- 504 Byrne St. [HAR]
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WHERE THE ACTION IS, IN AND AROUND HOUSTON 
From Dug Begley’s report on next weekend’s dual openings of the North Line light-rail extension and the Hempstead-to-Katy Segment E of the Grand Parkway: “[Judge] Emmett frequently notes that about 500,000 people live within Loop 610, about 1.5 million live between Loop 610 and the Sam Houston Tollway and about 2 million live outside the tollway within Harris County. ‘We’re seeing a lot of people moving inside the Loop,’ Emmett said. ‘That growth is going on. But for every person moving in, about four people are locating outside the beltway. Nothing is going to change that growth pattern.” [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Map: Grand Parkway Association
This award will go to a Houston neighborhood that is reliable, familiar, consistent. Yes, our sixth category in the 2013 Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate honors the area’s Most Recognizable Neighborhood.
We narrowed down your nominations to the list below, but now it’s time to narrow it down even further — to the winner. Which neighborhood deserves this particular superlative? Tell us by adding your vote in the comments below, or through email, Facebook, or Twitter. You can vote once by each method — up to 4 times — if you follow these rules. Whichever method you choose, make sure to explain your choice.
No, they probably don’t need any introduction. Here are your official nominees for Houston’s Most Recognizable Neighborhood:
The 2013 Swampies
SNøHETTA’S CENTRAL STATION CANOPY DESIGN IS OFFICIALLY DEAD 
Whatever glimmer of hope supporters of a distinctive Central Station were holding out for Metro somehow following through on its design competition or for Snøhetta’s winning canopy design have officially been dashed, Dug Begley reports: “Metropolitan Transit Authority chairman Gilbert Garcia and interim CEO Tom Lambert confirmed [last] week that timing crippled any chance of resurrecting a winning design. Instead officials will build their basic canopy for the block-long stop between Capitol and Rusk streets on Main Street.” [The Highwayman; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: Snøhetta
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Bowing out of the whole sticking-around thing.
- Hines’s 811 Main, Heights Animal Shelter, New Soccer Stadium Among Finalists in Local Urban Land Institute Awards [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- The Burger Guys Has Now Closed Its Westheimer Location Too [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot]
- Grand Pkwy. Segment E, Light Rail North Line Extension Both Set To Open This Saturday [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- City Breaks Ground on Park at Former Site of the Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in the Fourth Ward [abc13; previously on Swamplot]
- Separate Asphalt Trail for Runners and Walkers Being Added To Buffalo Bayou Park [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Since 2008, City’s 311 Line Has Received Nearly 25K Phone Calls Complaining About Dumped Garbage [Houston Chronicle ($); map]
Photo near W. Gray and Stanford St.: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
“Would you even recognize that neighborhood today?â€
That’s the underlying idea behind the next award in this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate, which goes to Houston’s Least Recognizable Neighborhood.
Of course, there’s more than one way to define what makes a neighborhood unrecognizable, as this official ballot of nominees put together from your nominations show.
In the end, only one neighborhood will get the recognition (heh) of winning this award, so tell us which it deserves to be. You can vote for your favorite by leaving a comment below this post or through email, Facebook, or Twitter. You can do all 4, too — as long as you follow these rules. Just don’t forget to tell us why the neighborhood you selected is getting your vote.
Now allow us to (re)introduce the official nominees for Houston’s Least Recognizable Neighborhood:
The 2013 Swampies
Aptly named a “bridge unit,” this eighth-floor space spans between the 30-story Warwick Towers just north of Hermann Park in the Museum District. The 3,385-sq.-ft. condo it’s part of had $5oK knocked off its initial asking price earlier this week in its relisting by the same agent after a 6-month previous listing expired. The million-dollar view (which curiously is not pictured in the listing) is now priced at $1.15 million — plus a not-insignificant monthly maintenance fee of $2,694.
Looking North and South
A fence is up and some demo work appears to be beginning at Galleria Plaza, across Sage Rd. from Galleria III. The mixed-use site, which stretches between Westheimer and West Alabama, is indeed the planned location of the new Hyatt Regency hotel that Swamplot reported on last month. The 14-story hotel, which was designed by Gensler and is being developed by Songy Highroads and the Carlyle Group, will fit into the surface parking lot at the northwest corner of Sage and West Alabama shown here:
Making Rooms
- 9514 Fossil Canyon Dr. [HAR]
Demolition crews have begun working at the base of the 21-story Texas Tower at 608 Fannin St., which will be taken down floor-by-floor. The 85-ish-year-old structure, formerly known as the Sterling Building, stands in the way of Hines’s new, now-47-story 609 Main St. office tower (below), for which excavation and foundation work is scheduled to begin next March. A spokesperson from Hines says there are no plans for an implosion.
Bit by Bit
- Hines’s 609 Main St. Tower Will Have Larger Gym and Green Roof, 3 Times the Retail Space of 811 Main, Plus Lobby Hangout Space [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
- Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission Votes To Pursue City Landmark Designation for Astrodome [Click2Houston]
- How the State’s $225M Road Repair Fund To Offset Damage from the Energy Boom Will Be Distributed in Houston [Houston Business Journal]
- Weingarten Realty Confirms Randalls at Westchase Shopping Center Will Close in the Spring [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
- Campaigning for the Houston Townhouse To Win Swamplot’s ‘Favorite Houston Design Cliché’ Award [OffCite; previously on Swamplot]
- Houston Ranks 10th in Country for Travel Fees, Finds Global Business Travel Association Report [Culturemap]
Photo of Oxford St. construction: Swamplot inbox
Headlines
Here are the official nominees for another signature category in the Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate this year: the Ground-Floor Retail Award.
The award is meant to celebrate — well, whatever you think it should celebrate: all manners of ground-floor retail, from surprisingly thriving retail centers to valiant attempts to plain ol’Â missed opportunities. The nominees have been selected from reader contributions.
Which of them deserves to get the award? You tell us! You can vote by leaving a comment below or through email, Facebook, or Twitter. You can use all four methods (once each) to vote — but that’s the limit. And don’t forget to tell us why your pick should win.
The nominees for the 2013 Ground-Floor Retail Award are:
The 2013 Swampies
- 7610 Hopewell Ln. [HAR]
