Headlines

• TopGolf Opening a Second Area Location Next Week in Spring, Planning a Third Next Year in Webster [Houston Business Journal]
• GreenStreet Adding a Salata Salad Bar, Midland Software Firm as Tenants; Will Also House 2 Zipcars [Prime Property]
• Macy’s Closing Its Sage Store at the Galleria and Consolidating Merchandise into Its Hidalgo Store at the Galleria [abc13]
• HCC Completes $35M Restoration of Its San Jacinto Memorial Building at Its Midtown Campus [Prime Property]
• Grand Parkway Bringing New Stonebrook Estates Gated Neighborhood to Cypress [Houston Business Journal]
• Some Cross Creek Ranch Residents Say New Business Center and Walmart Supercenter at FM 1093 and FM 1463 in Fulshear Threatens Their Quiet Way of Life [abc13]
• Metro Saw 6.6% Increase in Light Rail Ridership During Three-Week Spring Break Period Over Same Time Last Year [Houston Public Media]
• Audio Recordings Detail Minutes Leading Up to Collision That Caused 160K Gallons of Oil To Spill into Galveston Bay [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Relics from Navy Ship That Sank During the Battle of Galveston Coming to Texas City Museum This Month [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Let’s Convert the Astrodome into a Resort That Looks and Feels Like the ‘Star Trek’ Space Station Deep Space Nine [Dave’s Geeky Ideas]

Photo of Englewood Yard, Liberty Rd.: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Brookfield Office Properties Planning To Add More Outdoor Events, Music Programs, Concerts and Film Screenings at Its Properties [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Methodist Retirement Communities To Break Ground on League City Seniors Community Called ‘The Crossings’ [Prime Property]
• Houston Office Vacancy Rates Increased 0.1% to 11.9% from Fourth Quarter of 2013 to First Quarter of 2014 [Houston Business Journal]
• Average Wage Needed To Afford a 2-Bedroom Apartment in Houston is $17.81 an Hour, Finds Report [Prime Property]
• The Average Market Value of a Home in the Heights, Oak Forest Area Rose 27% in the Past Year [The Leader]
• City To Target 109 Blighted and Dangerous Properties Under Its ‘Make Safe’ Initiative [abc13]
• Metro Board Members Skeptical CAF USA Will Meet Revised Schedule To Deliver 39 New Trains for Light Rail Expansion [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• City To Host Final Mobility Meetings This Week for Heights-Northside, Northwest Areas [The Leader]
• 10-Foot-Tall Honeycomb with Thousands of Bees Discovered Inside Spring Home’s Garage [abc13]
• Bay City Rice Farmers Face Third Year in a Row Without Irrigation Water from the Colorado River [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Texans Encouraged To Plant Wildflowers To Help Monarch Butterfly Migration [AP]
• How To Get a Bluebonnet Patch in Your Own Front Yard [Houston Chronicle]
• Galveston Historic Homes Tour Running May 2-4, 10-11 [Covering Katy]

Photo of signs removed from 357 Yale St.: Molly Block via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• PM Realty Group Acquires Office Across the Street from Its Apartment Tower at Weslayan and West Alabama [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Costco Planned for The Woodlands, Expected To Open in November [Community Impact Newspaper]
• Houston Ship Channel Now Open to All Traffic Following Oil Spill [Click2Houston]
• Galveston Bay Oil Spill Fouled At Least 12 Miles of the Pristine Matagorda Island [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth Mayors Announce Support for High-Speed Rail; Still Needs Approval from Federal Railroad Administration [Houston Public Media]
• Northbound Frontage Roads Along I-45 To Shut Down Friday Night for Installation of Grand Parkway Girders [The Highwayman]
• Fire at Heights Presbyterian Church Ruled Accidental, Caused by Electrical Problems [Click2Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• 100-Plus Cats Removed from Northwest Houston Home Described as a ‘Hoarding Situation’ [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• The Meyerland House with an Addition for a Model Train Collection [Houstonia]
• A Video Tribute To Houston Scored By Jeff Walton and Performed by the Houston Symphony [Art Attack]

