Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
To make life worth living, he must pluck and possess the houses of each region and the love of every beauty.
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- 9518 Crosby Wy. [HAR]
THE STATE OF TEXAS AND THE RIGHT TO CUT DOWN TREES WITHOUT NOTICE 
“. . . a municipality, county, or other political subdivision may not enact or enforce any ordinance, rule, or other regulation that restricts the ability of a property owner to remove a tree or vegetation on the owner’s property, including a regulation that requires the owner to file an affidavit or notice before removing the tree or vegetation.” That wording — minus only a few dozen lines of accompanying legalese — forms the core of the new HB 70, a state bill introduced this month to enact the ban on local tree regulations Governor Abbott announced he wanted passed during the Texas legislature’s special session. Among the 50 or so Texas cities that would see their restrictions on the removal of trees from private property removed should the bill become law: West University Place. [Legiscan; Texas Tribune; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox
It appears demolition contractors — or the site’s new owners — saw fit to remove the mural of Destiny’s Child from the House of Deréon Media Center building in Midtown before beginning to break it down last week. The time-lapse video above shows an excavator tearing apart the 2-story structure at 2204 Crawford St. piece by piece on Friday. But the southern façade of the building, which faces Hadley St., looks a little different than it did just a week earlier. Where once hung giant images of Kelly Rowland, Beyoncé Knowles, and Michelle Williams, a plain white panel appears — the mural evidently having either been removed or painted over before demolition began.
Strangely, this is not the first sign of deference the demo contractors on site have shown the Bootylicious trio, before the building touted for many years as “The Home of Destiny’s Child” was given the boot. Last week an excavator appeared in front of the mural — only to sneak away a few days later:
Didn’t Think They Could Handle This
WHAT’S BLOCKING THE BRAYS BAYOU TRAIL 
That sign posted just west of Chimney Rock declaring that the Brays Bayou trail “connects 31 miles of uninterrupted, off-street, multi-use trails and greenspace from the Ship Channel to George Bush Park and the Addicks-Barker Reservoir” is more aspirational than accurate at this point, a Houston Parks Board official admits to David Olinger. (“It got ahead of itself, let’s put it that way.”) Olinger set out to walk the supposed marathon-distance-plus continuum, but found it blocked and interrupted by construction zones, an unidentified fork to a neighboring bayou, and dead ends, including some fronting 7-miles-worth of land adjacent to Arthur Storey Park the parks board is still in the process of acquiring: “I tried walking west from Kirkwood and waded into knee-high weeds. I tried walking north on Kirkwood and found no trail. I drove up and down Kirkwood, searching in vain for Arthur Storey Park. Finally I consulted a map — and found the park about 2.5 miles northeast from the westbound Kirkwood dead end.” The Bayou Greenways trail system is expected to connect that length of Brays Bayou by 2020. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Brays Bayou trail: Jan Buchholtz
- Howard Hughes Corp. About To Unveil Next Phase of Master-Planned Community Bridgeland [HBJ ($)]
- Where Rents Rose the Most Over the Past Year in Houston, According to Axiometrics [Houston Chronicle]
- Stone Meadow Homes Looks To Revive Savannah Plantation [HBJ ($)]
- Cy-Fair Predicted To Add More Than 23K New Single-Family Homes in the Next Decade [Community Impact]
- Office Building Preservation Company Launches in Houston [HBJ ($)]
- Podcast: What’s in Store for Montrose’s Lars Bang Building Property at 616 Hawthorne [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Heights Outpost of Bernie’s Burger Bus Opening July 31 at 2200 Yale [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Houston Holocaust Museum Closing, Moving to Temporary Location at 9220 Kirby Dr. As It Prepares for Expansion [Click2Houston]
- TxDOT Doing ‘A Lot of Listening’ with I-45 Widening Project [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
Photo of the Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza, Texas Medical Center: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
And now let us welcome the new houses, full of things that never were.
- 10115 Cinco Ridge Dr. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE MIDTOWN HOME OF DESTINY’S CHILD HAS MET ITS DESTINY 
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but House of Deréon is but a memory now, a pile of rubble.” [Fe Bencosme, commenting on Destiny’s Child Mural on House of Deréon Media Center Wins Midtown Demolition Staredown; more here] Photo of House of Deréon Media Center, 2204 Crawford St., Midtown Houston: Jordan
THE INVENTION OF UPPER KIRBY 
Among Houston’s grids, strips, and cul de sacs, let a million neighborhoods bloom! Perhaps the story of how the area around upper Kirby Dr. came to be known as Upper Kirby can form some sort of template for this city’s vast numbers of undifferentiated districts just waiting to be branded? “We weren’t Greenway Plaza, we weren’t Montrose, we weren’t Rice Village,†Upper Kirby Management District deputy director Travis Younkin tells reporter Nicki Koetting. It was a section of town that lacked identity. “This nameless neighborhood, Koetting adds, “was the sort of place you drove through on the way to other, named neighborhoods.” One helpful step along the way: Planting the shopping areas with red phone booths. “The authentic British phone booths are an homage to Upper Kirby’s acronym, and actually operated as phone booths for a few decades until cellphones became the norm,” Koetting notes. “Now, the telephone booths are lit from within and locked, serving today as a visual indication to visitors that they’ve arrived in Houston’s own UK.” [Houstonia] Photo: WhisperToMe
The neon signage facing the I-10 feeder road at the former home of the Mason Jar has been stripped off, as the spot gets built out for a takeover by the Goode folks (as seen in this shot captured by a reader this week). After the ongoing expansion and patio-making wraps up, the spot will offer a menu at least somewhat reminiscent of the company’s Kirby Dr. taqueria, based on barbecue heir and current owner Levi Goode’s musings to Eric Sandler last month. The new brand’ll be called the Goode Company Kitchen & Cantina; Goode told Sandler there’s a second one planned for the Woodlands.
A few old Mason Jar labels are still visible to the east of the building:
Kitchen & Cantina Conversion
Sponsoring Swamplot again today: the Downtown District, so you can get another good look at the recently launched Downtown Houston web portal. Thanks for supporting this site!
Check out the new Downtown Houston website! It’s your destination for everything Downtown. The website should answer what most people want to know about heading into the city.
Curious about what events are happening? Check. Have an itch to discover hidden gems? Check. Hungry for good eats from a chef-driven restaurant, or looking for great brunch and breakfast spots? Check. Not sure where to find parking around your destination? Visiting for work and searching for leisure activities? Check and check.
The Downtown District’s new online platform aims to inform, educate, and entertain — so that residents, visitors, and commuters can enjoy the abundance of Downtown’s amenities and offerings: dining, playing, enjoying the arts, worshipping, and learning!
“The Downtown Houston website has always been a great one-stop shop for information about restaurants, parking, events, and more,†says Angie Bertinot, director of marketing and communications for the Downtown District. “With this major update, we have expanded our focus on living, working, exploring, and staying Downtown, as well as improving upon the resources that the public has come to rely on.â€
In addition to comprehensive guide listings and an all-inclusive event calendar, the website features an interactive map that assists with parking (where to park, for how much, and an option to reserve spaces), while also letting visitors know what’s nearby and what events are happening that day — a feature you cannot find in a parking app or by using Google Maps alone.
The new site features portraits of Downtown’s unique and historic neighborhoods — as well as an editorial section with articles and videos highlighting Downtown lifestyles and area businesses. The content reflects the Downtown District’s efforts to support the growth of the residential population, provide a premier work environment, and attract locals and out-of-town visitors.
Your adventure begins Downtown!
Swamplot readers want to know what you’re up to. Become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day and let them know.
Sponsor of the Day
IN WHICH THE OWNER OF THAT MANNEQUIN-PACKED HOUSE IN RICHMOND ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS AND THE REST OF THE COUNTRY’S 
“I’m just trying to sell my house,” says the long-time artist resident of 4302 Colony West Dr. in Richmond (the mind-boggling contents of which sent no fewer than 10 readers scrambling to send the listing to the Swamplot tip line earlier this week).  “No, I’m not a hoarder. I could go down the list of things people are accusing me of. Yes, I own a weird business, but artists are weird, and if you find a normal artist [they’re] probably not a good one.” Those answers are all prompted by questions from Marcelino Benito, who toured the house this week for KHOU after the listing went nationally viral. The house and its contents have been viewed millions of times and have made the news in such far flung locations as St. Louis, MO, (where local station KMOV referred to its interior decor as ‘the stuff of nightmares‘) — in addition to being gawked at by readers of both the Huffington and the New York posts. As for what seems to be another burning question on the minds of some of the folks calling in with actual offers on the home — “Will you leave a mannequin for me?” — the owner’s answer appears to be a furrowed eyebrow or 2 and a “well . . . okay.” [KHOU; previously on Swamplot] Photo of 4302 Colony West Dr.: HAR
- Median Houston Home Value Up 3.9% Year-Over-Year in June to $178,400, Finds Zillow [Houston Chronicle]
- Houston Apartment Demand Outstripped Supply of New Units in First Half of 2017, Finds Berkadia [Houston Chronicle]
- 2 Sugar Land Office Buildings Hit the Market [Houston Chronicle]
- Developer Trendmaker Homes Slows Down on Spec Homes as Oil Prices Fluctuate [HBJ ($)]
- The Development Challenges Facing Unincorporated Cy-Fair [Community Impact Newspaper]
- Toasted Yolk Cafe Opens Third Houston Location in Grand Parkway Marketplace [Community Impact Newspaper]
- El Tiempo Cantina Replacing Former Laurenzo’s in Webster This Year [Eater Houston]
- City Delays Draft of New Heights Historic District Design Guidelines [The Leader; previously on Swamplot]
- Toll Suggested for Pelican Island Bridge [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Gov. Abbott, Galveston Island Tree Conservancy Clash Over City Tree Ordinances [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
Photo of Spring Branch: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is demolished.
