COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: WHAT THE HOME LISTING STATUS CODES REALLY MEAN 
“For those of you that think you know about real estate, but don’t, you will find a breakdown of HAR statuses at the bottom of this post. Pending Continue to Show (PS) means that the seller is still willing to have the house shown. It does not mean that there are necessarily any contingencies, it just means that they *might* still allow showings. They still have the right to decline a showing when an agent tries to schedule an appointment, and many sellers do choose to decline the showing, or at least don’t tend to be as flexible as they may have been before the home was under contract. The reality is that most agents don’t show homes that have a PS status anyway, unless the listing agent makes it a point to specify that the seller is willing to accept back-up offers. Many agents don’t use Pending (P) unless the seller absolutely insists on no further showings.
OP — Option Pending: Listings that are under contract and the seller and buyer have agreed to use the ‘Termination Option’ in paragraph 23 of the standard TREC contract, effective 1/1/03;
PS — Pending Continue to Show: Used for listings currently under contract but are still available to show. Listings having a contract with a contingency and taking back-up offers should be Pending Continue to Show;
P — Pending: Used for listings under contact and are no longer available to show;
S — Sold: Used when a property has funded and closed. All sales closed must be reported to MLS. Listings should not be changed to Sold status before the actual closing.” [HoustonRealtor, commenting on Restocking a Converted Grocery Store in the Houston Heights] Illustration: Lulu
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FARRAGO FORCED TO LEAVE COSTLY MIDTOWN GROUND FLOOR 
After 13 years of serving mimosas in Midtown, Farrago World Cuisine is closing. Catty-corner from the under-construction Midtown Park and one of the first ground-floor participants in that two-block urban walkability experiment around the Post Properties buildings at Gray, Webster, and Bagby, Farrago announced the shuttering in a recent Facebook post that suggests how primo the ‘hood is becoming: “We endured the construction, paid parking and towed customers. Alas, the over double rent was more than we could bare.” [Facebook; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Farrago World Cuisine
WILL GREENWAY PLAZA SALE MEAN NEW GREENWAY PLAZA TOWERS? 
The 10 buildings and 52 acres that make up Greenway Plaza have been sold by Crescent Real Estate to Atlanta firm Cousins Properties for $1.1 billion. (The 3-city deal also gives Cousins a 40-story office tower in Fort Worth.) For now, reports the Houston Chronicle, it doesn’t appear that the change in ownership will change the property — though Cousins doesn’t seem to have ruled anything out: “Though there are no immediate plans for development, the . . . complex could house an additional 2 million square feet worth of office buildings, [Cousins CEO Larry] Gellerstedt said. The future development sites are parking structures that could be replaced by new towers.” [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Photo: Crescent Real Estate
- Former Astros Pitcher Shane Reynolds Selling Sugar Land Home for $4.95M [Houston Chronicle]
- Property Tax Rates in The Woodlands Drop for Fourth Year in a Row [abc13]
- How the Exploding Housing Market in Houston is Complicating Matters for Buyers and Sellers [Hair Balls]
- Congressman Ted Poe Soliciting Opinions on Richmond Avenue Light Rail Funding on Facebook [Facebook]
- Houston Airport System Getting Rid of Damaged, Outdated Signs at IAH [KUHF]
- Where Houston Can Improve Cycling, Walking Options By Fixing Missed Connections [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Drivers Don’t Like That License Plate Must Be Recorded in New Seawall Paid Parking Plan [Click2Houston]
- 1970s Texas, As Seen Through the Eyes of EPA Photographers [The Atlantic]
Photo of Reliant Stadium: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
A renovated 1974 “Contemporary” in Briargrove Park is a glass act, though currently without a curtain call; most windows come unadorned (top) and look over manicured lawns (above) of Zoysia grass. The peekaboo property appeared on the market a week ago with an asking price of $799,000. That seventies show of angles and tilted roofage (at right) shelters an open-floor-plan interior with natural light beaming in from many levels and directions.
Swamplot reader Robert Meaney sends some observations along with these photos from the Fifth Ward of the 136-acre former KBR industrial property, sold a little more than a year ago and most recently designated for use as a private helistop: “I know they have been excavating for some time to get the contaminated soil out of the area. Currently they are scheduled to be finished digging up the lot by [December of] this year and according [to] the KBR manager I talked to on site the land will be up to commercial and residential standards.”
- Previously on Swamplot: Helicopters Over Clinton?, New Mystery Owners of 136 Acres in the Fifth Ward, Along the Shores of Buffalo Bayou, The Clearings on Clinton
Photos: Robert Meaney
- 11103 Holly Springs Dr. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW HOUSTON TEARS DOWN AND SPRAWLS 
“. . . In other (mostly northern) cities properties are continuously rehabilitated and repurposed. In Houston, properties are abandoned and demolished and the city sprawls out further from the center. I think that is a fundamental flaw in the mindset (and before anyone starts screaming — I know since I have remodeled properties considered tear downs in the Heights that have proven to be great investments). Granted, it takes guts and money and it may not be worth it to buy something like this, but there are other properties worth saving all over the Heights, Montrose, river oaks, and 6th ward. Every time I see an abandoned property in those neighborhoods it makes my head spin.” [Heights Mom, commenting on Snooping Around an Abandoned Apartment Complex in Inwood Forest] Illustration: Lulu
A new residence hall for men rehabbing from drug and alcohol addiction looks to be shaping up in Midtown. Designed by Roesler Architects, the 4-story, 26,000-sq.-ft. building will hold 64 efficiency units meant to house 2 men at a time; each unit, according Roesler, will have a microwave, refrigerator, built-in desk, and a coffee bar. There will also be what Roesler describes as a “Linear Courtyard” — a fenced-in landscaping feature, presumably — that will be accessible from the dayroom on the first floor. The new building is located at the corner of Alabama and San Jacinto, east of the Men’s Center headquarters across Main St. from the construction of Broadstone 3800, the 5-story apartment complex facing the light rail line on Main.
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Proceed, but be careful of the buildings you find underfoot:
- Galveston-Born Billionaire Developer George Mitchell is Dead [KHOU]
- George Mitchell Recalled as ‘Giant’ by Energy Industry Leaders [Houston Business Journal]
- Galveston Visitors Dismayed, Confused By New Seawall Parking Fees [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- State Approves Funding To Relight Bridges Over 59 [Montrose District; previously on Swamplot]
- Montgomery County Growth Causing More Wildlife To Be Displaced [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Homeowner in Eminent Domain Battle with Harris County Over House in Flood Plain Near Brays Bayou [abc13]
- Ken Mazzu’s Houston Demolition Paintings on View at the Art Car Museum [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
- How the Beer Can House Became a Houston Landmark [NPR]
Photo of Galveston: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
It’s taken a bit longer than Patrick Renner initially expected — he told Glasstire back in January that the “Funnel Tunnel” would be installed in February — but at least the sinuous steel frame that will be covered in repainted salvaged lumber was set up today in Hyde Park. You can see the giant tomato cage on Montrose Blvd., right in front of Inversion and the Art League of Houston.
- The Public in Public Art: Houston Community Helps Create “Funnel Tunnel†[Glasstire]
- Previously on Swamplot: Montrose: Where the Weird Things Are
Photos: Allyn West
There has been a clean up on Aisle 9 in an ivy-covered Houston Heights landmark. Previously converted into a home, the former Morton Brothers Grocery Store appeared on the market Wednesday with a $564,900 asking price. The ribs inside (above) aren’t for eating, though. They’re holding up the roof above the all-in-one living area at the front of the 1928 property, which has held a spot in the National Register of Historic Places — as a domicile — since 1988.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOUSTON’S MASTER PLANNERS 
“. . . I’ve talked a lot about the bad way some developers approach growth in Houston. But neighborhoods are addressing it wrong, too. They’re too reactionary. They sit around doing nothing until a developer proposes something they don’t like, then they mobilize to try to kill it. They need to ask themselves ‘what do we really want in and around our neighborhood,’ and then create master plans to communicate it. (The master plans wouldn’t be enforced — that would be zoning — but they could be used by developers to get a sense of what the neighbors would oppose.)
The Super Neighborhoods were supposed to be a venue where this could happen — they were originally under the auspices of the Houston Planning Department. But I’ve found that it’s actually the Management Districts that are doing master plans. It’s great that they’re happening, but Management Districts are paid for by and primarily serve businesses; and single family neighborhoods aren’t even trying to get in on the efforts.” [ZAW, commenting on Dogging the Morrison Heights Midrise with Doggerel] Illustration: Lulu
