle]
• Inside Southern Living Magazine’s French Chateau-Inspired Willowcreek Ranch ‘Showcase’ Home [Houston Business Journal]
• Home Invaders Posing as Deliverymen Targeting Victims in Spring Valley, Memorial Villages [KHOU]
• This Weekend’s AIA Home Tour To Feature 7 Houses with ‘Houston Sensibilities’ [Houstonia]

Photo of Remaining Fragment of Suzanne Sellers’s ‘Muted Hues of History’ Mural, 811 Rusk St.: Swamplot inbox

• Prospective Buyers Have Until November 14 To Bid on 21-Acre Tarkett Vinyl Flooring Plant Between Sawyer Heights Target and Studewood Kroger [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Design of New Chinese Mandarin Language Immersion Magnet School at W. Alabama and Yorktown Inspired by Chinese Character for ‘Brightness’ [Houston Business Journal]
• Prohibition SupperClub & Bar on Prairie St. To Open for ‘Mock Lunch Service’ Starting Today [Culturemap]
• Most Likely of 9 Possible Routes for Dallas-to-Houston High-Speed Rail Are BNSF Railway Right-of-Way, Along High-Voltage Electric Transmission Lines [Texas Tribune]
• Buffalo Speedway Now Closed at US-59 for as Many as 30 Days for Frontage Road Reconstruction Project [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• Only Company ‘Deliberately Trying To Block Enforcement’ of Houston’s New Payday Lender Regulations Is Power Finance, Owned by State Rep. Gary Elkins [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• City Councilman Michael Kubosh Wants to Rename Hadley St., Home of Music World Entertainment, ‘Destiny’s Child Lane’ [MyFoxHouston]
• The Original Eatsie Boys Food Truck Now For Sale on Craigslist for $18,500 [Houston Chronicle]
• Despite Dumb Name, Blaffer Art Museum’s ‘Buildering: Misbehaving the City’ Is a Great Show About Urban Stunts [Glasstire]
• How Climate Change Is Fueling Miami’s Real Estate Boom [Businessweek]

Photo of East Loop at Buffalo Bayou: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Principal Financial Group Buys 14-Story Bellevue Office Building at S. Shepherd and Fairview Previously Known as Shepherd Place [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Cabot Properties Buys Clay-Campbell I and II in Northwest Houston, Kirby Business Center in South Houston [Realty News Report]
• Rent Premiums for New Construction Highest in Greenway Plaza, West Loop, Central Business District, Says CBRE Report [Houston Business Journal]
• In Past 4 Years, 89 Companies Have Moved to or Expanded in Houston Region, Finds CBRE [Houston Chronicle]
• Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center President Thinks Epicenter of Texas Medical Center Will Move South, to New McNair Campus [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Had the Sixth Fastest-Moving Housing Market in the U.S. in September, Says Realtor.com Report [Houston Business Journal]
• Restaurant Chain Zoës Kitchen Opening in the Heights This Thursday at 250 W. 20th St. [The Leader; previously on Swamplot]
• Number of College Graduates Aged 25-34 Increased 50% in Houston from 2000 to 2012, According to New Think Tank [New York Times]
• Surfside Beach Getting 140-Ft.-Tall Weather Data Collection Station Installed To Measure Storms [Houston Public Media]

Photo inside the new Micro Center at S. Rice Ave. and Westpark: Swamplot inbox

• 5-Story ‘Gateway at Spring Valley’ Spec Office Project Going Up on North Side of Katy Fwy. at Campbell Rd. [Houston Business Journal]
• Sam Houston State University Working on Deal To Build Medical School on Former Camp Strake Property [Community Impact Newspaper; previously on Swamplot]
• Month-Old Tout Suite Coffee Shop and Bakery in Old Warehouse at 2001 Commerce at Chartres Already a Popular East Downtown Hangout [Houston Chronicle]
• Smoothie King Plans To Open 4 Houston-Area Stores By End of This Year, Up To 6 More in 2015 [Houston Chronicle]
• Shrimp N’ Stuff To Open Second Galveston Location Next Month in Historic Washington Hotel Building at 2228 Mechanic [Prime Property]
• Inside the New Micro Center at S. Rice Ave. and Westpark [TechBlog; previously on Swamplot]
• Median Price of New Woodlands House Jumped by More Than $100K in 2 Years, Finds Metrostudy [Houston Chronicle]
• At 40, The Woodlands Has Drifted Away from Founder’s Original Vision [Houston Chronicle]
• Possible Routes Being Studied for Dallas-to-Houston High-Speed Rail Line [Dallas Morning News]
• Downtown Bike Lane on Lamar St. Delayed Until Year’s End as City Waits for ‘Armadillos’ [Houston Chronicle]
• The 7 Once and Future Historic Houston Teardowns That Tear Up Ralph Bivins on the Inside [Culturemap]
• Why Houston Needs a 100-Foot Statue of Willis Carrier, the Man Who Invented A/C [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of McGovern Centennial Gardens, Hermann Park: Swamplot inbox

• 17-Story Memorial Hermann Hospital Coming to Texas Medical Center Campus in $533M Expansion [Realty News Report]
• Construction of 205-Room Embassy Suites Hotel Begins at Hughes Landing in The Woodlands [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Multi-Use Development Planned for 40-Acre Stretch Along Hwy. 288 Next to Shadow Creek Ranch in Pearland [Houston Business Journal]
• Ashby Highrise Developers Planning WoodLofts Midrise on 5.2 Acres at I-45 North and David J. Vetter Blvd. in Shenandoah [Houston Business Journal]
• City Acre Brewpub Along Eastex Fwy. South of Parker Now Permitted for Construction [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Radio Milano and Adjoining Bar Milano Set To Open October 24 in Former Bistro Alex Space at CityCentre [Food Chronicles]
• Pappas Restaurants Opening New Concept Pappas Meat Co. at 12010 East Fwy. on October 23 [Food Chronicles]
• Onaga Pan Asian Bistro at Alabama Theater Shopping Center Closes, To Be Replaced by Maiko Bar & Bistro [Houston Business Journal]
• ‘Healthy’ Eateries Local Foods, True Food Kitchen, and Ruggles Black Gaining Traction in Houston [Houston Chronicle]
• TxDOT, Clear Channel Battle Over Condemned I-10 Billboards Awaits Ruling from Texas Supreme Court [Texas Tribune]
• $1.6B Civil Trial Over Abandoned Waste Pits That Leaked into the San Jacinto River Now Underway [Houston Chronicle]
• The Origins and Recent Rebirth of the Revolving Restaurant [Gizmodo]

Photo of the San Jacinto Monument: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Mental Health Facility Westpark Springs Hospital Now Open at 6902 South Peek in Richmond [Houston Chronicle]
• 6-Level Ascension on the Bayou Apartment Complex Going Up on Beltway 1 Mile South of CityCentre [Houston Business Journal]
• Waterfront Apartments Going Up on Site of Former Bayou Shores Apartment Complex on English Bayou [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Bistro Menil Mounts 2 Decorative ‘Sound Clouds’ on Walls in Attempt To Mute Extremely Loud Dining Room [Culturemap]
• Hermann Park To Preview $31M Centennial Gardens This Week Ahead of December Opening [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Artist-Designed Benches Along Woodlands Waterway Unveiled [The Courier of Montgomery County]
• Should Conservatives Love the Suburbs or Hate Them? [Houston Chronicle]
• New $215M, 350,000-SF Indoor Ski Resort and Hard Rock Hotel Opening in Grand Prairie [Dallas Business Journal]
• West Texas Intermediate Oil Prices Have Dropped More Than 21% from June Peak, Threatening the Drilling Boom That’s Been Boosting Houston’s Economy [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Someburger at 745 E. 11th St.: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Only Part of Former Exxon Building To Remain at 800 Bell After Shorenstein Redo Is Its Concrete [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Signorelli Planning 70-Acre ‘Valley Ranch Commercial District’ at U.S. 59 and Yet-To-Open Grand Pkwy. [Prime Property]
• Rice University Picks Up Another Rice Village Property With Purchase of Urban Outfitters-Leased Building at 2501 University [Prime Property]
• Transwestern Not Ready To Release Details of Retail Center Replacing Demolished Greenway Inn & Suites on Southwest Fwy. Near Buffalo Speedway [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Newly Approved Young Ranch Planned Development District Will Push Katy City Boundaries West [Katy|Fort Bend]
• HISD Hosting Separate Public Meetings This Month on New Campuses for Condit Elementary, HSPVA, Lee HS, Energy Institute, DeBakey HS [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• Average Price for a Houston Home Has Increased Nearly $94K Over Past 10 Years to $269,440 [Houston Business Journal]
• Why Houston Needs More Affordable Housing [Not of It]
• In and Around Rice’s New Continuing Studies Building [OffCite]
• Kinder Morgan To Expand 2 Ship Channel Terminals [Houston Business Journal]
• Parking Ratios for New Downtown Buildings Won’t Be High Enough To Accommodate Fully Occupied Buildings, Says CBRE Analyst [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Food Bank Now Has 5,300SF of Solar Panels on Roof of Its Northeast Houston Facility [Fuel Fix]
• Council Member Wants Urban Living and Cygnus To Clean Up Messy Fifth Ward Lots [MyFoxHouston]
• Three New or Improved Surface Parking Lots in Houston That Could Actually Be Considered Pleasant [Houston Chronicle]
• Galveston Island State Park Getting $10.7M for Upgrades in Latest Round of BP Restoration Funding [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• How The Woodlands Got More Than 50 New Outdoor Sculptures [Houston Chronicle]
• Harris County Ranks No. 1 in Texas for Number of People Moving Both Into and Out of Region, Finds Texas Association of Realtors [Houston Business Journal]

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

• 118-Acre Conroe Waterfront Center Between The Woodlands and Camp Strake Property To Include Hotel, Residential, Office, Retail Space [Houston Business Journal]
• Texas Children’s Pediatrics To Open in Spring in Spring 2015, Adjacent Elite Care ER To Follow That Fall [Prime Property]
• $300K Woonerf Project Planned for Energy Corridor’s Grisby Square Will Serve as Pilot for Future Streetscape Improvements [Houston Business Journal]
• Smashburger Opening 17th Houston-Area Location October 29, in Deer Park [MyFoxHouston]
• MF Sushi Says It’ll Reopen Again in Houston at a New Location — at Some Point [Eater Houston]
• Light Rail Ridership Increased More Than 12% from October 2013 to September 2014 after North Line Extension; Bus Numbers Slightly Down [Houston Public Media]
• EPA Begins Cleanup of Smelly CES Environmental Facility on Griggs Rd., Should Finish By February [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• What It’s Like To Live in Houston’s Four Seasons Hotel [Houston Business Journal]
• How Sanborn Maps Reveal the Evolution of Cities [CityLab]
• A Preview of the Norhill Historic District’s October 18 Bungalow Home Tour [Home in the Heights]

Photo of the West Loop: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• New Owner of Former Rice Hotel Renovating Entrance and Lobby, Upgrading Rooms, Shortening Name [Houston Chronicle]
• Pasadena’s New State-of-the-Art 400K-SF Warehouse for Beer [Prime Property]
• New Gated Enclave on 23 Acres in Riverstone Will Feature 42 Custom Homes with Optional Prayer Rooms, Multi-Generational Suites [Houston Business Journal]
• Midtown Sushi Restaurant The Fish To Reopen in 2 Weeks After Renovations [Culturemap]
• Dish Society To Open Second Area Restaurant, in Katy, This January [Houston Business Journal]
• Remaining Family Farms in Montgomery County Slowly Being Swallowed Up By Developers [Houston Chronicle]
• $2.4M Memorial Park Running Trails Center Unveiled on South Side of Memorial Dr. [Culturemap]
• Houston Ozone Levels Drop Below Dallas-Fort Worth Area’s, Pull Even with San Antonio’s [Houston Chronicle]
• Texas Has Become the Deadliest State in Total Traffic Fatalities During Last 5 Years of Fracking Boom [Houston Chronicle/Houston Public Media]
• Woodlands Bike Group Wants Mobility Plan To Focus on Safety [The Woodlands]
• Houston Ranked America’s Second Favorite City Overall, After Providence [Travel + Leisure; via Culturemap]
• An Analysis of Once-Rejected, Later-Constructed Transit Routes in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Houston [CityLab]
• Why Moving Next Year’s Houston LGBT Pride Celebration from Montrose to Downtown Is a Big Deal [Houston Press]

Photo of Construction of iFLY Indoor Skydiving, I-10 between Bunker Hill and Blalock: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool