Shopping Centers

Shopping Centers, Spring

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NEW PLANNED PARENTHOOD INCITES PROTESTS IN SPRING This 7th Houston-area Planned Parenthood, which signed a 5-year lease and opened last week here at 4747 Louetta Rd. in a Spring shopping center shared by a Chase branch, party supply store, and daycare, doesn’t seem to have received the warmest welcome:Â Cool Kat Party Supply owner Glenn Mehterian says he moved his main entrance around the corner: “We’ll have more comfort entering our store from the Kroger side,” he tells abc13. And others have been moved to protest the clinic in their own way: Conroe man and Right to Life volunteer Joe Wiegan has come here to pray: â€œIt was a lonesome feeling,” he tells the Montgomery County Courier’s Kimberly Sutton, “but after about half an hour, a man and his young son walked out of the Chase Bank next door and asked if they could join me . . . . He led a beautiful prayer for the unborn and they left with tears in their eyes. . . . .” Then Wiegan was joined by another: “He said he passed by earlier and asked God to please keep me here until he got back by so he could stop and pray with me . . . He was an awesome bear of a man, with a spirit as gentle as a lambâ€™s.” [abc13; Montgomery County Courier; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Montgomery County Courier

77388, Medical Clinics, Openings and Closings, Protests, Shopping Centers, Spring

Apartments

04/29/13 2:30pm

Hanover at Rice Village Feeding the Hungry

Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Restaurants, Retail, Rice Village, Shopping Centers

10 Comments

HANOVER AT RICE VILLAGE FEEDING THE HUNGRY The retail ring facing Morningside, Dunstan, and Kelvin around the bottom ofÂ Hanover at Rice Village seems to be filling out: With ZoÃ«s Kitchen opening in February at 5215 Kelvin and Cloud 10 Creamery making plans to since January, Prime Property’s Nancy Sarnoff drops the names of the other 4Â restaurants on the way: There’ll be Cyclone Anaya’s (shown in the photo here on Morningside to the right of Cloud 10 Creamery), a coffee shop called Fellini, Punk’s Simple Southern Food, and Coppa Osteria. Sarnoff also mentions the lone non-restaurant planned, “a boutique” called Saint Cloud. [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West

77005, Apartments, Mixed Use, Restaurants, Retail, Rice-Village

04/25/13 2:30pm

Now Open: Torchy’s in Rice Village

Renovations, Restaurants, Rice Village, Shopping Centers

23 Comments

As of late last week, Torchy’s Tacos is open, having built out and taken up this corner suite formerly occupied by Gugliani’s at 2400 Times Blvd. in Rice Village. This is the Austin chain’s 3rd location inside the Loop: There’s one on South Shepherd Dr. half a block from the Arby’s that’s becoming a Dunkin’ Donuts and another under construction in the former Harold’s in the Heights building at the corner of Ashland and 19th St.

77005, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Rice-Village, Shopping Centers

Briar Forest

04/15/13 10:00am

Look What’s Sprouting on Westheimer and Kirkwood

Kirkwood, Memorial, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers

2 Comments

Note: Story updated with new photos.

An update comes in from reader Nicole Sherman, who saw this bare facade-to-be and fruity Sprouts Farmers Market sign at the end of last week and snapped these photos: Filling in for the former Sports Authority in the Kirkwood Shopping Center at 11940 Westheimer, this will be the 4th Sprouts in Houston and the farthest in, only 2 miles beyond the Beltway. In October, the green grocer revealed the first 3 locations it would open in Houston this year:

77077, Briar Forest, Franchises and Chain Stores, Grocery Stores, Memorial, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers

Avondale

04/10/13 4:10pm

A Change Afoot at Old Tejas Boots Home on Westheimer

Demolitions, Land Development, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers

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Why did Tejas Boots leave 208 Westheimer? Owner Mike Kuykendahl says that the family that owns the li’lÂ strip center (above) that Tejas Boots shared with Hollywood Food & Cigars asked them to: The family gave the tenants 2 months to move, explaining that they’re considering upgrading the 4,100-sq.-ft. building, says Kuykendahl, or tearing it down andÂ redeveloping that corner of Helen and Westheimer. Tejas Boots had been here since 1984; they’veÂ relocated just a few blocks west into the browner, newerÂ retail strip stack shown at right at 415 Westheimer. It’s not much as signs go, but that faint horizontal smudge beneath the Green Park Pilates logo marks the spot where the bootmakers can now be found.

When only the finest Custom Boots, Belts and Buckles will do [Tejas Custom Boots]
Previously on Swamplot: Westheimer Bootmakers To Reopen Shop a Few Blocks West on Westheimer

Photos: Allyn West

77006, Avondale, Demolitions, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Relocations, Retail, Strip Center

Land Development

04/04/13 10:30am

Vintage Marketplace Whole Foods Going Up Soon

Master-Planned Communities, New Construction, Retail, Shopping Centers, The Vintage

No Comments

Construction’s expected to begin next week on this Whole Foods at thatÂ once-forested spot near Louetta and Cutten Rd. east of the Tomball Pkwy. The 40,443-sq.-ft. store in the master-planned community The Vintage, south of the path of theÂ Grand Parkway, will be the first Whole Foods in North Houston. Houston Business Journal‘s Shaina Zucker notes that the Gensler-designed store will anchor the 18-acre Vintage Marketplace.

North Houston Whole Foods ground breaking ceremony set for next week [Houston Business Journal]
Previously on Swamplot: Breakfast Bar of Champions

Image: Judy Nichols & Associates, via Houston Business Journal

77070, Grocery Stores, Land Development, New Construction, Retail, Shopping Centers, The Vintage, Whole Foods

Buildouts

04/01/13 10:30am

Dunkin’ Donuts Opening Next Month in Westchase Strip Center

Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Shopping Centers, Westchase

11 Comments

If you can’t wait until June or July for Dunkin’ Donuts to open inside the Loop at the former Arby’s at South Shepherd and Fairview, you might plan to comeÂ here, the former SmashBurger at 10705 Westheimer, where a company rep says that the donut makers will open in May the first of 16 planned Houston stores. Sharing the Westchase strip center with a Cricket store and Brookstreet Bar-B-Que, the coffee-colored endcap has undergone at least one other renovation: A drive-thru lane now cuts through what had beenÂ SmashBurger’s treeside patio.

77042, Buildouts, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Shopping Centers, Westchase

Buildouts

03/28/13 12:05pm

Gutting a Belly-Dancing Studio for a Place to Row in Weslayan Plaza

Renovations, Shopping Centers, West University

20 Comments

This white box, covering up the emergency exit of a vacated belly-dancing studio, will be the new entrance of Houston’s first indoor rowing facility, says founder Greg Scheinman. In West University Place, ROW Studios is building out the former Sirrom Dance behind the Randall’s in Weslayan Plaza and resurfacing the parking lot facing Academy St.

77027, Buildouts, Gyms, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Shopping Centers, Weslayan Plaza, West University Place

East End

03/25/13 11:00am

Telephone Road’s New Sweet and Sweat Shops

Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers, Signage

8 Comments

As though mandated by some surgeon general recommendation for commercial development, the new neighbors in the Tlaquepaque Market at Telephone and Lockwood are an ice cream shop and a fitness studio. Scoops, the sign for which recently appeared above those window bars, is replacing a nail salon at 724 Telephone; it will share a wall with aÂ Zumba studio, a former dollar store that doesn’t have a sign yet — but it does appear to have been renovated to provideÂ rump-shakers inside the comfort and convenience of opaque window screens. These new interests are just a few blocks from the new Oak Leaf Smokehouse that opened for lunch in late February at 1000 Telephone Rd., and just a few suites from the new-ish Blue Line Bike Lab.

Previously on Swamplot: Telephone Road Smokehouse Replaces Telephone Road Smokehouse, Heights Bike Lab Expands, Opens Shop Near UH in East End

Photos: Allyn West

77023, East End, Fitness, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers, Telephone Road

03/21/13 10:30am

The End Coming for Marfreless in River Oaks

Quicklink, River Oaks, Shopping Centers

10 Comments

THE END COMING FOR MARFRELESS IN RIVER OAKS AndÂ the low-light, low-keyÂ make-out den behind that signless blue door in the River Oaks Shopping Center says it’s closing at the end of MarchÂ in a press release quoted here in the Houston Chronicle: “Marfreless’s owners have been trying to do whatever they could to keep the bar operational but other entities involved weren’t budging in regards to the rising cost of doing business, making it impossible to keep the business at this location.” Serving martinis and discreetlyÂ turning the other way as couples have gone at it for 40 years, Marfreless says it’s looking for another location. [Houston Chronicle] Photo: Flickr user jmcgeough

77019, Bars, Openings and Closings, Quicklink, River Oaks, Shopping Centers

Commercial Real Estate

03/05/13 5:00pm

Houston Pavilions To Be Renamed, Rebranded

Development Strategies, Downtown, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping Centers

11 Comments

HOUSTON PAVILIONS TO BE RENAMED, REBRANDED Clearly, former NBA star Earvin Johnson knows the value ofÂ renaming —Â and Houston Pavilions, which Magic and other investors bought back in August, will be given a new moniker of its own, reports the Houston Business Journalâ€™s Shaina Zucker: Today, @HouPavilions tweeted an invitation to a party on April 4 at San Jacinto between Dallas and Polk during which the mall-ish complex will reveal its new name and new brand strategy. “[R]etailers and restaurants,” the invitation says, “will have booths featuring complimentary tastings and interactive activities including Wii Bowling, a basketball hoop-off for the chance to win a signed Houston Rockets basketball and more.” [Houston Business Journal;Â previously on Swamplot] Photo: Flickr user cjt3

77002, Downtown, Houston Pavilions, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping Centers

03/01/13 10:00am

Wherefore Art Thou, Juliet and Romeo?

Retail, Rice Village, Shopping Centers

2 Comments

It was abrupt, Thursday’s closing of Rice Village’sÂ Juliet and Romeo Couture on the corner of Kirby Dr. and Times Blvd.,Â an employee at a nearby shop tells Swamplot: No signs were posted anywhere before early Thursday morning, when the merchandise inside was gone. The store’s phone number, as of this morning, is “non-working.” Juliet and Romeo had a spot on Westheimer before it moved to the 9,650-sq.-ft. building at 6117 Kirby that dates to 1940, according to city records, shared by an alterations shop, Ovations night club, and the Main Street Theater offices around the corner, all facing Times Blvd.

Previously on Swamplot: Up Next on the Westheimer Retail Turntable: School for DJs

Photo: Swamplot inbox

77005, Openings and Closings, Retail, Rice-Village, Shopping Centers

Houston Heights

02/27/13 10:00am

More Retail Moving North on Yale St.?

Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers

36 Comments

Update, 4:48 p.m.: The map and drawing are not part of UCR Houston’sÂ active plans, aÂ representative from the retail advisorÂ tells Swamplot; UCR is not marketing this property and does not represent and has never represented the property’s current owner. Read more here.

Is this where even more retail development will be coming to the Heights? ~~UCR MoodyRambin Page is marketing~~ A reader alerts Swamplot to a flyer representing a possible plan for this 4-acre site on Yale St. north of the Washington Heights Walmart and the recently soldÂ San Jacinto Stone property — that’s that big empty green square right next to I-10 — for a bank and fast-food restaurants.

You can see a more detailedÂ site plan after the jump:

77007, Banks, Houston Heights, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers

02/26/13 12:30pm

Soap Shop Closing in Rice Village