- 7826 Wedgewood Ln. [HAR]
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW ETHNIC FOOD BECOMES FINE DINING, IN A FEW SIMPLE STEPS “The pattern in Houston is the same as in a lot of cities: Pricier ‘fine-dining’ establishments are found in city centers and more desirable neighborhoods where rents tend to be higher, while the more interesting but less refined ethnic restaurants open in areas where rents are affordable for their (often recent immigrant) owners. There is a sort of built-in prejudice against paying fine-dining prices for certain types of ethnic foods. One often hears ‘I’m not paying $25 for Thai/Vietnamese/Mexican food.’ We haven’t minded paying high prices for French or Italian food for at least two generations. And Japanese food followed a generation later. Spanish restaurants are commonplace, fine-dining Chinese food can now be found in many markets, and Houston has one of the finest Mexican restaurants in the country in Hugo’s. As 2nd generation immigrants come of age, you often see chefs receive ‘classical’ training, gain experience in the country’s best restaurants, then connect this knowledge with the food they grew up with. I fully expect Houston to have, say, a top-notch fine dining Vietnamese restaurant within the next decade.” [Angostura, commenting on Comment of the Day: Following the Great Chain Restaurant Migration]
HERE’S YOUR RICE VILLAGE GROUND-FLOOR RETAIL 
The first tenant to open on the Morningside side of Hanover Rice Village will be Coppa Osteria, reports Eater Houston’s Darla Guillen, who pins the date in September. Coppa will be run by the folks who bring you Ibiza, Brasserie 19, and Coppa Ristorante Italiano, a fact that strikes Guillen as emblematic of a pattern in Houston’s culinary scene: “It seems like many upscale restaurants feel compelled to open the cool little brother to their high-end establishments.” At any rate, Coppa appears to have a cool walk-thru pizza window and cool neon signage. At 5210 Morningside and Dunstan, it’s right across the street from the site of the old Garden Gate, where Hanover is planning to build that 12-story tower with no ground-floor retail. Also coming soon to the Morningside side? Chef Chris Leung’s Cloud 10 Creamery, the signage for which has been strung up right next door. [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West
Tema Development is planning to build a 42-story residential tower on that recently surveyed fenced-in lot right beside its Parklane condos on Hermann Dr., according to a couple of Swamplot readers who saw the Corgan-designed building presented at a Museum Park neighborhood association meeting this week. One reader describes the highrise:
The building has a unique design that will twist as [i]t goes up, changing the viewpoint of the higher levels (towards downtown, I believe). They’re planning a 5-story parking garage with one level below grade. On top of the garage will be an amenities level, including a pool and clubhouse among other things. It’ll be connected to the tower via a skybridge. The tower will be bordered by Jackson St. (west), Hermann Dr. (south), and Ewing St. (north). A private drive will be built on the east side as the grand entrance of the building, which will include valet parking. Entrances to the parking garage will be off this private street with a secondary entrance off Jackson St. . . . I believe they’re working with the same landscape architects who worked on the Asia Society building. . . . Lastly, the units will be for lease and not for sale. They expect it to hold 550 residents. I don’t remember the exacty breakdown of units, but it’s something like this: 20-30 studios, 140 one-bedroom, 30 two-bedroom, and 10 three-bedroom.”
- Previously on Swamplot: What’s Going On Beside the Hermann Dr. Highrise?
Photo: Allyn West
- Houston Has Most Office Space Under Construction Among 20 Cities [Prime Property]
- ‘Move Over’ Law To Extend to TxDOT Construction Crews Starting September 1 [abc13]
- Commissioned Art Being Installed at New Light Rail Stations [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Active Hurricane Season Still Likely in Houston [KUHF]
- Texas Holding $461.1M in Unclaimed Oil and Gas Royalties [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Meet Mark Anderson, the Beekeeper and Honey Mogul of Bellaire [Your Houston News]
Photo of Alabama at Main: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
This 1955 1-story home was first listed in July at $379,900. Just south of Beechnut and west of S. Rice Ave. in Meyerland, the 2,359-sq.-ft., 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1-garage mod was priced down this month to $350,000. This exterior shot shows the home sitting back on a relatively expansive 11,067-sq.-ft. lot, but the listing also reveals something else, described as an “extra room” that’s downright subterranean.
COMMON BOND COMING TOGETHER IN MONTROSE 
Culturemap reports a few more details about Chef Roy Shvartzapel’s new pastry cafe, dubbed Common Bond, that’s moving into that 2-suite retail center (with plenty of parking in the back) that’s been going up on the corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy — including the co-aspirants Shvartzapel has persuaded to join him in his lofty quest “to make the best croissants you’ve ever had:” “[The team will] include executive pastry sous chef Jillian Bartolome (Bouchon Bakery at Rockefeller Center, Cyrus), chef de cuisine David Morgan (August Restaurant, Cyrus), head bread baker Drew Gimma (Bouchon, Per Se), assistant bread baker Tony Stein (Bouchon Beverly Hills) and assistant bread baker Alec Bartee (Cyrus).” And when is this place gonna open? “Although he says the bakery ‘will not open before we’re ready,’ Shvartzapel hopes to welcome customers in November to demonstrate Common Bond’s ideas about Thanksgiving pies.” [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West
Once a duplex, a box-on-box 1965 home two blocks from Baldwin Park in Midtown endures as newer townhomes sprout around it. The fenced-in side lot provides some yardage otherwise missing at the back of the property, which is light on windows (at right), but big on built-in storage cubes (top). Last weekend, the freshly painted, previously updated residence appeared on the market with a $760,000 price tag.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: FOLLOWING THE GREAT CHAIN RESTAURANT MIGRATION 
“The ironic thing is that surburbanites get made fun of for a supposed lack of urban sophistication, and are portrayed as thinking Chili’s/Applebee’s is the pinnacle of good cuisine.
Now, a lot of ethnic cuisine cannot be found inside the Loop and you need to go to the Beltway to find it (Indonesian, Peruvian, Nigerian, Malaysian) but we get a Chili’s and an evil Chick-Fil-A right near downtown.” [eiioi, commenting on Comment of the Day: How We’re Remaking the Inner Loop] Illustration: Lulu
- 310 Paul Revere Dr. [HAR]
CHEVRON GETS A CHEVRON-SIZED TAX ZONE DOWNTOWN 
To further persuade Chevron to build that 50-story tower that it told everyone back in July that it was gonna go ahead and build, city council voted unanimously yesterday to create a tax abatement reinvestment zone for the 2 acres on which the tower would stand at 1600 Louisiana. The resulting cash should help Chevron replace a sewer line on the former Downtown YMCA property, the Houston Chronicle reports. And the Houston Business Journal’s Shaina Zucker adds up all the incentives that might be coming to help out the energy giant: “[The zone] could mean $2.7 million to $3 million for the company . . . . That money would be in addition to the $12 million it could receive from the Texas Enterprise Fund, which Gov. Rick Perry’s office announced in July.” [Houston Chronicle; Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: HOK
Introducing the Susanne, what appears to be that “Mediterrenean” and “really beautiful” apartment complex that developer Marvy Finger has been saying he was going to build on the site of the recently demolished Montrose Fiesta and the rest of that low-slung strip center at the corner of Dunlavy and W. Alabama. A reader sends a photo of the sign now posted on the construction fence advertising the new complex and its website, on which the rendering above appears; the website provides few details about floor plans and amenities, but it appears that there will be a swimming pool and that the parking garage will provide direct access to each of these 8 stories.
- 14-Story Eldridge Oaks Office Tower in Energy Corridor Sold [Prime Property]
- HISD Voting Today on Putting Law Enforcement HS Back on the Market [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- County Commissioners To Vote Tuesday on Putting Astrodome’s Future on November Ballot [KUHF]
- Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Approved To Boost Development in Hiram Clarke [Prime Property]
- Cupcake ATM Coming to Highland Village by October [Houston Chronicle]
- Asking Prices for Houston Homes Up 10.2 Percent Over Last Year, According to Trulia [Prime Property]
- UH Installing in Hermann Park Solar-Powered Pavilion/Transitional Housing from Reused Office Cubicles [University of Houston]
- Houston Festival Foundation No Longer Wants To Fund Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, Will Focus on International Fest Instead [Houstonia Magazine]
- Oversized Spool Damages Bridge at North Beltway and Aldine Westfield [abc13]
- No Swimming, No Fishing Signs To Be Added at Sims Bayou Following Drownings [Click2Houston]
- Decomposing Body Went Unnoticed in Woodlands Marriott Parking Garage for Two Months [Culturemap]
- Sahara Desert Dust Moves Over Houston, Can Cause Health Problems [Click2Houston]
- Houston, According to Getty’s Stock Photography [Hot Topics]
- The Strange Bayou City Nightlife of 30 Years Ago [Houstonia Magazine]
Photo of demolition of 4444 Westheimer apartments at Westcreek and Westheimer: Swamplot inbox
