Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Just one more round to celebrate their last days.
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- 1 Maggie Ln. [HAR]
Repurposed in Garden Oaks
Former AA Meeting Space To Reopen as Slowpokes Wine Bar and Coffee Shop on W. 34th St.
Remodeling is underway at the former Primary Purpose Alcoholics Anonymous meeting space, as Suite D of the strip center at 1203 W. 34th St. is converted into Slowpokes wine, beer, and coffee bar. The new business is busy building its digital presence as it rehabs its physical space just south of the corner with Alba Rd.
The bar’s Instagram page shows the above photo of a screenshot of a rendering of the suite under renovation, which depicts a large patio spreading out into what is currently the strip center’s parking lot. Photos of carpet removal and wishful floor-taping have also been posted as interior construction begins:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TWO WRONGS AND A RIGHT MAKE A FASTER LEFT 
“There are ways to speed up intersections which are scientifically proven and sound but rarely implemented. One way to reduce accidents, improve traffic flow, and decrease left turn times is to prohibit left-hand turns altogether. Left-hand turns would be completed by driving through the intersection and making a u-turn before the next intersection, followed by a right-hand turn. The same lanes would flow faster, and more traffic could be carried with no increase in infrastructure. Left turn times are actually decreased by this method, which seems counter-intuitive. Traffic engineers recognize this, but neighborhood activists and politicians frequently oppose it as being inconvenient for drivers. . . .” [Jardinero1, commenting on Comment of the Day: A Different Approach to the Future of Downtown Approaches] Illustration: Lulu
Lake Conroe Listing Antics
The Continuing YouTube Ventures of Paul Gomberg, Conroe Real Estate Agent
Leather-clad real estate agent Paul Gomberg, perhaps best known for the sales video of that Champion Forest house filled with excrement that made the rounds back in early January, is now starring in a less nose-threatening video tour — this one of a squeaky-clean 2011 mansion on Lake Conroe. The punchline this time: a suit-and-tie-clad 11-year-old that Gomberg chaperons around the property, who ultimately leaves the contract-ready agent hanging on the steps of the house pending parental permission to close the deal.
The house at 12386 Tramonto Dr., which first went on the market in October of 2014 for $1.6 million, was dropped to just below $1.5 million on Tax Day in 2015, two weeks before an early May relisting. The asking price dropped again last July to the current $1.35 million.
Today’s Sponsor of the Day is Joshua Verde, a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for Harris County Civil District Judge in the 215th Judicial District.
Swamplot is nonpartisan and does not endorse political candidates. But we do run political advertising and Sponsor of the Day content. Josh asked us if he could become a Swamplot sponsor to remind readers that early voting begins today — and provide a few helpful links:
Early voting in Harris County for the upcoming election runs from February 16th (it began at 8 am) through February 26th. Election day for the statewide primary is March 1, 2016. Here’s a PDF from the County Clerk’s office with a complete list of early voting locations.
A nonpartisan guide to the candidates (also a PDF) is prepared by the League of Women Voters and can be found here.
To learn more about Josh’s campaign for the 215th Civil District Court, please visit the Josh for Judge 215 website.
There’s no need to start a campaign if you want to become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day. Just appoint yourself.
Serving up Nostalgia in Nassau Bay
Hamburgers By Gourmet Readies for Relaunch by Space Center Houston
Defunct 1970’s burger chain Hamburgers By Gourmet appears to be readying for a new takeoff at 1360 NASA 1 Pwky., across the street from the Space Center Houston visitors center parking lot at the junction with King’s Park Ln. A corporate entity connected to a Nassau Bay real estate agent was registered under the Hamburgers By Gourmet name 2 Octobers ago; the new storefront bearing the chain’s old burger-slash-mushroom-reminiscent logo was spotted last week by a keen-eyed user on HAIF.
The newly rebranded building, shown above from the west side, was formerly a Kentucky Fried Chicken prior to its turn-of-the-decade conversion to a Premium Title Lending.
Welcome to the Jungle
Tropical Getaway off Gessner Rd. Offers Fun and Games
Double or triple your fun with 3 bedrooms, 2 and a half baths, and 3 bars in this Spring Shadows home. Multiple covered patios and balconies surround the backyard pool, which is itself surrounded by an impressive collection of flora and faux-fauna. This 3,067 sq. ft. of vibrant colors and unique finishes was initially listed for $495,375 in December 2015. The price was dropped in January and again in February to the current asking of $399,999.
Bonus points: Can you spot all of the dinosaurs roaming the property?
- German Firm Dräger Leases 37,651 SF in Hines’ Beltway Southwest Business Park [Realty News Report]
- How Off-Campus Student Housing Affects the Third Ward Community Around the University of Houston [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
- Sneak Peek Inside New Katy Water Park Typhoon Texas [ABC13; previously on Swamplot]
- What Franchises May Set Up Shop in Houston in the Coming Months and Years [HBJ]
- Private-Dining Restaurant Manor House at the Houstonian Hotel Open to the Public for Its 30th Birthday [Houston Chronicle]
- The Broader Point About Pedestrian Safety Missing from the Debate over Artsy Crosswalks [The Urban Edge]
Photo of Pleasure Pier in Galveston: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
A couple Mandell Place mow-downs, and a handful of others that couldn’t escape the President’s Day holiday.
NO NEED FOR LONG FACES 
Today, like many of you, Swamplot is taking a hard look at some presidential history — and taking the day off, too. But cheer up! We’ll be back Tuesday morning with all the usual scrutiny of the Houston real estate scene. Photo of presidential heads by David Adickes: elnina via Swamplot Flickr pool
- Opening Date of First Phase of Katy’s Boardwalk District Pushed Back to Early 2017 [Your Houston News]
- Greenspoint Mall Being Marketed as a Redevelopment Opportunity To Potential New Buyers [Realty News Report]
- 1,000-SF Homes or Smaller for Sale in Houston [Houston Chronicle]
- Houston Chronicle To Complete Move To Former Houston Post Headquarters on Southwest Freeway [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Johnny Rockets To Open First Houston Restaurant in Not-Yet-Open Paragon Outlets [HBJ]
- Stuttgarden Tavern Opening Second Location at Mall of the Mainland in Texas City [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Mayor Halts Stoning of Mecom Fountain To Rethink Alterations [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Houston Steps Up Cleanup in Effort To Combat Zika Virus [Click2Houston]
- ‘Rent the Chicken’ To Let Houstonians Try Their Hand at Having a Coop of Their Own [Houston Press]
Photo of the East End: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
This is no opera buffa but we’ll make the best of it.
- 15002 Walden Rd. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN APPROACHES 
“An alternative that I would heartily recommend would be to work on nearby crosstown routes that may serve to relieve pressure on downtown-area freeways. Those would also be expensive and controversial, but also they are the low-hanging fruit; for example running a toll facility along the north-south Union Pacific ROW. Or completing SH 35 and then creating individually-tolled grade separations from there up Scott St. or Lockwood. OST is a very good candidate for this, as is the N. Shepard/Durham corridor. Do anything possible to speed up thru-traffic along Bayous by removing signalized intersections, especially along the Braeswoods, the T.C. Jesters, and of course Memorial Dr. and Allen Pkwy. These are all things that we would want to have around later on during the course of construction, anyway — but also, decentralized improvements have the advantage of being less subject to economic obsolescence resulting from…say driverless cars and rideshares…which place a big question mark on the near-term utility of mega-projects that required perhaps a decade to finish.” [TheNiche, commenting on TxDOT’s Plans for Freeway Expansion Around and Below the Newly Protected Cheek-Neal Coffee Building] Illustration: Lulu
