Land Development

Environmental, Land Development, Land Sales, Proposed Developments

16 Comments

The Bayou Land Conservancy is really pushing to raise $4 million in the next week or so in order to outbid a homebuilder on a 50-acre patch of prairie in Deer Park. The video above is part of what the Houston Chronicleâ€™s Lisa Gray describes as a “Hail Mary pass” to raise the money before August 20.

The sought-after patch is among the last 1 percent of the Gulf Coast’s original prairie, reports Gray. The conservancy has been attempting to raise the money to buy it for the past year and a half — an attempt that’s now being hastened by a recent $4.25-million offer from a developer with plans for a 201-home subdivision on the land near Spencer Hwy. and Luella Ave.

And what would the conservancy prefer for the prairie? Here’s Gray:

The prairie’s fans imagine a visitor’s center fashioned from a next-door ranch house. They imagine busloads of visiting schoolkids. They imagine research into the still-mysterious workings of the prairie biome. They imagine harvesting native seed, to be used in eco-conscious plantings in the area. They imagine Battle of San Jacinto re-enactments more realistic than those that take place at the battlefield itself.

Deadline August 20! [Save College Park Prairie]
Donate Now To Save Deer Park Prairie [Bayou Land Conservancy]
The clock is ticking for prairie [Houston Chronicle ($)]

Video: Bayou Land Conservancy

77505, Deer Park, Land Sales, Preservation, Proposed Developments

07/18/13 10:00am

The Beginnings of a Mixed-Use District on Richmond?

Mixed Use, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Upper Kirby

5 Comments

This corner of Richmond and Wakeforest appears likely to be developed into a new office building, part of what a recently approved application to reduce the building setback on both streets from the Upper Kirby Redevelopment Authority suggests is a plan to transform this block between Wakeforest and Eastside into a “mixed-use pedestrian-focused transit node.” The demolition of vacant office buildings here near Levy Park appears to have begun in 2009; the office building shown in the photo above, also apparently vacant, is likely the next to go.

77098, Mixed Use, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Upper Kirby

07/17/13 10:00am

The Spur-Side Lot on W. Alabama Primed for Packed-In Homes

Montrose, Proposed Developments, Westmoreland Historic District

24 Comments

Note: Read more about that tree here.

The sign shows that a variance is pending to reduce the setback here along Spur 527 — at left in the photo above — the better to fit 15 single-family lots on the less-than-an-acre property between W. Alabama and Marshall St. in the Westmoreland Historic District. A site plan included in the variance application for the subdivision Carnegie Oaks at Westmoreland shows that the 0.83-acre lotÂ would be parceled out, with driveway access to the north from Marshall and to the south from W. Alabama. The lot’s right across the street from that fixed-up former Skylane complex the Spur. A city rep says that the planning commission will decide on the variance next week.

77006, Land Development, Montrose, Proposed Developments, Subdivisions, Westmoreland Historic District

07/15/13 4:00pm

What’s Going On Beside the Hermann Dr. Highrise?

Museum Park

13 Comments

A reader wants in on the scoop with this swath of fenced-in property, bound by Ewing, Jackson, and Hermann Drive in Museum Park: “There has been a lot of surveying and staking of the empty lot . . . between The Parklane highrise and The Plaza Museum District condos. Off-and-on for a month, Bury Partners personnel have been surveying both the perimeter and interior of the property as well as inspecting the sewer access on Hermann Drive. Any thoughts on what this means?”

Photo: Allyn West

77004, Land Development, Museum Park

Hunters Creek Village

07/09/13 3:00pm

Cul-de-Sacking an Uncut Corner in Hunters Creek Village

Land Development, Proposed Developments

11 Comments

This solid swath of property neighbored by tightly packed cul-de-sacs in Hunters Creek Village appears to be swinging that way: County records show that just one 7,549-sq.-ft. home now stands on these 4.4 acres at the corner of Memorial and Voss, and a Hunters Creek Village employee tells Swamplot that the property is being subdivided and 7 new homes will be arranged inside theÂ gated community called Reynolds Court Addition.

Photos: Swamplot inbox

77024, Hunters Creek Village, Land Development, Proposed Developments, Subdivisions

Baytown

06/17/13 3:00pm

Buc-ee’s Putting Itself Above Baytown

Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategies, Franchises and Chain Stores, Land Development, Proposed Developments, Signage

18 Comments

Here come more billboard double entendres: The Baytown Sun reports that Buc-ee’s is building a big â€™unÂ on the I-10 feeder and John Martin Rd. later this year. And, apparently, the proposed 60,000-sq.-ft. convenience store, gas station, and jerky trafficker will getÂ top billing: Part of the deal — a Chapter 380 Agreement — involves a waived height restriction for the store’s beaver beacon, so Buc-ee’s can raise one 100 ft. into the air. In return, Baytown will get a bit of room to put its own name up there too. (This will be the first time, the Sun reports, that Buc-ee’s will share its sign.) The store’s planned for about 18 acres on the southwest corner ofÂ John Martin Rd. and I-10 near the San Jacinto Mall. The Sun reports that it’s expected to open in 2014.

Locations [Buc-ee’s]
City of Baytown: Buc-eeâ€™s coming to town after Council OKs deal [Baytown Sun ($)]

Photo of Lake Jackson Buc-ee’s: Judy Baxter [license]

77521, Baytown, Convenience Stores, Franchises, Proposed Developments, Signage

Boulevard Oaks

06/17/13 11:15am

Chateau Ten, Part Deux: The Ashby Midrise

Condos, Condos for Sale, Land Development, Proposed Developments, Southampton

12 Comments

Just down the block from that recentÂ fence-related mishap at the all-cleared Ashby Highrise site is the proposed site of the . . . Ashby Midrise? Well, the official moniker of this 5-story condo box at Ashby and Sunset is Chateau Ten. And if that name (or the purple-hued rendering pictured on the sign) seems familiar, it’s because an identical building from the Randall Davis Company is already going up on Spann and Welch on the lot adjacent to where Hines might or might not be building thatÂ 17-story office tower off San Felipe.

77005, Ashby Highrise, Boulevard-Oaks, Condos, Condos for Sale, Proposed Developments, Randall Davis, Southampton

Buying and Selling

06/14/13 11:05am

Fo’ Sho: Brittmoore Rd. RoomStore’s Out To Make Room for Townhomes

Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Land Development, Land Sales, Proposed Developments, Spring Branch, Townhomes

5 Comments

It looks like the 10.53 acres behind this sign where the Spring Branch RoomStore stands have been fosoldale, and the buyer has said it plans to build some rental townhomes. Broker David Littwitz says that the RoomStore here at 1009 Brittmoore Rd. facing the Katy Fwy. closed about a year ago, after the Richmond, Virginia, company filed for bankruptcy near the end of 2011. Real Estate Bisnowâ€™s Catie Dixon reports that the buyer, a joint venture called Houston Texas Properties, intends to tear down the showroom to develop what they’re dubbingÂ Arabella, desribed by Dixon as a “240-unit, upscale rental townhome community.” And they’re not wasting time: Dixon adds that the RoomStore should be coming down within the next few weeks.

Energy Corridor Land Sells [Real Estate Bisnow]

Photo: Real Estate Bisnow

77043, Buying and Selling, Demolitions, Land Sales, Proposed Developments, Retail, Spring-Branch, Townhomes

Fifth Ward

06/03/13 3:45pm

Helicopters Over Clinton?

Industrial Properties, Land Development

14 Comments

This sign, which showed up recently on the fence outside the 136-acre former KBR site at Hirsch Rd. indicates that the air over Clinton might soon be filled with choppers — but for what? City building inspector and helistop specialist Larry LaHaie says that that hasn’t been disclosed, but he does know that it’ll be a “private facility . . . not for hospitals, not for police.” The work willÂ involve clearing the former industrial property that seems to have been “left to go au naturel,” he says, and cleaning up a defunct landing pad that had beenÂ discontinued “6 to 7 years ago.” The Ship Channel-fronting site in the Fifth Ward has sat vacant since most of its buildings were demolished a little more than a year ago and it was sold by KBR to undisclosed buyers.

How should the KBR East End Site be redeveloped? [HAIF]
Previously on Swamplot: New Mystery Owners of 136 Acres in the Fifth Ward, Along the Shores of Buffalo Bayou, The Clearings on Clinton

Photo: @GoingUpCity via Twitter

77020, Fifth Ward, Helicopters, Industrial Properties, Land Development

05/31/13 3:00pm

There Will Be Wickets: Empty W. Dallas Lot in Play for Youth Sports Facility

Montrose, North Montrose

26 Comments

It doesn’t seem that this grassy,Â fenced-in lot along Montrose between W. Dallas and Allen Pkwy. is going to change very much: All that scraping and dragging a few weeks ago was to level the ground for a cricket field, according to a contractor at the firm responsible for doing the dirt work. The Aga Khan Youth and Sports Facility, the contractor says, will comprise that cricket field, a pair of soccer fields, and a concession stand. In 2006, the Aga Khan Foundation purchased and demolished the Robinson Warehouse on this frequently flooded 11-acre property and said it was planning to build an Ismaili Center here.

Previously on Swamplot: Whatâ€™s Going On at Montrose and Allen Pkwy.?, Hark, a Fence!, Zero Tolerance for the New Buffalo Bayou Bridge

Photo: Allyn West

77019, Land Development, Montrose, North Montrose

05/21/13 10:00am

What’s That New Drive-Thru on Washington Ave?

New Construction, Restaurants, Retail, Washington Ave, Washington Corridor

20 Comments

A pair of Swamplot readers, employees at Hughes Hangar across the street and Kwik Lube next door, and the Facebook page ofÂ late-night weekend jitney service Houston Wave all have heard that this building going up on Washington Ave will be a new Sonic. But aÂ rep from the company can’t confirm the location, saying yesterday that there is nothing to add about “the specific possibility” of a Sonic here at 2720 Washington, and there doesn’t appear to be any tell-tale signage up yet.

77007, New Construction, Restaurants, Retail, Washington Corridor

Commercial Real Estate

05/20/13 3:10pm

What’s Next for That Museum District Never-Was?

Demolitions, Land Development, Museum Park

7 Comments

“There’s a lot that’s recently been cleared immediately behind the Asia Society,” reports a reader. You know the one, at the corner of Oakdale and Caroline St.? The one whose owners refused to sell, forcing Asia Society architect Yoshio Taniguchi to design around it? Where there was that 1930s vine-covered home being used as a doctor’s office that was supposed to be sold andÂ renovated into a restaurant, but never was?

Well, in February, 5219 Caroline appeared in the Daily Demolition Report. And this photo taken from the median shows what the site looks like now. The reader continues:

All of the neighbors have questioned who owns the property and what is to happen to it. According to HCAD it appeared to be owned by Balcor, the company behind the rather unpopular Parc Binz. . . . We’re wondering if the Asia Society is trying to buy the land . . . [T]he neighbors who live in the town homes across from Asia Society have complained that the social events held on site tend to be quite loud, quite late. Overall, the neighborhood couldn’t be happier to have this organization in its bounds. And, if they were to own that land, if only they’d open a little gourmet coffee shop. That would please hundreds of people. . . . I’ve heard from Asia Society . . . that they’re trying to purchase the land. I think there is something more going on there — but no one is talking at this point.

Previously on Swamplot: Daily Demolition Report: Palace Out, Passing on a Museum District Restaurant Reno, A Museum District Restaurant Conversion Cut Short, Inside Views of Yoshio Taniguchiâ€™s Asia Society Texas Center, Houstonâ€™s Next Big Museum District Thing, Whoosh!! What the Bootsieâ€™s Crew Has Been Cooking Up

Photo: Allyn West

77004, Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Land Development, Museum Park, Museums

Commercial Real Estate

05/20/13 1:00pm

A Look Around San Felipe at the Randall Davis Condos and Planned Hines Office Building Site

Development Strategies, Land Development, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, River Oaks, Vermont Commons

10 Comments

Here’s a second rendering of that new office tower Hines tells the Houston Chronicle it hasn’t announced it will build. Of course, a different story is coming out of this neighborhood near River Oaks, where the 35,000-sq.-ft. property on the corner of Spann and San Felipe, purchased in November by an entity connected to Hines,Â has been cleared of its garden home and staked with flags, as the photos after the jump show:

77019, Neighborhood Disputes, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, River Oaks, Vermont Commons

05/15/13 4:05pm

The Hospice Coming to Central Southwest