Headlines

• Construction Starts on New Whole Foods Market at Hughes Landing in The Woodlands [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Breaking Down the First Phase of Retail Planned for CityPlace, Springwoods Village’s Town Center [Houston Business Journal]
• CondoSmart Realty To Break Ground on 15-Condo ‘Topaz Villas’ at 4520 Yoakum Blvd. in Montrose [Houston Business Journal]
• Former Houston Texans Quarterback Matt Schaub’s Tanglewood House for Sale for $4.29M [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Chocolate Boutique Cacao & Cardamom Opening Soon in the Galleria Area [Eater Houston]
• New Heights Crawfish Spot Boil House Closing Until Next Crawfish Season [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• A Sneak Peek at Chuck Hughes’s Westheimer Visit for ‘Eat the Streets’ Episode Airing July 31 [Eating Our Words]
• Federal Officials Poised To Green-Light Houston-Dallas Bullet Train Study [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Houston Named Among Top 10 U.S. Cities With Highest Percentage of Green Commercial Space [Houston Business Journal]
• Freedmen’s Town Residents Oppose Plan To Dig Up Neighborhood’s Historic Bricks, Install Pipes [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Harris County Suing Texas Industrial Box Maintenance in Channelview Because It Is a ‘Hazard to the Community’ [KHOU]
• Scientists, Advocates Concerned Gulf Coast Sargassum Invasion Will Threaten Endangered Sea Turtles [Houston Chronicle]
• What Rising Sea Levels Might Mean for Houston [OffCite]
• Broadway Cemetery in Galveston Added To List of Historic Places [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Obama, Icon Bank Team Up To Shut Down Katy Gun Store [KHOU]
• A Look at How Houston’s Street Couch Population Has Exploded in the Past Year [Houstonia]

Photo of construction on downtown Marriott Marquis: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Nearly 6-Acre Vacant Galleria Property at Post Oak and Richmond Sold To Unknown Buyer [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Boxer Property Acquires Northwest Crossing II Office Space at 7676 Hillmont in Northwest Houston [Prime Property]
• Sage County Opens in Former Wonder Bar Space in Midtown, Inspired By Dives You’d Find on I-45 Midway Between Houston and Dallas [Culturemap]
• A Peek Inside the Brand-New Red Dessert Dive on Studewood [The Heights Life]
• Watermark Properties Planning 368-Unit Luxury Apartment Complex at Hwy. 96 and Walker in League City [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Proposed Policy Change Would Increase Height Limit for Billboards Along Texas Interstates and Major Highways to 65 Ft. [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• 311 Has Been ‘Inundated’ With Calls About ‘Funky’ Houston Tap Water [KHOU]
• Mapping Houston’s Best Public Restrooms and Drinking Fountains [Not of It]
• 10 Billboards Along I-10 Between Beaumont and Brookshire To Display Quotes By Gertrude Stein for Next 6 Weeks [Glasstire]
• Montrose Rollerblader Juan Carlos Makes It to the Next Round of ‘America’s Got Talent’ [Houstonia; previously on Swamplot]

Photo: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Midway’s CityCentre Four Office Building Now Fully Leased, CityCentre Five Starting Construction [Prime Property]
• KBS Realty Advisors Buys 10-Story 1800 Bering Office Building from Fuller Realty Partners [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• The Top Residential Real Estate Brokerage Firms in Houston Market Based on Closed Transaction Sides in 2013 [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Dallas and Houston Following 2 Different Paths on Rail Development [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• TxDOT To Open Exit Ramps, Close Entrance Ramps Along US-59 Near Buffalo Spdwy. as Part of $18M Rehabilitation Project [The Highwayman]
• Rice University Receives $1M Grant To Fund Study on Houston-Area Urban Development [Memorial Examiner]
• Water Authority Project Would Turn Former Clear Lake Golf Club into Park To Help with Floodwater Detention [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Port of Houston Authority To Begin Dredging Bayport, Barbour’s Cut Channels Within Next 2 Weeks [Houston Public Media]
• Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wants To Turn Sunken Ship 60 Miles Off Galveston into Artificial Reef [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Galveston Unveils Long-Awaited Juneteenth Marker on the Strand [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• David Adickes Hoping To Erect 35-Ft.-Tall Charlie Chaplin Statue in Lot Near Eastex Fwy. and I-10 [Houston Public Media]
• Biologists Concerned Spaceport Near Brownsville Would Disrupt Rich Ecosystem [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Shepherd Park Terrace Century Cactus Blooms To Height of More Than 30 Ft. [The Leader]
• Offbeat Treasures of Houston Pop History [Houston Chronicle]
• New Houstonians’ Most Common Questions About Houston, Answered [Houston Chronicle]

