- 5001 Krueger Rd. [HAR]
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That empty lot at the southeast corner of Taft and W. Gray streets has been getting its concrete skin broken up and cleared out lately, a number of readers note, as early work for the Alta at West Gray apartment midrise and its basement parking gets going. (The particularly dramatic shot above of the Downtown skyline peering over the wreckage was captured during the Friday morning mist by reader MontroseResident, though a few other cameras were on the scene before and after.) Until 2009 the site housed the Good Neighbor Healthcare Clinic (a conversion of another ex-Weingarten’s grocery, according to the business); Good Neighbor had plans to build a midrise healthcare and community center on the site, but ended up selling the land to serial Alta developers Wood Partners early last year. The new plan for the site may look something like this:
Alta Altitude
RADIOSHACK TO CLOSE A BUNCH MORE STORES NOW THAT IT’S BANKRUPT AGAIN 
The roster of planned store closings in the wake RadioShack’s déjà -vu declaration of bankruptcy last week now includes 11 Houston-ish addresses, according to the company’s handy filter map of inventory clearance sales. An initial list of this round’s Chapter 11 location casualties, filed in court and published on Friday by Consumerist, limited the roll call of the soon-to-shutter to just 4 strip centers ’round town: the RadioShack on Hillcroft Dr. near Richmond Ave. (between Galaly Furniture and Liberty Income Tax); the one in the Bellaire Triangle (where Best Optometrists used to be); the Rice Village-adjacent Kirby Dr. location, between Creative Blinds and Loan Star Title Loans; and the S. Gessner location near US-59, which shares a strip mall with LA Crawfish, Iglesia de Dios Shammah, and the dental office of Hanh Nguyen.  Back in its heyday, RadioShack once sported some 80-plus Houston stores; the last time the company declared bankruptcy, back in 2015, some 32 of the area’s then-77 locations were initially marked for closure. The number of Houston-area stores remaining, prior to the announcement of this latest wave of goodbyes, was down to the high 20s — putting early estimates of the remaining Houston ‘Shack count down to the mid-teens. [Previously on Swamplot] Map of closing RadioShacks (in red): RadioShack
Today’s sponsors are the Downtown District and Plan Downtown — this time introducing an intriguing new online platform (see screenshot above) for understanding how different people use Downtown. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!
How does one begin to understand how people experience a neighborhood or community? Ask questions — and trust that people will answer!
Plan Downtown is kicking off its public engagement phase with the launch of an interactive online tool that encourages anyone who visits Houston’s city center to give feedback about his or her experience. The digital survey, My Downtown, seeks to understand the lifestyle patterns of all types of people who visit the city. Designed by Boston- and Shanghai-based planning agency Sasaki, My Downtown leads users through guided mapping activities to understand key destinations (where people spend time in Downtown for nightlife, dining, arts, recreation, events and shopping) as well as transportation habits (where they park, walk, drive, take transit, and bike).
“The idea comes from the concepts of itineraries and personas,†Sasaki Associate Brad Barnett says. “What does ‘a day in the life’ in Downtown Houston look like?â€
As the data is collected, the information will be used to map habits and patterns. Are there common corridors that need more infrastructure support? How do drivers and cyclists enter Downtown? Where do people spend their time? Which areas already see heavy use, and which are brimming with potential? What can Plan Downtown address to better support all these activities?
The Plan Downtown team isn’t just looking for a magic number of people to provide data; it’s hoping to get a range of responses from people who experience Downtown Houston in different ways. That includes current residents (whether they work Downtown or elsewhere), commuters who work Downtown, guests who visit often or occasionally for leisure activities, or out-of-town guests who attend professional conferences or sporting events.
How do you experience Downtown Houston? Tell the Plan Downtown team — by using My Downtown.
If you’re looking for an audience full of people engaged with the city, Swamplot is the place to find it. Find out here how to become a Sponsor of the Day.
Sponsor of the Day
Swamplot’s elevated tipster with an eye on the Westheimer Rd. scene — just east of the Montrose Blvd. Smoothie King — sends some update shots this morning of the ongoing construction of a planned Ruggles-replacing restaurant-retail combo, half of which looks slated for fill-in by a Velvet Taco branch. The Dallas chain will take over a 1-and-a-half story piece of the center, next to the areas highlighted in orange above; Edge Realty is currently leasing the rest of the space in the center, which will attempt to hide some of its parking from prying sidewalk eyes:
Grill Gone Gray
- Amazon Eyes West Houston for 1M-SF Distribution Center Along I-10 [Realty News Report; previously on Swamplot]
- HFF Secures $65M in Financing for Retail Portion of CityCentre [Houston Chronicle]
- Northwest Mall Closing 45 Out of 50 Stores on March 31 [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Grand Morton Town Center Lands Taco Bell, Whataburger, McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A [Houston Chronicle]
- Year-Old Little Liberty in Rice Village Has Closed, Will Be Replaced by Island Grill [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Next Chapter of Montrose Management District Lawsuit Likely To Be Resolved by End of May [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Podcast: Understanding Houston’s Affordable Housing Crisis [The Urban Edge]
- State Senator, Environmental Group Call for Investigation into Halls Bayou Dioxin Waste Pits Near Hitchcock [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Local Artist Develops Houston-Themed Emoji App [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of Lynn Park: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
The most certain way to succeed is always to demolish just one more time.
- 26A Shady Ln. [HAR]
Reader and aerial logo photographer Henry Phillips sends these recent shots of work crews playing pin-the-signage-on-the-restaurant at the next local locale of Austin import Torchy’s Tacos (which will bring the Houston-area count up to 8, out of the chain’s 11 planned plantings so far). The latest tacover is happening in the Westchase Mall corner slot at the southeast corner of Westheimer Rd. and Wilcrest Dr. most recently occupied by another defunct branch of Black-Eyed Pea; the developing restaurant shares a strip center sidewalk with the Whole Foods that was transplanted across Wilcrest into the dead former Randalls last year.
High on West Westheimer
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ACTS OF PREEMPTIVE CALIFORNIA-IZATION IN THE HOUSTON SUBURBS 
“Someone ought to do a subdivision in Katy/Fulshear and name the streets Crenshaw, Imperial, Valley View, etc. Would (i) be humorous and (ii) help keep the California transplants outside Beltway 8. Win-win.” [Purple City, commenting on The Denton Suburban Roadways Quietly Impersonating West Houston’s Iconic Streets] Photo of Houston street names in Denton, TX: Lauren Meyers
Swamplot’s sponsor today is Loam Agronomics — the proud purveyor of a new CSA program for Houston. Thanks for the support!
The veggies are more than sprouting: In less than 2 weeks, Loam Agronomics will start distributing its first weekly deliveries of fresh, locally grown vegetables. Orders have already begun! If you’ve been looking for a way to get a regular supply of fresh-from-the-local-farm produce for your household, or if you like the idea of eating food that hasn’t been shipped thousands of miles, but is picked at peak ripeness nearby and available to you in 48 hours or less, then this program is for you. The first deliveries for Loam Agronomics’ brand-new CSA program begin March 23rd.
The crops (pictured above) are grown on a 40-acre portion of the company’s new 288-acre farm in Richmond (pictured above). When you become a member of the Loam Agronomics CSA, you’re purchasing a weekly “share†of vegetables from the company and supporting the production of local food in your community. (CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.)
Loam Agronomics is a project of the same people behind Edible Earth Resources, the local gardening firm that’s been transforming some high-profile urban lots in Houston into attractive edible gardens.
If you’ve got questions about the CSA program or the operation and standards of the farm, take a look at the answers to the FAQ posted on the Loam Agronomics website.
Loam Agronomics offers:
- Drop sites across Houston
- Pickups on Thursdays and Saturdays
- Signups available any time
- Cooking and storing tips
- Community events
. . . all for just $30 per week. You’ll want to sign up before the produce is all spoken for, though: Only 500 spots are available.
To join other families who’ve been signing up, just select a convenient drop site; fill out a member information profile; and choose a payment plan (4-, 12-, 26-, and 52-week plans are available, some with discounted rates). Do it all from this page on the Loam Agronomics website.
Got a great offer for Swamplot readers? Let them know about it by becoming a Swamplot sponsor!
Sponsor of the Day
The greying former site of the Wabash Feed & Garden Store is fully back on the market again, after high hopes for a new Creek Group restaurant on the site slowly faded into lengthy delays and an eventual leasing sign out front last year. Nancy Sarnoff notes in the Chronicle that the property went back up for sale last month, looking somewhat more worn down than the first time. A glance at CBRE’s marketing materials for the site shows many of the recent newcomers to the garden store’s stretch of Washington Ave., including the new storage midrise across the street, and the Pearl and Elan apartment complexes each about 2 blocks away in opposite directions from the just-over-half-an-acre property:
Washed Out on Wash Ave
The fastest way to Westheimer Rd., if you happen to be wandering north looking for it in the 76210 ZIP code, is a left off of Heights Blvd. and an immediate right off Gessner Dr. Lauren Meyers captured some scenes this weekend around the Summit Oaks subdivision on the south side of Denton, TX, which has a whole section of streets sharing names with major Houston roadway (with a few bizarro-world tweaks here and there, like Chimney Rock Dr. and an only-1-L Hilcroft Ave.) The imposters range from Briar Forest Dr. to Dunlavy St. to Willowick Cir. and beyond:
A Road By Any Other Name
- Pelican Builders Closes on Half-Acre for The Revere Near River Oaks [Realty News Report; previously on Swamplot]
- Lee and Joe Jamail Skatepark Reopens Following 11-Month, $2.7M Renovation [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Sheldon Independent School District To Break Ground on New Campus Near Generation Park [HBJ]
- Third Beer Market To Open in Houston Next Year in the Heights [HBJ]
- Gander Mountain Latest Sporting Goods Store To File for Bankruptcy, Will Close 3 Houston-Area Stores [The Dallas Morning News; previously on Swamplot]
- South Texas College of Law Houston To Keep Houston in Name, per Settlement with UH [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Recommendations for Design Guidelines for Heights-Area Historic Districts To Be Shared This Month [The Leader]
- Metro Considers Repainting Trains, Adding Reflective Stripes and Warning Signs Following Recent Round of Collision Concerns [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
- No-Parking Zone Mistakenly Pops Up in Front of Houston Home [abc13]
- Houston Among the Best 15 Cities for Renters in 2017 [Forbes]
Photo of Aris Market Square: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
I think I’ll dismember the buildings and then I’ll dance in the wreckage.