Photo of parking garage construction, Rusk and Milam, Downtown: Swamplot inbox

• Houston Building Permits Increased 19% to $6.2B over 12-Month Period Ending in February [Prime Property]
• Houston Home Prices Overvalued by 2%, Finds Trulia Report [Prime Property]
• Kroger Marketplace Planned for Fairfield Master-Planned Community in Cypress [Community Impact Newspaper]
• H-E-B Rumored To Have Plans To Build a Store in Texas City That’s ‘Bigger, Better’ Than the H-E-B Already in Texas City [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Midtown Mobile Cuisine Food Truck Park Opens Today on Almeda [Culturemap]
• Spike TV’s ‘Bar Rescue’ Turns Katy Biker Bar Bryant’s Ice House into The Wildcatter Saloon [Houston Chronicle]
• Jose Camarena, Who Built the Taqueria Arandas Chain from Scratch, Is Dead [Houston Chronicle]
• Car-Sharing Network Zipcar Expands in Houston, Will Have 25 Cars at 10 Locations [Houston Business Journal]
• Mayor, Council Member, and Residents at Odds Over Construction of Affordable Apartment Complex in Spring Branch [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Billions of Crazy Ants About To Descend on the Houston Area [Fox News; previously on Swamplot]
• City Can Now Categorize Animals as Nuisance, Aggressive, or Dangerous [Houston Public Media]
• Collecting Drawings of Scuttled Houston Developments [Houston Chronicle]
• The Houston Ship Channel’s Evolution from Bayou to Busy Port [AP]
• Rice Design Alliance’s Spring Home Tour This Weekend Will Feature 8 Residences with Substantial Additions [Culturemap]

Photo of Main St. Square: Jackson Myers via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Ship Channel Partially Reopened After Oil Spill [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Buyers Snapped Up Homes 42% Faster in February Than Same Time Last Year, Finds ZipRealty [Prime Property]
• Signed Contracts, Closings on Newly Built Homes Go Up 7.6%, 11.8% Respectively from January to February [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• HAR.com To Open Its Website To Include Listings from Across Texas Starting Next Month [Houston Business Journal]
• Punk’s Simple Southern Food Opens in Hanover Development in Rice Village [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• ‘Cupcake Wars’ Winner Eyeing Sugar Land as Part of Nationwide Expansion [Community Impact Newspaper]
• Brighton Collectibles, Bradley Ogden’s Pour Society Coming to Memorial City Mall [Houston Business Journal]
• City Hiring Firm To Create a Bicycle Management Plan To Guide Infrastructure, Bike Lane Development [Houston Chronicle]
• Heights Residents Blocking Drainage Ditches with Rocks and Bricks, Parking Pads [abc13]
• City Council To Vote Today on Whether Dogs Can Be Deemed ‘Aggressive’ or a ‘Nuisance’ [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• New Braunfels City Council Votes To Appeal Overturn of ‘Can Ban’ [AP; previously on Swamplot]

Photo of yesterday’s Axis Apartments fire from Downtown: Swamplot inbox

• Baybrook Mall To Add 555K SF of Retail, Restaurant and Entertainment Space, Create Lawn the Length of a Football Field [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Less Than a Year After Opening in Former Gerland’s, Fiesta To Close Its First Specialty Store in Sugar Land on April 20 [Prime Property]
• Karbach Brewing Starting Construction Today on 19K SF, 2-Story Addition To Its Northwest Houston Facility [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Black Walnut Café Moving Across the Street in The Woodlands To Double Space, Add More Seating, Parking [Houston Business Journal]
• Austin Restaurant Foreign & Domestic Wants To Be Open in Houston By This Time Next Year [Culturemap]
• Winds Have Helped Contain Spilled Oil to a Few Shoreline Spots Along Galveston Bay [Galveston County Daily News ($)]

Photo of M.D. Anderson Mid Campus 1 Building at Braeswood and Bertner: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Crews Cleaning Up ‘Sticky, Gooey, Thick, Tarry Stuff’ After Barge Carrying Nearly 1 Million Gallons of Oil Springs a Leak in Galveston Bay [KHOU]
• Spill at Peak of Birding Season Comes at ‘Worst Time’ for Wildlife [Houston Chronicle]
• Cypress Real Estate Advisors Sells Off Last 3 Pieces of Westcreek Complex, ‘Prime Tract’ Near the Galleria [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Former Sugar Land Unocal Building Adds New Tenants, $17M in Upgrades [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• How the Astrodome Reached Its Current Limbo [Dallas Morning News]
• Metro Sets Second New Ridership Record with 76,925 Taking Rail on March 19 During Rodeo [The Highwayman]
• In One-Bin Recycling Concept, Residents Could Be Asked To Separate Their Food Waste [Texas Tribune]
• Contractor Tells Alvin Nursing Home He’d Refund Half for Unfinished Job, But Only If the Media Drop the Story [KHOU]
• An Increase in Walkability Takes Hold in Cities Across Texas [Texas Tribune]
• $1 Million Would Buy You More Square Footage in Houston Than in 31 Other U.S. Cities [Business Insider]

