Sign up for the Newsletter
On the growing list of things getting dressed up for the Super Bowl: this Red Line light-rail train, caught above at the corner of Main and Franklin streets this afternoon wearing a shiny new red-and-stadium-colored suit. Buildings around the Discovery Green and George R. Brown Convention Center complex have also been getting advertising wraps draped in place in the past week or 2, as have a few other buildings around town (including the BBVA Compass building near the Galleria). Across the intersection, a reader also noted the installation of new security cameras at the Islamic Da’wah Center, founded after former Rocket Hakeem Olajuwon bought the 1928 former Houston National Bank building in 1994:
Downtown Prep
Judge Emmett’s office passes along the rendering above today, showing plans for the Astrodome’s Super Bowl vestment — namely, a new swath of blue-green lighting around the stadium’s exterior wall. That proposed projected light show on the roof got shot down in the fall, along with the possibility of holding any events in the building; Brent Schrotenboer of USAtoday notes the Dome currently holds the distinction of “biggest and most famous storage facility in Texas,” however, and as such will be carrying out its related stuff-holding duties for a variety of Super Bowl lead-up events.Â
- Even Astrodome will play role during Super Bowl [USAToday]
- Astrodome coverage [Swamplot]
- Previously on Swamplot:Â ESPN Moves Super Bowl Shows from Midtown Park to Downtown Parking Lot Next to Salvation Army HQ;Â New Colored LEDs Now Periodically Exposing Themselves on Bridges over 59;Â Downtown Intersection Already Getting Jammed in Anticipation of Super Bowl Visitors; Judge Emmett Has at Least 6 Things To Say about the Astrodome
Rendering of Astrodome Super Bowl lighting: Super Bowl Host Committee
Local Color
Swamplot’s sponsor today is Jamestown Estate Homes. Sure do appreciate the support!
The team at Jamestown Estate Homes sees the sales contracts the company recently negotiated on 2 of its existing homes in Memorial — one at 111926 Broken Bough Dr. and another at 11323 Surrey Oaks Ln. (both shown above) — as evidence that the luxury real estate market is heating up. (The company also recently entered into a new contract to build a home on a client’s lot in the Oak Forest area.)
The company’s marketing director, Victoria Hawes, says she believes there was a lot of pent-up demand from people worried about the economy and the election: “Whether or not the election turned out the way people wanted it to, I think that people are happy that it’s over. Oil prices seem to be stabilizing, the stock market is surging, and interest rates are going up.” All of which, she says, makes for a great home-buying or -building environment in Houston, and already seems to have encouraged some people on the fence about buying a new home to act.
What’s ahead for Jamestown Estate Homes in 2017? The company is building a new Heights-area headquarters building for itself — at 16th and Durham — while continuing construction work on homes for clients in the Memorial Villages, Garden Oaks, and Oak Forest. There’s also a showcase home under construction in Oak Forest, and the company is developing its own plans for homes in Piney Point and Bunker Hill Village. Hawes says the company likes having completed homes available — in order to show potential clients its work.
If you’d like to find out more about Jamestown Estate Homes, visit the company’s website; check them out on Facebook; or contact Victoria Hawes directly at victoria.hawes@jamestownestatehomes.com.
Swamplot likes having fresh Sponsor of the Day posts (like these) available, so you can check out how they work! Find out more here.
Sponsor of the Day
HOUSTON-DALLAS BULLET TRAIN SHOWS UP ON TRUMP INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT LIST 
The already-in-lawsuit-phase Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail project is number 13 on a list of 50 “Emergency & National Security Projects” floated around by the Trump transition folks, according to a report from McClatchy and the Kansas City Star (which posted the document online this week). The list looks closely related to one sent out by the team to the National Governor’s Association late last year, soliciting other ideas for projects that a hypothetical future investment program might target for funding; the bullet train project shows up only on the more detailed version of the list (which could be just another draft). Both versions of the list include the Cotton Belt Line commuter rail project, which would connect Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Plano. [McClatchyDC via Texas Tribune; previously on Swamplot] Map of proposed high-speed rail routes: Texas Central
- New Listings Going as Much as $30,000 a Night for Houston’s Super Bowl Rental Market [HBJ]
- Four Seasons Wrapping Up Major Renovations Ahead of the Super Bowl [Click2Houston]
- The Super Bowl Returns to a Transformed Houston [New York Times]
- Houston at Super Bowl 2004 vs. Houston at Super Bowl 2017 [Click2Houston]
- Street Artist Sebastien “Mr. D” Boileau Gives His 5-Story ‘Preservons la Creation’ Mural in Midtown a Super Bowl Makeover [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Houston Among First Cities for Wal-Mart’s New Car-Buying Program [HBJ]
- Why Parkway Is Betting on Co-Working Space in Houston [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- New Houston Home Market Facing ‘Speed Bumps’ Before Possible Expansion in 2018 [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Spring Branch Central the ‘Hottest’ Neighborhood in Metro Houston for Real Estate This Year, Predicts Redfin [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Houston Permitting Center Overhauling Website to Offer All Services Online [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Kinder Institute Rolling Out New Houston Urban Data Platform [The Urban Edge]
Photo of Greenway Plaza: 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 discovery of demolition was the first big step toward a civilized life.
- 5713 Bayou Glen Rd. [HAR]
The shot above captures the Saturday night scene along the Galveston seawall southwest of Stewart Beach, where bulldozers were pushing around the gush of sand and water being piped in as part of the latest round of beach building on the island. The crews were still at it around 9 pm; the shot below shows the Pleasure Pier over-water amusement park still lit up in the distance to the west:
Seawall Spread
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WATER BORDER PROS AND CONS 
“Abolishing arbitrarily-bounded entities with taxing powers like the HCFCD and instead creating entities that are specific to individual watersheds seems like it might make some sense. I do worry that certain areas, especially less affluent ones, would suffer from poor or corrupt leadership; and you can’t simply merge watersheds as the T.E.A. would merge school districts. However, that’d certainly be more democratic and accountable. That’s a trade-off which might be worth making.” [TheNiche, commenting on Group Petitions for 13-County Flood Planning] Watershed boundaries superimposed across Houston-area county boundaries: Galveston Bay Foundation and Houston Area Research Council’s Find Your Watershed map
The crossing of Yale St. over White Oak Bayou is open again as of yesterday, beating that initially announced estimated reopening date by close to a year. The new structure should reduce the chronic weight anxieties of those using the crossing, which has been subject to various pounds-per-axle limits for years.
And what of the original 1931 Yale St. bridge bricks, and their fundraising Friend group?  The online component of the crowdfunded save-the-bricks campaign launched last year fell short of that $100,000 goal by more than a bit, but the organization says that pretty much all of the bricks are still being preserved — most of them were just bought by someone else, for incorporation into a not-yet-officially-announced “art-centered mixed use project in First Ward.” Boulevard Realty, headed by Bricks and Fountain Friend and instigator Bill Baldwin, also recently posted a photo purportedly showing the incorporation of some of the bricks into new segments of the White Oak Bayou greenway trail, something the crowdfunding effort helped pay for:
White Oak Crossing
Today our sponsor is Just Buyers Houston, a real estate brokerage that you already know represents buyers only. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!
Buyers might be able to get a good deal on a highrise or midrise condo in this market. But does it make sense to do so?
Here, as Judy Thompson of Just Buyers Houston relates them, are the typical arguments against buying a condo: In Houston the highrise market has never been fully embraced by the marketplace; it remains an investment that, historically, has not resulted in the largest available returns over time. Why? Usually, there’s not enough demand to create supply pressure. And if supply pressure does mount, more properties will likely be built. On top of all that, there’s the dreaded monthly condo maintenance fee.
Recently, Thompson reports, a buyer asked her if she didn’t think that Houston was “trending toward a highrise lifestyle.” [Spoiler alert: She doesn’t.] “I had to point out to him,” Judy notes, “that just because a lot of condo buildings are going up doesn’t mean the market for those units is strong. At best it’s a normal market in the lower price ranges, very much a buyer’s market in the upper price ranges.” Here she’s referring to this chart on the Just Buyers Houston website, reproduced above.
So who should buy a highrise or midrise condo? “If you are a buyer who wants a ‘lock and go’ lifestyle, doesn’t mind that it might not be the greatest investment over time, and can pay the maintenance fees, then it may be right for you,” she says. It’s also possible, Judy notes, that a lot of baby boomers interested in downsizing will be out looking for condos as well.
But having in hand actual data about the market can make you a smarter buyer. As noted above, a chart showing current conditions for the highrise and midrise condo market in 10 price ranges and 4 market areas is available on the Just Buyers Houston website (and displayed in part above). You’ll also find on the site a range of historical data about sales numbers and prices for properties in several popular local Zip Codes. If you’re looking to buy a home or condo in Houston and care about getting accurate information, you’ll want to check out Just Buyers Houston.
How about making a great investment in Swamplot’s readership? Here’s how to sign up for our Sponsor of the Day program.
Sponsor of the Day
CITY HOPES TO CHOP A DECADE OR 2 OFF THE BRAYS BAYOU FLOOD CONTROL TIMELINE 
At the current rate of federal funding trickling in for the completion of the Project Brays flood control project, the work could take another 20 years or so to complete, Mike Morris writes this week — noting that the Harris County Flood Control District originally expected about $50 million in federal reimbursement every year, but has been getting an average of $11 million annually in recent years. The city is now planning to speed the project up by asking to borrow $46 million from state-level funds to give to the county, potentially helping it meet or beat a 2021 completion deadline. And “yes,” says city flood czar Steve Costello, “the city is going to be taking [a] risk because we’re going to be waiting for the money, but we’re confident that this is the start of a long-term relationship and we think it’s going to work very well.” (If it does work well, the city may do the same thing for work on White Oak and Hunting bayous.) [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Tax Day flooding at Brays Bayou and 610: Chris Klesch
- NextDecade Leases 1,000 Acres at Shoal Point in Texas City To Build Natural Gas Facility [Realty News Report]
- Hanover Rice Village Apartment Complex Valued at $91M [Realty News Report; previously on Swamplot]
- Gulfton, Park Place Hottest Houston Neighborhoods in 2017, According to Zillow [Culturemap]
- U of H President Renu Khator Appointed to Board at Camden Property Trust [Houston Chronicle]
- 8 New Restaurants Revealed for United’s Terminals C South, E at IAH [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Restaurant Pair Lucky Sushi Bar and Green Ceviche Opening Side-by-Side at 12555 Westheimer Road This Summer [HBJ]
- By the End of 2017, Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants Looks To Have 30 Locations in the Houston Area [Houston Chronicle]
- What if Houston Floods During the Super Bowl? [Houston Press]
- Houston’s Air Quality Improving, but Asthma Disparities Persist [The Urban Edge]
- The Ultimate Guide to Buffalo Bayou Park [Houstonia]
- How Houston Escaped a Huge Oil-Related Recession [Houston Chronicle ($)]
Photo: o texano via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
A picture is worth a thousand words, but no picture is worth about five demolitions.