The apartment tower the Hanover Company is planning to replace the northeastern chunk of the Kirby Court Apartments on Steel St. and a few surrounding properties will defer to a range of cuisines. Sure it’ll be directly across the street from the Whole Foods Market on Kirby Dr. But it’s also leaving alone the property on the corner of Kirby and Kipling St., where Becks Prime will continue to pump out burgers to customers passing through its drive-thru. If that bit of culinary contrast doesn’t impress, wait for the building to be finished: According to documents submitted to the city for the variance the developer is seeking, the ground floor of the 370-unit Hanover River Oaks apartment complex will have lease space for restaurants.

***

The variance application just released by the city gives some detail about Hanover’s plans for the live oak trees fronting the property along Steel St.:

The ±1.65 acre site currently has five large oak trees with diameters varying from twenty-six inches to thirty-five inches along the south boundary being Steel Street. The proposed development desires to preserve the five large oak trees and [sic] by shifting the proposed development north and reducing the building line along Kipling Street to five feet. The proposed building would be approximately 41-feet from the back of curb along Steel Street and approximately 19-feet from the back of curb along Kipling Street. The existing paving section is approximately thirty-five feet along Kipling Street and approximately thirty-three and a half feet along Steel Street. The proposed shift north will allow for the proposed building to be located outside of the drip line of the five oak trees. The reduced building line along Kirby Drive [10 ft.] will allow for vehicular traffic visiting the site to be moved away from Kirby Drive and create a friendlier pedestrian realm. The developer proposes to improve the pedestrian realm along Kirby Dive and Kipling Street with six-foot sidewalks and three-inch caliper oak trees.

• New High Rise Plans Announced for Houston’s Inner Loop [abc13]
• Previously on Swamplot: New Hanover Apartment Complex Will Eat a Chunk of the Kirby Court Apartments Across from Whole Foods

Photo: Swamplot inbox