BARNABY’S CAFE IS COMING TO THE HEIGHTS 
The spot at 2802 White Oak Dr. from which City Oven and before that D’Amico’s Italian Market Cafe departed will soon be home to the seventh location of Barnaby’s Cafe, reports the Chronicle‘s David Kaplan. Landlord Revive Development produced the mockup of a Barnaby’s sign on the building pictured above. Revive’s Bryan Danna tells Kaplan Barnaby’s signed a lease for the 3,300-sq.-ft. space earlier this month and expects to open by the end of the year. [Houston Chronicle] Photo: Revive Development
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A LOOK AT SOME OF THE LIQUID POO FLOWING ONTO COLQUITT ST. IN MONTROSE 
A reader wants to be sure Swamplot readers are alerted — as city inspectors, the HPD’s environmental division, and the property manager have already been, the reader says — to the “recurring” problem of raw sewage flowing out from the Takara-So Apartments at 1919 W. Main St. and into neighboring storm drains. The photo at left, taken on Monday, shows the sewage (“you can smell it”) along Colquitt St., pausing for a bit of sun on its way to lower-lying bayous and waterways. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox
The Winhall Townhomes complex at 1525 Garrettson Ln. — tucked behind Willie G’s on Post Oak Blvd. — appears to be vacant, notes a reader who snapped the above photo of an empty (and chained shut) parking garage on one side of the Galleria-area residence. That’s notable because — unlike various other complexes around town that have been given the all clear in recent months — the Winhall consists of more than 30 independently owned condos. But sure enough, a for-sale listing has been posted online for the almost-2-acre site, which includes 285 ft. of frontage on Garrettson.
All Together Now
- Home Construction Begins in Master-Planned Community The Groves, Near Kingwood [Houston Business Journal]
- Sneak Peek at Weights + Measures, the Restaurant, Bar, and Bakery Planned for Former Garage at 2808 Caroline St. in Midtown [Food Chronicles]
- Ribbon Cutting Held for New Cracker Barrel at 27040 Northwest Freeway in Cypress [Cypress Creek Mirror]
- New Caney ISD Names High School Stadium After Texan Drive Car Dealership [Click2Houston]
- Supporters Urging Preservation of Wheatley High School and HISD Reach Agreement in Mediation, But Results Are a Secret for Now [Houston Chronicle]
- Segment of Grand Pkwy. Run Through Katy Prairie Between I-10 and U.S.-290 Is ‘People’s Choice Award’ Finalist for Best Transportation Project [The Highwayman; previously on Swamplot]
- Residents Living Near $21M Drainage Project on Shepherd near Buffalo Bayou Complain about Noise, Construction [Click2Houston]
- Mayor Declares Aug. 7 ‘Juan Carlos Day’ in Honor of the Montrose Rollerbladder [Click2Houston]
- Reconstruction of a 1-Minute Film by Thomas Edison Documenting the Aftermath of the Great Storm of 1900 in Galveston [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of Crosby St. sidewalk near W. Dallas St.: Walker Agnew, Jr. via Twitter
Headlines
At the newer end of Old Braeswood, where the housing is typically more fifties vintage than stately prewar stock, there’s an updated stoney-faced original home with a smooth-sided seventies addition. The latter blocks the large corner lot’s interior from cross street Kirby Dr., 3 blocks north of Brays Bayou and the Rice School. Some of the added space rocks on, including the family room with its sturdy stone fireplace (top). A contract on the property fell through in May 2014, when the asking price was $1.15 million. After a brief timeout, the home reappeared in July with a fresh price tag that’s still in effect: $1.29 million.
No Stone Unturned
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MORE THAN READY FOR THE NEXT BIG BOOM DOWNTOWN 
“I cannot wait until they implode the Houston Club Building. Everyone who works in Pennzoil Place is currently on the verge of losing their minds because of the constant jackhammering on the building to prepare it for demolition. We’re happy the end appears to be in sight, but another six weeks of this is going to be tough to handle. I hope the construction workers are well-protected from the noise and dust this project is creating. If we’re going nuts, then I can’t imagine how they must feel.” [Courtney, commenting on Blowing Up the Houston Club; Dismantling a Radioactive Barge in Galveston] Illustration: Lulu
Here’s a rendering of the 7-story (2 of them parking) condo building Sims Luxury Builders is planning for the spot at 3331 D’Amico St. — just east of Dunlavy St. and south of Allen Pkwy. currently occupied by a dentist’s office and bridal shop structure where a sign went up late last month. Dubbed Riva at the Park, the building will contain 22 units (marked down from 24), on 3 floors of 4 units each and 2 floors of 5. A marketing rep tells Swamplot the building’s developers are aiming to have “larger units than Highland Tower or the Royalton,” but “superior finish allowances and very low maintenance fees but not as industrial as the loft buildings.” They condos are expected to start in the high $700s. The building will sit on the northern edge of the former Rincon Apartments, now called the Villas at River Oaks.
- Houston’s new park place? Seven-story condo building to rise over Buffalo Bayou Park with views galore [Culturemap]
- Previously on Swamplot: Signs of a Planned Midrise at D’Amico and Dunlavy
Rendering: Sims Luxury Builders
Riva at the Park
The Heights coffee shop that took over the former Waldo’s Coffee House bungalow on Heights Blvd. just south of 11th St. earlier this year will be shutting down at the end of this month, a reader reports. Boulevard Coffee had opened at 1030 Heights Blvd. in March of this year. A note taped to the shop’s cash register (at right) tells customers the story. Photos: Laura H. (patio view); Swamplot inbox (note)
The Last Drop
- Houston Club Building Set To Be Detonated on Oct. 19 [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
- Skanska To Break Ground on Second Spec Office Building in the Energy Corridor This Month [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
- Northstar Healthcare Considering Building New Hospital, Medical Office Near the ExxonMobil Campus in 2016 [Houston Business Journal]
- Developer Rumored To Be Buying Former J.C. Penney Building at Mall of Mainland [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Clark Cooper Concepts Plans To Open Seafood Restaurant in Former Pesce Spot at 3029 Kirby by Summer 2015 [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Pizaro’s Pizza Napoletana To Open in Montrose in January, Minus a Patio But Twice as Big as the Original in Memorial [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Army Nuclear Reactor Barge the Sturgis To Be Towed 1,700 Miles from Virginia to Galveston This Winter for Dismantling [Houston Public Media]
- New Water Plan Before City Council Today Calls for Residents To Reduce Usage By About 1 Gallon per Day by 2019 [Houston Chronicle]
- Galveston Enacts Stage 2 of Drought Contingency Plan; Sprinkler Restrictions in Effect for Property Owners [Click2Houston]
- This is the Worst Year On Record for West Nile Virus in Houston, Says Harris County Mosquito Control [Click2Houston]
- Art Car Parade Moving Up a Month to Next April To Capitalize on Cooler Spring Temperatures [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of 1920 W. Alabama St.: Molly Block via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Viewed from the waters of Lake Conroe, the lacy tiers of a 1974 home in April Sound lend a layer cake appearance to a property that likes balconies enough to feature them outside and in. Leggy columns connect exterior parapets on 3 levels (top). The interior’s double-sided version spans the main living area between a pair of wooden staircases. Listed at the end of August, the property has a $950,000 asking price. A previous listing that lasted for 8 months back in 2008 had originally sought $888K but found no takers, despite a reduction to $747K.
Wrapped in Railings
Or might it be the city’s finest home auto repair garage? It’s all a question of emphasis in this brand-new Hillendahl Acres (just south of Hammerly Blvd., east of Wirt Rd.) residential listing: The car-repair shop, known to customers for more than 20 years as Palm Motor Company, sits in the back of the almost-half-acre lot and has room for more than a dozen neatly parked cars. The home sits nearer to the street and contains 2 bedrooms. All this (minus the cars) could be yours for the $750,000 asking price. Care for a tour?
Palm Motor and Hearth
- 701 Hereford St. [HAR]