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

• From a Technical College to Toby Keith’s Honky Tonk, West Oaks Mall Finds Nontraditional Tenants [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Gracepoint Homes Opens First Inner-Loop Project, Skinny ‘Madeline’ at 610 and Ella [Houston Business Journal]
• Ninth Autumn Leaves Memory Care Community Opening at 24024 Westheimer Pkwy. in Katy Next Month [Prime Property]
• MF Sushi To Reopen in April Following Fire With Whole New Interior [Culturemap]
• Metro To Consider Charging Fees for More Park and Ride Lots [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• County Commissioner Believes Astrodome ‘Can Be Saved from Demolition’ [National Trust for Historic Preservation]
• Ghirardi WaterSmart Park, Possibly the Only Park in the State To Focus on Water Conservation, Opening in League City [Galveston County Daily News ($)]

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

• Developers Propose Expanding $15,000-per-Unit Apartment Subsidy Program To Meet Downtown Demand [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Scenes from a Helicopter Tour Above the ExxonMobil Campus-in-Progress [Houston Business Journal]
• Stream Realty Partners Says It’s Erected the First 6-Story ‘Tiltwall’ Office Building in Texas [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Johnson Development Building 2,700-Home Master-Planned Community at Grand Pkwy. and West Airport Boulevard [Houston Business Journal]
• NerdWallet Names The Woodlands Top ‘City on the Rise’ in Texas [Houston Business Journal]
• Anonymous Investor Has Agreed To Purchase the Rights to the Balinese Room Name and Rebuild at the Same Location [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Galveston Island Brewing Preparing for May Opening [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Fixing Houston’s Traffic Problem Will Take More Than Pouring Concrete, Mass Transit or Bike Lanes But a Shift in Attitude [Houston Press]
• Metro Logged Record Rail Riders on March 13 with 71,054 Trips Taken on Day of Rodeo, Maroon 5 Concert [The Highwayman]
• Artist’s 7,500-lb. Fish Sculpture Sitting in a East End Warehouse Yard Until It Can Find a New Home [Culturemap]
• Waco Artist Arrested in Connection With Prada Marfa Vandalism [Glasstire]

Photo of Fifth Ward house: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Former Innova, Koch Industries Building in Greenway Plaza Getting $5M Renovation, Adding 3 Tenants [Prime Property]
• Diller Scofidio + Renfro Designing New Opera Theater at Rice University between Shepherd School and Rice Stadium [Rice News; more info]
• Suzanne Sellers’ Houston Club Mural Disappearing as Skanska Clears Site for New Capitol Tower Building [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Williston Holding Acquires Parent Company of Mission Burrito, Casa Olé, other Chains for $20M, Plans To Expand Its Brands [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Hobby Airport Closes EcoPark 1 Parking Lot To Make Way for Parking Garage [Houston Business Journal]
• TxDOT Scheduled To Complete Shepherd/I-45 Ramp Project by Early 2015 [The Leader]
• City Starts Relocating 8 Trees for Levy Park Project in Upper Kirby [Click2Houston]
• Pleasure Pier Makes USA Today List of Most Beautiful Piers, Promenades and Boardwalks [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• That Yellow Dust on Your Car Right Now Most Likely Isn’t Causing Any Allergies [Houston Public Media]

Photo of Houston Ship Channel at East Loop: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• East End Groups At Odds on Restoring Historic Gus Wortham Golf Course or Turning It into a Botanic Garden [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• Momentum BMW West Breaking Ground on Bigger Katy Fwy. Location, Further West, Next Month [Prime Property]
• Houston Home Sales Increase for 33rd Straight Month in February as Inventory Drops to Record Low of 15,870 [Tom Plant’s Houston Real Estate Blog]
• More People Inside the Loop Could Mean Fewer Historic Homes [Houston Public Media]
• Metro May Move Overcrowded Grand Pkwy. Park and Ride to Katy Mills Mall [The Highwayman]
• TC Jester Residents Still Don’t Want Traffic Lights North of FM 1960 Even After Second Study Finds They’re Needed [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Free Wi-Fi Up and Running at 7 Public Places in Texas City [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Southern Living Magazine Names Newly Renovated Hotel Derek ‘Worthy of a Revisit’ [Culturemap]
• Memorial City Mall Still Makes It Hard To Pay for Carousel, Train Attractions [Art Attack]
• Indie Filmmakers Like Filming in Houston Because ‘It Can Mimic All the Cities’ [abc13]

