Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
The question isn’t “what are we going to demolish?” – the question is “what aren’t we going to demolish?”
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Sable Gate Winery, a local affiliate of the Waters Edge chain of franchised vineyard-less wineries, has its grand opening tomorrow at 2600 Travis St., just south of McGowen and behind Reef in Midtown. The new wine spot, which began serving last weekend, took over the space from GAGE Lounge. Customers who want to make, cork, and bottle their own-label varieties at Sable Gate can choose from the chain’s selection of pre-crushed grapes shipped in from more vineyard-friendly climes around the world; if you’re in a greater hurry than the 5 to 7 weeks it normally takes to ferment and blend a batch of imported grape must, you can commandeer one Sable Gate’s already got going — or just order a glass at the bar.
- Sable Gate Winery [Waters Edge Winery]
Photos: Sable Gate Winery
Sable Gate Winery
MONTROSE DISTRICT APPEALING JUDGE’S ORDER TO RETURN $6.6 MILLION IT COLLECTED FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES 
The new judge now in charge of the 5-year-old lawsuit against the 6-year-old Montrose Management District earlier this week affirmed the decision announced by his predecessor late last year — that the taxes the group imposed on the West Montrose Management District were not validly assessed, and that all $6.6 million should be returned to its payers — and parceled off a dispute about attorneys’ fees into a separate case. The final judgment clears the way for the district to appeal the ruling in state court, which it did yesterday. “The district stands by its position that it is operating within its legal charter granted by the State of Texas,” a statement put out by the organization reads. “No refunds for assessments collected in the West Montrose Management District (the only portion of the district under dispute in this legal action) will be made, pending the outcome of the current appeal.” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Montrose Management District
A fourth Candy Shack Daiquiris To Go is planning to open next year on Washington Ave, just 2-and-a-half blocks to the west of the existing W Grill Margaritas To Go drive-thru at Washington and Durham.
Candy Shack is slated to take over the property at 5111 Washington Ave (pictured above), where Coast Eatery + Bar both opened and closed this year. (The property was listed for lease in August.) Before Coast’s tenure, the space was occupied by itinerant Mexican-food joint Taqueria La Macro.
There’s much more than just a drive-thru going into this location, however: The Washington Ave Candy Shack will include a bar, for drinkers not speeding off to their next appointment.
- Classic Flavors [Candy Shack Daiquiris To Go]
Photo: LoopNet
Packing a Punch
Swamplot’s sponsor for today: Houston’s own Central Bank. Thanks for the continued 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.
Central Bank believes that change is essential to its success; the company actively pursues the latest in service, technology, and products. Central Bank aims to know its customers personally and to be their primary business and personal financial resource. The bank’s staff values relationships and strives to be available when you need them.
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.
Swamplot readers are rooting for Houston. Become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.Â
Sponsor of the Day
- Median Houston Home Sales Price Up 7.6% to $233,900 Year-Over-Year in Third Quarter, Finds NAR [Houston Chronicle]
- Pelican Builders Says 11 Sales Have Already Closed in Almost-Complete 96-Unit Wilshire Condo Tower on Former Westcreek Apartments Site [Houston Chronicle]
- Self-Storage Company Life Storage Reports Multimillion-Dollar Damage from Hurricanes in Texas, Florida [HBJ ($)]
- Cleanup Begins in Buffalo Bayou as Water Levels Now Low Enough to Reach Debris [Houston Public Media]
- Harvey Revealed New Challenges for Houston’s Power Grid as Substations Flooded [Houston Public Media]
- Sketch City Founder Jeff Reichman on the Volunteer Tech Team He Led During Harvey [The Urban Edge]
- With $500M in Ike and Dolly Relief Still Unspent, Will Texas Do Better After Harvey? [The Texas Tribune]
- U.S. Job Growth Expected To Be Up in October as Businesses Reopened and Rebuilding Work Began After Hurricanes Harvey and Irma [AP]
- TxDOT Acquiring Rights of Way Along 14 Miles of I-10 in La Marque for Expansion Project [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Houston ISD Closed Today After Nearly 1,000 Staffers Reportedly Requested Off [abc13]
- Opinion: What the Astros’ Win Means for Houston [New York Times ($)]
Photo of Downtown Houston after the World Series: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Be thou the rainbow in the demolitions of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.
- 955 Rocky River Rd. [HAR]
The former North Shepherd Dr. garage of Southern Truck Pros, an auto shop that specializes in diesel trucks, appears to be headed for a second career — as a brewery. The Facebook page for a new company called Astral Brewing, showing off the kick-the-can logo portrayed here, lists 4818 N. Shepherd Dr. as its address — with a projected landing in 2018.
Until this past February, that address served as the Southern Truck Pros HQ. The metal warehouse building sits across the street from pickled pork rib tip hotspot B&W Meat Co., on the eastern edge of Shepherd Park Plaza.
Southern Truck Pros’ new location is further north, at 11549 Brooklyn St., east of the Hardy Toll Rd.
2100 MEMORIAL’S EVICTION ORDER, COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED 
A statement from the Houston Housing Authority yesterday says it “is making every effort to comply” with a judge’s temporary restraining order issued last week ordering the public agency to fix the fire-safety systems at the 14-story 2100 Memorial senior living apartment complex, test the building’s electrical transformers, and replace them if necessary. Judge Daryl Moore also prohibited the authority from terminating the leases of any of its tenants without demonstrating better cause than it has. An estimated 80 percent of the former Holiday Inn’s residents have already moved out. [Houston Chronicle; more; previously on Swamplot]Â Photo: Realtor.com
Today Swamplot is brought to you by the 3-bedroom home at 5702 Warm Springs Rd. in Westbury. Thanks for the support!
This flat-roof mod was part of the Parade of Homes put on by the Greater Houston Builders Association in 1959. Some unsympathetic changes made to the interior over the years have been redone by the home’s current owners, but the home still sports a number of original period furnishings: The home’s bathrooms have been renovated to be more compatible with the home’s modern character, for example, and new cork flooring now covers most of the main living spaces. But the unique built-in bookcase along one wall of the front sitting room and a room divider adjacent to the kitchen remain from the original.
A wall by the entry is covered with a custom mosaic tile pattern; behind it, the den, kitchen, breakfast area, and an alcove now furnished with a tiki bar flow into each other in an expansive space. The back yard of the 8,400-sq.-ft. lot is fenced. The 2,311-sq.-ft. home features 2 separate attached single-car garages, as well as a separate storage building.
To view more photos of this former Westbury show home, check out the property website. If you’d like to see it in person, contact the listing agent, Robert Searcy of Robert Searcy Properties.
Unique properties deserve attention. Become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.
Sponsor of the Day
Specialty hot dog shop and bakery Happy Fatz closed its bungalow doors for good yesterday at 3510 White Oak Dr. — after 6 and a half years in the Heights. “The uphill battle with the ‘neighboring’ house for the last 2 years became a greater challenge than expected,†reads a brief announcement posted yesterday to the restaurant’s Facebook page. A new 2-story, 4,400-sq.-ft. home was constructed last year on an adjacent property — a portion of which formerly served as a patio and parking lot for the restaurant. It’s currently listed for sale.
Happy Fatz’s owners write that they’ll continue to open pop-up shops in the Houston area. But they say they’ll be turning their attention to the Hill Country, opening a restaurant called Wildflour Artisan Bakery & Grill in Canyon Lake.
Photo:Â Kim W.
Out of the Dog House
- City Council Refers MetroNational, Meritage Homes Plan To Build Spring Brook Village in Floodplain on Pine Crest Golf Course Back to Mayor [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- After Repeated Flooding, Hewlett Packard and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Now Plan To Move Out of Former Compaq Campus Next to Cypress Creek [HBJ]
- Dallas-Based HistoryMaker Homes Plans To Double Homes Underway in Houston in Harvey’s Wake [Houston Chronicle]
- What FEMA Applications Reveal About Harvey’s Impact Across Houston [The Urban Edge]
- There Are Enough Harvey Cases in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims To Warrant Its Own Drop-Down Search Menu [Houston Chronicle]
- A Tale of Two Neighborhoods on Opposite Sides of Houston After Harvey [Houston Public Media]
- The Difference Another Foot of Water Could Have Made at the Barker and Addicks Reservoirs [Houston Public Media]
- Airbnb Bookings Saw a 40% Boost Last Weekend During the World Series in Houston [Houston Chronicle]
- Sean Finn Acquires 2525 North Loop West Office Building [Realty News Report]
- NAI Partners Broker: Downtown Houston Has Enough Residents to Support More Grocery Stores [HBJ ($)]
- Houston Ranked Among 10 U.S. Metros That Have Changed the Most in 10 Years by MoneyMagnify [Culturemap]
- Astros World Series Victory Parade To Be Held Friday in Downtown Houston [Houston Chronicle]
- Russian Facebook Pages Orchestrated Simultaneous Anti- and Pro-Islam Rallies at the Islamic Da’wah Center of Houston on Travis St. Downtown Last Year [The Texas Tribune]
Photo of shop on Gentry St. in Old Town Spring: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Demolition washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.
