FIRST STREETS, THEN UTILITIES, THEN A BUSINESS PARK IN ROSENBERG 
Real Estate Bisnow’s Catie Dixon reports that Fuller Realty will be developing these not-yet-accessible 184 acres near Bryan Rd. and FM 2218, just off the Southwest Fwy., into an office park. But before that happens someone’s got to invest in infrastructure: Dixon adds that, later this year, the city of Rosenberg will chip in by building streets, utilities, and drainage for the park; size-to-suit sites could be ready for businesses next spring. [Real Estate Bisnow] Map: Real Estate Bisnow
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE LIMITS OF EASTWARD DEVELOPMENT 
“With every mile moving east, you are getting nearer to Houston’s gigantic petrochemical industrial complex, along with its unpredictable environmental and public health issues, which begin just about a mile east of Eastwood (for example, look at the location of identified Superfund Sites in Harris County, . . . which gives a clear picture). This is the main reason why people in Houston, and those who can afford it, stay as much west as possible. . . . ” [Larry, commenting on Comment of the Day: What’s the Scoop on Eastwood?] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: THOSE CRAZY DIY HOUSTONIANS 
“And what is up with everyone wanting to build a house? I have friends who are building in the Heights, Spring Branch and Oak Forest. I can tell you that it is a miserable process. Lots of delays (trades and materials can be in short supply), cost overruns, failed inspections, builders who don’t return calls until you start dropping the ‘l’ word (not ‘lesbian’) and having a double bill for housing if you buy the land. All of that just to get a ‘custom’ home that is really just a slight variation on a form of residential design that an architect has recycled dozens of times for different clients all around Houston. Why not just find a house you like well enough, make an offer, sweat the inspection and move in after 30 days?” [Old School, commenting on Garden Group Looking To Turn Gus Wortham Golf Course into Botanical Wonderland] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A JUICY BURGER IN OIL TOWN 
“I went there relatively frequently, but I was turned off by how much grease the burgers had — there would just be puddles and puddles on the tray by the time I was done, and it got the bun all soggy. Once when I ordered, I asked if after they finished cooking the burger they could let it sit and drip off the grease a little bit. The chef came out and told me no, that was impossible, but they gave me a second ‘backup’ bun.” [MindTheGap76, commenting on Downtown Burger Guys Closes Down] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: UNJINXING A TOUGH RESTAURANT SPOT “We had a building in my hometown that housed several restaurants that all went belly up within a couple of years. A few of them were pretty good, too. Then the Los Cucos chain came in, invited a priest to pray over the joint and sprinkle some holy water on it, and then — according to gossip — they brought in an curandera to do some kind of magic on the place, and now it’s been open and busy for a good ten years and counting. I’m not saying I believe in all that stuff, but . . . does it hurt to cover all the bases? The landlord should at least do whatever the Flying Saucer is doing to stay in business.” [Anse, commenting on Downtown Burger Guys Closes Down]
BILL GATES BUYS DOWNTOWN FOUR SEASONS 
Really rich guy and charitable fellow Bill Gates is investing in one more good cause: He’s buying the 30-story Four Seasons Hotel at 1300 Lamar St., announcing yesterday that his Cascade Investments will close on the deal sometime next week. It’s not clear yet whether Gates, as is his wont, will start working to update the operating system of the 1982 hotel, which has 64 rental apartments and 404 rooms and is home to Quattro, the Italian restaurant, though Ralph Bivins speculates that he will. [Culturemap] Photo: Klik To Go
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT’S THE SCOOP ON EASTWOOD? 
“I’m new to the site and researching Eastwood. Considering buying a lot or tear down and building. Currently own/live in a wonderful townhouse in Montrose, but have a growing family and we’re outgrowing a townhouse and can’t afford to buy what we need in Montrose. So, we’re looking in Eastwood, Third Ward, and other close-in neighborhoods that are more affordable. Anyone have suggestions on the ‘best’ residential streets/blocks in Eastwood? We’ve driven around a lot but I haven’t committed the streets to memory — there are a few with a median that are gorgeous and walkable with a stroller. Any info will help! Oh, and what about Idylwood as a place to live with a young family?” [Htown Convert, commenting on A Bayou-View Property Rises in Idylwood] Illustration: Lulu
A STRAIGHT-UP SAM’S CLUB SWAP IN WEST HOUSTON 
Tomorrow, one big old Sam’s Club will be closing and another new one opening, reports the Houston Business Journal: The store on Hwy. 6 and the Katy Fwy. near the Addicks Reservoir will turn out the lights after 20 years, and the new 136,000-sq.-ft. store will begin its run at 13331 Westheimer near Eldridge Pkwy. [Houston Business Journal] Photo: Ben Huynh
DOWNTOWN BURGER GUYS CLOSES DOWN 
There’s one fewer restaurant along the light rail line: Culturemap reports that the Burger Guys spot at 706 Main St., on the ground floor of the Great Jones Building at the intersection of Main and Capitol, closed on Friday. Owner Jake Mazzu seems to believe that this particular address might be the victim of some bad karma: “[Mazzu] notes that the location . . . has housed ‘four restaurants in seven years.’ Asked if he believes in cursed locations, Mazzu says ‘completely, now. Never would have before.'” [Culturemap] Photo: H-Town in Pics
THE COVERED-UP HISTORY IN THE FORT BEND COUNTY COURTHOUSE BASEMENT 
Renovations to restore as much as possible of the 1908 Fort Bend County courthouse, standing at 500 Jackson St. in Richmond, have revealed a couple of surprises from the building’s past, reports the Sugar Land Sun: “Beneath the building’s carpeting was finely-made Italian Terrazzo flooring, dating back to the courthouse’s original construction. . . . While installing the building’s electrical system and sump pump in its basement, a walled-up room with glazed tile was uncovered. [Director of Facilities Management Don] Brady said the hidden room is likely a segregation-era restroom for African-Americans.” [Sugar Land Sun] Photo: Terry Jeanson
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WITH OR WITHOUT LIGHT RAIL 
“I would dispute that the light rail has had any substantive quantitative impact on Houston’s development patterns, except to shuffle around the placement of some developments within a distance of several blocks. (That is to say, for instance, that downtown was destined to pick up a few big highrises over the last decade, but perhaps they were closer to Main rather than Allen Center.)
A lot of people forget that the re-gentrification of the Heights took place over a span of decades — without light rail. The gentrification of 3rd Ward, the East End, and the Near Northside has been ongoing for a shorter period of time, and these neighborhoods simply aren’t as well-located as Rice Military — which also transformed without light rail. I would suggest that these neighborhoods are all destined for gentrification, that it will happen slowly because we’re talking about a huge geographic area — and that it would’ve happened with or without light rail, just as with other neighborhoods.
I might be swayed if it were the case that some meaningful number of people move to Houston because it has light rail, but aside from some extremely narrow subset of people, that strikes me as bullshit. It’s not an effective economic development tool, and certainly not without zoning (which I also oppose).” [TheNiche, commenting on A First Look at the Strip Center-and-Apartments Combo That Could Go Up Between UH and TSU] Illustration: Lulu
BUILDING TRIVIA IN THE WOODLANDS 
Real Estate Bisnow’s Catie Dixon reports a remarkable factoid about this 6-story, 154,213-sq.-ft office building that Stream Realty started construction on in August at 1585 Sawdust Rd. in the The Woodlands: When it’s done, writes Dixon, the so-called Reserve at Sierra Pines II, which is being built with 30-ft. panels swung into place by 300-ton cranes, will be the tallest tilt-wall building in Texas. [Real Estate Bisnow; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: Stream Realty Partners
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHEN IT RAINS, IT’S RECOUPED 
“I live close to Buffalo Bayou. I lost two cars during a heavy rain in 2009. The water came up too fast to save the cars. By the time I found out they were flooding they were in a couple feet of snake infested water. The insurance company paid up right away and didn’t raise my rates. These people should have no problem if they have insurance.” [jgriff, commenting on Headlines: Putting the Creek in Cross Creek Ranch; Flooding the Omni Hotel Parking Lot] Illustration: Lulu
DITCH REPAIRS, BRIDGE REPLACEMENT TO CLOSE STRETCH OF SAN FELIPE FOR NEXT 2 WEEKS 
San Felipe St. near Mid Ln. and the Loop is going to be out of commission for about 2 weeks, according to the Harris County Flood Control District: After tonight’s rush hour subsides, workers will move in to remove concrete from the sides of the eroding and underperforming drainage ditch, shown here, and install closed culverts. And that means the 50-year-old bridge on San Felipe will need to be demolished and replaced. The area to be closed is near the new Liberty Kitchen spot and the luxury apartments under construction on Briar Hollow Ln. [HCFCD; previously on Swamplot] Photo: HCFCD
GOOD FIRST WARD COFFEE SHOPS ARE HARD TO FIND 
Houstonia Magazine’s Nick Panzarella likes what he sees — er, drinks at Paper Co., a reincarnation of Taft Street Coffee that’s moved in behind that Marfreless-like blue door at the Ecclesia Church on Elder St. But this door — though just around the corner from the artist lofts at the old Jefferson Davis Hospital, it opens up to a permashaded no person’s land beneath I-45 — seems to give Panzarella some pause: “Its location, being tucked into a dead end on the edge of the First Ward, is its largest drawback.” [Houstonia Magazine; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West
