Headlines

• Hines’s 609 Main St. Tower Will Have Larger Gym and Green Roof, 3 Times the Retail Space of 811 Main, Plus Lobby Hangout Space [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission Votes To Pursue City Landmark Designation for Astrodome [Click2Houston]
• How the State’s $225M Road Repair Fund To Offset Damage from the Energy Boom Will Be Distributed in Houston [Houston Business Journal]
• Weingarten Realty Confirms Randalls at Westchase Shopping Center Will Close in the Spring [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Campaigning for the Houston Townhouse To Win Swamplot’s ‘Favorite Houston Design Cliché’ Award [OffCite; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Ranks 10th in Country for Travel Fees, Finds Global Business Travel Association Report [Culturemap]

Photo of Oxford St. construction: Swamplot inbox

• Piedmont Office Realty Trust to Develop 11-Story Energy Corridor Office Building in Enclave Place [Prime Property]
• Mayor Parker Calls Plans To Designate Astrodome a City Landmark ‘Ill-Advised’ [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Fat Cat Creamery Opening on N. Shepherd at 19th in the Heights This Saturday [Eater Houston]
• Owners of Newly Opened El Big Bad Worked To Preserve Its Downtown Building’s History, Including Past Fire Damage [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• City Considering Loosening Alcohol Sales Rules To Encourage Grocery Stores in Food Deserts [abc13]
• Concerns About Crime in Glenshire Neighborhood Focus on ‘Hot Sheet Motels’ Along West Beltway Near West Bellfort [Click2Houston]
• Hobby Airport Officials Chase Coyote Across Runways and Taxiways [abc13]

Photo of median at Buffalo Speedway and Westheimer near River Oaks Plant House: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Most of Mall of the Mainland Will Close Beginning February 1, Except for Sears, Palais Royal, Cinemark [Click2Houston]
• ConocoPhillips Preleases Remaining Space at Energy Center Four at I-10 and Eldridge; Fifth Building on the Way [Houston Business Journal]
• Neighbors Testify in Support of Ashby Highrise During Trial [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• West University, Sawyer Heights, Montrose Saw Large, Possibly Seasonal Increases in Median Sales Price in 2013, Finds Realty Company Spot Check [Urban Leasing & Realty Blog via Prime Property]
• The Astrodome’s Very Rough Year, in Review [Houstonia Magazine]
• Scores of Galveston’s Endangered Green Sea Turtles Stunned or Killed by Cold Snap [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Soon-To-Open Stretch of Grand Pkwy.’s Segment E Will Serve as Path of 5K Run, 1K Walk This Weekend [The Highwayman]

Photo of the Susanne construction, 3803 Dunlavy: Allyn West

• Humble-Area 993-Acre Master Planned Community The Groves Aiming for Sense of ‘Living in the Woods’ [Houston Business Journal]
• Developers of Katy’s Silver Ranch Planning 502-Acre ‘Stone Creek Ranch’ Neighborhood in Rosenberg, 700-Acre Burb South of Bridgeland [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Prohibition Bar Trading Galleria Area for Downtown’s McCrory Building [Eater Houston]
• Max’s Wine Dive Set To Open Fairview Location in January [Eater Houston]
• Karbach Planning $15M 2-Story Metal-and-Stone Brewery Building Next To Current Facility [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Tenants of Sharpstown Apartment Complex Villa de Cancun Say Management Removing Doors From Units After Late Rent Payments [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Sky Lobby, JPMorgan Chase Tower: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Homebuilder Cites Thousands of Acres Recently Purchased Around Path of Grand Parkway; Says ‘Transformational’ Development Is Coming [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• Houston Area Ranked Eighth ‘Best-Performing’ City, Behind Austin and Dallas, in Milken Institute Report [Houston Business Journal]
• $335M Convention Center Hotel Funded; Scheduled To Break Ground in April 2014 [Prime Property]
• Westchase District’s Westchase Place Changes Hands [Houston Business Journal]
• El Big Bad Opens Downtown; El Gran Malo Looking To Move Within the Heights [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Previewing the New Metro North Line Extension Opening December 21 [Houston Strategies]
• Proposal Would Extend Katy Fwy. Toll Lanes from Highway 6 to Sealy [abc13]
• Houston Ranked 94th in Driving Decline Among Nation’s 100 Largest Metro Areas [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• After 2 Bike Accidents Along Waugh, Where’s Enforcement of That Safe Passage Law? [Houstonia Magazine]

Photo of SkyHouse Houston construction Downtown: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Rolex, Tod’s, Trina Turk, and Tourbillon Coming to the Galleria; Tory Burch, Zara, Sephora, and Club Monaco Expanding Their Stores [Houston Business Journal]
• Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce Grant Money Will Fund Plan for ‘Oceans of Concrete’ Left by Large Failed Retail Outlets on FM 1960 Near Kuykendahl [KUHF]
• Nara Just the Latest in West Ave’s Growing Collection of Interesting ‘Fusion’ Restaurants [Houstonia Magazine]
• Almost All of Houston Area Now Out of Drought; Brazoria and Galveston Still ‘Abnormally Dry‘ [KUHF]
• Fundraising Luncheon Held for Proposed Houston Botanical Garden [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Baytown Running with the Bulls Event Postponed Until January Because of Cold Front [Culturemap]

Photo of Gateway Memorial City: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Appraiser Testifies Ashby Highrise Will Hurt Property Values of Surrounding Homes [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
• Bradley Ogden’s Funky Chicken Opening This Month Near Walmart on Heights Blvd.; 2 Other Restaurant Concepts To Follow [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Churrascos Opens Today in New Gateway Memorial City Development [Houston Business Journal]
• Benefit This Saturday for My Dee Dee’s Pie Shoppe on Gulf Bank, Destroyed This Week in a Fire [Houstonia Magazine]
• The History of North Main’s Quality Feed & Garden, One of the Last Feed Stores in the Inner Loop [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• City Council Gives Green Light To More Security Cameras Downtown and Near BBVA Compass Stadium [Click2Houston]
• Oak Trees Along West Bellfort Between Fondren and Gessner Cleared To Make Way for $6.3M Water Line [Click2Houston]
• Kemah Couple Requests Restraining Order Against Neighbor They Say Has Video Camera Focused on Their Bedroom Window [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of US-59 at 610: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• New Proposal To Turn Astrodome into Fitness Center Claims To Have Interest from Private Investors [KUHF]
• Commissioners Court ‘Not Under Any Time Constraint’ in Figuring Out What To Do with Astrodome; Judge Emmett Says No Additional Work Required Before 2017 Super Bowl [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• What’s Happening to the Site of the Former Heights Water Tower on W. 19th St.? [The Leader]
• The Average Houston Home Measures 2,184 SF — Bigger Than in Austin and Dallas [Houston Business Journal; Redfin report]
• Krispy Kreme Returning to Houston Under New Franchisee, with 10 Stores Planned Over Next 5 Years [Houston Business Journal]
• Number 13 Prime Steak and Seafood Opening Dec. 10 at Pelican Rest Marina [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Roundabouts May Become More Common in Houston; Newest One Planned Along I-10 at Cane Island Pkwy. [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Heights Holiday Home Tour This Friday and Saturday [Culturemap]
• Explore the Residential Victorian Architecture of Galveston’s East End This Friday [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Galveston Makes TripAdvisor’s Top 10 List of Tourist Destinations ‘On the Rise‘ [abc13]
• For $250K, This Weird, Gaudy Bacliff House Can Be Yours [Houstonia Magazine]

