- 28752 Woodsong Trl. [HAR]
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In keeping with the project’s general theme of creative use of space, designs for the Ivy Lofts highrise put all of the building’s exterior crannies and levels to work. Renderings show at least 9 variously-sized and -sheltered rooftops and outdoor spaces incorporated into the plan for the proposed tower, whose teensy condo floorplans will start at 300 sq. ft.
Developers are already setting up a sales room in a former grocery store warehouse on the site (located on the block between Live Oak, Leeland, Nagle, and a discontinuous stretch of Pease), not far from coffin-factory-turned-craft-store Texas Art Asylum. Novel Creative Development hopes to sell all of the tiny condo units before contractors break ground in June on the tower (pictured from the south below):
East Downtown
THE NEW STANDOUT ON THE CORNER OF FAIRFAX AND WILSHIRE Meanwhile, in L.A.: The Petersen Automotive Museum reopened to visitors this week after a reddish redo spearheaded by NY design firm Kohn Pedersen Fox — to somewhat mixed reviews from architecture critics. Is the building’s new swirly facade of stainless-steel ribbons “kind of hideous,” “too Vegas,” or just “gloriously badâ€? [The Architect’s Newspaper; LA Times]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE GROHE IN THE SHOWER, THE CHICKEN ON THE FLOOR, THE ‘CAUFFERED’ CEILING, AND OTHER TALES OF CAREFULLY OBSERVED RENOVATION 
“So yeah, I didn’t know this site existed until my realtor pointed out that my shower head was on here — and of course he told me not to comment, but who am I to listen? I am a woman. For the record, all of the electrical, plumbing and insulation has been replaced or is new, and we actually fired two contractors because we felt like their quality wasn’t up to par with our expectations or something that we would be proud to sell, but after working with them, I can see why @commonsense would feel that way . . . we felt the same, but I promise ALL corners weren’t cut, just the ones that no one would notice. :) I’m kidding — honestly, it is costing us a little more because of it, but I am a Grohe and Hansgrohe girl, and no one could tell me that we were using any other shower faucets and fixtures. Thanks for complimenting the paint color, it is Repose Gray from Sherwin Williams, freaking goes with everything. @Lykos, my realtor swears it was a mistake, but I told him to leave “shower heard†because I thought your comment was hilarious. But then I thought, “shower hear†might be funnier because of the play on “here†and “hearâ€. Also, I think he was drinking with the ‘cauffered’ thing while listing this. He is correcting that, and we appreciate your pointing it out. Please keep thinking we’re funny. @Texmex01: Right? I would have thought the same thing, but location, and who am I to judge? @Gisgo: Again, market. I actually prefer that the kitchen be separate, so that if I accidentally drop someone’s chicken on the floor and have to put it back on a plate, no one knows but me. This whole open concept thing means I’d be cooking another chicken breast. @Toby, you’re welcome to come take more professional shots, the wide angle seems to drain the battery so the flash wasn’t working at that point if I remember correctly. Regardless of all of that, we had a party there with some investor friends and there is leftover beer and wine, so if you did want to see it in person, I’d be happy to meet you there. :) Oh, and @Benjy, this is for you: https://mubi.com/films/plan-9-from-outer-space” [Kile, commenting on Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: It Came to Me in the Shower]. Photo: HAR
Love that rush of vertigo from driving up the entrance ramp at Hidalgo St. onto the southbound West Loop? Freeway thrill-seekers may have some new options in a few years. The above rendering of new elevated express lanes along the West Loop between I-10 and 59 made an appearance at last night’s TxDOT Open House, where plans for the proposed project were presented for public comment. The drawing faces southwest across the intersection of San Felipe and 610 toward the Williams Tower (far left), and shows the lanes flying high over the existing freeway.
TxDOT also showed schematics and cross sections of the proposed additions — which include previously-considered dedicated bus lanes elevated along the path of the feeder road, from just south of I-10 to the junction with Post Oak Blvd.
Drive through the cross sections below, from north to south:
Up High in Uptown
The back-and-forth is over: following years of unsuccessful auctions, a plan to use the lot as 27 parking spaces, and that dramatic moment when someone offered to turn the building into a nutcracker factory, the downtown Hogan-Allnoch Dry Goods structure is finally resting in pieces. A demo permit was issued for 1319 Texas St. in late October, and the 1923 building came down last week:
No Love on Texas Ave.
- 4M-SF Daikin Industries HVAC Manufacturing Plant in Northwest Houston the Largest Industrial Project Under Construction in the U.S. [Realty News Report]
- GSL Welcome Group Acquires Strafford Industrial Building [HBJ]
- Manzel Contemporary Homes Starts Construction on Luxury Townhome Community Museum’s Gate in the Museum District [HBJ]
- Houston Purchasing Managers Index Falls to 6-Month Low in November [Houston Public Media]
- Zillow, Florida Atlantic University Offer Mixed Predictions on a Housing Bubble in Houston [HBJ]
- Halliburton’s $1.5M Tax Abatement To Help Improve Road Near Its North Houston Campus Questioned [Houston Chronicle]
- Axelrad Beer Garden Now Open at Alabama and Almeda Aims To Bridge 3rd Ward, Museum District, Montrose Communities [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of the Texas Medical Center: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool
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- 1324 W. Bell St. [HAR]
On your way home from checking out the new UT campus site, you might pass by 1 of the 6 Superfund sites located within Beltway 8 — but you almost certainly won’t notice. Just across the Sam’s Club parking lot from the former home of Astroworld, the Sol Lynn/Industrial Transformers site (tucked behind the brush-covered chainlink fence on the right, in the photo above) has no signage identifying it as a project on the EPA’s National Priorities List for cleanup. The little site at Knight Rd. and the 610 feeder is surrounded on two sides by an innocuous grassy lot:
Fun With Superfund
COMMENT OF THE DAY: PULLED OUT JUST IN TIME 
“I feel so lucky! My wife and I were planning our move away from Houston, originally, in summer 2016 but we moved up the timeline to summer 2015. We sold our townhouse last summer and made a bunch in equity after only 2 years! It felt crazy at the time. Now there is a townhouse in the same complex that has been sitting for months and months compared to ours selling in 3 weeks. I don’t think life would be the same at all if we had waited. It feels like we slid out of Houston on a high note. Good luck Houston, may the odds be ever in your favor.” [Duston, commenting on All Signs Pointing to a Houston Slowdown; A TIRZ for Montrose] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: SHOULDN’T EVERYBODY BE SELLING INTO A DOWNTURN? 
“So if someone could lend me some clarity on the housing market I would appreciate it. This is how I understand it: Median price is down, number of sales are down, however inventory went down to 3.6 months as well. Houses in the 150-250 range are still doing fine though. The first two issues seem to be related to anemic sales in the luxury market due to the loss of oil/gas workers, but I don’t understand how inventory can tighten when sales are down. Could someone help me out here?” [MrEction, commenting on All Signs Pointing to a Houston Slowdown; A TIRZ for Montrose] Illustration: Lulu
It appeared for a few hours yesterday that the house at 2504 Pelham Dr. would be undergoing another round of remodeling: transformed from the 1938 design by Charles Oliver by a 2013 overhaul of facade and interior, the house looked to be slated for further transformation into rubble.
In fact, only the garage is going away, though the demo permit listing wasn’t specific. Several shocked readers jumped on the case and confirmed that the house itself is safe for the time being. Architectural firm Spencer Howard even discovered that the ill-fated garage is being redesigned by none other than architectural firm Spencer Howard McAlpine Tankersley:
Public Service Announcement
Steel is up at 2915 N. Main just east of I-45, where the White Oak Music Hall is slowly getting ready to party. The indoor-outdoor concert venue, a project of former-Fitzgerald’s-operator Pegstar, is expected to be finished dressing up some time next May.
The photo above, peering northwest up N. Main Street, looks through the skeleton of the main building on the site, where 2 of the venue’s 3 stages will be situated. The rendering below looks at the structure from the opposite corner, facing the street:
Rock on the Bayou
- Houston Home Prices Fell for First Time in Nearly 4 Years, Dropping 3.5% Year-Over-Year in November to $262,064, Finds HAR [HBJ]
- Houston Home Sales, Statewide Sales Tax Revenue Down Too Amid Oil Slump [Houston Chronicle]
- Proposed Gilley-Themed Project in La Porte Projected To Bring in $50M in Annual Taxable Sales [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Gehan, Westin To Start Constructing First 170 Homes in 4,500-Home Lago Mar Development in February [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Houston City Council Unanimously Approves Establishing a TIRZ for Montrose [Houston Public Media]
- New Interstate 14 To Be Cobbled Together from U.S.
290190, Other Existing Roads from Western Texas to Louisiana Border [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of Downtown Houston: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
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