Headlines

• Copeland Commercial To Break Ground on 717,706 SF Interstate Commerce Center Office Park Next Month Near FM 1960 and I-45 [Houston Business Journal]
• Apartments in 8-Story Avenue Grove Building at Levy Park To Be Built in Shape of an E To Increase Number of Units with Park Views [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Dunkin’ Donuts Continues Aggressive Push into Houston with New Location Opening May 16 Across from West Oaks Mall [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Preservationists Mourn Impending Loss of Art Deco Josephine Apartments [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Paid Seawall Parking Generates Balance of More Than $83K To Put Toward Capital Projects [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Garden Oaks Residents Petitioning Against Alba St. Drainage Project Because of Traffic, Aesthetic Concerns [abc13]
• Remembering Ninfa Laurenzo, the Mother Houston Called ‘Mama’ [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Carts Will Be Delivered Starting This Week for Expansion of Automated Curbside Recycling to 62,000 More Homes [Solid Waste]
• Metro Doesn’t Have Enough Money Reserved To Install Clock Preserved from Former Sterling Laundry Site in Eastwood Park as Planned [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Discovery Green Soliciting Donations for Furniture To Go on New 4.7K SF Ipe Deck Along Brown Promenade [Culturemap]

Photo: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• CHI St. Luke’s Planning $110M Medical Complex on 23 Acres Near Exxon Campus, Grand Parkway [Houston Business Journal]
• Energy XXI Services Expands Space at One City Centre Downtown by 25%; Building Now 90.6% Occupied [GlobeSt.com]
• Morgan Group Developing 8-Story Pearl Residences at CityCentre, Across the Street from Its CityCentre Pearl Apartments [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• White Oaks Partners Renaming Colorado Club Apartments It Purchased on the East Side to the Oaks at Greenview [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Sugar Land City Council To Vote Again on St. Laurence Catholic Church’s Proposal To Expand Amid Neighbor Complaints [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Fire Breaks Out at Townhome on Greenway Chase Undergoing Renovations To Repair Damage From Previous Fire [abc13]
• On Next Demolition Day, May 17, 33 Structures Will Be Cleared Under City’s Revised Process [The Leader]
• North Forest ISD Memorabilia Up For Auction Now Through May 25 [Hair Balls; auction site]
• Houstonians Who Biked To Work Dropped from 0.5% to 0.4% of Commuters from 2000 to 2012, Finds Recent Census Data [The Highwayman]
• Will 6 New Digital Billboards Along Houston Freeways Promoting Hurricane Safety Cause More Car Crashes? [The Highwayman]
• RVs, Travel Trailers Could Put Millions of FEMA Dollars at Risk in Galveston County [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Sneak Peek at Solaro, Texas’s First Estate Urban Winery, Making Wine at 330 T.C. Jester [Eating Our Words]
• Government Health and Safety Experts Don’t Know Much About the Tank Cleaning Industry [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of Amtrak train downtown: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Former Houston Club Building in the Way of Skanska’s Capitol Tower Will Be Imploded This Fall [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Fountain Residential Partners Breaks Ground on Second Off-Campus Housing Project Next to University of Houston [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Main St. MATCH Arts Complex Breaks Ground in Midtown [Houstonia; previously on Swamplot]
• David Weekley Homes Opens Cottage Grove-Area Complex, Will Soon Begin Selling Homes in Another [Houston Business Journal]
• Longtime Garden Oaks Watering Hole Red’s Bar Sold to Developer CMC Enterprises; Multiple Townhomes Planned for Lot [The Leader]
• Snap Kitchen Set To Open Next Month in Food Court at The Shops at Houston Center [Eater Houston]
• Average Home Price in Houston in March Was $258K, Surpassing National Average of $246.8K [Houston Business Journal]
• FTC Fines Houston-Based Outfit GoLoansOnline.com for Deceptive Mortgage Lending Ads [Houston Advocate]
• Metro Releases Draft Map of New Bus Plan Aimed To Increase Ridership, Will Change Based on Public Suggestions [The Highwayman; previously on Swamplot]
• Energy Corridor-Area Home Uses ‘Micro-Trigeneration System’ That Could Generate More Electricity Than It Uses [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Residents of Portion of Near Northside Hoping Minimum Lot Size Restrictions Will Keep Townhome Developers Away [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• New Missouri City Signs Warn Drivers To Slow Down for Crossing Turtles [Houston Chronicle]
• Sugar Land Has the Most Cheaters in Houston Area, According to Infidelity Website Ashley Madison [KHOU]

