Swamplot | Houston's Real Estate Landscape

FOR SALE: CECIL’S PUB ON W. GRAY Cecil's Pub, 600 W. Gray St., North Montrose, Houston, 77019 AllÂ 6,250 sq.ft. of Cecil’s Pub are now up for sale, after some 31 years of operation. Â A reader reports that the bar is still openÂ for now,Â though anÂ information sign from The Weitzman Group is up out front of the building at 600 W. Gray. Weitzman has aÂ leasing flierÂ up for the property as well; the bar sits on just under half an acre of land east ofÂ PJ’s Sports Bar (at the corner with Stanford St.) and north of Skinny Rita’s Cantina (last occupied by Eleven:Eleven); just down the street are the North MontroseÂ branch of Barnaby’s Cafe and the planned site of the West Gray Plaza strip center.Â Photo: Swamplot inbox

North Montrose Signs of Change

77019, Bars and Clubs, Land for Sale, North Montrose

Watch 7 Months of Kirby Collection Construction Race Into Place in 30 Seconds

by Christine Gerbode

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A very quick summary of a long, long peek over the construction fence at Kirby Dr. and Colquitt St. shows the progress to date on the mixed-use Kirby Collection development. Developer Thor Equities has been working over the former site of the Kirby funeral bars since last fall, and has reached the top level of the complex’s parking garage. Thor plans to have the main skeleton of the office tower done by November and to put the last structural bits of the ellipse-footed residential tower in place by early 2017.

Previously on Swamplot:Â Kirby Collectionâ€™s Next Step Forward Leaves a Giant Concrete Footprint; They Tore Down the Cafe Express and Funeral Bars on Kirby for This; Signs Herald Kirby Dr. Funeral Barsâ€™ Impending Doom;Â The Jazzy New Bouquet of Towers Meant To Replace 4 Bars in 3 Buildings on a Kirby Block

Video: Thor Equities

Making Short Work Of It

77098, Apartments, Highrises, Midrises, New Construction, Office Towers, Upper Kirby, Videos

Former Gaslamp Spot Turns Into 360, 90 Degrees To the Left

by Christine Gerbode

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360 Skybar Patio, 500 McIlhenny St., Midtown, Houston, 77006

Some things haveÂ changed in the last few months at the corner of Brazos and McIlhenny streets in Midtown, where scandal-embroiled nightclub Gaslamp appears toÂ haveÂ shut downÂ to make way forÂ a newly-opened bar called 360. The Gaslamp sign is gone, and the building’s newÂ Facebook page also lists it as located at Google-baggage-free 500 McIlhenny instead of 2400 Brazos (though the number 2400 was still in place over the doorÂ as ofÂ last week).

The former second-floor club-within-a-club Elysium space upstairs appears to have been redecorated as well, and to have picked up the name The Hamptons. Other things remain the same, however — for example, the photo posted last week of 360’s rooftop patio (above) is remarkably similar to a view from the rooftop previously posted toÂ Gaslamp’s webpageÂ (below):

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Midtown Makeover

77006, Bars and Clubs, Midtown, Openings and Closings

Headlines

06/03/16 8:30am

Houston’s Class A Apartment Glut; The Role of Drones During a Flood

by Meredith Deliso

5 Comments

galveston-seawall

Houston Doesn’t Need Any More Class A Apartments, Greater Houston Partnership Finds [HBJ]
First Look Inside Linde Group’s Ziegler Cooper-Designed Energy Corridor Digs [HBJ]
Houston Lags Behind Austin, San Antonio, Dallas for Entrepreneurial Growth, According to Kauffman Foundation Study [HBJ]
Houston Commuters Paying Nation’s Third-Highest ‘Sprawl Tax’ [Houston Chronicle]
UH Wants More People To Be Aware of Its Public Art Program [Houston Public Media]
Governor’s 31-County Disaster Declaration a Step Toward Federal Help as Texas Faces Waves of Severe Weather [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
Mercer Botanic Gardens Back Underwater Days After Reopening Post Tax Day Floods [Houston Chronicle]
Drones Give a New Perspective on Extent of Flooding in Houston [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
Nearly 1 in 5 Houston-Area Homes Along the Gulf at Risk for Flood Damage This Hurricane Season, Predicts CoreLogic [HBJ]

Photo of the Galveston Seawall: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines

Daily Demolition Report

06/03/16 8:00am

Daily Demolition Report: Winrock Wrecked

by Lauren Meyers

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Swamplotâ€™s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.

Galleria downsizing, Meyerland upsizing, and near northside neatening in today’s tongue-twister-titled short shortlist.

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Daily Demolition Report, Demolitions

Homes for Sale

06/02/16 5:30pm

The Woodlands Home Listing Photo of the Day: Bearing Gifts

by Christine Gerbode

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54 N. Windsail Pl., The Woodlands, TX 77381

54 N. Windsail Pl. [HAR]

77381, Home Listings, Homes for Sale, Taxidermy, The Woodlands

Modern Design

06/02/16 4:30pm

Rice University’s U-Turn Away from a Modernist Opera House

by Christine Gerbode

3 Comments

RICE UNIVERSITY’S U-TURN AWAY FROM A MODERNIST OPERA HOUSE rice-opera-proposed A recent Facebook post by architect Allan Greenberg appears to confirm his firm’s involvement with the Rice University opera house project, of which possible renderings and a model recently surfacedÂ in another building on campus. The choice of Greenberg, aÂ self-describedÂ classical architect who designed the university’s Humanities Building, represents a major reversal of ideology from the previously announced selection of Diller Scofidio + Renfro (designers of part of New Yorkâ€™s High Line, who once created a building shrouded perpetually in fog).Â The selection of DS+R was announced in March of 2014; Greenberg had begun to publicly mention involvement with the projectÂ by this past December. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo of Rice University opera house design model: Swamplot inbox

Architecture, Design Trends, Proposed Developments, Rice-University

Lower Westheimer

06/02/16 1:00pm

Your Chance To Talk About Lower Westheimer Before The Redo Plans Get Drawn Up

by Christine Gerbode

26 Comments

YOUR CHANCE TO TALK ABOUT LOWER WESTHEIMER BEFORE THE REDO PLANS GET DRAWN UP Map of Lower Westheimer Study Area A meeting is set for 6pm Monday for anyone with opinions about what the Montrose section ofÂ Westheimer Rd. should or shouldn’t look like, as the ReBuild Houston folks turns an eye toward the corridor. Traffic consultant Geoff Carleton tells Dug Begley that bike infrastructure is low on the project wishlist, as bike lanes are already planned for W. Alabama.Â Carleton says thatÂ widening the road, which Metro’s larger buses can’t currentlyÂ fit down,Â will be a hard enough sell already, adding that current priorities are for Westheimer to be both “walkable and transit-friendly.” A list of links to previous studies of the area’s transit situation is included on the city’s meeting info page. [Houston Chronicle] Image of Lower Westheimer study area: City of Houston

Bicycles, Buses, Lower Westheimer, Proposed Developments, Public Meetings, Transportation

Brookshire

06/02/16 10:30am

What the Brazos River Looks Like When It Shatters All Previous Flood Gauge Records

by Christine Gerbode

5 Comments

may-31-flooding-FM-723-rosenberg-2

TxDOT has been doingÂ some circlingÂ around over the thoroughly soaked Brazos River valley this weekÂ grabbingÂ a few snapshots, including some taken yesterday morning as 31 East and Central Texas countiesÂ picked up flood-relatedÂ disaster declarations from the governor’s office. Running north-to-south (right-to-left) under the murky waters shown above is FM 723 in Rosenberg, TX; you can spot the bridge rising up to crossÂ the river’s normal channel on the left side of the photo, whileÂ SH 36 stretches away to the northwest.

Flash- and non-flash flood warnings are in effect aroundÂ the region through at least Friday night, depending on how intenseÂ the rest of this week’s predicted downpours turn out to be. Meanwhile, the already-feet-past-the-previous-record flood gauge at nearby Richmond, TX, is still creeping upward this morning toward 55 ft.:

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Water Under the Bridges