Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
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- 1700 West Loop South To Be Renamed Burns & McDonnell Plaza [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Grand Texas Theme Park Neighbors Fear Loss of Quiet Country Life [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Bridgewood Property Planning River Oaks Retirement Community [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
- Houston’s Fake Space Shuttle To Be Called Independence After Contest Drew 10K Suggestions [abc13]
- Menil Billboard in Dupree Park Provokes a Copycat Billboard Response [Glasstire]
Photo: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool
CUPCAKES AND COCKTAILS FOR THE DOME 
It’s been a long week for the Astrodome. And whether you want to see the old thing saved or destroyed you might feel fairly wrecked yourself at this point. Could you stand to tip one back or perk up with some sugary calories? Well, a pair of local retailers are providing wares that just might do the trick: Through November 5, the date voters will decide whether to approve that bond measure that would pay for the Dome’s conversion into convention space, Triniti on S. Shepherd will be offering a special cocktail, the Colt 45. And through October 24 Crave Cupcakes will be selling at its Uptown Park and Upper Kirby locations the “Save the Dome” cupcake toppers shown in this photo. [Preservation Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: @KPRCawillis
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE LITTLE RULE HOUSTON STRIP-CENTER DEVELOPERS FORGOT 
“Setback is from edge of right-of-way, not edge of pavement. The original building was on the lot line.
Chapter 42 allows for buildings lines of 5′ (even 0′ in some cases) for commercial developments with parking in rear. See 42-154.
Diagrams here and here.” [Angostura, commenting on The Retail That’s Replacing the Razed Heights Baptist Temple Buildings] Illustration: Lulu
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN’T GET WITH A CONDO 
“Maintenance fees, common areas, special assessments . . . all great reasons to buy a single family home on its own lot with a sturdy fence on 3 sides (preferably 4). Bonus: you get to piss in your backyard whenever you want.” [Superdave, commenting on A Serene Single Bedroom in an Un-Orphaned Villa Serena] Illustration: Lulu
That huge empty husk of a building at the corner of Leeland and Delano will be renovated into offices for ChaiOne, which designs and develops mobile apps. According to a press release, ChaiOne has bought the presently windowless, 25,245-sq.-ft., 3-story building that, in 1938, served as the first U.S. headquarters of Schlumberger. ChaiOne CEO Gaurav Khandelwal is also one of the owners of the nearby coworking incubator Start. This rendering of the building shows the possibility of ground-floor retail opening up in this mostly residential and industrial part of the East End, with a coffee shop appearing to face Delano St.
- ChaiOne announces expansion and purchase of new building in East Downtown Houston [ChaiOne]
- Previously on Swamplot: Warehouse Turned House Turned Mobile: Start’s East Downtown Startup Incubator
Rendering: ChaiOne
It’s been 20 years since artist Rick Lowe and friends bought up that row of shotgun shacks on the 2500 block of Holman St. and transformed them — and much of the neighboring Third Ward blocks — into a lively community of art installations and performances, duplexes for low- to moderate-income residents, and architectural experimentation. The latest round of installations kicks off this Saturday.
WHERE THE MONEY FOR THIS EARLY DOME DEMO WILL COME FROM 
The demolition of the exterior features of the Astrodome, expected to begin Monday, could take until June, reports the Houston Chronicle’s Kiah Collier — though it appears that the $8 million that will be spent knocking down the ticket booths, concrete ramps, substations, transmission lines, and grass berms is included in the bond measure that voters won’t decide to pay for — or not — until next month. At any rate, Collier adds that asbestos abatement and demolition of the stair towers aren’t scheduled until December, when it will be clear whether the Dome will come all the way down or be converted into a convention center. [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Photo: Candace Garcia
- American Express Doling Out Millions To Help Save 37 Historic Sites, Including the Astrodome [KHOU; previously on Swamplot]
- Aldi Opening Store in Kemah on Oct. 24 [Prime Property]
- Pair of Squatters Trying To Claim Legal Ownership of Deceased Woman’s Heights Bungalow [KHOU]
- Zeapod Cakery Owner/Driver Developing Food Truck Park on 3 Acres on Highway 6 for Energy Corridor Workers [Culturemap]
- The Strand One of Country’s 10 Great Streets, Says American Planning Association [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Slideshow: The Weirdness You Can Find in Houston Only on Your Bicycle [Houstonia Magazine]
- TxDOT Says Prada Marfa Installation, Like Playboy Bunny Sign, Is Illegal Roadside Advertisement [A/N Blog]
Photo of JPMorgan Chase Tower Downtown: elnina999 via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Construction began yesterday on a new 1.35-mile segment of hike and bike trail on White Oak Bayou, the first of 5 planned sections that will more or less formalize the route that some trail users have taken it upon themselves to blaze. Eventually, the $3.4 million that the Bayou Greenways project will spend here will create about 11 miles of off-street passage from Hollister Rd. in Spring Branch to Downtown.
But first things first: This new segment will span Shepherd and Durham and W. 11th St., where, as this rendering from SWA Group shows, that charred MKT railroad trestle will be replaced with a snazzy new one — somewhat to the chagrin of John Nova Lomax, you’ll remember, who’s on the record lamenting the yoga dads and their ilk that that char might have once scared off.
- Previously on Swamplot: Fearing the Yoga Dads the New Heights Hike and Bike Link Will Bring, Off-Trailing with Houston’s Northwest Bike Path Pioneers, Parks By You’s Feel-Good Campaign To Build More Bayou Parks by You, Enormous Plan To Build Bayou-Side Parks: The Movie
Rendering: SWA Group
- 3509 Stanford St. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: CLUB SOME TIME AGO 
“Wow . . . far cry from the Emo’s and Club Some days that were housed on the first floor. Anyone remember the algae stricken pool as well as skateboard half pipe that was in the courtyard? Or better yet, the outdoor bathrooms that had no doors and long lines . . . shy guys need not apply. Those were the days. [AmyHM, commenting on A Serene Single Bedroom in an Un-Orphaned Villa Serena] Illustration: Lulu
DEAR HINES: WE’D SETTLE FOR A RESIDENTIAL MIDRISE, PLEASE 
Happy relationships are all about compromise, and even though Hines doesn’t seem that interested in budging on this one, maintaining that it will begin construction before the end of the year on that 17-story office building on the corner of San Felipe and Spann, concerned neighbors have organized a petition addressed to Gerald and Jeff requesting that that project be swapped out for something more “in keeping with our neighborhood,” a 3- to 6-story “residential development.” [Change; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: Stop San Felipe Skyscraper
Not the whole stadium — not yet, anyway — but Mark Miller, the general manager of Reliant Park, says that all the Astrodome’s exterior features will be knocked down as early as next week. And that appears to include everything that leads right up to the Dome’s walls: Not just the ticket booths that appeared Wednesday in the Daily Demolition Report, but also the concrete stairs, ramps, grass berms, substations, and transmission lines that you can see in the photo above.
