- 1426 Banks St. [HAR]
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Unless there’s been some sort of re-inflation and relaunching regime in place in the meantime, it’s now been at least 4 days that an inflatable swan has been floating around the seasonal pond currently filling the excavated future construction site at 3300 Main St. in Midtown. Houston’s code enforcement building previously stood here; the site was later purchased by PMRG for the construction of a 336-unit highrise apartment tower. For now, though, it’s the domain of a twirling floatie: “It’s quite relaxing watching the wind blow it around and around and around,” reports the reader who snapped this shot of it this afternoon.
- Someone released an inflatable swan in the “lake” behind the HCC building in midtown. [Reddit]
- Previously on Swamplot:Â Demolished City Code Enforcement Office Beats Houston Swimming Hole Boosters to the Punch
Photo: Swamplot inbox
The Pond at 3300 Main
COMMENT OF THE DAY: FLOODING IMPROVEMENTS 
“I have flooded twice in my home, once with 1 in. and then again in 2015 with about 6 to 8 inches. We rebuilt higher, and didn’t flood in Harvey, but I still wonder if I did the right thing. Basically I can say flooded, raised, didn’t flood — perhaps that’s a better story? Or even a better story is not near a major bayou.” [Bob Jones, commenting on When ‘Never Flooded’ Doesn’t Work] Illustration: Lulu
Swamplot’s sponsor today is 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.
Let Houston know what you’re doing. Become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.Â
Sponsor of the Day
A spokesperson for the Houston Housing Authority tells Swamplot the city agency is not and will not be enforcing the previously announced 5-day deadline for all residents of 2100 Memorial to move out with their belongings. A notice delivered earlier this week by the building’s owner, an affiliate organization of the agency, to all 188 residents of the low-income-housing-tax-credit senior living facility labeled the structure “totally unusable for residential purposes due to health and safety reasons” after it was discovered that floodwaters had damaged the 14-story former Holiday Inn’s fire, electrical, and water systems.
The move-out deadline has not been altered, but the agency says it “understands it will take time to pack and move so they are working closely with the residents to help move in an orderly fashion.”
The photo at top shows the setup for a well-attended emergency meeting held yesterday afternoon on the second level of the building’s parking garage. At the meeting the HHA’s Board of Commissioners approved a $250,000 loan to the building’s management for relocation expenses, which it will then ask FEMA to cover. The funds will provide movers at no cost to residents to help them relocate their belongings to available residences in “Greater Houston” it has identified: 230 tax-credit units with similar rules to those governing 2100 Memorial — or 250 affordable housing units of other types.
Residents who have already hired their own movers, the spokesperson says, will be reimbursed. The agency says displaced residents will be given preference in returning to the building when it can be determined to be safe.
- Previously on Swamplot:Â Inside 2100 Memorial, Where More Than 180 Elderly or Disabled Residents Have 2 Days Left To Move Out;Â Residents of 2100 Memorial Senior Highrise Now Have 5 Days To Move Out of Their ‘Uninhabitable’ Apartments
Photos:Â Swamplot inbox (meeting setup) Realtor.com (building)
Sixth Ward Exodus
- Scheduled Foreclosure Auctions in Houston Up 67% Year-Over-Year in August [Houston Chronicle]
- Houston’s Economy Was Already Struggling Before Hurricane Harvey Hit [Business Insider]
- Who Is Going To Pay for Mortgage Losses on Homes Destroyed by Harvey and Irma Areas? [Wolf Street]
- Houston Housing Investors See Profit in Harvey’s Wake [Reuters]
- West Houston Mom and Pop Restaurants Start Rebuilding After Harvey [abc13]
- Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Calls for $100M in Funding To Replace the Addicks and Barker Dams [Houston Public Media]
- EPA Head Promises Agency Will Have Solution for the San Jacinto Waste Pits Before Oct. 14 Texas-Oklahoma Football Game [Houston Press]
- EPA Believes Valero ‘Significantly Underestimated’ the Amount of Benzene Released During Harvey [Houston Press; previously on Swamplot]
- After Harvey, What Will Happen to Houston’s Oil Industry? [Wired]
- The Story of Hurricane Harvey, as Told by 28 Texans [Texas Monthly]
- Pappy’s Cafe To Relocate After 34 Years in Memorial Villages Area [HBJ]
- Midtown Park, Lone Star Flight Museum Seeking Restaurant Tenants [HBJ]
- Hyperloop Texas Avoided a Direct Link from Dallas to Houston To Limit Competition with Texas Central’s Bullet Train [Bisnow]
- The Woodlands Could Be Home to a Museum of Removed Confederate Statues [Houston Chronicle]
- Downtown Section of I-10 Will Be Closed in Both Directions This Weekend To Demolish Elysian Viaduct [Houston Press]
Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he demolishes.
- 702 Olde Oaks Dr. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE MORE WEST HOUSTON FLOODS, THE MORE IT STAYS THE SAME 
“Why does it matter? Even after the flood, I am okay with them building there on private land. Flood risk is just one of a million things that you should look at when buying a home. Heck, even knowing what we know now, I might still buy there in the right situation. If I was looking to buy a home in that general area, and the only way I can get one is to build one on the far back end of the reservoir, I would still do it today. Even after we calibrate the models to include the recent rainfall events, we will still find that this is an outlier.” [Rex, commenting on How It Came To Pass That Hundreds of Families Purchased Homes Inside Houston’s Reservoirs; previously on Swamplot] Map of subdivisions in or along the edge of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs: ProPublica
The apartments inside 2100 Memorial are “quite hale and hearty,” a reader tells Swamplot — and were not individually affected by the flooding that caused enough damage to the building’s fire-safety systems to trigger a 5-day move-out notice to all tenants in the 14-story structure. That notice was issued Monday night to all 188 residents of the tax-credit elderly housing facility; prior to that, construction crews and volunteers had worked to mitigate the damage and help residents left for days without water and without easy transportation between floors. Above: a view of the first-floor hallway, lined with plywood. In the building’s computer room, the removal of wood paneling revealed wallpaper left over from the building’s days as a Holiday Inn:
Repair Zone
Our sponsor today is Mosaic Dermatology Houston. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!
It’s easy to get next-day and even same-day appointments at Mosaic Dermatology. Also even Saturday appointments. There are 3 Houston-area locations, each with convenient freeway access: in Upper Kirby at 2211 Norfolk St., in the Tanglewood area (convenient to the Galleria) at 5757 Woodway Dr., and in Midtown at 3401 Louisiana St. (the Bienville Bldg., pictured above).
Mosaic Dermatology is an award-winning, highly rated general dermatology practice that offers a range of cosmetic procedures — from Botox to dermal fillers to MiraDry. Also available: the company’s growing line of branded cosmetic products, including a face and body cleanser, cleansing cream, sunscreens, and a Retinol serum and cream.
Mosaic Dermatology also offers several specialized treatments for skin conditions such as acne and eczema, and is convenient for skin cancer screenings. Mosaic Clinic dermatologists will even see you for acne emergencies before big events; poison ivy; and other urgent skin rashes that itch, bleed, or spread.
To find out more, check out the Mosaic Clinic Dermatology website, where you can learn more about the products and procedures mentioned here. You can make an appointment at any of the 3 locations from this page — or call (281) 941-5556 for immediate assistance.
Get in touch with Swamplot readers. Become a Sponsor of the Day.
Sponsor of the Day
Here’s a cruel twist on all those DID NOT FLOODÂ signs popping up in front of homes in Harvey’s wake — and perhaps a cautionary tale for potential buyers of some of them: When it was offered for sale this summer, this 3-bedroom 1957 home on Yarwell Dr. in Meyerland between Chimney Rock and S. Post Oak featured a proud NEVER FLOODEDÂ topper on its for-sale sign. But Hurricane Harvey permanently altered that situation. Reader James Thomson snapped this shot of the front yard on September 4th, showing the first part of the sign painted over to reflect the home’s new status. The property has since been taken off the market.
- Previously on Swamplot:Â Here Comes Another Surge of ‘Did Not Flood’ Signs
Photo: James Thomson
Meyerland
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- Housing Authority Charges Tenants Rent for Flooded Units [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Mayor Turner Reduces Proposed 1-Year Property Tax Increase After FEMA Agrees To Higher Reimbursements for Harvey Cleanup [Reuters]
- Gov. Abbott: So Far ‘8 Football Fields’ Worth of Debris Removed After Harvey [Houston Chronicle]
- Trash Not Being Picked Up in About 60 Fort Bend County Gated Communities Because of FEMA Rule [abc13]
- What Lurks in the Sludge That Harvey Left Behind? [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
- First Responders and Flooding Victims Can See ‘Harvey’ for Free; A.D. Players’ ‘Harvey for Harvey’ To Benefit Relief Efforts [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Braun Enterprises Kicks Off Heights Redevelopment Project at Yale and Aurora St. [HBJ ($)]
- Provident Realty Gets $121M in Financing for Former Texaco Building [HBJ ($)]
- Ella Springs Senior Living Opens in North Houston [Houston Chronicle]
- Having a Roommate Could Save an Average of 36.5% Off Rent in Greater Houston, Finds RentHop [Houston Chronicle]
- Harvey Partly to Blame as U.S. Home Resales Hit a 12-Month Low in August [Reuters]
- RG Homes Founder Roy Gabbay, Accused of Forging Inspection Documents, Appears in Court [Houston Chronicle]
- Title Boxing Club Planning To Open 20 Locations in the Houston Area Over the Next 6 Years [HBJ]
- AMC Theatres To Open 10-Screen Theater in MetroPark Square Development in Shenandoah Next Year [Houston Chronicle]
- How Urban or Suburban Is Sprawling Houston? [The Urban Edge]
Photo of The Post Oak: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
For those who demolish with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.
