Headlines

• Excel Commercial Real Estate Developing Retail Center Longmeadow Farms at Grand Parkway and West Belfort in Richmond [Houston Business Journal]
• County Files Legal Challenge Claiming HCAD Appraisal Values of Vacant Commercial Properties Are Way Too Low [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Langford Market, Torchy’s Tacos New To LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch [Houston Business Journal]
• Finger Cos.’ New Grove at Wilcrest Apartments Now Open in Energy Corridor [Houston Business Journal]
• Why Riders May Take Uber or Lyft Over Houston’s Taxi Service [The Highwayman]
• How Montrose Rollerblader Juan Carlos Ended Up Auditioning for the Next Season of ‘America’s Got Talent’ [Houstonia; previously on Swamplot]
• City’s Planning and Development Department Hosting Historic Preservation Fair This Saturday [Planning and Development]

Photo of seawall: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Montrose and Museum District, Katy Lead Houston Market in Number of Proposed Apartment Units [Houston Business Journal]
• Downtown’s Sam Houston Hotel Becoming Part of Hilton’s New Curio Brand [Prime Property]
• West Ave Restaurant Saint Genevieve Suddenly Shutters So Owners Can ‘Focus on Other Projects’ [Culturemap]
• Director of Consulting Firm Metrostudy Leaves To Join McAlister Fund Investing in Houston Sprawl [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Raintree Place ‘House in the Trees,’ with Safe Room, on the Market for Nearly $1M [Culturemap]
• CoStar Group Drops Piracy Lawsuit Against Defendants It Says Posted Its Real Estate Data to a Rival Company [Washington Business Journal]
• Coast Guard Opens Hearing into Galveston Bay Oil Spill Collision [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Texas City Has Made About $1.4M So Far from Fees To Get on the Texas City Dike During Summer Weekends [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• That Biggest Mural in Houston Officially Taking Up 9,750 SF of a Midtown Wall [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of mural behind 2800 San Jacinto St.: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Zoning Change Helps Pave Way for Proposed Pier That Will House Balinese Room in Galveston [Houston Chronicle]
• Watch for These Signs That Mean Houston’s Booming Economy Is Beginning To Fall [Houston Business Journal ($)]
• What’s the Deal with the Abandoned Car Dealership at 6737 Southwest Fwy.? [Hair Balls]
• Bridgeland Looks To Stand Out To Potential Homebuyers Through Large Public Events Such as Nature Fest [Houstonia]
• Forthcoming Study Expected To Reveal New Damage to the Pelican Island Bridge [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Is the Cheapest, Easiest, Fastest Thing the Best Thing for the East End Overpass? [OffCite; previously on Swamplot]
• Bike Master Plan ‘Goal Zero Fatalities’ in Development in Houston [Hair Balls]
• Free Press Summer Fest Marked By 2-Hour Evacuation Due To Flooding Threat [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Midtown’s Massive Mural To Be Unveiled on June 7 [Culturemap]
• Inside Gonzo247’s Art Gallery Aerosol Warfare [Free Press Houston]
• Why Does Houston Only Have 2 Public or Semi-Public Statues of Women? [Houstonia]

Photo of Free Press Summer Festival at Eleanor Tinsley Park: Pooja Lodhia

• ​Houston Methodist Reveals Plans To Build New Woodlands Hospital, Medical Center Tower [Houston Business Journal]
• Newmark Homes Begins Pre-Sales in New Cypress Community near Path of Grand Parkway [Houston Business Journal]
• Construction Begins on New Fiesta Mart at FM 529 and Fry Road in Katy [Houston Business Journal]
• State Bar Owners Say They Didn’t Renew Lease To Focus on New Bar, Johnny McElroy’s on Waugh [Food Chronicles; previously on Swamplot]
• ‘Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated,” Says The Harp, Following News of Lucky Burger’s Closing [Food Chronicles; previously on Swamplot]
• Expect a Massive Invasion of Mosquitoes After Days of Continuous Rain [Click2Houston]
• Video: Huge Bugs Move into the Houston Zoo’s New Insectarium [KHOU]
• Tips and Traps in Leasing Mineral Rights to Your Property [Texas Tribune]
• Federal Aviation Administration Gives SpaceX Preliminary Approval To Build a Spaceport Near Brownsville [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of Pierce Elevated: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Homebuilder Taylor Morrison Buys 150 Acres for 500 New Home Sites in Spring Near ExxonMobil Campus [Houston Business Journal]
• New Model Homes by Newmark, Trendmaker Open in Riverstone Master-Planned Community in Marble Bend [Houston Business Journal]
• World Gym Planned for Former Macy’s at Mall of the Mainland [Galveston County Daily News]
• Military Surplus Store Col. Bubbie’s Likely To Close This Summer After 42 Years on the Strand [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Lightning Strike Possibly To Blame for 4-Alarm Fire at Atascocita Apartment Complex That Displaced 55 [Click2Houston]
• San Jacinto River Breaches Banks Near Northshore Neighborhood South of Kingwood [Click2Houston]
• Timbergrove Residents Concerned About Odor, Traffic if Southwaste Disposal Company Expands Its Grease Plant [The Leader]
• City Council Approves Equal Rights Ordinance, Matching Other Major U.S. Cities [Buzzfeed]
• An Unofficial Guide to the Washington-Market Square Sunday Street on June 1 [OffCite]

Photo of 3400 Montrose demolition: ThirdCoastRyan via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• New Uptown Houston PAC Forms To Battle Construction Along Post Oak Blvd., Including AmREIT’s 50-Story Tower and Dedicated Bus Lanes [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• CHI St. Luke’s Health To Break Ground on Springwoods Village Medical Campus June 11 [Houston Business Journal]
• Alliance Residential Buys City Parks Apartment Complex at 1640 East T.C. Jester Blvd. [Prime Property]
• West Memorial and Briar Forest, Tomball, Woodlands Experiencing Boom in Apartment Construction [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston’s 34-Month Streak of Increasing Home Sales Ended in April, a Result of Low Housing Inventory [Tom Plant’s Houston Real Estate Blog]
• How To Spot a Real Estate Bubble [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• LA Restaurateur Opening Springbok at 711 Main St. Downtown Next Month [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Here’s a Solution to the Metro Overpass Plan: Freeze the End of the East End Line Where It Is [Houston Strategies; previously on Swamplot]
• Liberty Station’s Origins as a Gas Station Designed by John F. Staub [OffCite]
• In Houston, the World’s Most Car-Dependent Large City, People Are Much Less Trusting of Others Than in Copenhagen, Europe’s ‘Green Capital,’ Kinder Institute Study Finds [Rice News]
• Stages, Booths Going Up Along Allen Parkway Near Downtown for This Weekend’s Free Press Summer Festival [abc13]

Photo of mural at 2800 San Jacinto: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Freeway Properties Breaks Ground on First Midrise Office Building West of the Grand Parkway in Katy [Houston Business Journal]
• Transwestern To Build 2 Spec Industrial Buildings in West Ten Business Park off I-10 in Katy [Houston Business Journal]
• Upper Kirby ‘Funeral Bar’ Complex with Roak, Hendricks Pub, and OTC Closing This Weekend To Make Way for Kirby Collection [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Planning Commission Vote on Kirby Collection Replat Scheduled for Thursday [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• $1.46M Home Believed To Be the Priciest House in Oak Forest [The Leader]
• Is Acres Homes the Next Big Thing in Real Estate? [The Leader]
• iFly Opening Indoor Skydiving Center in Oak Ridge North Next Year [Rant & Rave]
• Torchy’s Tacos Opening Katy Location on Cinco Ranch Blvd. on June 12 [Eater Houston]
• First Houston Location of Austin’s Daily Juice Now Open Next to Whole Foods on Woodway; Has Plans for More [Culturemap]
• Montrose’s Siphon Coffee Opening This Week on West Alabama [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston’s 10 Most Anticipated Summer Restaurant Openings [Zagat]
• How To Use B-Cycle for as Little as $5 a Day Through Its ‘Dock and Share’ System [OffCite]
• Algae Bloom Causes Thousands of Dead Fish To Wash Ashore Near Kemah [Click2Houston]
• Texas’s Largest Oyster Reef Restoration Project Underway in East Bay [AP]
• Mural on Montrose Shop Business Biscuit Home’s Wall Defaced by Vandals [Houston Chronicle]
• Move the Doggie Bowl, and Other Tips for Taking Real Estate Photos [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of Galveston Pleasure Pier: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Was the Second-Fastest-Growing City in US Last Year, but Still Outpaced by Growth in Its Own Suburbs [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Aldi Breaks Ground on 650K-SF Distribution Center in Rosenberg [Prime Property]
• Gates Ranch Community in Washington County Opens Up Additional 627 Acres To Meet Demand [Houston Business Journal]
• Months After 5-Alarm Fire, Debris Removal Begins at Axis Apartments on West Dallas St. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• What You Get for Your Money at Houston’s Luxury High-Rise Apartments [KHOU]
• Metro Votes To Proceed with Overpass in Place of Underpass for East End Light Rail Line [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Stretches of Travis St., Caroline St. and Texas Ave. Hotspots for Parking Tickets in Houston [Culturemap]
• Several Conclusions from Following the Proposed 11-Heights-Dallas-Telephone Metro Bus Route [OffCite]
• 8-Ft.-Tall Bronze Statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. To Be Unveiled Saturday in MacGregor Park [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston-Area Employers Will Create 85K to 90K Jobs This Year, Driven by Energy Industry, Predict Economists [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• ‘Government’ Is the Largest Employer in Texas, According to Texas Workforce Commission [Real Estate Center]
• Most of the Sargassum on Galveston’s Beaches Has Been Bulldozed Away Before the Holiday Weekend [Hair Balls]
• Anonymous Drone Video Shows Renovation of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field in Progress [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of White Oak Dr.: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Again Sets Record for Construction Permit Values with 12-Month Total Topping $6.8B [Prime Property]
• Sprouts Farmers Market Opening Newest Houston Store on Aug. 20 in Spring, 3 More Locations To Follow This Summer [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Stadium Signage To Change from ‘Reliant’ to ‘NRG’ in June; LED Lighting, Solar Canopies, Charging Stations Coming [Houston Business Journal]
• Fast Food, Strip Center, or Bank? As Car Lots Sell Out, Shepherd Dr. Owners Ponder Its Future [The Leader]
• Pre-Sales Begin for 3 Home Series in the Avalon Section of Riverstone in Sugar Land [Houston Business Journal]
• City Council Set To Consider Proposal To Create a New Historic District in the First Ward [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Opposition to Memorial Park Bayou Erosion Plan Grows Louder as Deadline To Submit Public Feedback Approaches [Houston Chronicle ($); more info]
• More Infrastructure Needed To Connect People to Parks in Houston [OffCite]
• Metro Expected To Approve Revised East End Overpass Plan for Light Rail Line in Today’s Vote [The Highwayman; previously on Swamplot]
• MTA To Again Open I-45 HOV Lanes South of Downtown on Weekends This Summer To Help Move Galveston Beach Traffic [The Highwayman]
• The History of Deroloc and Backward Spelling Mania in Houston [Houstonia]
• $60M 2-Year-Old Dallas High School Stadium Deemed Unsafe for Football [NBC News]

Photo of construction of Alliance Residential’s Block 334 Apartments: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Montrose Midrise Flats on Fairview To Pay ‘Homage to the Bauhaus Movement’ [Prime Property]
• Construction Begins on Gated, 55-Lot Woodlands Reserve in the Woodlands [Houston Business Journal]
• Energy Engineering Company JGC Corp. Leases Nearly 52K SF in Westchase, Looking for More [Houston Business Journal]
• H&M Plans To Open a 20K-SF Store in the Galleria This Fall [Houston Business Journal]
• Oxtail’s Justin Yu and Justin Vann Opening Wine Bar in Former Cotton Exchange Space Downtown [Culturemap]
• Smashburger Opening 3 More Houston Locations Over Next Several Years [Houston Business Journal]
• Peli Peli Opening Second Houston Restaurant in Former Gigi’s in the Galleria This November [Houston Business Journal]
• ‘Riding’ the New Metro Routes by Bike To Take Note of Any Needed Improvements [Not Of It]
• Council Approves Disputed Expansion of Sugar Land Church [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Fire Chief Issues Stop Work Order, Posts ‘Fire Hazard’ Signs in Contemporary Main Plaza Subdivision off South Main Because It Doesn’t Have Required Number of Fire Hydrants [Click2Houston]
• Report Ranks Houston No. 7 Among Dangerous Metropolitan Areas for Pedestrians, Logging 1,034 Deaths in Last Decade [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of I-45 near Downtown: Paul via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Spec Project Energy Center Five Set To Break Ground in July [Houston Business Journal]
• Gensler’s Sleek Design for the Alessandra Hotel [The Architect’s Newspaper; previously on Swamplot]
• Developers Concerned Ashby Highrise Ruling Will Encourage More Lawsuits, ‘NIMBY Blackmail’ [Wall Street Journal ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Stream Realty Partners To Oversee Leasing at Sugar Creek I & II Office Buildings in Sugar Land [Prime Property]
• Crapitto’s Closing Saturday After 19 Years To Make Way for River Oaks District [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Natural Pawz Opening 4 New Stores in Houston This Year [Prime Property]
• Officials Approve $17M Rebuilding of Broadway from I-45 to Airport Blvd., Work To Start Soon [The Highwayman]
• IndyCar Racer Ryan Hunter-Reay To Drive Loop 610 in a Grand Prix of Houston-Wrapped Honda Today [The Highwayman]
• Disney Cruise Line To Return to Port of Galveston in 2015 [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• How To Preserve the Character, and Neighborhood Name, of Northside Village [OffCite Blog; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston To Host National Association of Real Estate Editors Conference June 11 to 14 [Prime Property]

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

• Crescent Selects Balfour Beatty Construction as General Contractor for 6 Houston Center [PRWeb; previously on Swamplot]
• Memorial Hermann Breaks Ground on $93M Sugar Land Expansion [Prime Property]
• Parkside Capital’s West Ten Business Park in Katy Building Up Its Industrial Space [Houston Business Journal]
• Hines’ 609 Main Will Feature Under-Floor Cooling System, 30,000-SF Rooftop Garden, Tall Restroom Partitions [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• New Rice Hotel Building Owners Want To Add Spa, Rooftop Pool, Dog Park, Remove Gargoyle Apartment Markers [Prime Property]
• Bravo Ranch Supermercado Opening Second Houston-Area Location Inside Former Kroger Store, in Pasadena in September [Prime Property]
• Kevin Naderi’s Lillo & Ella Opening May 20 on Ella in Shady Acres [Zagat]
• I-45 Widening Expected To Add at Least 375K-SF of Business in Webster This Year [Houston Public Media]
• Oak Forest Residents To Discuss Opting Out of Sidewalk Ordinance [The Leader]
• Will Metro’s Revitalized Bus System Solve Houston’s Traffic Problem? [Free Press Houston]
• Port Authority Gets Green Light To Dredge Container Terminals to Houston Ship Channel Depth [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Five-Story, 8K-SF Mural Going Up in Midtown at 2800 San Jacinto with 100 Gallons of Paint, 500 Spray Cans [KHOU]
• Estimating Crowds is a Numbers Game for Parade Officials [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of the Southwest Freeway: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Brookwood Estates Residents Apply To Restrict Lot Sizes in 200-Home Neighborhood [The Leader]
• Rice University Hires Trademark Property To Manage Village Arcade [Prime Property]
• Touring the Amenities of BP’s West Houston Campus, Including an On-Site Medical Center, Gourmet Cafeterias, Outdoor Covered Basketball Court, Giant Chess Set [Houston Business Journal]
• Remembering the History of 3400 Montrose as It Disappears [Hair Balls; previously on Swamplot]
• 10 Years in the Making, 24K-SF Hare Krishna Temple To Open This Weekend at 1320 W. 34th [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Long-Awaited Julep Opening in Old Corkscrew Space On Washington Ave. in 3-4 Weeks [Food Chronicles; previously on Swamplot]
• Chef Roy Shvartzapel’s Cafe-Meets-Tavern Bakery Common Bond Now Open in Montrose [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Niko Niko’s Opening a Third Location This July inside the H-E-B at Highway 288 and FM 518 in Pearland [Eating Our Words]
• Closings Could Complicate Weekend Travel on Rail, I-45 and U.S. 290 [The Highwayman]
• Galveston Broke Tourism Revenue Record with $687.2M Spent in in 2013, Up 5% From Year Before [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Area’s Population of 6.3 Million Would Fill 150 Minute Maid Ballparks, And Other Comparisons [Houston Chronicle]
• Why Student Loans Aren’t Really Killing the Housing Market [The Atlantic]
• If We Talked About Architecture Like We Talk About Writing [The Toast]

Photo from Phoenix Tower, Greenway Plaza: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Astrodome Demolition ‘Not on the Table,’ but ‘State Antiquities Landmark’ Designation Would Not Prevent It, Says Judge Emmett [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Downtown Post Office Building Likely To Become Mixed-Use Development [Houston Public Media]
• Houston Home Sales Stagnant in April For First Time in Nearly 3 Years [Prime Property]
• Partners in Building Opens Second Houston-Area Office, in Conroe [Houston Business Journal]
• New Owners Will Demolish 2 Ike-Damaged East End Apartment Complexes Described as ‘Detested Eyesores’ [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Kids Retailer Five Below Entering Houston Market on June 6 with 8 Locations Opening Simultaneously [Prime Property]
• Piatto Ristorante Now Open at 1111 Studewood, Offers View of Downtown from Rooftop Event Space [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Dennis Byrd Opening His Sixth Seawall Concept, Swim-Up Bar Longboard, at the Galveston Beach Hotel on May 30 [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Judge Rules That TxDOT Improperly Acquired Land Near Loop 610 Interchange with U.S. 290 [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• TxDOT’s $150M Expansion Plan for SH 146 Includes Widening Bridge from Kemah to Seabrook, Building Separate Elevated Express Lane [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Houston Among Cities Working To Restore Natural Bends, Vegetation, Mild Rapids to Urban Waterways [AP]
• Several Dozen Dead Bats Found Under the Watonga Street Bridge at West T.C. Jester Blvd. [The Leader]
• Crews Work To Repair Five-Foot-Wide Sinkhole Downtown at Walker and San Jacinto [KHOU]
• Houston Tops Ranking of Most Dog Attacks on Postal Workers By City with 63 in 2013 [Emag.co.uk]
• The Top 10 Wealthiest Zip Codes in Texas [Houston Chronicle]
• A Poster of Houston Neighborhoods Ripped from Their Context and Presented as Cuts of Meat [Houstonia]

Photo: Christof Spieler via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Bowing to Pressure from Developers, City Drops Out of Bidding for Downtown Post Office Site [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Energy Tech Company Accudyne Precision Flow Systems Moving to Houston Near Highway 290 in Late July [Houston Business Journal]
• Grocers Supply Co. Planning New 1.7M-SF Warehouse, Distribution Facility on 159 Acres Along Beltway 8 Near I-45 [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• The Architectural Vision Behind ExxonMobil’s New Campus [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• City Council To Consider $9.8M Tax Break for Trendmaker Homes Development on Former Exxon Brownfield in Clear Lake Today [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Champions Area Golfsmith with Putting Green Opens on Thursday [Prime Property]
• Landmark Montrose Gay Bar EJ’s Bar Closing on June 30 After 40 Years [Culturemap]
• Metro To Vote May 21 On East End Underpass, Complicated by Plume of Contaminated Soil [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• Public Works Officials Asking for a $10.6M Increase for Road Repairs in City’s 2015 Budget [abc13]
• Record 3.18 in. of Rain Recorded at IAH Yesterday Will Only Provide ‘Temporary Relief’ from Drought [Click2Houston]
• Residents Along San Jacinto River Call for Removal of Toxic Waste Dump [MyFoxHouston; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Has the Least Courteous Drivers in the Nation, Finds AutoVantage Survey on Road Rage [KHOU]
• A Few Reasons Why So Many Feral Hogs Dig The Woodlands [Houstonia]
• High-End Listings Free of Grammatical Errors Sell 3 Days Faster, Are More Likely To Sell for More Than List Price Than Similar Listings Overall, Finds Study [Wall Street Journal]

Photo of I-10: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool