Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Don’t turn around, ’cause you’re gonna see these buildings breaking.
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- 926 Robbie St. [HAR]
Actually, the rendering above is not the newest look for the Ivy Lofts, PR head Jared Anthony tells Swamplot this afternoon. Anthony says that the 3-week-old images posted in Wednesday’s since-pulled listing for ground floor retail space in the development had been planned for release that same day during a meeting with folks who have reserved units in the project — but some totally different designs came in from the new architect on Tuesday. Anthony says the newest plans will be shown off in mid-October when the sales center relaunches (complete with another scale model of the planned building), and that groundbreaking is now planned for January, with no change to the estimated completion date.
- Previously on Swamplot:Â New Ivy Lofts Condo Tower Renderings Smooth Over the Shift Toward Semi-Hotelification;Â Playing Dress Up with the Tiny Floorplans of the Ivy Lofts Condos;Â Climbing Around the Enormous Nooks of the Proposed Ivy Lofts Highrise;Â Those Not Sold on the Ivy Lofts Tiny Condo Concept Can Buy 2 Tokyos and Stick Them Together;Â A Mini-Preview of Houston’s Tiniest Condos, Coming Soon to a Former Grocery Store in East Downtown
Images: Powers Brown Architecture
East Downtown Loft Swapping
This morning a reader spotted some cleaning out going on at the Westheimer Rd. storefront of BJ’s Oldies Antiques. The shop isn’t closing down, a rep tells Swamplot — just moving next door for a month or so (into the storefront spot formerly occupied by now-on-Taft-St. Cool Stuff) while some building repairs get finished up. The shop’s current location — immediately east of Empire Cafe — is a metal rooster’s throw from where owner Becky Pieniadz ran the business in the 1990s out of a section of the flea market at 1733 Westheimer (directly across the street from Empire). The shop moved down the street for a few years to the building down the road at 1435 Westheimer (currently occupied by bedding store Biscuit) before downsizing back to the 1700 block in 2013.
Photo: Carson LucarelliÂ
There and Back Again
Today’s sponsor: Houston’s own Central Bank. Swamplot appreciates the continued support!
Central Bank has 4 (central) Houston branches available to meet your business or personal needs: in Midtown, the Heights, West Houston, and Post Oak Place.
Central Bank believes that change is essential to its success; the company actively pursues the latest in service, technology, and products. Central Bank aims to know its customers personally and to be their primary business and personal financial resource. The bank’s staff values relationships and strives to be available when you need them.
To learn more about how Central Bank can meet your banking needs, please call any of the following Senior Vice Presidents: Kenny Beard, at 832.485.2376; Bonnie Purvis, at 832.485.2354; Gary Noble, at 832.485.2366; or Ryan Tillman, at 832.485.2307. You can also find out more on the bank’s website.
Put your business front and center for Swamplot readers. Become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.Â
Sponsor of the Day
OYSTER TYCOONS FIGHT OVER BAYBOTTOM TERRITORY AS REEFS RECOVER FROM FLOODING 
More action is expected next week in the Galveston County courtroom hosting part of the ongoing underwater real estate fight involving some of the biggest names in the local oyster fishing industry, writes Harvey Rice. At stake: oyster rights on 23,000 acres of subsea land leased out in 2014 by the Chambers-Liberty Counties Navigation District — including some areas already leased out to other fishermen by Texas Parks and Wildlife. The move spurred several lawsuits, first from the lessee’s industry competitors and (former) friends, and later from the state of Texas itself; the issue has since worked its way to several appeals courts, one of which stopped the case from being moved to Chambers County. And even the oysters themselves have faced a dramatic few years, Rice notes, between the recent Houston–area flooding (which sent enough freshwater runoff to the coast to drastically alter the bay’s salt levels) and the stretch of drought before that (which let salinity get too high). [Houston Chronicle] Map of oyster habitat in Galveston Bay: General Land Office
- Average Houston Rent Was $1,077 in August, Down 2.9% Year-Over-Year, Finds Axiometrics [Houston Chronicle]
- The Mitchell Group Closes on 4K-SF Lease at Downtown’s The Jones on Main [Realty News Report; previously on Swamplot]
- Realty Companies Baker Katz and Braun Enterprises Buy 1920s Washington Avenue Property in the 1900 Block [Houston Chronicle]
- Ronnie Killen Opening First Houston-Proper Restaurant Called Killen’s STQ in Freshly Vacated Bramble Space [Culturemap]
- Metro’s 2017 Budget Includes Improving Bus Stops and Transit Infrastructure [Houston Public Media]
- A Review of The Dunlavy and Its Position in Buffalo Bayou Park [OffCite Blog]
- See 8 Contemporary Houses on the Houston Modern Home Tour This Saturday [Houstonia]
- Houston’s First Annual Weird Homes Tour on Oct. 8 To Feature 8 to 10 Eclectic Residences [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of the West Loop: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
A fresh feel after a fresh clean sweep.
- 1119 Le Green St. [HAR]
Update, 9/23: Ivy Lofts PR director Jared Anthony tells Swamplot that another even newer design is in the works following an architect switchup — more info here.
Is this the new look planned for the Ivy Lofts? A fresh LoopNet listing is now using the top rendering (and another view from the back) to advertise retail space on the yet-unbroken ground at 2604 Leeland St. The images show a building with roughly the same J-shaped double tower proportions seen in the original Ivy Lofts renderings, but with a smoother, gently curved facade and some vertical green striping.
Novel Creative Development VP Wen Pin Tsai did tell Paul Takahashi back in July that there were major condo-hotel-hybridization-related changes being hashed out for the planned highrise after the initial buy-up went more slowly than planned: the 550 units got attention from only 68 buyers — most of whom were actually investors looking to lease out the condos to that same coveted young professional set that wasn’t signing up to purchase them.
Most of the renderings and details up on the Ivy Lofts’ marketing webpage were taken down some time in the wake of the missed June groundbreaking date, and not many new ones been posted yet — but a new floor plan is included with the retail leasing info, showing distinct condo and hotel lobbies:Â
New Angles in East Downtown
COMMENT OF THE DAY: DON’T ACT SO SURPRISED WHEN YOUR OUTER LOOPS GROW UP AND TAKE YOUR JOBS 
“I can understand the desire to keep jobs Downtown, as our freeway infrastructure was always designed for funneling traffic to Downtown but not through it (which has definitely backfired on us in recent times). Same for those toy trains we’ve just spent a fortune on for the past decade — the more jobs located downtown, the better the chance of seeing population gains and redevelopment in the surrounding areas as well. However, none of this is reason enough to double down on generation-old infrastructure . . . [and] really, Shell’s offices are nowhere near the ‘burbs of Katy. It’s in one of the largest office markets in the entire city that has been around for a long time now.” [joel, commenting on Shell’s Downtown Operations To Shed Offices, Scurry Over To Larger West Houston Campuses] Illustration: Lulu
Don’t fret: The dangling fireplace in this 2-story 1976 home on the eastern shore of Lake Conroe is chained securely in place in the center of the living room’s linoleum-lined couch pit. The 3-bedroom main house is planted right next to a freestanding 1-bedroom guesthouse; the 1.3-acre Willis lot also contains a no-bedroom boathouse and an insert-your-own-bedroom RV-ready metal shed. The house has been floating around on the market since July of 2015, though the price took a $54,000 dip in May.
The upturned corners of the guesthouse’s roof and toppers are visible from Joann St.:
A 3-Bedroom Tour
Our sponsor today is the 2-story home at 2366 Dunstan Rd. in the Southampton Place Extension — one of a pair of adjacent homes designed by architect and Rice prof Will Cannady. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!
Forty years ago, when William T. Cannady had been teaching architecture at nearby Rice University for a mere 12 years (he’s still at it today), he created this modern home and its mirrored-plan neighbor one lot away from the eastern edge of the Rice Village. The entry, past a crepe-myrtle-lined walkway that stretches between the 2 homes, opens next to the living room, which looks out to a private brick-paved patio terrace in back (pictured above). Large, high windows at the stairwell and several other strategic spots throughout the structure bring light into the home — and offer views of the surrounding greenery.
All 3 bedrooms are upstairs. A balcony from one of the bedrooms peeks out over the back patio. A renovation added hardwood floors to the main living space, Miele appliances to the galley kitchen, and fixtures from Waterworks and new cabinets to the bathrooms. There’s also a working elevator.
Inventive ice cream shop Cloud 10 Creamery is dangerously close (just around the corner on Morningside); it’s an extra block-and-a-half or so to 24 Hour Fitness. You can get to the Med Center with a 25-minute walk along the oak-lined edges of Rice University.
You’ll want to see more pics of this place; they’re available on the property website. 2366 Dunstan Rd. is listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers.
Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day program brings attention to interesting properties. If you’ve got one that should show up here, let us know about it.
Sponsor of the Day
LANIER MIDDLE SCHOOL CEREMONIALLY CHANGES NAME TO LANIER MIDDLE SCHOOL 
The Lanier-Lanier name change got the official seal of approval as of yesterday morning by way of a seal-updating and renaming ceremony at the middle school’s campus at Woodhead St. and Westheimer Rd. That previously threatened lawsuit over the HISD’s plan to flush out Confederate sympathizers from its campus name roster was in fact filed in late June by a group of parent-and-alumni-types; documents filed with the district clerk’s office show that a request by the plaintiffs for a temporary injunction to stop the renamings from moving forward was denied by the judge on August 22nd. Lanier’s campus is keeping all but its first name, swapping author Sydney for former Houston mayor Bob; the other 7 schools on the changeover list started the year with more dramatic shifts in nomenclature. [HISD Blog; previously on Swamplot] Image of new Bob Lanier Middle School seal: HISD
- More Than 13M SF of Office Space Under Construction in Texas Triangle, Finds CBRE Research [Realty News Report; previously on Swamplot]
- Vacant Former ExxonMobil Building in Greenspoint To Get $2.8M in Renovations To Modernize Common Areas [HBJ]
- How Amegy Bank Plans To Take Over Downtown’s Historic Esperson Building [HBJ]
- 5 Energy Companies That Could Add Space to Houston’s Sublease Market Before Year’s End [HBJ]
- Majority of Oil and Gas Execs Think Downturn Will Be Over by End of 2017, Finds Deloitte Survey [Houston Public Media]
- Metro Prepares for Lower Sales Tax Revenues in 2017 Budget [Houston Public Media]
- Construction on New Galveston Wastewater Treatment Plant Wraps Up 8 Years After Ike [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
Photo of 1825 San Jacinto St.: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool
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