COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE QUALITIES THAT MAKE HOUSTON SO SPECIAL 
“Only in Houston can a building be ‘impossible’ to renovate to another use; and the citizens believe it. Try telling that BS to New Yorkers, Parisians, Bostonians, or even the folks in NOLA. Houstonians are a rare breed of gullible; and developers here (including MDAnderson) are a rare breed of lame.” [JON, commenting on The Last Remaining Piece of the Prudential Tower] Illustration: Lulu
Sign up for the Newsletter
Quicklink
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: LOOKING SHARP 
“The Bellairefication of Meyerland is pretty much complete except you actually get a sizeable lot. It’s only a matter of time before Southwest Houston’s astronomical growth reaches Sharpstown and other once forgotten communities.” [robertrulez, commenting on The Ups and Downs of a Meyerland Contemporary] Illustration: Lulu
PRESERVING THE DEER PARK PRAIRIE WITH SARDONIC TEEVEE POWER 
The mad dash to raise the $4 million to buy up 53 acres of the Deer Park Prairie and save it from development got an early $2 million boost from a minor Houston celebrity, long-time environmental activist Terry Hershey; now, with the landowner’s once-delayed deadline just a week away and $650,000 still needed, the Bayou Land Conservancy is appealing to an even higher power, reports Lisa Gray: “‘There is only one man who can save us now,’ proclaims the [conservancy’s] website . . . ‘Stephen Colbert!’ In hopes of winning a mention on ‘The Colbert Report’ and enjoying the resulting ‘Colbert bump’ in popularity, [the conservancy] urges prairie fans to rally the Comedy Central TV host to their cause.” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Image: Bayou Park Conservancy
PUSHING THE PIZZA BACK A BIT FROM MONTROSE BLVD. 
Concerns about how that new Pizaro’s Pizza had been drawn to cozy up to the blind corner at W. Gray and Montrose — and how that might affect people on the street — have caused a change in plans, reports The Highwayman: “Situating the entrance at an angle provides more visibility to pedestrians and people in a wheelchair. Drawings also seem to indicate two directional ramps that provide a little more safety and security for disabled pedestrians.” The new set of drawings — one of which is shown here — will go up before the Planning Commission this Thursday. [The Highwayman; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: Braun Enterprises
THE LAST REMAINING PIECE OF THE PRUDENTIAL TOWER 
It made it: The 1952 Peter Hurd mural, formerly of the wall of the demolished Kenneth Franzheim-designed Prudential Tower in the Med Center, has completed its 2-year stop-and-go journey from 1100 Holcome Blvd., to a storage space in Midland, to the brand-new Artesia Public Library in northern southeastern New Mexico. The largest ever to be transported, the 16-ft.-by-46-ft. mural, titled “The Future Belongs To Those Who Prepare For It,” underwent a successful 20-hour installation last week, reports Swamplot commenter Artesia_NM Resident. And Albuquerque’s KOB Eyewitness News reports that the big unveiling of the big thing is planned for November 9. [KOB; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Candace Garcia
HONOR THY LABOR 
So that’s all for this week. Why don’t you take a cue from this heavy-duty equipment and power down? That’s what Swamplot will be doing until we’re back as usual on Tuesday, September 3. Don’t forget: Our unceasing inbox never takes a day off. Please keep your tips and comments coming! And enjoy the long weekend. Photo of light rail construction along Capitol St.: Allyn West
COMMENT OF THE DAY: IS THIS THE REAL ASTRODOME PLAN? 
“The KHOU talking heads last night floated the suggestion that this vote is merely ‘air cover’ for Harris County to wash its hands of the Dome. Are they going to go through the motions of ‘supporting’ the plan, but with extremely faint praise, see it defeated, then trot out ‘the people have spoken’ while scraping it off? Are our elected County officials smart enough to pull that off?
And if somehow it actually passes, some of their friends get to make some money! Is this what they call a ‘win-win’?” [Al, commenting on Sports and Convention Corp.: We Have Ways To Make You Like Our Astrodome Plan] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: IN THE THIRD WARD ART ZONE 
“I live in Riverside/Third Ward. I’m a painter. My upstairs neighbor is a painter and kind of a well-known musician in Houston. A block away lives another musician that was often played on KTRU. A block from me in the opposite direction there is a house where my friend and some other female artists live. On Oakdale there’s the house-turned-artspace Alabama Song that frequently has shows and lectures. Most of us lived in Montrose and other areas before and moved here because it’s less expensive and the spaces are larger. My studio now is pretty awesome. Many of our friends are looking into the area as well for similar reasons, as well as Eastwood.” [is, commenting on Comment of the Day: Getting Ahead of the Game in the Third Ward] Illustration: Lulu
STUDYING HOUSTON’S ROADSIDE AIR QUALITY 
Another source of Houston’s pollution has got the attention of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: tailpipes. Starting in January, the agency will place a pair of monitors within 160 ft. of 2 our most heavily used roads — including the Southwest Fwy. near the Westpark Tollway — to record the amount of nitrogen dioxide leaked into the air. Apparently, the stuff can be pretty nasty, writes the Houston Chronicle’s Matthew Tresaugue: “The Environmental Protection Agency said studies have measured concentrations of the gas to be as much as 100 times greater near major roadways than away from them. Scientists, meanwhile, have linked the pollutant to asthma and other lung ailments, especially among children and the elderly.” The results of these monitors, adds Tresaugue, might lead the city to make decisions about preventing schools and residences from being built in and around affected areas. [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Photo: AA Roads
COMMENT OF THE DAY: GETTING AHEAD OF THE GAME IN THE THIRD WARD 
“The developers are usually the 3rd or 4th step in gentrification. My understanding is that it goes like this: First are usually the lower income artistic types who give the area a ‘vibe.’ Then come slightly higher income artistic types who find fixer-uppers and start increasing property values. Then come the affluent who scrape the lots to build their own houses. Finally, the developers come in to build on any remaining semi-large contiguous lots. I don’t spend much time in this part of town, but I’m not aware of much of steps 1 or 2 happening there yet (but am open to being corrected). This feels more like developers trying to sell the area as being gentrified, make a quick profit (nothing wrong with that), and then leave the purchasers stuck with condos that will be underwater for the next 10 to 15 years. So if it is gentrification, I would call it ‘Astroturf Gentrification’ — from a distance, it might look like the real, but up close, its really pretty fake and inferior to the real thing.” [Walt, commenting on New Townhomes for a New(ish) Blodgett St. in the Third Ward] Illustration: Lulu
SPORTS AND CONVENTION CORP.: WE HAVE WAYS TO MAKE YOU LIKE OUR ASTRODOME PLAN 
Unlike that rather inadequately advertised call for private bids about what to do with the Astrodome, the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. appears to be taking very public pains before the November bond referendum to make sure everyone knows about its $217 million plan to slim down and spruce up the dingy behemoth into a convention center and event space. KUHF reports that the HCSCC has agreed to form a committee charged with getting the word out and appealing to voters that its plan is the best plan. Judge Ed Emmett explains: “Most voters have an opinion — either they want to save the Dome or they don’t want to save the Dome. And those that are leaning towards saving the Dome, have to be convinced that this is a purpose that makes sense.” [KUHF; previously on Swamplot] Rendering of New Dome Experience: HCSCC
A REAL BIG DATA CENTER COMING TO NORTHWEST HOUSTON 
Real Estate Bisnow’s Catie Dixon reports that CyrusOne is going to add 2 more buildings early next year to its 45-acre data-dealing-with campus in Westbranch near the Beltway: “The new developments include a 600k SF data center with 100 megawatt capacity and a 200k SF Class-A office” designed by Kirksey and depicted in the rendering shown here. Apparently, adds Dixon, the new data center, which will support primarily the oil and gas industries, will be nothing to sneeze at: “[It] will be one of the largest in the country, and [CyrusOne CEO Kevin Timmons] says it should sate demand in Houston for years to come.” [Real Estate Bisnow] Rendering: Kirksey Architecture
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOUSTON’S 6 TRULY WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOODS 
“. . . [Y]ou can have walkability even when density is just moderate. Small town downtowns are walkable even though most folks arrive by car. Many commercial neighborhoods in streetcar suburbs built before 1950 are this way. What makes them walkable: comfortable street design (sorry but 40 mph is too fast), frequent safe pedestrian street crossings, ample sidewalks in good condition, pedestrian-oriented buildings that aren’t separated by big parking lots, on-street parking (what Houston lacks in too many places), decent night lighting, and relatively small block sizes. Houston has subsets of these features in numerous places but the whole package is very rare — 19th @ Rutland, Rice Village (mainly just strip malls mushed together), Harrisburg @ 67th, the Historic District downtown, and the main gay bar area in Montrose (awful or nonexistent sidewalks though and lacking night lighting) come close, plus of course Bagby @ Gray. Hence developers building them from scratch (West Ave, River Oaks District, CityCentre, etc.) to satisfy demand.” [Local Planner, commenting on Comment of the Day: Sorry, but Houston’s Never Gonna Be Walkable] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY: SORRY, BUT HOUSTON’S NEVER GONNA BE WALKABLE 
“Unlikely Houston will ever have the density or transit similar to the world’s great urban centers. The inner loop would have to triple in density (current average 5-8k/sq.mi), just to start on that path. Houston is growing, but I don’t see the population tripling any time soon. Think about how many housing units would be required; where would they go? In the predominantly single family neighborhoods? At best, the current trend will continue for a few more years until growth plateaus, and we’ll see Houston basically as it looks now; houses with occasional 4-8 story apt. blocks, maybe reaching ~10k density in some areas, but never the 20k+ necessary for real walkable neighborhoods.
Also, the heat and humidity. That’s never going away.” [outtahere, commenting on Comment of the Day: Downtown Orthodontia] Illustration: Lulu
THIS OK? GREYSTAR CHECKS IN WITH WOODLAND HEIGHTS NEIGHBORS ABOUT SKYLANE REPLACEMENT 
Motivated to avoid some of the same blowback that developers of the Ashby Highrise, Morrison Heights condos and apartments, and 17-story San Felipe office building have received from sign-making neighbors, Greystar has been busy meeting with folks in Woodland Heights to discuss Elan Heights, the 8-story, 276-unit complex that will be replacing the ’60s Skylane on Taylor St. And what are those neighbors worried about? The usual suspects, writes the Houston Chronicle’s Erin Mulvaney: “. . . [S]pecifics of entry and exit at certain streets, plans for sidewalks, availability of bicycle parking, sewage and the preservation of existing oak trees . . . [and] the implications of the traffic analysis required by the city.” A rep explains why Greystar’s doing what it’s doing: “People more than anything else want to be informed and know what’s happening in their community. . . . The reality is that we are not required to do that. . . . We do it because we want to be good neighbors.” Greystar says it will close on the property next month, and the demo of the Skylane will follow in early 2014. [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Rendering: Meeks + Partners
