Renovations

Featured Posts
06/17/15 12:00pm

Heights Blvd. Fried Chicken Upgrade Now in Progress

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Houston Heights, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail
23 Comments

Construction of Lee's Fried Chicken & Donuts in Former Church's Fried Chicken, 601 Heights Blvd., Houston Heights

Work has begun transforming the former Heights Blvd. Church’s Fried Chicken — which left its longstanding spot on the corner of 6th St. (aka White Oak across the street) back in March — to the long-promised Lee’s Fried Chicken & Doughnuts. Back in 2012, the team behind Liberty Kitchen (and BRC Gastropub as well as Petite Sweets) had intended to open a Lee’s Fried Chicken in the long-vacant drive-thru behind Liberty Kitchen at 1132 E. 11th St. — after initial plans to open a coffee house in that space were switched.

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Church’s to Lee’s and Donuts
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Featured Posts
06/15/15 11:15am

Behold the Revived Brutal Beauty of the New Freeway-Side Houston Chronicle Headquarters

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Galleria, Houston Architects, Institutional Buildings, Renovations
22 Comments

Former Houston Post Building, Future Houston Chronicle Headquarters, 4747 Southwest Fwy., Houston

“It looks amazingly shiny without the 50 years of grime,” notes the reader who late last week snapped these photos of the former Houston Post building at 4747 Southwest Fwy., tucked into the lifted right armpit of the I-69-610 intersection. The brutalist main building of the 7-building campus, designed in 1970 by Astrodome architects Wilson, Morris, Crain, and Anderson, is being powerwashed — with a significant portion of the work complete just in time for this week’s heavy rains.

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Powerwashed!
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Downtown
06/04/15 3:00pm

Astros Ready To Flatten Houston’s Only Air-Conditioned Hill, Fill Space with Bars, Food, Behind-the-Fence Seating

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Renovations, Stadiums
24 Comments

Rendering of Proposed Renovations to Minute Maid Park Center Field, Downtown Houston

The Astros announced today that the team had received preliminary approval from the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority to knock down the banked bit of center field past the Minute Maid Park warning track known as Tal’s Hill. The graded area was named after the team’s former president, Tal Smith, who first suggested including an elevation change — a rarity both in baseball and in Houston — to the stadium soon to be known as Enron Field. The proposed renovations, priced at $15 million and scheduled to take place at the end of the current season, would also straighten out the center field fence and bring it in to 409 ft. from home plate (from the current 436 ft.). More important, the opened-up space beyond would allow room for 3 new bars and 4 new food-service locations, as well as a new group seating area at the field level, which conceptual renderings of the new design released by the American League team (above and below) appear to show tucked behind a new see-through portion of the centerfield fence.

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Off Ramp
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Discovery Green
06/04/15 12:15pm

The Rise of the George R. Brown Supercolumns

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Downtown, Renovations
7 Comments

The second of 6 supercolumns being added to the west-facing façade of the George R. Brown Convention Center was lifted into place yesterday, with Pedro Velasquez of WHR Architects on hand to record this timelapse video of the effort. The columns — each 120 ft. tall and 48 in. in diameter — will support a roof-level trellis extending over the front of the building’s 3 center bays facing Discovery Green. The remainder of the columns will be installed over the next few days.

Video: Pedro Velasquez

Convention Center Face Lift
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Featured Posts
06/01/15 3:30pm

The Sign of a New Vinoteca Poscol, Lower on Westheimer

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Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Restaurants, Signage
5 Comments

Vinoteca Poscol, 608 Westheimer Rd., Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Houston

A new sign is up already on the building next door to Katz’s Deli, at 608 Westheimer Rd. But Vinoteca Poscol won’t be moving from its current strip-center spot at 1609 Westheimer to this new, and lower, Westheimer location until sometime after the Fourth of July, owner Marco Wiles tells Houstonia‘s Katharine Shilcutt.

The exterior of the former home of Azamian Rugs and (before that) AIDS Foundation Houston’s Stone Soup has already seen quite a few changes in its new Italian Restaurant redo, especially to the front of the house. Gone is the old single-story addition that pushed up to the sidewalk. Next to be completed: interior renovations, and perhaps an extra letter for the sign.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

On the House
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Featured Posts
05/19/15 12:30pm

Near Waugh and Allen Parkway, a Bit of a Stretch for a Parking Garage

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North Montrose, Parking, Renovations
7 Comments

Wortham Tower Parking Garage, American General Center, 2919 Allen Pkwy., North Montrose, Houston

A banner for Manhattan Construction is flying on the side of the Wortham Tower parking garage, just south of the Wortham Tower itself at 2919 Allen Pkwy. The company is adding on a few floors of parking to the massive structure. A Swamplot reader sent in these views, taken from the adjacent parking lot for the Whole Foods Market on Waugh Dr.

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Wortham Tower Parking
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Avondale
05/11/15 3:00pm

Mattress Store Conquest of Westheimer Continues with Hollywood Food & Cigars Takeover

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Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Strip Centers
30 Comments

Renovations at 202 Westheimer Rd., Montrose, Houston

Neighbors and passers-by have been curious about the renovations taking place at the strip center at the corner of Lower Westheimer and Helena St., where the Hollywood Food & Cigars #3 convenience store at 202 Westheimer Rd. — and its neighbor Tejas Boots — kicked off a couple years ago. The building, once home to Baby Giant #2, has recently been painted a bright white; its sign has been denuded, and sidewalk reconstruction work is underway:

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From Baby Giant to Mattress Pro?
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Featured Posts
05/11/15 1:00pm

Former Richmond Ave Porn Shop Will Be Smokin’ for Real Pretty Soon

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Montrose, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Restaurants
19 Comments

Talk of the Town III, 1201 Richmond Ave., Montrose, Houston

The little windowless Montrose building across from the University of St. Thomas at the corner of Richmond and Mt. Vernon known as Talk of the Town III (pictured above as it appeared in 2011, shortly before much of it burned in a fatal fire) will soon join the ranks of the original Kirby Dr. Carrabba’s, Divino Italian Restaurant at 1830 West Alabama, and L’Olivier Restaurant and Bar at 240 Westheimer as yet another former Inner Loop adult bookstore turned legit non-porn restaurant. But it’ll be no staid European cuisine going into 1201 Richmond Ave. Former Brooklyn meatbrowner John Avila plans to open a barbecue joint in the building that incorporates a range of Texas food styles; he may or may not call it El Burro & the Bull. Culturemap’s Eric Sandler has a little fun describing the building’s repurposing: “Together with his wife Veronica, Avila plans to remodel the space to expose its original brick and to build a new kitchen and pit room onto the back of the structure. He’s already begun the process of pulling permits for the project and hopes to be open as soon as September.”

Photo: ClutchFans poster juicystream

Talk of the Town
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Featured Posts
04/28/15 3:45pm

Cupcake ATM Is Really Coming to Highland Village This Time, Sprinkles Promises

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Highland Village, Quicklink, Renovations, Retail
3 Comments

CUPCAKE ATM IS REALLY COMING TO HIGHLAND VILLAGE THIS TIME, SPRINKLES PROMISES Sprinkles Cupcake ATM, Beverly Hills, CaliforniaIf news that Sprinkles plans to bring a Cupcake ATM to Houston sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Today’s announcement marks the third time in 3 years that the California chain has declared that its lone Houston location — in Highland Village, snuggled up next to the Apple Store — would soon have one of the company’s signature baked-goods vending machines installed for all-hours use. Houston was to receive the second-ever such machine, after the Beverly Hills pilot (pictured here), in the summer of 2012. A second announcement the following year earmarked Houston for the fourth-ever Cupcake ATM that October (by then Chicago and Dallas stores had received theirs), after a holdup caused by “design issues.” Now Sprinkles is promising Houston the ninth Cupcake ATM in the country, opening this June 11th. It’ll be installed on the back side of the building at 4014 Westheimer, facing the parking lot. Inside, Sprinkles will be expanding its offerings to include cookies, ice cream, and attendant shakes, malts, and floats. Frequent Highland Village shopping center cupcakers will want to mark May 12 through 19th on their calendars — though perhaps only in pencil. That’s when the store is scheduled to be shut down for the installation of dipping cabinets along the back counter and cookie trays in its cupcake display area, as well as the exterior vending station. [Sprinkles Houston] Photo: Sprinkles

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Featured Posts
04/22/15 3:00pm

A Reclaimed and Restored First Ward Victorian Ticks Up Its Ask to $468K

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First Ward, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Renovations
15 Comments

1304-bingham-03

1304-bingham-01

Quiet zone status applies not to the perky exterior’s bold paint combo but to the railroad tracks running behind this restored 1898 Victorian east of Houston Ave. and just south of Winter St. in the First Ward. The corner-lot property, which is also near the Heights bike trail, has been on the market for a month, during which the price has increased by $10K — to $468,000.

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Trim Build
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Avondale
04/20/15 2:45pm

Former Westheimer Plant House Going Steak

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Montrose, Quicklink, Renovations, Restaurants
No Comments

FORMER WESTHEIMER PLANT HOUSE GOING STEAK Future Home of Bistecca Steak House, 224 Westheimer Rd., Avondale, Montrose, HoustonThe building at 224 Westheimer Rd. in Montrose, on the north side of the street between Helena and Mason St., was long ago home to Bistro 224. Then it became the Plant House. A photo sent in by a reader late last week shows the same structure undergoing another metamorphosis as it transforms into its newest incarnation, a return to its food-serving days. According to building permits taken out for the property, the revamped building will become the Bistecca Steak House once construction is complete. Photo: Sylvia Drew

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Adaptive Reuse
04/13/15 12:30pm

The Difference Between a House and an Office in the Old Sixth Ward Is a Slot

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Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Interiors, Old Sixth Ward, Renovations
7 Comments

Offices of KinneyMorrow Architecture, 2219 Kane St. Old Sixth Ward, HoustonMarked down from 2314 to 2219 Kane St., KinneyMorrow Architecture’s new office in an old structure now on the corner of Sawyer St. is definitely not a house any more. Blame the slot.

 

 

 

 

 

 
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House Moves
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Featured Posts
04/03/15 2:30pm

Whole Foods Market Continuing Randalls Conquests with Frontal Attack on Wilcrest Store Leftovers

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Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Westchase
9 Comments

Whole Foods Market Under Construction, 11041 Westheimer Rd. at Wilcrest, Westchase, Houston

Crews have broken open the front of the former Randalls grocery store in the Westchase Shopping Center at the corner of Wilcrest and Westheimer, and are busy inserting a new, smaller Whole Foods Market inside. The photo above shows the view from the One Westchase Center office building, immediately to the east. This isn’t Whole Foods’ first Randalls redo; a new Whole Foods at 1407 S. Voss, on the former site of another Randalls, is scheduled to open next Wednesday.

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Westchase Front
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Attractions
03/03/15 1:00pm

Solar Flair Ahead for Main Street Theater’s Renovating Venue in Rice Village

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Interiors, Renovations, Rice Viillage
3 Comments

Main-Street-Theater-reno-02

As site prep starts on the long-awaited renovation of Main Street Theater’s signature building at 2540 Times Blvd. in Rice Village (top), a recent donation by a renewable energy retailer has enabled the local theater company to add a rooftop solar array to the work scope. Although not intended to power the spotlight on stage, the installation is expected to handle a good chunk of daytime electrical use, theater sources say. Descriptions of the future solar installation mention a 64-panel array on the roof and this sun-seeking companion:

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Panel Discussion
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Featured Posts
02/25/15 3:15pm

A Woodshire Mod Redo That Hasn’t Flipped Yet, but Has Been Marked Down More Than $90K

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Homes for Sale, Interiors, Modern Design, Renovations, Woodshire
25 Comments

9231 Fordshire Dr., Woodshire, Houston

9231 Fordshire Dr., Woodshire, Houston

What’s been going on with that mod home renovation in Woodshire that was featured on Swamplot last September when it was aiming for a $775,500 sale price? Plenty!

The property appeared in a Chronicle featurette in October. Later, it went on a short holiday vacation from the MLS — interrupting a sequence of 6 separate price reductions and one relisting. It stood and beamed for a whole new portfolio of listing photos (shown here). And today, the home’s redesigner, Jamie House, has posted her own account of many of the decisions and efforts that went into the transformation of the 1956 property she worked on with Dave Seeburger of P&G Homes — along with an entirely different set of before-and-after pics.

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The Story Behind the 1-Story
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