COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT KATYVILLE COULD HAVE BEEN 
“From Yale St. and I-10 all the way through the First Ward to I-45, there are so many large commercial tracts that are on the market or coming on the market that you could build a whole new city. The Mahatma Rice plant is huge. The tract from Detering to Grocer’s Supply is huge. There are tons of other lots ready for redevelopment all along the Washington Corridor east of Yale St. We all know that traffic will get much worse as thousands more residents come into the area to live, shop, work and play. But the idea that traffic is just going to happen no matter what is silly. Smart development and infrastructure improvements can make a huge difference. When retail, residential and office are placed in the same development, you always reduce car trips. I used to work just outside the loop in a typical spec office building with no retail nearby. Worst traffic in the garage was at noon as everyone was scurrying out of the building to go get lunch. I now work downtown in a building that is in Houston Center. Hardly any traffic going out of the building, despite being many times bigger, during lunch as there are ample places to eat in the food court. The problem with redevelopment along Washington Ave is that everyone is just doing their own thing without any regard for trying to make the area conducive to work/shop/live/play without being reliant on cars. And the City still suffers from low self esteem and is happy to give out tax gifts without requiring any sort of return benefit. The result is that there is no connection between the retail development (largely single story title wall strip malls), residential (mostly disconnected pencil boxes) and office (an odd tower at Waugh and not much other new development). Had a single developer had control over all the available property, we could see a transformative development like a giant City Centre meets West Ave meets Post Oak Midtown. Instead, we get an odd mish mash of retail, office, and residential with little infrastructure improvements to mitigate the impacts (not even a right turn lane on Yale St. SB at I-10, which would make a huge difference). So much could be done, but so little will get done to maximize the benefits of incoming density and minimize the burdens.” [Old School, commenting on Comment of the Day: Admiral Linen and the Way of Katyville] Illustration: Lulu
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IT’S BEEN COLDER THAN USUAL IN KATY 
“Subdivision Waterfalls” may have been frozen out of the winners’ circle in the Favorite Design Cliché category of the just-concluded Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate, but the florid fountain-turned-ice sculpture fronting the Avalon at Seven Meadows development off Fry Rd. west of the Grand Parkway in Katy has been thrilling and chilling onlookers since early this morning. Photo: Andrea Musetti-Camacho, via Bill Bishop/KHOU
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHY THERE’S SO LITTLE TRAFFIC DOWNTOWN 
“Downtown traffic is some of the easiest traffic of any US city downtown I have ever been to, and actually some of the best traffic in all of Houston. Why? As near as I can tell, it’s because: (1) street parking is virtually not allowed or limited to one side of the street, which prevents people from aimlessly circling around looking for that one free spot; and (2) one-way streets. People complain about one-way streets as confusing but when there is a good grid like downtown or midtown, they work perfectly. I can’t ever recall sitting through more than one cycle of a light in midtown. There are other areas of Houston where this can easily be done. And ban street parking completely on major roads after 4pm. It’s just valets making money off blocking traffic after a certain hour.” [John Chouinard, commenting on Comment of the Day: A Few Remedies for Those Traffic Problems You’ve Been Having] Illustration: Lulu
WHO WON THE SWAMPLOT AWARDS THIS YEAR, AND WHY 
Didja miss the grand finale of this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate in all the New Year hullabaloo? Our grand announcement of 2013’s winners is patiently awaiting your recognition and appreciation here. Also equally worthy of your perusal is this accounting of the runners-up, which was published a day earlier. Thanks again to all the worthy contestants and commentators — your juicy contributions to this city (and this website) make the Swampies an annual endeavor worth repeating.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ADMIRAL LINEN AND THE WAY OF KATYVILLE “. . . 
Yes, it’s initially going to be utilized as an employee parking lot, but [it’s] hard to believe that long term Admiral Linen will stay. The trend . . . for any company with strong dependence on warehouse/distribution needs in the area has recently been to sell to developers and move out of the area. The increasing traffic on Center/Studemont/Washington makes the area increasingly difficult for trucks to move in an out of the area. Also the steady increase in land values will at least lead to any business owner with a brain and with a large parcel of land in the area to look at the possibilities of moving . . . as was the case with San Jacinto Stone (new LA Fitness, Guitar Center, Sprouts), Trinity Industries (Walmart) , Grocers Supply (400+apts, retail, movie theater), Studemont Kroger, Detering Lumber (on sale now). Living in the area, I’ve noticed my commute time to downtown increase by a factor of 2 (from 5 minutes to 10 minutes). Hard to believe that the traffic situation will get any better with Archstone Memorial Heights converting their complex to a high density property, 400+ new apts in the Grocers Supply site, and a new 24 floor office building being built behind the Bank of America on Washington. All of this development with absolutely zero changes in the surrounding infrastructure as of now will lead to some nightmarish traffic on S. Heights Blvd, Studemont, and Washington . . . the 3 main access roads for Admiral Linen . . .” [Debnil, commenting on Center St. Recycling Center Is Now Closed; Site Ready for Recycling] Illustration: Lulu
RIVER OAKS PLANTS IN RICE VILLAGE 
The River Oaks name spreads its tendrils again: Just a day or so after shuttering its location on the corner of Westheimer and Buffalo Speedway, topiary-in-a-pot hotspot River Oaks Plant House has sprouted in a new location, 6103 Kirby Dr., where it’s already open for business. Evicted from its longtime home on land bought last year by the St. John’s School, the greenery retailer has responded by buying the Village Flowery, an employee tells Swamplot. The Village Flowery is perched on the western reaches of the Rice Village on the southeast corner of Kirby and Rice Blvd. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Lisa Garvin
IS FISH AND THE KNIFE CUTTING BAIT? 
Restaurant review website b4-u-Eat appears to have given up all hope of sushi bar, nightclub, and restaurant Fish and the Knife ever opening. That’s kind of a big deal for a project that’s been under construction since 2010. The huge modern building at the corner of Westheimer and Stoney Brook Dr. (just west of Voss) appears to be complete, but all communication has suddenly gone dark. “They expected to open Oct, Nov, Dec 2013,” reports the site newsletter, “but didn’t and their facebook page with all construction photos disappeared this week.” [b4-u-eat; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A FEW REMEDIES FOR THOSE TRAFFIC PROBLEMS YOU’VE BEEN HAVING 
“Number one. Eliminate dead ends inside the loop. Every neighborhood in Houston has blocked off 99% of its streets. There are times when I need to wait multiple cycles at a light because it’s the only ingress into the development. Houston is a CITY.
Number two. Learn how to merge. There is construction at Mid Lane at San Felipe eastbound, and traffic is backed up to 610 because everyone is terrified of being in the barren empty right lane, which in turn is because they know people will be hostile to allowing them to merge. This is the single most stupid driving behavior I can think of. You need to queue AT the point of the merge, and alternate left and right lanes, quickly, cleanly, efficiently and politely. A whole mile of road empty? Come on people.
Number three. Get out of the way of people behind you who want to be in the left-turn lane. Many of those turnlanes have sensors, and will not give a left arrow if no cars are at the line — AT THE LINE — when the other side’s light turns red. Or yellow! There are multiple examples of lights where you don’t get an arrow unless you beat the other side’s yellow. So every time I see a driver with two empty car lengths in front of them, and a driver with their left-turn signal behind them, I just wonder. (The reason I stressed ‘at the line’ above is that I was once behind someone who was a car’s length away from the line. I asked myself, should I honk or shouldn’t I? I wasn’t sure about this light, so I bit my lip. You can guess the rest).
