New Construction

Featured Posts
08/19/14 12:00pm

Raising Cane’s Is Almost Ready To Grab the Corner of Hazard and Westheimer with Its Chicken Fingers

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Montrose, New Construction, Restaurants
53 Comments

Construction of Raising Cane's, 1902 Westheimer Rd., Montrose, Houston

The signs are now up at the new building under construction at 1902 Westheimer Rd., across the street from the Winlow Westheimer shopping center. And they say: Raising Cane’s. And that means your center-of-Montrose drive-thru chicken finger spot will be opening very soon. Raising Cane’s is no stranger to Westheimer; the new restaurant will mark Raising Cane’s fourth location on the street (it’s got the 12201, 7531, and 5015 spots already). But this’ll be the first one inside the Loop.

More pics of Lower Westheimer’s fast-food future:

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Montrose Drive-Thrus
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Featured Posts
08/15/14 12:00pm

Site Plan Shows New Walmart Supercenter Coming to S. Rice and Westpark, Across from Sam’s Club, New Micro Center Spot

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Galleria, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Retail, Shopping Centers
67 Comments

Proposed Site Plan for Shoppes at Uptown Crossing Shopping Center, S. Rice Ave. and Westpark, Houston

The site plan for the Shoppes at Uptown Crossing shopping center planned for a 3.5-acre lot at the southeast corner of Westpark and S. Rice Ave across from Sam’s Club has undergone a big change since Swamplot last featured it in April. A giant Walmart Supercenter is now shown in the southeast corner of the L-shaped parcel, facing S. Rice Ave. but shielded from the street by a sprinkling of fast-foody pad sites — including spots earmarked for an El Pollo Loco, a Chick Fil A, a Jack-in-the-Box, and a Starbucks. The requisite huge parking lot stands between the Walmart and its chain-store add-ons.

The new 32,000-sq.-ft. building for the soon-to-be-relocated Micro Center is going north of the Walmart, pushed close to Westpark, taking its entrance from S. Rice Ave. directly across the street from Sam’s Club. Shown tucked just south of Micro Center is a new TownePlace Suites hotel.

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South of the Galleria
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Featured Posts
07/31/14 5:00pm

Storybook Views of Upper Kirby’s Levy Park Redo at Eastside and Richmond

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Mixed Use, New Construction, Parks, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Upper Kirby
11 Comments

Rendering of Levy Park, 3801 Eastside St. at Richmond Ave., Upper Kirby, Houston

The Office of James Burnett has posted more detailed renderings of the newly expanded Levy Park just north of the Southwest Fwy. at Eastside St. as it’s supposed to look when work is complete sometime after next fall. Included in the $10 million plans for the 5.9-acre space are a performance pavilion, 2 big lawns, a dog park, and a food kiosk. A winding “children’s garden” will have tree houses and fountains around the middle-aged live oak trees relocated to the center of the park. There’ll be restrooms and room for farmers’ markets as well.

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Putting the Groove in Kirby Grove
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Featured Posts
07/28/14 12:30pm

Here’s That Downtown View the University of Houston Rotated Its Football Stadium For

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New Construction, Openings and Closings, Stadiums, University of Houston
24 Comments

View of Downtown from TDECU Stadium University of Houston

From the Twitter feed of Brandon Blue comes this across-the-endzone pic of the University of Houston’s newly minted TDECU Stadium, highlighting the view of downtown Houston the structure’s designers felt made it worth twisting the scrapped-and-rebuilt house of Cougar football. Robertson Stadium was aligned in a more even-handed northish-southish direction. TDECU Stadium (officially, ), constructed on the demolished remains of that structure, is rotated to match the eastish-westish orientation of neighboring Scott St. and Cullen Blvd., a decision that a few momentarily blinded quarterbacks or receivers may come to bemoan during afternoon games. But the benefit of those bleacher cutouts separating the upper decks of stadium’s endzones from the bleachers at the sides is clear: A gleaming glimpse of Houston’s homegrown mountain range opens up through the concrete canyon.

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Giving TDECU Credit
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Apartments
07/25/14 10:45am

Claiming Downtown Apartment Construction for the Aggies

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Downtown, New Construction
13 Comments

Texas A&M Flag Flying on Crane, Skyhouse Houston, Downtown HoustonJust last week Swamplot ran an item about the ironworker who got canned for draping a University of Alabama flag at the Kyle Field construction site in College Station. But after spotting a Texas A&M banner hoisted onto the crane for the SkyHouse Houston apartment tower Alliance Residential’s Block 334 apartment building going up at the corner of Main St. and Leeland yesterday, Twitterer-about-town PoppyPetalled wonders if flying college colors on construction sites has become “a thing.” Here’s a longer view:

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Marooned
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Featured Posts
07/21/14 11:15am

A Second Neighborly Lawsuit Against Hines’s San Felipe Office Tower Demonstrates Effect of Ashby Highrise Ruling

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Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Office Buildings, River Oaks
49 Comments

Rendering of 2229 San Felipe TowerA new lawsuit filed last week against the developers of the 2229 San Felipe office tower currently under construction between Shepherd and Kirby is a bit different from the one that a group of neighbors initiated against the same party back in February, a reader notes. The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are the owners of a River Oaks home directly across the street from the construction site, and they appear to have studied the ruling issued in the Ashby Highrise lawsuit carefully. (Back in May, Judge Randy Wilson ordered the developers of that building to pay neighbors $1.2 million to compensate them for “lost market damages,” but denied their request to halt the building’s construction)

Unlike their neighbors who sued before them, the residents of 2237 Stanmore Dr. are not seeking to prevent or delay the construction of Hines’s neighborhood office tower. Instead, it appears they are only seeking compensation for both public and private “nuisances” created by the 17-story building, including pollution, noise, and ground vibration during its construction and the resulting loss of sunlight and rain on their property. The building’s vaunted peepage opportunities don’t please them either:

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Pay Up
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Featured Posts
07/03/14 2:00pm

A Bird’s Eye View of the New Whole Foods, Apartments, Restaurants, Hotel, and Office Buildings Going in at Hughes Landing in The Woodlands

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Mixed Use, New Construction, Proposed Developments, The Woodlands, The Woodlands Hughes Landing
14 Comments

Aerial View of Hughes Landing Under Construction, The Woodlands, Texas

Real Estate Bisnow reporter Catie Dixon shows off this helicopter shot taken last week over Hughes Landing, the new mega-development overlooking Lake Woodlands where a whirlwind of construction is taking out a little more of those woods and putting in a whole lot more of those  . . . uh, concretes. And she’s been thoughtful enough to stick some big red numbers on it, so we can make out what’s what and where, and how it’s coming along:

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By the Numbers
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Apartments
06/12/14 11:45am

The Stealth Apartment Building Going Up in Museum Park

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Museum Park, New Construction
6 Comments

Construction of the Hampstead Apartment Building, 1508 Blodgett St., Blodgett Park, Museum Park, Houston

Construction of the Hampstead Apartment Building, 1508 Blodgett St., Blodgett Park, Museum Park, HoustonThere’s a sign up for the bank that financed the project, but that’s about it for a large construction project that just got going in Blodgett Park. Crews are digging on the southeast corner of Blodgett and La Branch streets, south of the 59-288 crotch and one block north of MacGregor Elementary. A few 75-year-old duplexes stood on the site until last month.

And they are digging — about 8 ft. deep so far, says reader Seán Murphy, who passed by the site at 1508 Blodgett St. and sent photos of the scene: “They’ve got piles keeping back a make-shift retaining wall up against the adjacent townhomes” (see photo at left). Going into that spot: a 36-unit apartment structure on top of a podium garage. According to permits approved earlier this month, the project is being called The Hampstead.

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The Hampstead
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Apartments
05/21/14 12:00pm

The Aria and Olympia Going Up in Willowick Park, in Place of Willowick Court

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Highland Village, New Construction, Redevelopment
5 Comments

Construction of Aria and Olympia at Willowick Park, Highland Village, Houston

From reader David Hollas come these pics showing portions of the 2 apartment complexes Martin Fein Interests is building at the southeast corner of West Alabama and Las Palmas Dr., 2 blocks south of the Highland Village Shopping Center. The building at left, stretching its wings to get ready for its facade finale, is the 325-unit Aria at Willowick Park. Facing off across the central ellipse will be the slightly more Modern-looking Olympia, which will include 189 units, but they’ll be larger:

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Highland Village Apartments
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Featured Posts
05/13/14 2:15pm

A Heights-Area Homebuilder’s New Home Office on Yale St.

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Homebuilders, Houston Heights, New Construction
19 Comments

Home and Office Under Construction at 832 Yale St., Houston Heights

What’s this new construction being framed in wood and steel on the site of 2 former bungalows at 828 and 832 Yale St. in the Heights? A single 23,000-sq.-ft. residence that will also serve as the offices of homebuilder Fisher Homes, a source tells Swamplot. The builder is perhaps best known for the Morrison Heights 5-story condo building near Houston Ave. and White Oak; it is also planning a Studemont Mid-Rise at Studemont and Center St., just north of Washington Ave.

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Fisher Homes
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Apartments
05/05/14 12:30pm

A New Main St. Apartment Complex Moves on to Phase 2 Before It’s Even Complete

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Midtown, New Construction
14 Comments

Construction of Broadstone Midtown Phase II, Milam at Alabama St., Midtown, Houston

Alliance Residential hasn’t even finished construction on the 203-unit Broadstone apartment complex at 3800 Main, on the southwest corner of Main St. and Alabama in Midtown — but already equipment crews are tearing up a neighboring 1.03-acre lot across Travis St. for a second phase of the development. Last week a Swamplot reader sent in this photo of the scene, looking east from Milam St. south of Alabama, showing earthwork on the vacant lot, for a Broadstone Midtown Phase II. The 3800 Main building is under construction in the background; the Spur is directly behind the camera.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

Broadstone Midtown Part Deux
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Art
05/02/14 11:00am

Construction Starts Next Week on Main St. MATCH Arts Complex in Midtown

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Attractions, Midtown, New Construction, Proposed Developments
6 Comments

Rendering of MATCH from Main St. and Holman, 3400 Main St., Midtown, Houston

Having matched the $20 million it decided it needed before beginning building its full-block Main St. arts complex, the organizers behind MATCH (the strikingly nicknamed Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston) have decided to kick off construction work after an on-site event next Wednesday. The $25 million shared facility for more than a dozen independent arts groups (it was originally called the Independent Arts Collaborative) will go up on the 3400 block of Main St., also known as the former parking lot for the city’s former code enforcement building on the next block toward Downtown. The new rendering above of the design by San Antonio’s Lake Flato and Houston’s Studio RED shows the view from Main St. and Holman, looking north.

Here’s a fly-through in and around the main breezeway corridor of the 59,000-sq.-ft. collection of theaters and galleries and plazas and office spaces, starting from the same corner:

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Could Use $5 Million More
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Discovery Green
04/11/14 1:45pm

The Second Convention Center Hotel, a Marriott Marquis, Is Going Up Starting Now

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Downtown, Hotels, New Construction
18 Comments

Proposed Marriott Marquis Hotel, Downtown Houston

A groundbreaking ceremony today is marking the construction start of the new $335 million Marriott Marquis hotel on Walker St. and Crawford next to the George R. Brown Convention Center downtown, which will face the existing Hilton Americas hotel across Discovery Green. The newly updated rendering shown below confirms that the hotel will be the first institution anywhere to sport an island shaped like Texas in one of its lower rooftop pools:

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On Discovery Green
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Featured Posts
04/02/14 2:15pm

An Office Tower Is Moving in Next Door, So It’s Time To Leave

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Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Vermont Commons
10 Comments

2244 Welch St., Vermont Commons, Houston

2244 Welch St., Vermont Commons, HoustonThere’s what looks to be a moving truck parked in front of the home at 2244 Welch St. today, right next door to the building site at 2229 San Felipe St., where a giant crane is already in the process of constructing a 17-story Hines office building across the street from River Oaks. UH professor Richard Armstrong, who with his family rented the home, had complained to the media last month that the continual noise and diesel fumes and earth-moving going on next door was making it difficult to live there. A couple weeks later, Armstrong announced that financial assistance from Hines would help him move to a new home in Pearland. “This individual story may have ended,” a neighbor notes to Swamplot, “but there are many more neighbors left to deal with the ongoing noise and construction paraphernalia.”

Photos: Swamplot inbox

River Oaks Neighbors
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