Photo of Discovery Green’s ice-skating rink: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Kite Realty Group Trust Buys Venice-in-a-Parking-Lot Portofino Shopping Center in Shenandoah [Realty News Report]
• Geico Claims Center Will Be First Building in Mason Creek Corporate Park Near Mason Rd. and I-10 [Prime Property; more info]
• Houston Condo and Townhome Sales Up 25 Percent Over Last Year, Finds Report [Prime Property]
• Through Wednesday, Parts Buyers Picking Up Their Pieces of the Astrodome [abc13]
• Mr. Larkin Pop-Up Shop Bringing Scandinavian Style to West University This Month [Houstonia Magazine]
• New Jim’s Super To Be Built at 610 and Scott May Get Help from City ‘Food Deserts’ Program [Houston Chronicle]
• Nearly $2.5M Private Grant Would Help Restore Ike-Damaged Washington Park [AP]
• The Homes in This Sunday’s Southampton Holiday Home Tour [Culturemap]
• Houston Competing with Midland, other Cities for Next Generation of Manned Spaceflight with Proposed Ellington Field Spaceport [Houstonia Magazine; previously on Swamplot]
• Gerald Hines Opens Up About the Galleria’s Early Days, Including Acquiring the Land, the Indoor Ice-Skating Rink, High-End Accents [Houstonia Magazine]

Photo of Sesquicentennial Park: Larry Zerante

• Viva Cinema Closes 7 Months After Opening in Former Sharpstown Mall, Blames Nearby AMC Theater [Prime Property]
• A Eulogy for Blanco’s, Which Closed After 30 Years To Make Way for St. John’s Expansion [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
• Humble Oil Building Shouldn’t Be Stripped Away of What Makes It Great [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
• New Zoning Plan for Bissonnet Gains Commission Approval in Bellaire [Your Houston News]
• New Urbanist Luxury Development Planned on Lake Como in Galveston’s West End [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Jonathan Farb’s Planned 6-Story Complex Near Memorial Park Will Have 2 Other New Apartment Neighbors [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Sales of $1M+ Homes Up 62 Percent in the Woodlands, HAR Data Shows [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• Pointing Fingers in Metro’s Central Station Design Competition Screwup  [blogHOUSTON; previously on Swamplot]
• Why Aren’t the Houston Chronicle’s Archives Digitized? [Houstonia Magazine]
• Graphic Designer Turned Realtor Shows Off New Line of Neighborhood T-shirts for Montrose, Heights, Meyerland, Oak Forest [Culturemap]
• Florida Company Behind $10B Mile-Long, 25-Story Floating City Looking To Raise $1B To Start Construction [NY Daily News]

Photo of the Granada Theater at 9231 Jensen Dr.: Molly Block via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Sneak Peek at Vallone’s, Opening Dec. 1 at Gessner Rd. and the Katy Fwy. [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot]
• Worhals Closes on Main St. in Midtown After Two Months [Culturemap]
• Private Grant, HUD Funding Will Help Avenue CDC Build Second Phase of Near Northside Seniors Community Fulton Gardens [Prime Property]
• Rice Planning ‘Second Century’ House Built by Students, Volunteers for Habitat for Humanity [Rice University]
• A History of Rice Stadium, Along with Some Ideas to Preserve What Was Once the Most Famous Football Stadium in America [OffCite]
• A Bigger Show Set for Revived Downtown Thanksgiving Parade with 12 Floats, 13 Balloons [Houston Chronicle]
• Weak Atlantic Hurricane Season Draws to a Close Saturday with Fewest Hurricanes Since 1982 [MyFoxHouston]

Photo of Buffalo Bayou: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Johnson Development Closes on Camp Strake Property for Undisclosed Amount [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Boston Realty Fund Buys Sawyer Heights Lofts off I-10 for $61.6M [Prime Property]
• Typical Waiting Time for a Production Home in Houston Burbs Now 6 Months [Culturemap]
• 60 Degrees Mastercrafted Now Open in Old Palazzo’s Trattoria Space on Westheimer [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Original Ninfa’s on Navigation Patios Now Enclosed by New Glass Walls [Food Chronicles]
• City Breaks Ground on First of 6 Trail Connections To Close Gaps Inside the Loop [Your Houston News]
• First of 8 Artworks Marking Hermann Park’s Centennial To Be Installed Next Month [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• 162-Year-Old Louisiana Plantation Burned to Ground by Ghost Hunters Frustrated They Didn’t Find Ghosts [Gawker]
• Life Magazine Photographer Captured Houston’s Movers and Shakers, Foley’s Construction, Bad Traffic Circa 1946 [Houston Chronicle]
• Slideshow: The Street Chalk Art of Via Colori 2013 [Houston Press]