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• ExxonMobil Starts Construction on Multi-Billion-Dollar Ethane Cracker Project in Baytown [Houston Business Journal]
• A Sneak Peek at the New $80M-Plus JW Marriott Houston Downtown on Main Street Opening Aug. 15 [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• City Council Approves Funding, Phasing Plan for New IAH International Terminal To Replace Terminal D [Click2Houston]
• Pet Supplies Plus Planning To Open First 5 Stores in Houston Area By the End of the Year [Prime Property]
• City Council OKs $10M More for Pothole Repairs [KHOU]
• Bulldozing of Historic Bradshaw Cemetery near Maxey Park May Have Stemmed from Land Ownership Dispute [abc13]
• Developers of Texas 130 Toll Road Between I-10 and Austin On Edge of Default [The Highwayman]

Photo of the JW Marriott at 806 Main St.: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Chevron Phillips Breaks Ground in Old Ocean on Second Part of Its $6B U.S. Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project [Houston Business Journal]
• Fort Crockett Military Housing Complex on the Seawall on the Market for $10M [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Howard Hughes Corp. Gets Permit To Add 400 Homes to Bridgeland [Houston Business Journal]
• Kroger Closing Humble Store at U.S.-59 and FM 1960, Replacing It With Larger One at 19611 Eastex Fwy. [Houston Business Journal]
• Quaker Steak & Lube Opening First Houston Restaurant July 18 in League City [Houston Business Journal]
• Owner of Recently Shuttered Funeral Bars on Kirby Open Glass House Nightclub in Former Roosevelt Lounge Space on Washington Ave [Eater Houston]
• Houston Building Permits Reach Record $7.3B for the Year Ending in May [Houston Public Media]
• Katy City Council Approves Plan To Annex 3 Parcels of Land West of City Limits [Covering Katy]
• Survey Finds 56.8% of Downtown Workers Drive Alone To Work, 25.8% Use Park and Ride [The Highwayman]
• Of 30 Largest U.S. Metro Regions, Houston Ranks 15th for Walkability in Smart Growth America Report [Houston Tomorrow]
• Family-Owned Bradshaw Cemetery on Church Rd. Near I-10 Dating Back to the 1800s Bulldozed Without Warning [News 92FM]
• Next Auction from the Estate of Hand Surgeon Michael Brown This Sunday To Include Versace Bed, Suit of Armor [Houston Chronicle]
• 12-ft., 10,000-lb. Civil War Cannon Found on the Bottom of the Houston Ship Channel Placed in New Texas City Home [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Authorities Seize More Than a Dozen Pet Pythons, Boa Constrictors from Heights Home [KHOU]
• A Brief Overview of the Houston Area’s Diverse Landscape, Part II [OffCite]
• 27 Things About Houston You Have To Explain to Out-of-Towners [Thrillist]

Photo of house on West St. near Harrington, Fifth Ward: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Hartman Affiliate Acquires 12-Building Mitchelldale Business Park in Northwest Houston near US-290 [Prime Property]
• Oden Hughes Breaks Ground on Stone-Encrusted 342-Unit Parkside Bella Terra Apartments near Grand Pkwy., Westpark Tollway in Richmond [Houston Business Journal]
• SF Capital Converting 124-Year-Old Strand Historic Lofts Building It Bought from Randall Davis into Condos [Prime Property]
• Bruce Molzan, Neera Patidar Opening New Restaurant in Former Nosh Bistro Space on Kirby in Mid-July [Food Chronicles]
• A Preview of Springbok, the South African Restaurant Opening Downtown [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Popular Amenities in Houston for High-End Homebuyers Include Large Garages, Bedrooms with Lofts, Elevators, Says Martha Turner [Houston Business Journal]
• Astros Installing Metal Detectors at Minute Maid Stadium To Comply with Major League Baseball Guidelines [Ultimate Astros]
• Brazoria Needs To Raise $2M for Proposed Splash Kingdom Water Park [Culturemap]
• Six Months After Light Rail Expansion, Residents Say Red Line Critical Link for Transit Travelers [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Fifty Acres of Marquette Property To Be Added To Artist Boat’s Heritage Preserve [Galveston County Daily News ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Infamous West Texas Eccentric and Cadillac Ranch Creator Stanley Marsh 3 Has Died [Texas Monthly]

