05/18/16 8:30am

45-at-59

Photo of I-45 at US-59: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines
05/17/16 5:00pm

Eado Edge subdivision, Clinton Dr. at Jensen Dr., Fifth Ward, 77020

A reader sends fresh snaps from north of Buffalo Bayou in Fifth Ward, where Urban Living’s long-time cornerside “coming soon” sign at the intersection of Clinton and Jensen has been joined by a more specific banner advertising the planned Eado Edge subdivision. A 2014 replatting created 80 new lots out of the former Standco Industries warehouse complex at 2701 Clinton Dr., which Colliers sold following the oil equipment company’s bankruptcy proceedings a few years prior. The not-yet-townhomes sit across Clinton from the former KBR site bought by Cathexis back in 2012; the currently empty land is also just west of InTown Homes’s Regent Park subdivision.

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EaDo Creeping North
05/17/16 1:15pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: CHOPPING OFF A VESTIGIAL TALE IN MIDTOWN 3015 Bagby St., Midtown, Houston“Yes, it is ‘a vestige’ of history, but only that. The interior doesn’t have a century-old feel — because every century-old vestige is removed! I would have thought to keep rooms evident in the interior, since it looks like a home from the outside . . .  this can be achieved and meet fire safety requirements. I hope the place succeeds. But if [the building] gets torn down in 3 to 4 years, I won’t be sad — it’s already gone.” [movocelot, commenting on Century-Old Sterling House To Open As Sterling House After All] Photo of the Sterling House at 3015 Bagby St.: Swamplot inbox

05/17/16 12:30pm

Weingarten flier for The Centre at Post Oak, 5000 Westheimer Rd., Uptown, Houston, 77056

A northern ambassador to the Houston restaurant scene appears to be moving into the Uptown spot recently vacated by southwest-centric Canyon Cafe. The logo for Canadian fusion chain Moxie’s Grill & Bar now shows up on Weingarten’s leasing flier for The Centre at Post Oak, across Westheimer Rd. from the Galleria. Tom Gaglardi, the current owner of both the Moxie’s chain and the NHL’s Dallas Stars, told the Dallas Business Journal early last year that he was planning to push Moxie’s into the US market by way of several major Texas cities.

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Uptown Moxie
05/17/16 12:00pm

1704 Kipling St., Winlow Place, Montrose, Houston

1704 Kipling St., Winlow Place, Montrose, Houston

Sponsoring Swamplot today: the 4-5-bedroom, 4-bath single-family home at 1704 Kipling St. in Winlow Place. Thank you for supporting this site!

The duplex that originally stood on the northwest corner of Kipling and Dunlavy was built in 1930, but it had been vacant for 20 years before Houston architect Donna Kacmar renovated and converted it, in 2007, to this single residence. Kacmar recycled some of the materials from the house for its own rejuvenation: Termite-ridden oak planks on the first floor were replaced by shiplap — removed from the interior walls, milled, and turned into wide-plank flooring. New cabinet pieces were fabricated from the home’s longleaf pine door jambs. Interior doors are refinished originals, but all windows and exterior doors were replaced, soapstone countertops inserted, and a new garage constructed.

The renovation efforts resulted in a Good Brick Award from the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (now known as Preservation Houston) in 2008. But the home has more to offer than its rehab pedigree: There’s also the central Montrose location. Coffee, croissants, and company are just a short walk away. The 3,552-sq.-ft. home is just a couple blocks south of the storied corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy.

1704 Kipling St. is listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers. You can see more photos of the renovated home — including the back porch and brick exterior — and get more info about it on the property website.

Done some rehab work on an older piece of Houston, and interested in getting word out about it? Consider the limelight available to it as a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.

 

Sponsor of the Day
05/17/16 10:30am

Renderings of Heights Central Station shopping center, Yale at 11th St., Houston Heights, Houston, 77008

MFT Interests appears interested in tenants for its Heights Central Station project, slated for the site of the increasingly well-loved former post office on 11th St. between Yale St. and Heights Blvd.  The development’s leasing website now includes the first rendering of what those mixed-use lowrises might look like (see above), as well as a site plan.

Although the logo for the center implies a possible train station theme to go along with the name,  the site plan shows that most of the property will be devoted to automobile parking — an 86-car street-facing parking lot separates the storefronts from 11th and Yale streets, though the Heights Blvd. side of the eastern building is much closer to the street:

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Heights Central Station
05/17/16 8:30am

knollwood-village-pour

Photo of Knollwood Village pour: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines
05/16/16 4:30pm

5243 Lymbar Dr., Meyerland, Houston, 77096

5243 Lymbar Dr., Meyerland, Houston, 77096

Hitting the market late last week in the neighborhoods of Meyerland and of $425,000: a groovy 1970s home a few doors down Lymbar Dr. from soon-to-be-renamed Johnston Middle School, northeast of the intersection of Willowbend Blvd. with Chimney Rock Dr. The living room of the 2,362-sq.-ft. house features a round concrete fireplace amid wood paneling and sealed brick floors; a shower-side planter setup makes appearances in the master suite’s bathroom.

Here’s the cantilevered porch and striped front door a the top of the home’s circular driveway:

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Meyerland Mod
05/16/16 12:30pm

Renderings of townhomes at 815 W. 24th St., Houston Heights, Houston, 77008

Above is a rendered
view of the Skyline on 24th townhomes at 815 and 819 W. 24th St., a couple of which burned down on Friday evening after a nearby dumpster fire reportedly spread. The Skyline site backs up directly to part of the Shady Acres location of C&D Scrap Metal Recyclers, which last month announced plans to close its Heights branch on May 12th; C&D owner and $2-bill enthusiast Dennis Laviage pointed out to KPRC that the fire was hot enough to melt the steel frames of the townhomes, and that the incident could have been way worse if some of the diesel stored on the C&D property had gotten involved in the action.

Builder La Casa International‘s in-progress pre-fire plans for the 2 lots included 8 units; a rendering of the complex’s driveway viewed from W. 24th shows stone pavers partitioned off by strips of fake grass:

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Smoke over the Skyline
05/16/16 10:45am

Sterling House, 3015 Bagby St., Midtown, Houston, 77006

3015 Bagby St., Midtown, HoustonSome construction photos released yesterday by the prepping-to-open business at 3015 Bagby St. seem to provide a definitive answer to that lingering 2013 question of whether the century-old structure at the corner with Rosalie St. would be patched up for a new gig as a Midtown bar called The Sterling House, or just torn down to make room for it. The building (which belonged to members of Ross Sterling‘s family but not to the former governor himself) wasn’t totally demolished, though it did get gutted and largely rebuilt. The space then got shopped around last year by landlord Amir Ansari, who offered the spot with TABC licenses and other permits already in place. 

A Sterling House Facebook page got a coming-soon photo update over the weekend, showing a few post-redo photos of the inside and outside of the structure:

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Polishing Up on Bagby
05/16/16 8:30am

buffalo-bayou-cistern

Photo of Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines