Headlines

• Section of Downtown Tunnel Below Former Houston Club Building Closing for 2 Years Starting in May [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Two Shell Plaza To Get New Look, New Entrance and New Address; Will be Renamed 811 Louisiana [Houston Business Journal]
• Lack of ‘Class A’ Office Space Rentals Will Push Owners, Tenants To Invest in ‘Class B’ Properties, Say Experts [Houston Business Journal]
• What Townhouses Mean to Houston [Not of it]
• Walmart Closing Its Lone Más Club Store, at 8711 North Fwy., on February 7 [Houston Chronicle]
• Washington Ave Drinkery Transforming into the Heights Lodge Gastropub [Culturemap]
• Hearing-impaired Renters Face Discrimination in Apartment Searches, Finds Investigation [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of the Rosemont Bridge: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Why You Don’t See Any 7-Elevens in Houston, a  Year After the Chain’s Return Was Announced [Houston Chronicle]
• 577 Rittenhouse is Low-Income Housing That Doesn’t Look Like Low-Income Housing [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Longtime Oak Forest Homeowners Getting Multiple Solicitations a Week for Their Property [The Leader]
• Carrabba’s Newest Kirby Restaurant, Grace’s, Will Open Next Month [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• 500 Weathered-Related Car Accidents Reported Friday; TxDOT Preparing for Another Storm on Its Way [abc13]
• Slideshow: When Houston Got .03 Inches of Snow [Culturemap]
• 3,500 Show Up to Baytown’s Running of the Bulls; 1 Man Hospitalized [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of High Meadows iceman: Jesus Jimenez via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• ‘Wintry Mix’ Blankets Montgomery and Liberty Counties as Temperatures Dip Below Freezing [MyFoxHouston]
• Houston Home Builders Still Playing ‘Catch Up,’ Expected To Start as Many as 35K Homes Annually Over the Next 5 Years [Prime Property]
• Burned House Of Pies on Kirby Pushes Back Reopening to Mid-February [Houston Chronicle]
• Pappas Restaurants Opening in the Hilton Americas-Houston and Former Striphouse Downtown [Prime Property]
• Texas Historical Commission Drops Effort To Protect Galveston’s Historic Fort Crockett from Developers; Landmark Will Likely Be Demolished [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Man Who Built, Donated, and Installed Handmade Wooden Train in Donovan Park Fired from Heights Association for Doing So Without Permission [The Leader]
• Homeland Security Study Recommended $16M in Safety, Security Upgrades for Metro [KHOU]
• Metro Bags Outside Search, Will Hire Interim Leader Tom Lambert as CEO, President [Houston Chronicle]
• Here’s a Video of That Car and the Hermann Park Kiddie Train Colliding [Jalopnik]

Photo of the Lockwood/Eastwood light rail station: Alex Luster via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Repairs to Hurricane Ike-Damaged Galveston Elementary School Almost Complete [Galveston County Daily News ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Gratifi Holding Grand Reopening Tonight After ‘Restaurant Impossible’ Two-Day Makeover [Eating Our Words]
• Marfreless Reopening in River Oaks Shopping Center Tomorrow After Makeover [Rocks Off; previously on Swamplot]
• A Look Inside Midtown’s Just Opened Cook & Collins [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Engineer Warns Houston’s Freeway Congestion Could Spread To Neighborhood Streets, Recommends Commuter Rail from the Suburbs [KUHF]
• Widening of U.S. 290 Will Close Pinemont Park and Ride Location This Friday [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Conservancy Opposes Proposed Texas 36A Route That Would Cut Path Through Katy Prairie [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Montrose Residents Petitioning City To Designate Drew Street as Residential Parking Only After 9 pm [abc13]
• Houston Makes the Top 10 on Another U.S. Moving Destination List, Behind Dallas-Fort Worth [Houston Business Journal]
• James Glassman’s ‘Come and Take It’ Astrodome Shirt, and Other Houstorian Designs [Culturemap]

Photo of house behind Washington Ave: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Breaks All-Time Record with 73,232 Single-Family Homes Sold Last Year, Says HAR [Culturemap]
• Toll Brothers Doubling Its Houston Presence with Purchase of 3,700 Acres in Missouri City for More Than $78M [Wall Street Journal]
• MF Sushi at Westheimer and Fountainview Reopening in February, Maybe, After Fire [Food Chronicles]
• Bayou Park at Corner of Allen Parkway and Montrose Blvd. To Begin $1.5M Renovation, Become ‘Official’ Dog Park [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Nearly 300 Native Texas Trees Will Be Planted at the San Jacinto Battleground Next Month as Part of Restoration Program [Houston Chronicle]
• Scientists Hoping To Figure Out What’s Behind Houston’s High-Ozone Zones [StateImpact Texas]

Photo of demo at 4318 Mt. Vernon St.: Loves Swamplot

• Rents for High-End Apartments Rose 6% in 2013, 8% in 2012 [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Some Recommendations for Making Houston a Safer Place for Cyclists [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Dueling Martin Luther King Day Parades Draw Crowds [Culturemap]
• Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire To Host Monthly Pop-Up Market Starting This Saturday [Your Houston News]
• Galveston City Council To Consider Transit Plan for Rail and Rubber-Tired Trolleys [Guidry News via Houston Tomorrow]
• Idylwood Walmart Caps Inaugural Week with Fire in Shoe Section [KHOU; previously on Swamplot]
• New Food Truck Espresso Rescue a Camper Van Made to Look Like an Ambulance [Eating Our Words]

Photo of mural at Center and Parker: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Westchase District’s Transformation from Suburban Outlier to Business Mecca [Houston Business Journal ($)]
• Austin’s CapRidge Partners Buying 12012 Wickchester Office Bldg. in Energy Corridor [Prime Property]
• $5.3M Renovations Begin on Sunset Coffee Building at Allen’s Landing [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Skanska’s Capitol Tower Downtown First Houston Development To Get LEED v4 Platinum Pre-Certification [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Parade of Second Ward Rowhouses Rolls Down Commerce St. [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
• Max’s Wine Dive Set To Open Fairview Location on Jan. 28 [Food Chronicles]
• Spring Water Park SplashTown Getting Revamped Look, Name [Culturemap]
• New Houston-Area Storage Units Include Manager Apartments Amidst the Boxes [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Houston-Galveston Area Council Wants Public Input on Woodlands Transit Plan [KUHF]
• Light Rail’s First Decade Featured More than 400 Collision ‘Incidents‘ [BlogHouston]
• Car Crashes into Kiddie Train at Hermann Park [KHOU]
• Project Row Houses Fights To Keep Third Ward Culture Alive as Gentrification Looms [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of Paris Theater, 4010 Old Spanish Trail: David Hollas

• PM Realty Group Redeveloping Energy Corridor’s Exxon­Mobil Chemical Co. Campus into CityCentre-Like Project [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Hotel ZaZa, Whole Foods Market Will Anchor MetroNational’s Mixed-Use Center at I-10, Bunker Hill Rd. [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Housing Authority Trying Again To Sell 91-Acre Lake Houston Property Linked to Failed Veterans Housing Project [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• From Downtown to The Woodlands, a Roundup of the Oil and Gas Companies Breaking Ground on New Towers, Campuses [The Architect’s Newspaper]
• Memoir Details How Johnny Carson Came To Invest in Land That Became Willowbrook Plaza, Costco [KHOU]
• Urban Land Institute Ranks Houston No. 2 Real Estate Market To Watch in 2014 [Houston Business Journal]
• The Astrodome and Reliant Stadium Are Both Jinxed, So Bring on the Wrecking Crews [Houstonia]
• Mitsubishi Planning $100M Manufacturing Site in Pearland; First Stage Should Be Completed by November [Houston Business Journal]
• Food Network’s ‘Restaurant Impossible’ Coming To Help Save Gratifi on Fairview Next Week, Looking for Volunteers [Food Chronicles]
• Pair of Bald Eagles Makes Home in Webster Family’s Back Yard [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Conroe Residents Upset Friendswood Development Cleared 50 Acres of Trees To Expand Graystone Hills [abc13]

Photo of the Neil Esperson building, reflected: Jackson Myers via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Katy-Area Costco Opening on Feb. 6 at Grand Pkwy. and I-10 [Community Impact Newspaper]
• Killen’s BBQ Set To Open by the End of the Month in Former Pearland ISD Cafeteria [Culturemap]
• KB Home Buys Lots for New Communities in Katy, Pearland, Humble, and Conroe [Prime Property]
• Featured Amenities of the New Apartments Next to Whole Foods on Waugh, Including the 4 Swimming Pools [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Texas Historical Commission To Decide Next Week if Galveston’s Historic Fort Crockett Should Be Protected from Developers [Houston Chronicle]
• Railcar Delays May Force Metro To Limit Trains on Main St. When New Lines Open in September [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Previewing the Pizza Menu and Garden at Coltivare, Opening on White Oak Next Week [Food Chronicles]
• Astros Will Relocate Signs Blocking Skyline View at Minute Maid Park by Opening Day [MLB]

Photo of Greenway Plaza: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Grand Pkwy. Expansion, Access to ExxonMobil’s New Campus Drive Sale of Pines Business Park [Houston Business Journal]
• 17K Houston-Area Multifamily Units Expected To Be Completed This Year [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• City of Manvel Expecting 10,000 New Homes Over Next 15-20 Years [abc13]
• Former Photobooth Space in Montrose Will Become First Inner Loop Location of  Local Pizza Chain Pepperoni’s [Culturemap]
• New Siphon Coffee on West Alabama Will Open in March, Serve Actual Siphon-Brewed Coffee [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Marco’s Pizza Chain Expanding in Houston with 10 Locations Set To Open This Year [Houston Business Journal]
• Latest Cycling Hit-and-Run Fatality, on Harrisburg at 81st, Shows Houston Hasn’t Done Enough To Provide Safe Places To Ride, Say Advocates [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Rice Students’ Rack Prototype Would Allow Buses To Carry an Additional Bike [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Aerial Video Offers Views of Downtown, Battleship Texas, Fred Hartman Bridge, Industrial East Side, and More [HAIF]
• This 1856 Shot of the 300 Block of Main is the Oldest Known Photograph in Research Center Archive [Houstonia]
• Seven Developments That Could Only Exist in Houston [Next City]

Photo of the Houston Ship Channel: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Number of Homes for Sale in Houston Drops To Lowest Point in More Than a Decade [Tom Plant’s Houston Real Estate Blog]
• HAR Chairman Predicts Housing Sales Will Rise 4%-6%, Home Values Will Increase 5%-7% This Year [KUHF]
• Galveston Planning Commission To Discuss City’s Land Development Regulations [Galveston Island Daily News ($)]
• Sugar Land Neighbors Complain About Planned Expansion of St. Laurence Catholic [abc13]
• El Tiempo Opening Biggest Location To Date in Webster This April [Eater Houston]
• In Its First Week, Without Tolls, New Grand Parkway Section Averaged Upwards of 9,000 Cars Each Day [The Highwayman]
• Architecture Panel Shares Its Lists of Favorite Houston Homes [Houstonia]
• Stolen Heights Grapefruit Actually a Case of Mistaken Identity [The Leader]