Number four. Make all streets one-way. Every single one. Even Westheimer. In residential neighborhoods you can only get one car through anyway, because everyone is parked on both sides. Just get it over with already. The left and right turns will also be that much easier.” [J.V., commenting on Comment of the Day: We Have Met the Traffic, and It Is Us] Illustration: Lulu
DON’T WORRY, YOUR LISTING IS STILL SAFE 
Police arrested 4 individuals on the scene early this morning after a break-in at the Houston Association of Realtors “SuperCenter” at 3693 Southwest Fwy., west of Edloe. The suspects were not believed to have made off with anything, but are being investigated for possible involvement in another organizational crime: The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council Building across 59 and Buffalo Speedway at 3110 Southwest Fwy. was also broken into overnight. [KHOU] Photo: Andrew Horansky
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WE HAVE MET THE TRAFFIC, AND IT IS US 
“. . . Next time you are stuck in traffic, remember that you ARE traffic. You don’t really have much of a right to complain about the traffic you are sitting in, because, well, you are part of the problem. And when did people think they could live in the urban core of the fourth largest city in the United States and not have to deal with traffic? Saying that a new development will result in ‘increased traffic’ really is the most ridiculous rationale that one could provide against such a development. I dislike traffic as much as anyone else, but I also like density and density means more traffic. Maybe if some of our representative politicians didn’t fight tooth-and-nail against alternative forms of non-automotive transportation we could all enjoy the benefits of increased density without increased traffic.” [thedudeabides, commenting on Grocers Supply Sale Will Supply 15 Acres for Apartments, Shops Across from Studemont Kroger] Illustration: Lulu
WINTER SNOBALLS FOR HOUSTON 
Just in time to serve up a white Christmas — at least before a few pumps of flavoring are added to your order — MAM’s House of Ice has opened its first-ever non-wheeled, year-round location. It’s at 1040 W. Cavalcade St. in Sunset Heights, about a mile east of the popular mobile storefront’s longstanding trailer-parking spot. That means snoballs (along with a few warmer dessert-y and snack-y items added to the menu) will now be available year-round. [b4-u-eat; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Mam’s House of Ice
WHILE WE’RE AWAY 
Well, hello there! Looking for a little something to do on Swamplot over our Christmas break? Don’t forget to add your vote to this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. You can find the ballots for all 8 categories here, or a single list with links to each of them here. Been there, done that? Sign up for Swamplot’s email list, or “like” us on Facebook. Swamplot will be back on the 26th with more Houston real-estate fun. Until then, our best holiday wishes to all of you. Photo: Ed Uthman [license]
CROWDWATERING, CROWDGOBBLING SUCCESSES 
Crowdfunding efforts for 2 separate Houston ventures featured on Swamplot last month have achieved their fundraising goals. Rebecca Masson tells Swamplot that “Fluff Bake Bar will happen,” after a campaign on Kickstarter brought in $53,580 in donations. But Masson says she’s “still in talks” with the landlord about the new Midtown retail sweet shop she’s planning; location details won’t be announced until there’s a signed lease. Meanwhile, $3,035 brought in from a campaign on YouCaring means 20 new trees donated to Meadowcreek Village Park by Trees for Houston will have enough water to drink for 2 years. Got concerns about what the trees will drink after that? The campaign still has 9 days to go before it closes. Map: Meadowcreek Village Civic Club Beautification Committee
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT DO YOU CALL THE TRANSFORMED INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT SOUTH OF THE HEIGHTS? 
“I think the stretch of land North of Washington but South of I-10, where all the big-box retailers are going in, should be called Katyville.” [el duderino, commenting on Grocers Supply Sale Will Supply 15 Acres for Apartments, Shops Across from Studemont Kroger] Illustration: Lulu
AND YET ANOTHER BAR IS COMING TO MAIN ST.’S HAPPENING 300 BLOCK 
The stretch of Main St. downtown between Prairie and Congress that’s been nominated for the Ground-Floor Retail Award in this year’s Swampies will soon have another bar to add to its growing collection. A food-and-mixed-drinks establishment named Bar Materia — at least that’s the proposed name — is planned for the spot shown at left at 312 Main. Last week, the folks behind Anvil, Hay Merchant, and Underbelly announced plans to open The Nightingale Room a couple doors down at 308 Main St., downstairs from Captain Foxheart’s Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge. [Swamplot inbox; Eater Houston] Photo: Downtown District
