01/13/16 8:30am

houston-skyline

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines
01/12/16 3:45pm

Demolition of 517 Louisiana St., Downtown, Houston, 77002

Time to bid adieu to 2 more of downtown’s oldest buildings: readers sent both sky-high and excavator-side photos of yesterday’s teardown work at 517 Louisiana St., and 509 is permitted to follow). According to the building’s owners, the next-door Lancaster Hotel’s parking crunch is the reason the 2 1906 Theater District neighbors will meet their flattened fates, along with a long-hidden pecan tree that shades a once-secret courtyard at 509. Taking their place: a surface lot for 50 cars — and, maybe, one day, an expansion to the hotel.

517’s transformation to empty space was complete by the end of the day yesterday:

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Coming Down in Downtown
01/12/16 1:15pm

AND NOW, WATCH THE RED LINE RUSH FROM BELL ST. TO BURNETT STATION AND BACK IN 49 SECONDS Take a break from the Downtown bustle, even if its just for a couple of seconds — frequent Swamplot photo contributor Jackson Myers captured this sped-up video of a light-rail ride from Bell St. up to Burnett Station, and even manages to hop in the conductor’s compartment for the return trip. Video: Jackson Myers via Swamplot inbox

01/12/16 12:00pm

Cricket Buchler

The Swamplot Sponsor of the Day for today is personal coach Cricket Buchler. Thanks for sponsoring Swamplot again, Cricket!

If you’re looking to make good on a New Year’s resolution, or just searching for a creative spark to jump-start the year, consider a 90-minute personal coaching session with coach Cricket Buchler. An experienced corporate trainer who has helped top executives, Hollywood celebrities, and employees in a range of industries address personal and professional development issues, Cricket also works one-on-one, guiding clients to explore and unlock possibilities and design plans to realize change, and coaching them through their journey toward an intentional life.

A coaching session can also be a great gift for anyone who is looking to take the next step forward in life, work, or relationships, but feels a bit stuck as to what next steps might look like. You’ll find a sampling of testimonials from former clients on Cricket’s website, along with more information about coaching sessions.

Looking to spark something with your own company? Maybe it’s time to help it become a Swamplot sponsor. Find out more about the program by contacting us on the Swamplot sponsorship line.

Sponsor of the Day
01/12/16 11:30am

MOVING FORWARD WITHOUT TENANTS ON 1.5 MILLION SQ.FT. OF WAREHOUSE SPACE IN BAYTOWN Cedar Port Distribution I Location“It’s all about rail,” Robert Clay tells Cara Smith of the HBJ — despite having no tenants lined up, Clay Development plans to begin construction this month on the first of 3 500,000-plus-change-sq.ft. railcar-friendly warehouses on Borusan Rd., southwest of the Grand Pkwy.’s Cedar Bayou crossing. Clay purchased the 80-acre section of Baytown’s Cedar Crossing Industrial Park (the Gulf Coast’s largest industrial park, at 3/4ths the size of Manhattan) at the end of December. Clay’s economic predictions are “more optimistic for 2016” than they were for last year —  Low natural gas prices have fueled a $35-billion plastics and petrochemical boom along the Gulf Coast, and storage demand could increase thanks to the expansion of the Panama Canal. The building could be finished by August. [HBJ, Houston Chronicle] Map of proposed distribution facility location: Clay Development

01/12/16 9:30am

Paradise Motel, 8405 Hempstead Rd., Hempstead Industrial District, Houston, 77008

A last fleeting glimpse — a reader snapped this shot of the permanently closed Paradise Motel at 8405 Hempstead Rd., between the junctions with W. 11th St. and Washington Ave and just northeast of Hines’s Somerset Green development. A rent-a-fence is now up around the 6-building complex, which sits next door to Custom Duct and across the railroad tracks from Non-Ferrous Extrusions metal fabrication. The hotel opened in 1963, back in the pre-290 days when the Hempstead Hwy. was the primary route to Austin.

Photo: Gail Garcia via Swamplot inbox

Industrial District Motel
01/12/16 8:30am

houston-downtown-signs

Photo: Jan Buchholtz via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Headlines
01/11/16 4:30pm

ST. PAUL SUBURB REFUSES BUS CONNECTIVITY IN ORDER TO STAY “PRETTY RURAL-LOOKING” Meanwhile, in the Twin Cities: The Gold Line Busway, intended to connect downtown St. Paul with east-lying Washington County, will likely now terminate in the rapidly growing Woodbury area instead of rural Lake Elmo as planned, after the community’s City Council voted reject the plans (intended to spur further development in the city of 8,200). The suburb, which contains over 2,200 acres of lake park preserves alongside extensive farmland, declined the project in a 3-to-2 vote in an effort to “keep this rural community pretty rural-looking”, as Council Member Jill Lungren put it. Council Member Julie Fliflet adds that the bus line “is a good project, I fully support it and what it brings — I just don’t feel it’s the right fit for our community.” [Star Tribune]

01/11/16 3:30pm

Little White Church on property of Iglesia Sobre La Roca, 433 S. Barker Cypress Rd., Kingsland Estates, Houston, 77094

The Little White Church that fled the Marks LH7 Ranch in 2012 when the land was sold to developers appears to be finally settling in at the new digs — a reader sends this photo looking west  from Barker Clodine Rd., on the back side of the property of Iglesia Sobre La Roca where the building scooted to. The Little White Church is now a few shades whiter thanks to a new coat of paint, and appears to have gotten a big brown porch for Christmas. Eastgate Ministries moved out of the building to a country club in Katy in early 2014, after 15 years of using the building.

Meanwhile, back at the Marks LH7 Ranch (just across a long driveway to the south of the Church’s new home, and west along Kingsland Blvd.): the Vue Kingsland Apartments, the Aldeia West Apartments, and the Ryan Homes at Arcadia have all risen on the former state archaeological landmark, where a ranch-themed development was once promised.

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Kingsland Churches
01/11/16 12:00pm

Bernie's Best, AKA The Crudbuster, from Juicy in the Sky with Vitamins

Today is a big day in Swamplot sponsorhood: This site’s first entirely liquid sponsor. It’s a drink called Bernie’s Best, but better known to its fans as “The Crudbuster” — from Washington Ave juice bar Juicy in the Sky . . . with Vitamins. Thanks for the support!

Got some crud you need busted in the new year? Bernie’s Best is a garden in your mouth: Fresh beet, carrot, apple, lemon, spinach, parsley, garlic, and nothing else, all pulverized (and quick-chilled) before your eyes. It’s sweet, savory, and tart, all at once: a flavorful way to get your body the veggies it deserves.

This week (through Sunday, January 17th), Juicy in the Sky is running a special on Bernie’s Best: Buy one 16 oz. Bernie’s and get a second one free. (There won’t be any signs posted about it, so be sure to mention you heard about this special on Swamplot. Or don’t — they’ll figure it out.) Juicy in the Sky is open 7 days a week at 4720 Washington Ave, Suite B-1, at the corner of Shepherd Dr.

Got a fresh, special something you want Swamplot’s thirsty readers to know about? Try our delicious Sponsor of the Day program.

Sponsor of the Day
01/11/16 11:30am

HOUSTON ZOO’S CEO WANTS TO GIVE THE GIRAFFES MORE ROOM TO STRETCH THEIR LEGS Lee Ehmke tells Claudia Feldman of Chron.com that he has big plans to improve the 55-acre institution’s exhibits Houston Zoo Giraffesand infrastructure in advance of its 100-year anniversary in 2022. The lawyer-turned-landscape-architect spent 12 years working at the Bronx Zoo and 15 at the Minnesota Zoo, creating immersive exhibits such as “Russia’s Grizzly Coast”, which put together leopards and tigers and bears. The Houston Zoo hired him to design its African Forest complex, which broke ground in 2009. Ehmke then came on as CEO in August of last year, and is already discussing an update to the front entrance, moving the Zoo’s dated cafe, giving the giraffes more legroom, and expanding the sea lion pool.  Ehmke’s longer-term goals include replacing much of the facility’s aging infrastructure, reducing the number of exhibits while improving overall quality, and even someday expanding to a satellite campus. [Chron.com] Image of giraffes in their enclosure: Houston Zoo