HOW TO DESIGN A PARKING GARAGE THAT WON’T BECOME USELESS ONCE CARS GET RESTLESS 
The best way to make sure parking garages don’t become obsolete heaps of concrete once cars figure out better things to do with their time when drivers aren’t using them is to build structures that have flat floorplates and more headroom, Gensler’s Peter Merwin tells reporter Kyle Hagerty: “Any future use will require level ground rather than the steep slopes typical to garages, so designing flat floors on every level is critical. To convert to residential, developers need a minimum 11-foot floor-to-floor height. That allows designers to properly core the infrastructure and build out the space.” Merwin, who works in Gensler’s Houston office, is guiding the design of the proposed Fairview District Garage at Fairview and Genesee streets in Montrose. His ideal future-proofing floor-to-floor dimension for garages as we approach the age of the driverless car? 15 ft. “That opens up the option to convert each floor into lofts, residential, retail or office. Another added benefit is that in the event you need more parking, not less, you can convert a 15-foot level into a double stacking parking floor like those in operation in many dense metros.” [Bisnow] Rendering of Fairview District Garage: Gensler
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Corazon — your Hyde Park source for guayaberas, Lucha Libre masks, and other assorted crafty and gifty south-of-the-border imports — has lost its lease and will be leaving its longtime spot at the northwest corner of Waugh and Fairview within a month, store owner Chris Murphy reports. The 6,250-sq.-ft. lot it sits on, which includes a recently demolished property at 1410 Fairview, is now under contract after being marketed as a redevelopment site.
Corazon moved into its current home in 1998 — from a location in the former Gramercy Apartments on Montrose Blvd. across from Bell Park (where the Museum Tower now stands). The corner spot at 2318 Waugh Dr. has a craft-y history: Previously a furniture refinishing shop, the building reportedly earlier had gigs as an antique store, a glass-blowing studio, a general store, and a smithy. Murphy says he expects it to be demolished — and replaced with townhomes.
The structure is perhaps best known to passers-by, however, as a frame for the fifth-ever red dot, painted by Red Dot Boys (and former Houstonians) Robert Ramos and Rick Carpenter, as shown here in this undated image from the Red Dot Boys website:
Folk Art History
Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day for today is the home at 2711 Morrison St. in Woodland Heights, which is being offered for sale by Norhill Realty. Thanks for supporting this site!
Designed and built by award-winning design-build firm StudioMET — aka AIA Houston’s 2016 Firm of the Year — this custom home blends modern design with family-focused spaces both inside and out. In addition to the 3206-sq.-ft. main house, there’s also a 1122-sq.-ft., 1-bedroom guest quarters with a full kitchen and its own private entrance.
The Woodland Heights location — just a block off White Oak Blvd. — is convenient for active Houstonians. Before taking a short commute Downtown, you can swim a few laps in your 62-ft. pool, lay out on the sun deck, or go for a jog along the White Oak hike-and-bike trail.
It’s also a home for entertaining: Built on a 10,000-sq.-ft. double lot, this property includes a covered patio, sun deck, 3 balconies, and a landscaped back yard — plenty of space to host guests. And the separate guest quarters means out-of-town visitors can stay longer and more comfortably.
Start the day with your family in the island kitchen within the open-floor-plan main living area. Features include a glass-tile backsplash, granite countertops, a walk-in pantry, a stainless-steel Jenn-Air range, a built-in Miele coffee system, and a 4-stool breakfast bar.
The home is listed as a 3-bedroom, but the floor plan provides flexibility: You’ll find 2 additional rooms — currently being used as an indoor gym and a design studio. Both can be adapted to your specific needs.
There’s an open house for the property scheduled for this Sunday, August 13, from 2 pm to 4 pm. If you can’t see the place in person (and you really should), you can find photos, a walk-through video, and additional listing details at norhillrealty.com. You can schedule a private showing by contacting Vincent Biondillo at 713-449-2416 — or emailing him at vincent@norhillrealty.com. To keep up with Norhill Realty’s latest listings and real estate tips, follow up on the Norhill Realty Facebook page or check out the Norhill Realty website.
Showcase your unique properties to Houston’s biggest gathering of real estate fans. Become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.
Sponsor of the Day
- Houston-Area Home Sales Had 10th Consecutive Month of Growth, HAR Declares [Houston Public Media]
- H-E-B Market at Lake Houston Parkway in Atascocita Trades Hands [HBJ ($)]
- Houston’s Spaceport Moving Forward with Phase 1 Even After Losing Blue Origin Bid [HBJ ($)]
- Spencer Ogden Tripling Size of Houston Office with Relocation to Downtown’s GreenStreet [Realty News Report]
- City Releases Revised Draft of Development Guidelines for New Construction in 3 Houston Heights Historic Preservation Districts [Houston Chronicle]
- Roofstock, an Online Marketplace for Rental Home Investors, Expands to Houston [HBJ ($)]
- Michael’s Cookie Jar Opens Third Houston Location, in Briargrove [Culturemap]
- Massive Rebuild of Entire West Loop 610 and I-69 Interchange To Start Later This Year [Houston Chronicle]
- Interactive Map Shows Current Demographic and Income Data of Redlined Neighborhoods [The Urban Edge]
- It’s Houston and Detroit vs. Silicon Valley in the War for the Best Workers [Houston Chronicle]
- The Troll Operation That Sparked the Hermann Park Sam Houston Monument Protest [Texas Monthly]
- Remembering Austin Architect Dick Clark [Texas Monthly]
Photo of Conrad Sauer Detention Basin and 10100 Katy Fwy.: Bayan Raji
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Eventually, all houses merge into one.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MONTROSE HASN’T EVEN HIT PUBERTY YET 
“I regularly walk around in Montrose. I’ve also been to many urban neighborhoods in the northeast which are as close to 100% gentrified as you can get. I’m talking Greenwich Village in NYC, Beacon Hill in Boston, Georgetown in DC.
Montrose is not anywhere close to that level of gentrification. It won’t even be there in 20 years. Right now, you can still walk around Montrose and see loads of old 60s and 70s garden complexes with $700 a month apartments. There are plenty of trashy convenience stores, rundown strip malls, and vacant lots. And yes, there are still plenty of young artists and musicians who live in the area and hang out in areas like the Menil plying their craft.
Any neighborhood where a lot on a major commercial street can sit vacant for over a year is not that gentrified yet.
Okay, so yes. Montrose is obviously gentrifying. It’s different from how it was 20, 30, 40 years ago. That’s part of city life–places change, some people move out, other people move in. And eventually, maybe in a few decades, if Houston doesn’t get destroyed in a hurricane or become the next Detroit due to economic collapse, Montrose probably will become the kind of bland-ish upper crust West U-ish neighborhood people act like it already is. But here’s the reality: It’s not there yet, and it won’t be for quite awhile.” [Christian, commenting on Comment of the Day Runner-Up: The Creative Destruction of Montrose] Illustration: Lulu
The final portion of the 6-story former Town & Country V office building at 908 Town & Country Blvd., including its elevator shaft, came down in an awkward curtsy yesterday, leaving workers in the lower floors of the neighboring 15-story CityCentre Five with nothing left to block their views of the Katy Fwy. Demolitions of the adjacent Town & Country III and Town & Country IV office buildings preceded it.
The unobstructed freeway view won’t last forever: Developer Midway is planning 2 new office buildings — as well as a residential highrise — for the cleared site.
- Previously on Swamplot: How To Pull Down an I-10 Office Building, Town & Country Style;Â Taking the Edge off Town & Country V;Â Underground Parking Garage near CityCentre Replaced with Garage-Shaped Lake;Â How To Topple That Last Bit of Seventies Mod Office Building Without Letting It Topple You;Â Smashing Views of a Half-Eaten Katy Fwy. Office Building from CityCentre Five;Â Midway Fences In Empty 1970s Office Park Where 3 More CityCentre Towers Might Sprout
Last Fall at I-10 and Beltway 8
Video: Bryant Martin
Public Works
The new bar planned for the 20,878-sq.-ft. warehouse at 3229 Navigation Blvd. in Houston’s East End that earlier this decade was home to Fred’s Trailer Truck Supply will be called Straylight Run and serve — according to its promoters — as Houston’s first-ever “Virtual Reality Bar.” That’s the conclusion of some internet sleuthing by HAIF (and Swamplot) commenter CrockpotandGravel, who after seeing Swamplot’s report on the alcohol license procured for the spot at the corner of Navigation and Engelke tracked down the establishment’s website, a (possibly spurned)Â logo proposal, and Instagram feed.
Straylight Run on Navigation
Today’s sponsor, TechSpace Houston, wants to let you know about an exciting event taking place at its Westchase campus later this month. (Thanks for supporting Swamplot!)
TechSpace Houston — the new modern flexible workspace in Westchase, is hosting a Free Coworking Friday on Friday, August 25 — and inviting Swamplot readers to come try out the space for the entire day!
Here are the details about TechSpace Houston’s Free Coworking Friday:
- When: August 25, 2017 from 8 am to 5 pm
- Where: TechSpace Houston, 2101 CityWest Blvd., ground floor
- Please sign up here to let them know you are coming!
Can’t make it on August 25th? Claim a free day pass and come in a different day!
TechSpace Houston is a unique shared office space totaling 46,000 sq. ft. — with 450 workstations and lots of campus amenities. Each floor houses a variety of office space solutions, including co-working spaces, 1-to-3-person private offices, large private office suites that can accommodate 4-to-50 people, conference rooms, event spaces, and a variety of thought-provoking collaboration lounges — including a unique social platform-style seating area and an outdoor Wi-Fi enabled patio.
TechSpace Houston provides an alternative to long-term leases. It’s a great solution for all types of businesses, no matter what stage: startups, entrepreneurs, SMEs, growth companies, and Fortune 100 teams. If you are in need of flexible office space — whether you work alone and need a co-working desk to tap into the local business community or have 2-to-50 employees who need a private office — TechSpace Houston can be a smart choice for your business.
Let Swamplot readers get to know your business’s offerings. Become a Sponsor of the Day!
Sponsor of the Day
TEXADELPHIA’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE WESTHEIMER STRIP 
A little more than 2 years after retreating from its last Houston outpost — and later, having to see its former Westheimer location festooned with a giant Beaver statue — Tex-Mex cheesesteak chain Texadelphia is ready to return. Houston’s very first-in-a-while Texadelphia franchise is scheduled to open by late next month in the endcap of the Westside Plaza strip center at 8383 Westheimer Rd., on the corner of Dunvale, where it will replace the recently shuttered Potbelly sandwich shop pictured above. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo: The Square Foot
- Tenants To Begin Moving Into Generation Park Office Building Redemption Square [Community Impact Newspaper]
- H-E-B Under Contract To Buy Northwest Corner of Kirby Dr. and W. Alabama, Across from Upper Kirby Whole Foods [Houston Chronicle]
- Inside Caldwell Homes’ New Line of Active-Adult Homes in Houston [HBJ ($)]
- Median Price of New Woodlands Homes Hits $577K, Up from $559K a Year Earlier [Houston Chronicle]
- New Name for Downtown Project Formerly Known as Food Hall at Main and Rusk: Finn Hall [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot]
- Outback Steakhouse Near Meyerland Has Been Torn Down To Make Way for Retail Center [Houston Chronicle]
- CBRE’s Hal Holliday: Houston Going To See a ‘Stampede’ of Investors within the Next Year [Realty News Report]
- Neighbor-Based Social Media Platform Nextdoor Launches Real Estate Section in 10 U.S. Cities, Including Houston [Houston Chronicle]
- David Adickes’ Beatles Statues Set on Sale for $350K, Temporarily on Display at 8th Wonder Brewery [Houston Chronicle]
- Remembering Mai’s Restaurant Founder Phin Nguyen [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of statues by David Adickes: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Simply wait, be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be demolished.
- 305 Belin Manor Dr. [HAR]
