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Headlines

08/07/18 8:30am

Capitol Tower Getting a Food Hall; Cafe Benedicte’s Return; UH Survey Shows Support for Flood Bond Package

by Meredith Deliso

1 Comment

Colliers: 43 Full Floors of Houston Sublease Office Space Coming Back in the Next 12 Months [Realty News Report]
Alliance Residential Breaks Ground on 364-Unit Project Near Katy [HBJ ($)]
Monthly Rent for Average One-Bedroom Unit in Houston Fell to $1,280 in July, According to Abodo [Bisnow]
$6.75M Mansion in Carlton Woods Section of The Woodlands Going to Auction [HBJ]
Where Lake Houston-Area Homeowners and Business Owners Stand a Year After Harvey [Community Impact Newspaper]
Adair Concepts Opening New Restaurant Concept at Wells Fargo Plaza [HBJ]
Capitol Tower Getting 2-Story, 7-Vendor Food Hall Dubbed Understory [Houstonia]
Cafe Benedicte Reopens in the Energy Corridor Nearly a Year Since Closing After Harvey [Eater Houston]
Heights Cocktail Bar One Armed Scissor Leaving Shared Hughieâ€™s Tavern Space for Downtown [Culturemap]
Fast-Casual Salad Restaurant SaladHead Coming to West University [Eater Houston]
Mia’s Table To Add 3 Locations in Houston Suburbs by April 2019 [Houston Chronicle]
Ricoâ€™s Morning Noon Night in Bagby Park Has Closed [Eater Houston]
$2.5B in Flood Bonds Could Fund 237 Projects in Harris County [Houston Public Media]
More Than Half of Harris County Residents Will Vote for Bond Package, Finds UH Survey [Houston Public Media]
Equity Assessments of Metro’s Drafts for Its Long-Term Plan by LINK Houston [The Urban Edge]
The Birth, Rise, and Spread of New Real Estate Buzzwords [Bisnow]

Photo of Buffalo Heights: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines

Apartments

07/13/18 2:00pm

Pools and Ponds Back To Holding Water Again After Flood Repairs Subside on Parkside at Memorial’s Amenities

by Dan Singer

Energy Corridor, Memorial, Openings and Closings

1 Comment

See that faint watermark in the aerial photo taken from up on the balcony? That’s the lap pool at the Parkside at Memorial Apartments just south of Memorial Dr., buried under more water than it’s designed to hold after the release of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs last August. Throughout the first floor of the surrounding buildings, the tide peaked at over 5-and-a-half ft. Workers spent the last 9 months helping the 4-year-old complex make a comeback; its leasing center officially reopened late last month — and on-site amenities now look less divey and more like the refurbished lap pool shown in the photo at top.

Other aquatic areas that took on more than they could handle include the complex’s other pool:

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The Deep End

77079, Apartments, Energy-Corridor, Flooding, Memorial, Openings and Closings

Headlines

07/06/18 8:30am

New Funding for Texas Flood Control Projects; Houston Flood Museum in the Works

by Meredith Deliso

12 Comments

Houston Sublease Space Rose in June, Driven by Listings at Greenway Plaza [Bisnow]
Lending Tree Ranks Houston on List of Cities with the Most Million-Dollar Homes [Culturemap]
Mexican Peanut Company Galdisa USA Opens New Conroe Park North Facility Today [Houston Chronicle]
New Foundation Poured for Hinesâ€™ Residences at La Colombe dâ€™Or, Set To Deliver in 2020 [HBJ ($)]
Continued Village Arcade Revamp To Include Public Art, Popup Shops, More Public Spaces [Houston Chronicle]
$3M Renovation Begins on Restaurant at The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa [HBJ]
Board and Brew Gaming Opening in North Houston Warehouse [Eater Houston]
Texas Getting Nearly $5B in Federal Funding for Flood Control Projects [The Texas Tribune]
Seven of the Nation’s 10 Most Frequently Substantially Flood-Damaged Properties Are in Houston [Houston Chronicle]
A Houston Flood Museum Is Underway [Houstonia]

Photo of Elysian Viaduct: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines

Featured Posts

07/03/18 4:00pm

Stanley Park Soil-Shufflers Tagged for Jumping the Gun After Mayor Puts Floodplain Neighborhood Construction on Hold

by Dan Singer

New Construction, Timbergrove Manor

7 Comments

At last week’s city council meeting, Mayor Turner told residents that the Stanley Park subdivision now on the rise in the 100-year floodplain south of Timbergrove Manor “is currently on hold. I know Harris County Flood Control has put a hold on it. We have also put a hold on it to take a look at it.” But as of Monday morning, site work was still continuing on the 12-acre parcel — according to StopStanleyPark, an organization nearby residents set up to oppose the project — until the red tag pictured above was issued for it in the afternoon.

A pair of dump trucks, along with an excavator were the latest visitors to the job site at the end of Shirkmere Dr.:

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Splash of Color

Flood Control, New Construction, Permits, Timbergrove Manor

Comments

06/20/18 4:30pm

Comment of the Day: The Sleepy Streets Harris County Flood Buyouts Left Behind

by Dan Singer

Flooding, Quicklink

3 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE SLEEPY STREETS HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD BUYOUTS LEFT BEHIND There is a community close to 290 and Windfern, on Cole Creek Dr. and another near Fairbanks and Hollister on Woodland West. Deep in the flood neighborhoods that were bought back by Harris County Flood [Control District] a while ago. All of the roads, utilities and everything are there. Just no homes or homeowners. Made a great place to take a post-lunch car nap when I worked close by. [bocepus, commenting on The Latest Wave of Harris County Home Buyouts, Mapped] Illustration: Lulu

Buyouts, Comments, Flood Control, Flooding, Harris County Flood Control District, Quicklink

Headlines

06/19/18 8:30am

Flood Control Proposal Rundown; Slowpokes Expanding to Levy Park; Debriefing Texas Fast Food Chains’ Minor Bread Crisis

by Dan Singer

8 Comments

Photo of railroad next to Cisneros Design Studio at 800 Sampson St.: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines

Downtown

06/15/18 3:45pm

The Ongoing Travels of City Hall’s Flooded-Out Basement Employees

by Dan Singer

Flooding, Office Buildings, Quicklink

8 Comments

THE ONGOING TRAVELS OF CITY HALL’S FLOODED-OUT BASEMENT EMPLOYEES Shell has been allowing the city’s procurement staff to stay for free in 74,000 sq. ft. at One Shell Plaza, across Smith St. from the City Hall basement they were forced out of by Harvey’s floodwaters. (They’re joined in the office tower by IT employees from the city’s 611 Walker facility, which suffered its own water damage when its sprinkler system malfunctioned in December). But the free ride is coming to an end this month, reports the Chronicleâ€™s Mike Morris: Shell is charging $70,074 for June rent. Now, the city plans to move its refugee employees again — this time to Enterprise Plaza (pictured above) at 1100 Louisiana where they’ll stay from July 1 to the end of next year at a rate of $93,380 per month for 69,000 sq. ft. (about $1.7 million total). After that, they’ll head back to 611 Walker, which the city plans to have ready for permanent residents by then. As for the damaged City Hall basement and the tunnel connecting it to the adjacent annex across Bagby St., their interiors “remain stripped, the walls peeling or patched with plywood, the wood veneers in one stairwell warped to mark the water line just below the annex’s first floor.” [Houston Chronicle] Photo of 1100 Louisiana St.: Hines

77002, Downtown, Flooding, Hurricane Harvey, Office Buildings

Featured Posts

06/14/18 3:30pm

How To Pick Out the Right Boat and Onboard Gear for Houston’s Next Flood

by Dan Singer

Flooding, Quicklink

1 Comment

HOW TO PICK OUT THE RIGHT BOAT AND ONBOARD GEAR FOR HOUSTON’S NEXT FLOOD “A good, 16-to-22 foot aluminum boat, it can take a lot of abuse if you were to hit a mailbox or something like that without doing damage,” says the Premiere Boating Centerâ€™s Mark Kuchera, speaking to Houston Public Media’s Gail Delaughter. He’s one of many exhibitors at the 4-day Houston Summer Boat Show where in addition to normal window shopping, many folks are either looking to replace boats lost or damaged in Harvey — or hunting for something that’ll do well in the next storm. Fishing boats are a good bet for floods, too, says David Christian of the LMC Marine Center (next door to Kuchera’s shop on I-45 near E. Airtex Dr.). Because your typical model is designed for shallow water, it “also happens to be what you need to float down a street.” Then there’s the equipment you’ll want to have aboard: “a spotlight and GPS are helpful for night rescues,” says Christian, and “A hydraulic jack plate can protect your outboard motor in shallow water.” Lower-tech devices aren’t bad either: “a long rod or stick can help you determine the depth of the water in unfamiliar places.” [Houston Public Media] Photo of Houston Summer Boat Show 2018: Houston Summer Boat Show

Flooding, Quicklink

Headlines

06/13/18 8:30am

First Coworking Space for the Washington Ave Corridor; Menil Collection Reopening Date Set; County Sets Flood Bond Date

by Meredith Deliso

7 Comments

Commissioners Court Accepts $25.6M Federal Grant For Harvey Buyouts [Houston Public Media]
Harris County Commissioners Vote To Place $2.5B Flood Bond on Aug. 25 Ballot [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
Harvey-Damaged Meyerland Homes Hit the Auction Block [abc13]
Slideshow: The 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold in Houston in May, According to HAR [HBJ)
Houston Mortgage Delinquencies Rise After Harvey Despite Falling Nationwide, Finds CoreLogic [HBJ ($)]
Washington Ave Corridor Getting Its First Coworking Space Later This Year [HBJ ($); previously on Swamplot]
Menil Collection’s Main Building Reopens Sept. 22 [Houstonia; previously on Swamplot]
A Report on the 2018 Gulf Coast Green Conference [OffCite]
Harris County Debuts Real-Time Map of Bayou Water Levels [Houston Chronicle]
I-45 Graffiti Back to ‘Be Someone’ After Brief Stint as ‘Be Mattress Mac’ [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of the Elysian Viaduct: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines

06/11/18 8:30am

Where the Most Homes Flooded During Harvey; Latest Tenant for 7800 Washington Warehouse Redo; Surveying Gulfton’s Streets for Pedestrian Safety

by Meredith Deliso

4 Comments

Colliers: Coca-Cola Bottling Facility Near West University Place Will Be Prime Redevelopment Site [Realty News Report; previously on Swamplot]
Homebuilder Frankel Building Group Moving Headquarters to Adaptive Reuse Project 7800 Washington [HBJ ($); previously on Swamplot]
The Areas in Galveston That Are Selling Homes the Fastest [HBJ ($)]
Houstonian Hotel in Uptown Closes Restaurant Olivette for $3M Renovation [HBJ]
96,410 Houston Homes Flooded During Harvey, According to New Harris County Flood Control District Report [Houston Chronicle]
Economic Innovation Group Maps Where Houston’s Most Economically Distressed Areas Are [Houston Chronicle]
Kinder Institute’s 3-Hour Tour of Gulfton Finds Need for Walkability, Safety Improvements [The Urban Edge]

Photo of the University of Houston: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines

Bayous and Waterways

06/07/18 9:45am

Every Spot Where Bayou Flooding Broke a Record During Harvey, Mapped

by Dan Singer

Flooding, Maps

11 Comments

The final page of the Harris County Flood Control District’s final report on Hurricane Harvey includes the map above, with orange indicating where bayous, rivers, creeks, and gullies set new high water marks between August 25 and 29. Aside from Sims Bayou and a handful of smaller waterways, every other liquid landmark in the county outdid itself along some portion during the storm. Several — such as Cypress Creek and Carpenters Bayou (shown in detail above) — set new flood records along their entire lengths.

Less distinguished are White Oak and Little White Oak bayous, which broke records along only tiny stretches near Buffalo Bayou:

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Watery Award Tour

Bayous and Waterways, Flooding, Harris County Flood Control District, Hurricane Harvey, Maps

Featured Posts

06/06/18 5:15pm

Where Another New Subdivision Will Slot into the White Oak Floodplain West of T.C. Jester

by Dan Singer

Proposed Developments, Timbergrove

23 Comments

Here’s where the neighbors of the soon-to-be filled and graded Stanley Park subdivision will go, in a larger, adjacent 207-home community dubbed Palisades Park that’s also planned by the floodable rail yard west of T.C. Jester and south of Timbergrove Manor. Unlike the tract next door, it’s almost entirely outside White Oak Bayou’s 100-year floodplain (but still almost entirely inside the 500-year).

Its current occupant: the complex of industrial buildings eyed from the sky at top — which sits behind Grace Bible Church and adjacent to Better Bags, Inc.’s facilities off 11th St. In order to connect to that street, a new roadway would be built through what’s now the church’s parking lot, as indicated in the subdivision map below:

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By the Tracks

77008, Proposed Developments, Timbergrove

Featured Posts

06/05/18 2:00pm

Piles of Fill Dirt Now Giving Rise to Lovett Homes’ 77-Lot Neighborhood in White Oak Bayou Floodplain

by Dan Singer

Flooding, New Construction, Timbergrove

38 Comments

Hillocks of dirt dot the landscape west of T.C. Jester, adjacent to the train tracks near the end of Shirkmere Dr. where Lovett Homes is now elevating some of the 77 lots that’ll make up its new Stanley Park subdivision. Since receiving a commercial fill permit from the city in April, the developer has stacked soil across the site — which lies entirely within White Oak Bayou’s 100-year floodplain and has never before been built on.

Also included in that flood-designated realm: the Timbergrove Manor neighborhood just north of the development. Its southernmost street, Queenswood Ln., had it up to here during Harvey:

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Next to Timbergrove Manor