Photo of the Battleship Texas: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Beijing’s Modern Green Development Looking To Build $500M Mixed-Use Project Near Texas 288 and Beltway 8 [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Historic Niels Esperson Building Nears End of a $2.5M Makeover of Lobby, Tunnel Levels [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• El Tiempo Cantina Opening Seventh Houston-Area Restaurant, at Woodlakes Square Shopping Center in July [Houston Business Journal]
• City, Harris County Ready To Begin Design Work on $100M Joint Inmate Processing Center [Houston Politics]
• Montrose/Museum District Have Most Expensive Apartments in Houston with Average Rent of $1.71 per SF [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Ellington Field ‘Spaceport’ Could Be in Operation By 2017 [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• Interim Director Patrick Walsh Confirmed as Houston’s New Planning Director [Memorial Examiner]
• James Surls’ 38-Ft.-High Sculpture ‘Tree and Three Flowers’ Ready To Be Installed at Kirby and Westheimer [Houston Chronicle]
• A 1938 Tour of What Was Left of ‘Quality Hill,’ Houston’s First Blue-Blood District [Houstonia]

Photo of construction at the 610/US-290 interchange: TxDOT via Twitter

• PM Realty Group Breaks Ground on Future Sasol HQ, Fourth Building of Woodbranch Plaza in the Energy Corridor [Houston Business Journal]
• The Center at Pearland Parkway Signs Up 4 More Retailers To Join TJ Maxx and Ross [Prime Property]
• New H-E-B Supermarkets Planned for Lake Jackson and Cypress, Down the Street from Bridgeland [Houston Business Journal]
• Whole Foods Looking for First In-House Brewer; Will Brew at New BLVD Place Store [Beer, TX; previously on Swamplot]
• Petrol Station Owner Opening New Brewery This Summer, Half a Mile from the Bar [The Leader]
• Dallas Developer Breaks Ground on Senior Care Communities in Cypress and Clear Lake [Prime Property]
• HISD Votes To Close Dodson Elementary, Repurpose Jones High into Vocational School [Houston Chronicle]

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

• Woodbine Planning 3 Hotels in Springwoods Village To Serve ExxonMobil Campus [Prime Property]
• Inside Anadarko’s Newly Finished Hackett Tower on Its Woodlands Campus [Houston Business Journal]
• Hines Planning Upgrades to Greenspoint Place, Including Fitness Center, Conference Center, More Park Space [Houston Business Journal]
• Rents for ‘Trophy Assets’ Downtown Have Increased 5% Over the Last Year to $44.50 PSF [Houston Business Journal]
• Avanti Senior Living Opening New Communities in Texas in Next 2 Years, Beginning in Cypress, Shenandoah [Prime Property]
• Neighbors Complaining About Noise Pollution, Fumes from Construction of Hines’ San Felipe Tower [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• Lots of People Taking Selfies with the Astrodome During RodeoHouston [The Texican]
• Starting April 16, Members-Only Pelican Club Will Open to the Public [Culturemap]
• Local Foods in Former Taco Milagro Space at Kirby and Westheimer Opens Today [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• A 34-Year-Old Houston City Article Reads as If Written Today, Laments the Death of Montrose [Houstonia]
• The 3-Page Manifesto Left at ‘TOMS Marfa’ and Other Details of the Vandal’s Rogue Art ‘Installation’ [Texas Monthly]

Photo of River Oaks District construction: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• City Council Voting Today on Plan To Grant Tax Breaks for Redeveloping Distressed Properties [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Downtown Redevelopment Authority Considering Tax Break for Redevelopment of Savoy Hotel [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• BB’s Cafe Opening Fourth Houston Location in Former Ninfa’s, El Taco Tote in Briargrove Area [Culturemap]
• Snap Kitchen Opening New Locations This Year Downtown and in the Heights, Also Looking Outside the Loop [Houston Business Journal]
• New, ‘Hidden’ Barringer Bar Opens Quietly Above Clutch City Squire on Main Street Downtown [Culturemap]
• Bridgeland Adding Retail and Apartments, Setting Aside Land for Up to 8 More Schools [Houston Business Journal]
• Residents Near Oates St. and I-10 E Once Again Protesting Proposed Low-Income Apartment Complex Up for City Council Vote [abc13]
• Prada Marfa Painted Blue, Strewn with TOMS Logos in Second Act of Vandalism [Glasstire]
• Review: ‘Houston’s Hermann Park’ an Uneven but Valuable Reference Documenting the Public Space’s Development [The Architect’s Newspaper]

Photo of 1-10 at Gessner: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool