- Dayton Developing 7,000-Acre Master-Planned Community in East Houston [HBJ ($)]
- Commerce Green Office Park in Sugar Land Fully Leased [Houston Chronicle]
- Hakeem Olajuwon’s Former North Houston Home on the Market for $595K [HBJ]
- Tilman Fertitta’s Mastro’s Steakhouse Opens Today at The Post Oak [Houston Chronicle]
- Galleria LePeep Moves a Third of a Mile Down the Road to 4340 Westheimer [Eater Houston]
- How City and County Officials Reacted Behind the Scenes After Harvey’s Landfall [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Selling Homes a Challenge in Harvey-Hit Neighborhoods [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Harvey Could Be a Turning Point for Equitable Transit-Oriented Development in Houston [OffCite]
- What It Means for Houston Home Sales If the National Flood Insurance Program Expires [KHOU]
- Donations Help Houston Fire Department Expand Flood Rescue Fleet [Houston Chronicle]
- Federal Judge Upholds Rule Denying FEMA Relief for 3 Texas Churches [Houston Public Media]
- Inside the Sudden Demise of the Houston Press [Texas Observer]
- Overnight Snowfall Causes Some School Delays, Icy Roads [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of Buffalo Bayou Park: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Wild West Well Control is expected to finish capping an oil well this evening on McHard Rd. just west of the Fort Bend Tollway that blew out last night, sending foul-smelling fumes southeast into Fort Bend County. Nearby residents got a nose-ful: “
“. . . Back in the 1920s, the 4th Ward was Houston’s version of Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. Racist white city officials did not want a thriving African American community right next to a rapidly growing downtown and demolished a huge section of the community to build public housing (the decisive blow to the 4th ward would be extending the freeway through the community, effectively cutting it off from downtown). APV was designed by MacKie & Kamrath and was intended to be public housing. It ended up as all white housing for veterans. Eventually, African Americans moved in as whites moved out and headed to the suburbs. In the ’70s, as the City was booming again, City officials wanted to demolish APV as it, and much of the rest of the 4th ward, was falling into disrepair. Every single move after that was just controversy on top of controversy. The City was accused of moving Vietnamese immigrants into APV to dilute the number of African Americans who opposed demolition. Then, there was a big master plan project proposed to redevelop the entire area, a court case over demolition of APV and designation of APV and the Fourth Ward on the national register of historic places. In the end, more than half was demoed and replaced with new apartments in 2000. The original MacKie & Kamrath designed buildings are architecturally and historically significant. But, like the history of the 4th ward, Houston’s transient population knows very little about the trials and tribulations behind APV. So, it is an easy target to troll for hate on preservationists.” [
“. . . In an ideal world, I think that the City should’ve recognized that there was an opportunity for the HHA to acquire this site and work with a private-sector master developer to completely demolish the existing complex and integrate government housing into a much more intensively developed project on this extremely high-profile site. Doing so would’ve bypassed some of the issues that they’ve since encountered with the adverse SCOTUS ruling. It wouldn’t have been cheap, but it would’ve also tastefully incorporated government housing into a project that could have mitigated the externality of APV on the areas around it and established an open street grid. Doing so would’ve made everything around there and along the Buffalo Bayou much more desirable and accessible, and leveraged the tax base upward over a large area. However, that also wouldn’t have been uncontroversial; some people think that the original Allen Parkway Buildings are architecturally significant enough to warrant their preservation. In any case, that ship probably has sailed. . . .” [
The 4949 Convenience Store, heir to the Sunrise Grocery spot on the northeast corner of Bissonnet and Shepherd, has been demolished — this time in its entirety, and with a little less fanfare. Back in September, crowds gathered to watch ceiling-mounted wrecking balls bust up parts of the building’s interior as part of a “