Photo of Gateway Memorial City: MetroNational

• The Woodlands’ Hubbell & Hudson Will Close Its Grocery Store and Cooking School by March 12 in Advance of Whole Foods Competition [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Inspired by Karbach’s Success, Petrol Station Owner Ben Fullelove Bringing Brash Brewing Company to Houston [Culturemap]
• Former Samba Grille and Alma Chef David Guerrero Opening Andes Cafe East of Downtown This Week [Eater Houston; more info]
• The Most Expensive Homes Sold in Houston Last Year [Houston Chronicle]
• The ‘Manhattanization of the United States’ Reaches Houston with Micro Apartments from Katy to The Woodlands [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Residents Protest Potential Closure of Southmore Post Office [abc13]
• Sugar Land Named One of America’s Safest Cities by CQ Press [Click2Houston]
• Muralist Daniel Anguilu Working To Save Graffiti Artist NEKST’s Last Legal Piece in Houston, at 3000 Crawford [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Photo of Dona Maria at 2601 Navigation: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• With Grand Pkwy. Now Open, Parkside Capital Ready To Build Mixed-Used Development Verde Parc on Former Proposed Katy Grand Mall Site [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Downtown and Shady Acres Burger Joint Hubcap Grill Opening a Third Location, Will Be in Kemah Near the Boardwalk [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Luby’s-Fuddruckers Combo Concept Expands with Openings in Katy, Medical Center [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Baytown City Council Considering Proposals for Deteriorating 65-Year-Old Art Deco Brunson Theater [abc13]
• Cinco Ranch, Riverston, The Woodlands Rank Among Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities in the Country Last Year [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Named One of the Top 10 Least-Hipster Cities in the Nation by Movoto.com [Houston Chronicle]
• HISD Hosting Networking Event Monday for Potential Subcontractors To Meet School GCs [HISD]
• Second Michael Brown Auction, This Sunday, Will Feature Cars, Tools, Restaurant Equipment [Houston Chronicle]
• Midtown’s New Gallery Closes; Artists Suing Owner for Outstanding Payments, Missing Artwork [Culturemap]

Photo of RJ’s Boot Company sign at 3321 Ella: Molly Block via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Newly Named ‘Bistro Menil’ Set To Open Around Labor Day [Food Chronicles]
• Aldi To Open 15th Greater Houston Location in Humble on Jan. 23 [Prime Property]
• City Loosens Booze Sales Restrictions in Hopes of Drawing Supermarkets to ‘Food Deserts’ [Houston Chronicle]
• Woodlands’ Creekside Village Green Development To Offer Retail, Office Space with a Pedestrian-Friendly Feel [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Clear Lake Residents Protesting 700 Luxury Dwellings Planned for Wetlands [MyFoxHouston]
• State, Federal Government Will Prepare 2 Environmental Studies To Lay Groundwork for Dallas-Houston High-Speed Rail [Houston Business Journal]
• Constellation Field, New Performing Arts Center Meant To Turn Sugar Land into an Entertainment Destination [KHOU]
• CityCentre’s Hotel Sorella, Uptown Park’s Hotel Granduca Named Among Best Hotels Worldwide by Conde Nast Traveler [Culturemap]
• Houston ‘Street Fashion’ Photographer Finds Actual Subjects Outdoors, Not in Cars [Fashion Diaries]

Photo of Brays Bayou: David Elizondo via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Galleria’s Philippe-less Philippe Will Close This Weekend, Reopen as Table in March [Food Chronicles]
• Midtown Restaurant Cook & Collins Opening Jan. 20 in Former El Patio Space [Food Chronicles; previously on Swamplot]
• Railcars for Upcoming Rail Lines Now 6 Months Behind Schedule; Metro Withholding Payment to CAF USA Until Delivery [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• If 2013 Was ‘The Year of the Bike’ for Houston, Why Can’t 2014 Be ‘The Year of the Sidewalk’? [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• TxDOT Shutting Down Southbound I-45 Lanes Near Downtown This Weekend for Hogan St. Bridge Repairs [KUHF]
• Closing Rollover Pass Would Cause ‘Significant Harm’ To Water Quality and Fishing in East Bay, Finds Report [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Luxury Houston Real Estate Firm Martha Turner Properties Acquired by Sotheby’s [Culturemap]
• Owners of CityCentre’s Sweet Opening New Bakery Next to 59 Overpass at Commerce and Chartres in East Downtown [Eater Houston]

Photo of Sugar Land parking lot: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool