- 5726 Bayou Glen Rd. [HAR]
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- 5627 Seclusion Dr. [HAR]
DUTCH ARCHITECT READY FOR FUTURE MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN ABANDONED OIL TANKERS Meanwhile, in Amsterdam: As the IMF announces predictions of oil prices as low as $20 to $30 per barrel, architect Chris Collaris is already deep into planning for the conversion of empty oil megatankers into residential and mixed-use spaces. Collaris refers to “an overdose of pretentious iconic buildings” in oil-wealthy Persian Gulf states such as Dubai, and suggests that retrofitted tankers would serve as “a true icon” of today’s economic landscape “into the present and next era”, referencing a hypothetical post-oil future. Check out interior and exterior renderings and plans for the group’s inaugural design: the enormous Black Gold. [Chris Collaris, via CityLab]
Permits were issued yesterday for construction of a new tunnel concourse below 800 Bell St. —Â the Louisiana tunnel will be tied into the new digs planned beneath the former ExxonMobil building, at the corner of Bell and Milam downtown.
Following Exxon’s gradual withdrawal north to its new Woodlands campus, the Bell St. building is being completely redone — beneath a fancy new hat, the structure’s exterior fins will be engulfed in a new glass skin to add 100,000 sq.ft. of floorspace to the building. Eric Anderson told the HBJ last year that the only part of the building that wouldn’t be replaced is the concrete.
Renderings and site plans from architects Ziegler Cooper now provide a glimpse into plans for the basement and coming tunnel connections as well:
800 Bell St.
All eyes (well — at least 4) were on 3910 Kirby just north of 59 yesterday as excavators began snacking on the space formerly occupied by South Indian restaurant Madras Pavilion: reader J. Clark captured some sky-high views of the ongoing demolition; another anonymous tipster snapped shots from lower levels and the ground. The Corporate Plaza III building (shown en déshabillé above) also previously housed Central-American restaurant Red Onion and sushi joint Miyako.
A fence has gone up around both Corporate Plaza III and Corporate Plaza II, next door at 3930 Kirby. Demo permits for both structures were issued on Friday, and work began yesterday morning to bring the northern building down. Corporate Plaza I, the taller sibling of the doomed twins, is visible on the right behind the parking garage on the same property:
All-You-Can-Excavate
Hidden in the woods behind the Houston Racquet Club, this C-floorplan mod leaning out toward Buffalo Bayou is currently on the market for just under $2.4 million — down from $3.8 million at the end of September, and $2.9 million at the start of November. The 7,449-sq.-ft. home is now being sold for what the listing claims is lot value, though a $900/monthyear maintenance fee is included. The curvaceous structure contains 3 bedrooms, 3 and a half bathrooms, a pool, and a small mixed-species grove.
Sadly, no photos of the interior are included in the listing, but aerial views are:
Home Invasion in Hunterwood
Concrete flowed over the weekend — contractors poured the mat foundation for the residential section of the Kirby Collection mixed-use development, currently under construction 1 block north of Richmond Ave. at 3200 Kirby Dr. More than 200 workers were involved in the 8-hour pour, which involved 6,000 cu. yd. of concrete and 500 tons of rebar.
Workers also left lucky Thor Equities logo coins inside the 7-ft-thick mat. A press release from Thor, the developer for the Kirby Collection, says the project is still on track to be finished by the end of 2017.
Going Up in Upper Kirby
Looking for an overview of the new site of UT’s recently-announced Houston campus? Your best bet may be to stop in at the Wildcat Golf Club, located directly across Holmes Rd. from the site of UT’s planned purchase. Native Houstonians may experience a touch of vertigo trekking up the club’s grassy peaks to catch the view of NRG Park and downtown (see above) — hills on the site reach more than 115 feet above sea level in places. (Downtown, for comparison, stands at roughly 50 feet, and the big hill at Miller Outdoor Theater tops out around 65.)
The golf club’s topography is a byproduct of its original gig as a major municipal landfill, operating for nearly two decades until 1989; clay and topsoil were imported to sculpt the waste heaps into today’s smoothly rolling hills and water features:
Houston Hill Country
- 922 Rochow St. [HAR]
- Hanover Pushes Back Closing Date for 1.65-Acre Upper Kirby Apartment Site to February [HBJ]
- New Katy Medical Plaza with Green Rooftop Awarded LEED Gold Certification by U.S. Green Building Council [Realty News Report]
- Houston Among the 10 Most Affordable Metropolitan Areas in the Sun Belt [The Urban Edge]
- Transportation Bill Would Focus National Attention on Freight Corridors [Houston Chronicle]
- The Texas Mansion To End All Texas Mansions [Curbed]
- How Different Cities Do Smart Streetlights, Often the First Step in the Smart Cities Movement [The Urban Edge]
Photo of Dean’s at 316 Main St.: thranth via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
The strip mall at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose now sports two “Mattress Firm” storefronts right next door to one another, operating independently. The western Mattress Firm, on the right in the photo above, has been converted from a Mattress Pro through the subtle but definitive application of a small banner, filling the gap left by the removal of the word “Pro”. All Mattress Pro stores had until November 6th to convert signage, following a mid-September announcement that Mattress Firm would be discontinuing the subsidiary brand.
What exactly has changed? Not the Mattress Pro logo, which still bounces along in contrast to Mattress Firm’s aggressive yellow swipe. The relabeled store, now styled as a Mattress Firm: Final Markdown facility, will sell Mattress Firm products at a bargain-bin discount, while the regular Mattress Firm next door will continue to sell those products at full price.
Doubling Down
The muffled whir of power tools could be heard last week through the razorwire-topped fence and metal siding of the former Leeland Wholesale Grocery, south of Leeland St. between Live Oak and Nagle. The 10,000-sq.-ft. warehouse is being converted into a sales center and showroom for the Ivy Lofts micro-unit condominium highrise, which will eventually spring up on the same city block. The warehouse will be outfitted with several full-scale models of the project’s adorably tiny floorplans, which start at a dorm-room-reminiscent 300 sq.ft. An Ivy Lofts marketing representative for the project assured Paul Takahashi of the HBJ that the lack of wasted space in the units “will change the way Houstonians live.”
Developer Novel Creative Development anticipates opening the sales center in April and selling all of the planned tower’s units before demolishing the warehouse as contractors break ground on the highrise itself in June. Plans for the tower (shown below from the south) include 7 floors of parking, ground-level retail space, and various recreational nooks:
Ivy Lofts Sales Center
- ARA Newmark Speculates University of Texas System’s Recent Land Acquisition Cost Between $39M to $65M [HBJ]
- Boxer Property Chairman Andrew Segal on the Current State of the Houston Real Estate Market [Realty News Report]
- Yard House To Open Within Baybrook Mall’s New Expansion on Dec. 5 [HBJ]
- Liberty Kitchen To Open Little Liberty Concept in Old Ruggles Space in Rice Village [Eater Houston]
- Texas Down At Least 56,000 Oil and Gas Jobs Since December 2014 Based on Texas Petro Index [Houston Public Media]
- The Largest Cruise Ship Ever To Sail from Texas, Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas, Arrives at the Port of Galveston [HBJ]
Photo of Southwest Freeway: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
- 3-Story Downtown Office Complex 1305 Prairie Trades Hands [GlobeSt.com]
- Anonymous South American Investor Bought Fairmont Parkway Shopping Center in Pasadena [Realty News Report]
- Crime Stoppers of Houston To Tear Down Current Building, Break Ground on New $10M, 30K-SF Headquarters in Midtown on Oct. 30 [HBJ]
- Developer Proposing New Midrise Condominium Project in River Oaks Called Revere Park at River Oaks [Prime Property]
- First Homes in Tiger Woods Golf Course Resort Bluejack National in North Houston Nearing Completion [HBJ]
- Overall Local Economy May Be Flattening Out, According to Houston Purchasing Managers Index [Houston Chronicle]
- Top 5 Houston Apartment Complexes with the Most Complaints, According to City Records [KHOU]
- David Adickes Considering Relocating His ‘We Heart Houston’ Sign from 1816 Thompson St. Due To Townhomes Construction [The Leader]
- Sloane Gallery Home To Rare Collection of Photographs, Films Documenting Houston Over the Past Century [abc13]
Photo: Ruben S. via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
- Surge Homes Breaks Ground on 3 Residential Projects in Midtown, Museum District, and Upper Kirby Designed by ‘Crowdsourcing’ [HBJ]
- H&M Opening Its Fifth Houston-Area Location on Sept. 10 in CityCentre [Houston Chronicle]
- Houston Ranked Among the Friendliest Cities To Start a New Business in the U.S. for Factors Such as Zoning, Tax Code, Regulations [HBJ]
- Metro Says CAF at Breach of Contract for $1M Mechanical Malfunction in New Rail Cars [Houston Chronicle]
- Harris County Toll Road Authority Starts Work on Hardy Toll Road Expansion Project [Click2Houston]
- City Installing Electronic Warning Gates at Flood-Prone Underpasses [Houston Public Media]
- Feral Hogs Tearing Up Liberty High School Football Field [Click2Houston]
Photo of At Home closing, 2827 Dunvale Rd.: Robert Vercher
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