Photo of Andrew and Josephine Kuhn House at 2214 Kane St.: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Marq*E Entertainment Center at Silber and I-10 Sold to Local Developer for Undisclosed Amount; Bids Estimated at $90M [Prime Property]
• La Fendee Restaurant on Westheimer in Montrose Is Back To Its Old Name After Brief Switch to Cafe Layal Last Year [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Corner Table in River Oaks Must Reduce Space by 3,308 SF in 30 Days To Comply with City’s Parking Code [Hair Balls]
• Comcast Cable Adding $2M in Upgrades To Cedar Crossing Industrial Park, Including Installing Fiber-Optic Cables [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• New Signs Up on North and South Sides Rebranding Reliant Stadium as NRG Stadium [Houston Public Media]
• Two More Direct Connectors Open at Katy Fwy. and Grand Parkway Interchange [Click2Houston]
• Houston-Galveston Area Council To Study Ways To Ease Congestion Along U.S. 290 [Houston Public Media]
• A Brief Overview of the Houston Area’s Diverse Landscape, Part I [OffCite]
• League City Under Severe Water Restrictions Today as Crews Repair Water Line [Galveston County Daily News]
• Police Find 60 Marijuana Bricks Sealed in Steel Boom of Excavator [KHOU]

Photo of Southwestern Energy Headquarters in Springwoods Village: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Blackhaw Partners Considers Selling the 21 Homes of the Addicks Dam subdivision It Just Bought [Houston Business Journal]
• Construction Starts on Millennium Kirby Apartment Complex at Kirby and South Main [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• iFLY Breaks Ground on Indoor Skydiving Facility on the I-45 Corridor in Oak Ridge North [Houston Chronicle]
• University of Houston’s Sugar Land Campus Catching Up with Changes to the Area, To Become a Full Branch This Year [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• The 77494, including Cinco Ranch and Grand Lakes, Had Highest Number of Households Moving to It in May Nationwide, Finds Welcomemat Services [Houston Business Journal]
• Grocery Stores in the Works for Food Deserts in South, North Houston [MyFoxHouston]
• The Legal Battle Over Groundwater Contamination at the former River Oaks Cleaners Spot in Melcher Crossing [Hair Balls; previously on Swamplot]
• Seeding Galveston Aims To Create Urban Farms in Vacant Lots Across City [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Galveston’s Seaweed Invasion Shows Signs of Slowing Down [Click2Houston]
• Fate of Endangered Kemp’s Ridley Turtle in Question with Low Number of Nests Laid on the Gulf Coast So Far [Houston Chronicle]
• An Attempt To Set the Record Straight About the Near Northside [Free Press Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Connecticut Hoarder Dies After Overburdened Floor Collapses [Cheshire Citizen]

Photo of Hwy. 59 BBQ: Swamplot inbox

• Memorial Hermann Purchases 32-Acre Site in Cypress, the ‘One Hole Left’ in Its Geographic Coverage [Houston Business Journal]
• Hunington Residential To Build 382 Apartments, Townhomes Across from Hospitals in Park Ten [Prime Property]
• Hillwood Communities Breaks Ground on 2,100-Home Master Planned Community ‘Pomona’ in Manvel Along 288 [GlobeSt.com]
• Saint Arnold Brewing Co. Contemplating Building Beer Garden on Former Fast Tow Lot on Lyons Ave. Next Door to Brewery [Houston Business Journal]
• Former Kirby Dr. Cigar Bar Downing Street Apparently Closed Three Months After Going Non-Smoking [Culturemap]
• An Ode to Burgess Hall, the Historic But Dilapidated Building Recently Demolished in Independence Heights [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Fawning Over Marvy Finger and His Wonderful Projects [Houston Business Journal]
• Recounting the Brouhaha That’s Brewed Over the Restoration of Buffalo Bayou [Texas Observer]
• 10 Years After ‘In Harm’s Way’ Report, Air Pollution Still a Concern in Manchester [OffCite]
• Amid Protests from Highland Village Residents, Developers Cut Down 2 Oak Trees, Prepare To Cut Down 2 More To Make Way for West Main St. Development [Houston Chronicle]
• Homeowners To Burn Down $700K Vacation Home Tittering Over Lake Whitney Today [WacoTrib.com]

Photo of Southwest Fwy.: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Enterprise Products Partners To Construct World’s Largest Ethane Export Terminal in the Houston Ship Channel [Houston Business Journal]
• CHI St. Luke’s Breaks Ground on $110M Medical Facility in Springwoods Village Near the ExxonMobil Campus [Prime Property]
• Seafood Restaurant Holley’s to Open in July in Former Sushi Raku Space in Midtown [Eater Houston]
• Cupcake Cowgirls Opening Downtown Galveston Location in Early July [Galveston County Daily News]
• Galveston Historical Foundation Includes Mainland Properties on Annual At-Risk List for First Time [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• More Than 40,000 People Moved to Harris County, 21,000 to Fort Bend County from 2012 and 2013; a Quarter of Harris County Growth Came from International Relocations, According to Census Data [Houston Business Journal; Storymap]
• ‘Winds of Change’ Blow Through Houston’s Second Ward [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• The Top 10 Issues Affecting Real Estate in 2014 [Prime Property]
• City Council Delays Vote on Regulations for Services Like Uber, Lyft Until July 30 [Houston Business Journal]
• Officials Working Around the Clock To Clear What They Say is the Most Seaweed They Have Ever Seen [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of George R. Brown service on-ramp demo: Alec Lasar via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Home Sales Were Down 7.3% in May as Prices Reach Record Highs [Tom Plant’s Houston Real Estate Blog]
• Brazoria in Talks To Bring New Water Park Within City Limits [Houston Chronicle]
• Caldwell Developing 250K SF Retail Project at Towne Lake in Cypress Anchored by a Kroger [Houston Business Journal]
• Katy Residents Fear Planned Walmart on Westheimer Pkwy. at Falcon Landing Will Bring Congestion, Crime [Click2Houston]
• Bosta, First of Balcor Hospitality’s 2 Dining Concepts Going into Parc Binz, Set To Open Thursday [Food Chronicles; previously on Swamplot]
• H-Town StrEATs Owners Launch Kickstarter for Upcoming Heights Doughnut Shop [Eater Houston; Kickstarter; previously on Swamplot]
• Teen Who Vandalized Shuttle Replica at Space Center Houston Ordered To Write Letters of Apology [Click2Houston]
• ‘Volunteer’ Tomatoes and Herbs Attack Clear Lake [Centerpointe Communicator]
• Why Renters Are Ending Up in the Suburbs [CityLab]

Photo of renovations of the former Texaco Building at 1111 Rusk St.: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Chevron Buying 103.2 Acres off Grand Pkwy. and Clay Rd. in Katy, for ‘Flexibility’ [Houston Business Journal]
• Blackhaw Partners Buys Out All 21 Homes in Addicks Dam Subdivision Near Omni Hotel, Will Tear Them All Down for Apartments [Prime Property]
• Westin Homes To Build 44 ‘Villas’ in Clear Lake’s Tuscan Lakes Development [Houston Business Journal]
• Riverstone in Sugar Land Led the Region in New Home Starts with 756 Over the Past Year, According to MetroStudy [Houston Business Journal]
• New South African Restaurant Springbok Opening Downtown at 711 Main St. on June 12 [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• City Files Lawsuit Against Houston’s Biggest Landlord, Demanding He Repair 56 Dilapidated Homes [Click2Houston]
• Harris County May Back Out of Involvement with TxDOT on 290 Rebuilding, Lowering Number of Reversible Lanes [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Comcast Turning Home Routers of 50K Customers into Massive Network of Public Wi-Fi Hotspots [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• New Phone Area Code 346 Starts Work in Houston July 1 [Houston Chronicle]
• Detroit’s ‘Write A House’ Urban Homestead Program Now Accepting Applications from Writers to Occupy, Take Over Renovated Vacant Homes [Christian Science Monitor]

Photo of the Julia Ideson Building at 500 McKinney Ave.: Steve Oprea via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• 1950s Heights Building Developed for Southwestern Bell Being Turned into High-End Residential Property ‘Bell Heights’ [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Whole Foods Opening Champions Store at 10133 Louetta Rd. on June 25 [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Former Bocados Owners Open Red Ox Bar & Grill in Northside [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Progress Report for the New Jonathan’s the Rub Opening Near the Memorial City Mall This Fall [Eater Houston]
• Teala’s Mexican Restaurant on West Dallas Says It’s Lost Business Because of Sovereign at Regent Square Construction [KHOU]
• What’s Happening with Upper Kirby, Where for Every New Restaurant That’s Opened, Another Has Closed? [Eating Our Words]
• Western Rim Investors Planning New 416-Unit Apartment Complex on 16 Acres It Just Bought in Seabrook [Prime Property]
• Oak Forest Opts Out of City Sidewalk Ordinance [The Leader]
• Massive $10.3M Drainage Project Underway in Texas City [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Sunday Streets Felt Like a Scene Out of a Zombie Movie [OffCite]
• Debbie Harry, David Bowie, Joey Ramone Among Faces Appearing in New Mural on Montrose Nightclub Numbers [The Texican]

Photo of I-45 at Allen Pwky.: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Vista Equities To Begin Construction on $2.5M Medical Office on Kingsland Blvd. Near the Grand Pkwy. in July [Houston Business Journal]
• Myers, Crow & Saviers Breaks Ground on Spec Office Building in Mason Creek Corporate Park in Katy [Prime Property]
• Vista Equities To Build Mixed-Use Sugar Land Development ‘University Commons’ at U.S-59 and University Dr. in 2015 [Houston Business Journal]
• 24-Hour ‘Gourmet’ Donut Shop Glazed Will Open on OST by Fourth of July Weekend [Eating Our Words]
• Former Seventh Day Adventist Church in the Heights To Become a Single-Family Home [The Leader]
• Galveston Baykeeper Group Sues Developers of Clear Lake City Residential Property To Protect Wetlands [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• I-10 Westbound Lanes Near Downtown from Lockwood to U.S. 59 To Close This Weekend for Overpass Repair [The Highwayman]
• A Look at the 45-Year History of Bush Intercontinental Airport [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• The ‘Zone of Access’ Created by More Frequent Transit Service Under Metro’s Reimagined Bus Network [OffCite]
• Q&A with Rice Design Alliance’s Raj Mankad on What It Took To Produce Sunday Streets [AAO]
• Slideshow: A Guide to Hermann Park’s Centennial Art Installations [Houstonia]
• Houston Newsreel from the 1940s to ’60s Shows the Astrodome, Texas Medical Center, NASA [Mike McGuff]

Photo of Southwest Fwy.: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• ExxonMobil Sells Eight Greenspoint Plaza Building; Will Lease Back from New Owners for Undisclosed Amount of Time [Houston Business Journal]
• Gallery Furniture Breaks Ground on Richmond Location, at 165,000 SF Its Largest Store Yet [Houston Business Journal]
• Discount Retailer for Teens Five Below Opening First of its 8 Planned Houston-Area Stores on June 6 [Houston Business Journal]
• Ken Bridge’s ZZ Top Memorabilia-Decorated El Cantina Opening June 10 on White Oak [Houstonia; previously on Swamplot]
• Shuttered Galleria Bar Prohibition Reopening as Part of 15,000-SF Burlesque Bar, Supper Club, Beer Garden Complex on Prairie St. Downtown [Culturemap]
• Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop Plans To Grow from One to 45 Houston-Area Restaurants Over Next 7 Years [Houston Business Journal]
• Galveston Island Brewing Opens Its Tap Room [Galveston County Daily News]
• Walkthrough of a $16.8M Woodlands Estate, the Houston Area’s Most Expensive Home Listed for Sale [Culturemap]
• Houston the 14th Most Congested Metro Area in the U.S. and the Most in Texas, According to TomTom [The Highwayman]
• Houston, the Great American Unbranded City [Not of It; previously on Swamplot]
• Installation of 2 New Showers Marks First of Planned Amenities Along Seawall [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Katy Residents Post Threatening Signs To Warn Speeders [Click2Houston]

Photo of AlvaGraphics at Shepherd Dr. and Center St.: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool