- 327 Tynebridge Ln. [HAR]
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There’s nothing left standing at Michelangelo’s Restaurant since its demolition yesterday — except for the tree that used to grow in its dining room, visible in the photo at top. The restaurant’s days had been numbered since March, when its owners sold the building and adjacent parking lot on Westheimer to a developer with plans to build a gym-anchored strip center.
The gym will be Houston’s first Spenga fitness studio, brought here by a Chicago-based chain that signed a 4,011-sq.-ft. lease for the replacement building’s entire second floor back in June. Here it is up above street level:
Avondale
H-E-B is making a bright red appearance in a leasing brochure for The Market at Harper’s Preserve, a proposed shopping center that would go up along the entrance to the mostly-residential Harper’s Preserve development off Highway 242, 2 miles east of I-45. The site plan at top shows the supermarket anchoring a 28-acre retail area that would occupy the northeast corner of the partly-built, 800-acre community. Also included in the image: 2 buildings marked as banks, 2 as fast food, a gym, gas station, and 5 other structures.
A spokesperson for H-E-B said, “At this time it is premature for H-E-B to comment on specific plans for this parcel of land. However, we can share that we are excited about the prospect of building a new store to serve the growing Conroe community.” The site plan below shows one neighborhood of Harper’s Preserve called East Village, as well as the location of the shopping center, labeled “Mixed Use” at the top right corner:
East of The Woodlands
- What’s In Store for NewQuest, JLL, and Aliana’s 57-Acre Retail Development [HBJ ($)]
- Texas City To Consider Deal for $800M Ammonia Plant [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Rice University To Break Ground on New Music Building This Thursday [Rice News; previously on Swamplot]
- What’s Changed About Office Design in 2017 [Houstonia]
- East Hampton Sandwich Co. Now Planning River Oaks Location [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Harris County Commissioners Court Set To Vote Today on New Development Rules in Harvey’s Wake [Houston Chronicle]
- What Still Needs Cleaning Up at the Flooded Wortham Theater [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- San Jacinto Waste Pits Cleanup Might Not Start for Another Year [Houston Chronicle]
- Nearly Half of Those Affected by Harvey Say They Still Need Help To Get Back on Their Feet [AP]
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: More Than 3,700 People Haven’t Had Clean Drinking Water Since Late August [AP]
- Richmond Residents Debate Leaving Flood-Prone Neighborhood [Texas Observer]
Photo of the Icon Premier Residences: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
One that would have the fruit must demolish the buildings.
- 4014 Indian Beach Dr. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE ONLY MACKIE AND KAMRATH HOMES LEFT ON THE TIEL WAY LOOP 
“. . . My husband and I drove around Tiel Way after the storm to check on all the MacKie and Kamraths. There were several homes on the street that flooded — and not just by a few inches but into their second levels. One of the things that make the Kamraths of this era (and really, many high-end midcentury homes) so gorgeous and unique is the abundant use of wood panels for all walls, doors, built-in storage cabinets and seating — everything. But it also makes them particularly expensive and hard to fix after extensive water damage.
As Swamplot reported earlier this year, the home at 2 Tiel Way was bought with the intention to restore but had so much termite and water damage it would have cost double to restore compared to a full rebuild price. So that’s what they are doing: rebuilding the same house. . . . It’s a controversial choice but in my opinion it’s the best architectural conservation alternative to demolition. But not everyone has the resources to undertake something like a full architectural rebuild. So while the demo of this house, one of Kamrath’s finest, is certainly a punch in the gut . . . I get it. They probably would have saved it if they could.
Tiel Way was the last concentration of MacKie and Kamrath’s great residential works, at one point having 7 homes on the loop. After this demolition we will be down to 2.5: the Gold Brick–awarded restoration at 67 Tiel Way (which thankfully, did not appear to have Harvey flooding issues), Kamrath’s own residence at 8 Tiel Way (definitely flooded, but appears to be safe at the moment), and the rebuild currently in progress at 2 Tiel Way.
48 Tiel Way won’t be the only midcentury treasure lost to Harvey, but it’s certainly one of the saddest to see go.” [Rabbit, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Tiel Repeal; previously on Swamplot] Photo of 48 Tiel Way: HAR
The renderings and site plan shown here give the clearest view yet of what DC Partners and Chinese firm Tianqing Real Estate Development have planned for their proposed 6-acre mixed-use development at Allen Pkwy. and Gillette St., now dubbed The Allen. The image at top shows a 42-floor tower, home to both a Thompson hotel and private condominiums, fronting Allen Pkwy. A 3-story retail building is depicted to its right; behind it is an office tower. The site plan also shows a future apartment tower and medical office building toward the back of the complex.
The development is planned across Gillette St. from the Federal Reserve building, on the northern portion of an industrial site that was home to one of the city’s first garbage incinerators. A pedestrian bridge linking the development to the bayou is absent from the rendering at top, but indicated in the site plan as well as other images of the complex:
The Allen
Included in ProPublica’s effort to identify and map every abandoned munitions facility in the U.S. — especially those that might still harbor toxic waste, residue from chemical weapons, or explosives: Houston’s own San Antonio Ordnance Depot, the original boundaries of which straddle Jacintoport Blvd., just east of Beltway 8 and immediately north of the Houston Ship Channel.
The 4,850-acre former depot and ordnance demolition facility was sold to the Ship Channel’s governing authority in 1964. It counts as one of 62 current or former military installations in Texas still containing hazardous waste, but according to Department of Defense documents is not scheduled to be cleaned up entirely until 2084.
- ProPublica: One Of Texas’ Most-Contaminated Former Military Installations Borders Houston Ship Channel [Houston Public Media]
- Bombs in Your Backyard [ProPublica]
- Open Burns, Ill Winds [ProPublica]
- San Jacinto Ordnance Depot [HAIF]
- The Ordnance Depot [Urban Exploration Resource]
Photos of San Jacinto Ordnance Depot bunkers: arch-ive.org
Along the Ship Channel
- Brookfield Property Partners Adds To Downtown Portfolio with Purchase of Houston Center [Houston Chronicle]
- Texas Ranks Second Behind North Carolina on Forbes’s Best States for Business List [HBJ]
- Greater Houston Partnership Launches New Resilience Task Force To Address Flood Challenges [HBJ ($)]
- Developers of The Woodlands Used Deceptive Techniques To Lift Lots Out Of Flood Zones [New York Times]
- Bayou Greenways Project Sees Increased Support After Harvey [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- BB&T Scott & Stringfello Opens First Houston Office Downtown in 2 Allen Center [HBJ]
- Steakhouse Doris Metropolitan Opens in Former Triniti Restaurant Space on Shepherd [Eater Houston]
- In-N-Out Burger Pausing Plans for Westheimer Restaurant, Exploring Other Houston Locations [Click2Houston; previously on Swamplot]
- Lady Gaga Does Some Demo Work at Harvey-Damaged Houston Home [abc13]
- New Law May Make It ‘Almost Impossible’ for Texas Cities To Annex Land [Houston Public Media]
- Wind Power Capacity Has Surpassed Coal in Texas [Texas Monthly]
Photo of Travis St. opposite Market Sq.: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
All fine architectural values are demolition values, else not valuable.
- 9209 Hammerly Blvd. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ANOTHER WILLOW MEADOWS FAREWELL 
“Willowgrove is a beautiful street, and sadly, I think we’re going to see several homes come down akin to what we saw & are seeing again in Meyerland (I believe there was another one yesterday). It’s predominately 1960s single-story ranch homes, many custom designed and some of them oversized vs. the rest of neighborhood, below a canopy of oaks that drape the street. It’s terribly sad that what it was before is just gone now. Willowgrove backs up to one of the feeder ravines that breached when the bayou did, and homes on both sides of it — Cliffwood and Willowgrove — took a massive hit compared to the surrounding streets that only had street flooding. The cap on flood insurance, if homeowners had it, wouldn’t cover the value of those homes. I’ve had neighbors ask me, and I genuinely do not know — are those concrete ravines/mini-bayous supposed to drain/connect to Willow Water Hole at some point? Was that already supposed to have happened? If so, what was the delay?” [Heather, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Lynn Parked] Photo of 10202 Willowgrove Dr. interior (now for sale): HAR
Work has begun outside the former McGowen Cleaners — closed since 2015 — on the corner of Fairview and Morse streets, the site of the planned Vibrant restaurant. Last May, Vibrant’s owners bought the 3,909-sq.-ft. brick building, along with 2 adjacent neighbors to the south; they plan to open their Lake Flato-designed restaurant inside the corner building in March. The above rendering shows a patio that would be cut into its corner — and a garden lining the street, where chunks of chopped-up pavement now lie.
The rendering also shows tall windows being created where clerestory windows currently face Fairview. The clerestories are visible in the center of this photo of the 1931 Fairview St. building from last year, when the property was up for sale:
Lake Flato in Hyde Park
Today our sponsor is Houston’s own Central Bank. Thank you for the continuing support!
Central Bank has 4 (central) Houston branches available to meet your business or personal needs: in Midtown, the Heights, West Houston, and Post Oak Place.
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To learn more about how Central Bank can meet your banking needs, please call any of the following Senior Vice Presidents: Kenny Beard, at 832.485.2376; Bonnie Purvis, at 832.485.2354; Carlos Alvarez, at 832.485.2372; or Ryan Tillman, at 832.485.2307. You can also find out more on the bank’s website.
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