Photo of David Adickes’ Beatles statues on Summer St. near Sawyer: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Construction Begins on Phillips 66’s 14-Acre Westchase Campus [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
• Galveston Now About Halfway Through 536 FEMA-Funded Hurricane Ike Recovery Projects [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• TxDOT Has Collected $1.3M in Unpaid Tolls Since Publicly Shaming Top Violators; Will Keep It Up [The Highwayman]
• Opening of The Gaslamp Ups the Bar-to-Restaurant Ratio in Midtown [Eater Houston]
• Inside Family-Owned Sunshine’s Health Food Store on MLK [Gastronaut]
• Multicultural Fort Bend County is the ‘New America’ [New York Times]

Photo of Lockwood/Eastwood Green Line Station, Harrisburg Dr.: Spencer Howard

• Noble Energy Center One in Vintage Park Sold to Arizona-Based REIT [Houston Business Journal]
• Chevron Will Use $12M State Grant for Downtown Tower To Cover Employee Moving Expenses, Home-Selling Costs, Bonuses [Texas Observer; previously on Swamplot]
• Good Dog Houston’s Wheel-Free Location Now Open in the Heights [Houstonia Magazine; previously on Swamplot]
• House of Pies in Upper Kirby Won’t Be Finished With Fire Repairs To Open By Thanksgiving [Click2Houston]
• Private Oak Forest Security Patrol Looking To Open 24-Hour Storefront on T.C. Jester [The Leader]
• Market Square Park’s Latest Revival Attempt Likely To Stick [Texas Monthly]
• Pearland Most Affordable Texas Suburb, According to Real Estate Website Movoto [Culturemap]
• Houston a Top Destination for Millennials from 2009 to 2012, According to Census, Brookings Institution Data [Houston Business Journal]
• Planting of Native Texas Trees Today To Provide Shade for Camp Eagle at Faith West Academy in Katy [Fort Bend Herald]
• Houston’s Top 10 Graffiti Artists [Art Attack]
• 10 Reasons Why Houston Is an Up-and-Coming Destination [Complex]

Photo of the Wortham Fountain at Waugh and Allen Parkway: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• HD Supply Holdings Inks Houston’s Large Industrial Lease for 500,000 SF at Pinto Business Park [Houston Business Journal]
• Industrial Project at Highway 249 and Sam Houston Tollway Will Have Rainwater Harvesting, Other Eco-Features [Houston Business Journal]
• Groundbreaking This Saturday for First Phase of Town Center Project in Clear Lake Shores [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Nordstrom Rack Opening at Village Plaza at Bunker Hill This Spring [Houston Business Journal]
• No Go for Montrose Tacos A Go-Go; Cafe Layal Express Now Open in Former La Fendee on Westheimer [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
• Jeff Davis Hospital, 3 Houston Houses Receive Landmark Designation [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Slideshow: A Golf Cart Tour of Multimillion-Dollar Homes in Carlton Woods [Houston Business Journal]
• City Suing Owner of 361 Properties in Harris County To Fix or Raze Homes [Click2Houston]
• Metro Looking To Lower Traffic in Reversible Lanes [Houston Chronicle ($)]
• 0.4 Percent of Houston Workers Commute by Bike, Finds Report [The Highwayman]
• Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Refusing To Pay Nearly $14M Owed to Galveston for Ike Damage [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Fisherman, Seafood Businesses Concerned About Delays in San Jacinto River Pollution Lawsuit [Houston Chronicle]
• Supergraphics Brighten Concrete Playground of De Zavala Elementary School in Magnolia Park [OffCite]

Photo: Curt Littlejohn via Swamplot Flickr Pool