Photo of the Art Car Parade preview: Molly Block via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Tomball Business and Technology Park Breaks Ground Near Grand Pkwy. [Houston Business Journal]
• Uptown Luxury Project Belfiore Now More Than 70% Sold, Developer Claims [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• 30% of New Houston Residents Will Choose To Live in a Multifamily Apartment, Architect Predicts [GlobeSt.com]
• 77007, 77002, 77055, 77018 and 77008 ZIP Codes Will See the Largest Rent Increases in the Next Year, According to Zillow [Houston Business Journal]
• Mayor Says Gus Wortham Golf Course Supporters Should Be Given ‘A Shot’ at Restoring It [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• People Started Lining Up at 3:30 in the Morning for Yesterday’s Opening of the Texas City Buc-ee’s [Houston Chronicle]
• 20K People Came Out for Sunday Streets on Westheimer This Past Sunday; Mayor Sees ‘Start of a Tradition’ [OffCite Blog]
• Interview with Houston Photographer Mieko Mahi, Who Specializes in Images Of the Energy Industry [Houston Public Media]
• 5 Reasons Someone Needs to Film a Zombie Movie in the Houston Medical Center [Art Attack]

Photo of Westheimer during Sunday Streets on May 4: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Will Battle Over Hines’ San Felipe Place Tower Follow the Path of the Ashby Highrise Dispute? [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Heights-Area Tommie Vaughn Ford Dealership Has a High-End Gift Shop in Back [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Hearsay Opening Second Downtown Location in the Embassy Suites Hotel That Will Look Like the Original [Prime Property]
• Uptown Park Restaurant Songkran Thai Kitchen Blessed by Buddhist Monks Before Opening Last Week [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Apartment Developer Finds Evidence of ‘Rent Erosion’ Over Last 90 Days [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Behold This 448 SF Rice Military Rental for $750 a Month [Houstonia]
• A Sneak Peek at $1.35M Southern Living Custom Builder Program Showcase Home in Cypress [Houston Business Journal]
• Brookfield Office Properties’ Art Car Will Be Topped with Replicas of Its Downtown Buildings in This Saturday’s Parade [Prime Property]
• Writing Fiction in the Age of Google Street View [Art Attack]

Photo of Saturday’s mat placement for Belfiore condo tower, S. Post Oak Ln. at Wynden Dr.: Interfin

• 60K-SF Buc-ee’s To Open in Texas City This Wednesday [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Latest Memorial City Mall Tenants Tuned to Older Shoppers [Prime Property]
• Doughnut Cafe Glazed Expected to Open in June in the Medical Center [Eater Houston]
• Harris County Judge Ed Emmett Rounding Up ‘Stakeholders’ for Meeting Next Week To Discuss Future of Astrodome [MyFox Houston]
• New Conroe ISD and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Schools Replicate Creepy, ‘Ultra-Normal,’ Almost Identical Designs [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Bad Weather, Shrinking Housing Inventory, Tighter Lending Standards Slowed Growth but Raised Prices of Houston Home Sales [Prime Property]
• West End Firefighters at Station No. 7 Still Waiting on FEMA Funds To Improve Aging Facility [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Alligator Hiding in Missouri City Yard a ‘Game Changer’ [Click2Houston]
• Underbelly’s Chris Shepherd Says ‘People Can Look at Houston in a Better Light Now’ After Winning James Beard Award [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of building at Live Oak and Gray: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Post Properties Sells Historic Rice Hotel Building to Trammell Crow-Related Entity; Greystar Will Manage Apartments [Prime Property]
• FMC Technologies Breaks Ground on New 173-Acre Campus at Generation Park [Houston Business Journal]
• Luxury Brands Cartier, Dior, Hermès, and Tom Ford Plan To Open in River Oaks District [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Closed Since September Following Fire, MF Sushi To Reopen This Wednesday [Eating Our Words]
• Chicago-Based Prime Property Investors Developing the Alexan at Auburn Lakes Apartments Near The Woodlands with Trammell Crow Residential [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• In Houston, It’s Better To Buy Than Rent If You Stay in Your House Longer Than 2 Years, Says Zillow [Houston Business Journal]
• Metro’s 7 Inspectors Checked 74,166 Fares in March, up from 66,413 in February [The Highwayman]
• Houston Still ‘Abnormally Dry’; Much of Texas Still in a Drought [Hair Balls]
• Stolen 200-lb. Bronze Statue of Boy with Baseball Bat Returned to Texas City’s Godard Park [abc13]
• Ways Houston Can Increase Its Recycling Rate [Off the Kuff]
• Slideshow: Structures That Line Munger Street Slowly Being Covered in a Sea of Bricolage [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Patrick Dougherty’s “Boogie Woogie” at Hermann Park: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• A Peek at Kirksey’s Design for the New Petroleum Club, Leaving ExxonMobil Building for the Top Floor of 1201 Louisiana [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Lawsuit Between Port of Galveston, Historic Strand Building Halting Construction of $6M Transit Terminal Settled [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Bowlmor Opening Its First Bowlero, a 40-Lane Bowling Alley with Multiple Bars and Games, on May 21 in The Woodlands [Prime Property]
• New Café Hélène Is Latest Midtown Vietnamese Restaurant To Go Upscale [Houstonia]
• Moody Gardens Debuts New Ropes, Zip-Line Course [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Texas Falls 11 Spots to No. 33 in League of American Bicyclists’ Ranking of State Cycling Policies [The Highwayman]
• Touring Houston-Based Modular Dog’s Modern Homes and Pads for Modern Canines [Click2Houston; site]
• Slideshow: Some of the More Than 200 Plant, Animal Species Listed as Endangered or Threatened in Texas [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of 2929 Weslayan construction: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Taylor Morrison Breaks Ground on Bonterra at Woodforest North of The Woodlands, Its First Houston-Area 55-Plus Community [Prime Property]
• Soaring Home Prices Put a Dent in Houston’s Reputation for Affordability [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• The Most Expensive Listings Sold in Houston Last Year Through MLS [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• West University, Bellaire and Braeswood Each Have Less Than 2 Months’ Worth of Housing Inventory [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Pelican Club, Number 13 Aim To Change the Galveston Food Scene [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Shady Acres Residents Afraid Plan To Widen W. 20th Street into 4-Lane Road Will ‘Dissect’ the Neighborhood [The Leader]
• Curbside-to-Curbside Road Paving Has Dropped 53% Over Past 5 Years [abc13]
• Gulf Bank Bridge Over Hardy Toll Road To Close for 3 Weeks for Repairs [abc13]
• Houston Climbs From No. 7 to No. 6 in American Lung Association’s Rankings of Worst Ozone Levels [Houston Chronicle]
• Tiger Woods To Design 18-Hole Golf Course in Bluejack National Private Club, Community in Former Home of Blaketree Golf Club in Montgomery County [Prime Property]
• Amount of Seaweed Washing Up on Galveston Beaches Could Be ‘Worst in Recorded Times’ [Click2Houston]
• Long Live Westheimer, Montrose, and Cafe Brasil [OffCite]
• An Unofficial Guide to the Westheimer Sunday Street on May 4 [OffCite]
• Galveston Home Tour’s 40th Year Might Be Its Best Yet [Houstonia]
• A Collection of Some ‘Tactical Signage’ in Houston Street Art [OffCite]
• Waiting for Bigfoot in the Big Thicket [Houstonia]

Photo of Robertson Stadium: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Deal with Patrinely Group Means New 250-Unit Luxury Residential Tower Will Replace Strip-Center Island in Uptown Park Shopping Center [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Partners in Building Starts Building 80 $550K+ Homes in New Gated Developments Near ExxonMobil Campus [Prime Property]
• City Hopes New $11M Sewer Pipe Project Will Spur Development of 1,400 Acres Along Holmes Rd. [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Legal Expert Says Ashby Highrise Case Could Be Tied Up in Court for Years [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Fate of Astrodome Could Be Affected by Texas Historical Commission Vote on Landmark Status This July [Culturemap]
• Downtown’s Nau Center for Texas Cultural Heritage Has Nearly Doubled Its Budget, Planned Square Footage Since First Announced [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Third Ward’s Eldorado Ballroom To Unveil Its Official Texas Historical Marker This Weekend [Houstonia]
• Boeing 747 Reaches Space Center Houston After 3MPH Journey on NASA Road 1 [abc13]
• From Caskets to Construction Items, the Wild World of Roadway Spills in Houston [The Texican]
• Silsbee Bicyclist Has Installed Nearly 40 Ghost Bikes Across Houston As Memorials for Killed Cyclists [Houston Chronicle]
• What Beltway 8 Looks Like When Laid Over Other Cities [imgur]

Photo of construction at ExxonMobil Campus: Swamplot inbox

• Multifamily Development Boom Expected To Transform Downtown Houston, Nearly Double Population in Next Few Years [Houston Business Journal]
• First Industrial Realty Trust Breaks Ground on Spec Distribution Center on W. Greens near Beltway 8 [Prime Property]
• Kiewit Energy Leases Majority of New Woodlands Office Building Currently Under Construction [Prime Property]
• Realtors Say ExxonMobil’s New Campus Has Strengthened the Market in the Heights, Oak Forest, Garden Oaks [The Leader]
• Retail, Restaurants Replacing Car Lots on N. Shepherd Dr. as Greater Heights Transforms [The Leader]
• A Week After Final Arguments, Judge Continues To Receive Pleas in Ashby Highrise Case [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• More Details on the Temporary and Permanent Lane Closures at Hobby Airport [Houston Business Journal]
• Sugar Land Residents At Odds with Homeowner Association’s Plan To Remove 29 Trees Along Edgewater Dr. in First Colony [abc13]
• Bystanders Take Selfies, FaceTime as Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft Makes Its Way to the Space Center [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Chinese Company Hand-Assembles 10 Small 3-D Printed Single-Story Houses in One Day [Mashable]

Photo of the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier: Christopher Ferguson via Twitter

• Dow Chemical Clearing Path for Future Expansion at Texas City Chemical Plant [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Developers Not Happy They’re Competing with the City for Downtown Post Office Site [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• City Putting Together ‘Visioning Plan’ To Guide Future Decisions on Infrastructure, Traffic, Preservation [Houston Public Media]
• Houston Housing Supply Not Likely To Improve Before September [Houston Public Media]
• ‘Exxon Effect’ Behind Enrollment Boom at Schools Around The Woodlands [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Using Google Maps’ ‘Then and Now’ Feature To See the Development Boom in Houston Since 2007 [Houston Chronicle]
• More Houstonians Opting To Live in Mixed-Use Projects Combining Residential Units and Retail Outlets That Camden Property Trust Generally Avoids [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Neighborhoods Using Billboards, Job Fairs To Attract Residents [The Leader]
• Taxidermy, Nudie Mags, Religious Icons Set the Scene in an Old-School Barber Shop in a Converted Bungalow off Washington Ave [Houstonia]
• Hobby Airport Road Closures To Begin Today as Major Expansion Continues [Houston Business Journal]
• The Route the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet Space Shuttle Exhibit Platform Will Take from Ellington Field to the Space Center, Starting Tonight [Houston Chronicle]
• Demolition Moves 290 HOV Lanes to Temporary Route Starting Today [The Highwayman]
• Nine-Foot-Long Alligator Roaming Clear Lake Neighborhood Killed [abc13]
• Houston’s Best Commutes for Development-Watching [HAIF]
• Sharon Engelstein’s New Doodle Bug Concrete Sculptures in Hermann Park Make Great Playground Structures for Kids To Climb On [The Great God Pan Is Dead]
• 30 Things You’ll Never See in Houston Again [The Texican]
• SpaceX’s Elon Musk Says Texas Spaceport Planned Near Brownsville Will Be Active in a Couple of Years [SciGuy]

Photo of Stude Park: via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• IAH To Demolish Terminal D, Replace It With New Terminal To Keep Up With International Flights [Houston Business Journal]
• Saks Five Avenue Relocating To Bigger Space, ‘Luxury Jewel Box’ To Replace Galleria III, and Other Galleria Changes [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• 5 Months After Proposal Voted Down, Astrodome Still in Limbo [Click2Houston]
• Fresh Market To Open Fourth Houston Store on May 7 at the Baybrook Village Shopping Center in Webster [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Heights Crawfish Spot Boil House Set to Open First Week in May [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Roy Shvartzapel’s Common Bond Bakery Set To Open in Mid-May at Dunlavy and Westheimer [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Floor & Decor Leasing Former Kroger at Texas 6 and Williams Trace in Sugar Land [Prime Property]
• Funeral Company Opens a High-End ‘Celebration of Life Boutique’ in Royal Oaks [Prime Property]
• Trees Chopped Down To Make Room for Humble-Area The Groves Will Be Used in the Development or Carved into Playground Equipment [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Houston’s Johnson Space Center Has Lost its Identity and Purpose [Houston Press]
• 29% of Kinder Institute Survey Respondents Say Traffic is Houston’s No. 1 Problem, Up from 21% Last Year [Houston Business Journal]
• Metro Partnering with Google To Provide Real-Time Information to Bus Riders Through New Free App [Houston Public Media]
• The 10 Best Places for Parkour in Houston [Art Attack]
• Louise Bourgeois’ Giant Spider Sculpture Installed in Hermann Park’s Jones Reflection Pool [Culturemap]
• The ‘Surprising’ Modern Art Collection in Kenny & Ziggy’s Deli Owner Ziggy Gruber’s Upper Kirby Home [Houston Chronicle]
• Slideshow: The 8 Projects Featured in Preservation Houston’s Inaugural Good Brick Tour from May 3-4 [Houston Business Journal]

Photo of E. White Oak Dr. and Norhill St.: Molly Block via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Stream Realty Partners To Break Ground on Dual-Building Bayou Bend Business Park on Beltway 8 Near Hwy. 90 This Month [Houston Business Journal]
• Downtown, University of Houston, IAH, Hobby Among Popular Uber Destinations [The Highwayman]
• Houston Skyline To Dim This Weekend as 134M SF of Downtown Office Space Participates in Lights Out Houston [Prime Property]
• City Council Approves Ordinance That Allows City To Rehab and Resell Blighted Properties [Houston Public Media]
• Houston’s First Ward is Flourishing, But Not Without Some Friction [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Montrose’s Siphon Coffee To Open in the Next Few Weeks on West Alabama [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Former Philippe Restaurant To Reopen as Table on May 15 at 1800 Post Oak Blvd. [Food Chronicles]
• Closings Planned This Weekend for Work on Opposite Ends of Grand Parkway Segment [The Highwayman]
• Thousands of Volunteers To Restore 18-Year-Old Mural Along 2.5 Miles of the Seawall [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Women’s Boutique Elizabeth Anthony Cutting Esther Wolf’s Name, Adding on David Brown’s Space in Uptown Park [Culturemap]
• Can You Identify the Art in this $4.25M Glassman Shoemake Maldonado Home in River Oaks? [The Great God Pan Is Dead]
• Artist Behind Prada Marfa Vandalization To Stand Trial Next Friday [Glasstire]

Photo of Allen Pkwy. sunset: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• LA-Based Stockdale Capital Partners Picks Up Sugar Land Office Park, Looking For More Houston-Area Assets [Houston Business Journal]
• 7% of Houston Retail Space is Vacant, Down from Historical Average of 12%, According to CBRE [Prime Property]
• Officials Hoping Residents Drawn Downtown By the Subsidized Apartments Will Then Lure Retailers [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• League City Sorting Out $1.7M Refund for Current, Former Magnolia Creek Subdivision Property Owners [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• The $515K Meyerland Home with an In-Ground Bomb Shelter [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• City Seeks Public Input on Medical Center Traffic Congestion [Houston Public Media]
• Rice University Awarded $3.1M by Houston Endowment To Research Centennial Gate Proposal [Click2Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• National Hurricane Center To Roll Out a Potential Storm Surge Flooding Map During 2014 Hurricane Season [Click2Houston]
• After Rice University Demo, University of Texas at Dallas Art Advocates Try To Save Their Own Art Barn [Glasstire]

Photo of Hilcorp building construction at former Downtown Macy’s site: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool