07/15/13 2:45pm

This photo shows 6th St. between Allston and Yale, the street that would more than likely be pressed into service for the 2 Alexan-brand apartment midrises that Trammell Crow has said it plans to build here. Alexan Heights, the first of the 5-story, 300-odd-unit complexes to be announced, would take up much of the lot to the north to the hike and bike trail near 7th; Alexan Yale, the second, which neighbors seem to have found out about just last week, would take up much of the lot to the south to 5th. The photos below walk you around the lots in question:

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07/15/13 1:15pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: VISIONS OF A FREEWAY LINED WITH OFFICE BUILDINGS “I live in the area and I think it’s a big improvement on a used car lot. I would love to see the remaining car dealerships gradually moved away and a continuous strip of mid/high rises from Memorial City to Hwy 6. Now that would be a true ‘Energy Corridor.’” [outwest, commenting on A New 17-Story Office Tower Just Like the Others in the Energy Corridor] Illustration: Lulu

07/15/13 1:00pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: HOW AND WHERE HOUSTON’S GONNA FIT ALL THOSE NEWCOMERS More density is coming to the Heights and every other Inner Loop neighborhood, because the economic factors at work are unstoppable. Barring a disaster wrecking Houston (natural or otherwise) or an economic crash, more people are coming, and lots of them will want to live near the central parts of the city. All we’re debating is how that will happen. Will needed infrastructure improvements happen? Will there be better transit? Will the density be added in a way to preserves the original neighborhood, and what does that look like? I have no problem with this kind of development along Yale or Studewood. I think an ideal outcome is main streets with good transit access and dense housing, retail, etc. with historically significant neighborhoods preserved nearby. I think what Arlington County, VA has done along these lines stands as an excellent example. And the idea that renters bring a neighborhood down is just stupid. unless your idea of a dynamic Heights is one where the average age is 50.” [John (another one), commenting on A Second Midrise Alexan Planned Right Beside the First One on Yale] Illustration: Lulu

07/15/13 11:15am

A Swamplot reader writes in to confirm what the sign in the window suggests: “I talked to the people. Said its going to be a restaurant!” This 6,561-sq.-ft. 1925 former food store in the Old Sixth Ward sits at the corner of White at 2003 Union St., just south of Washington Ave. If you’ve got a really good arm, it’s a stone’s throw from Liberty Station. And it’s immediately south of that awkward triangular patch where planning firm Asakura Robinson and other neighborhood futurists plotted visions of a walkable Washington Corridor, with bike repair stations, local retailers, food trucks, and the like.

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07/15/13 10:00am

“Soon!” You can almost hear this dormant excavator warning the Montrose Fiesta. The first one started sneaking up on the strip center at Dunlavy and W. Alabama back in March, but it wasn’t until late last week that the permits were granted and the real smashing began. The Fiesta closed for good almost exactly a year ago, not long after the H-E-B Montrose Market went up across the street where the Wilshire Village apartments once stood. Fittingly, developer Marvy Finger has said he plans to replace the soon-to-be-felled grocery store with apartments.

More shots of the carnage:

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07/15/13 8:30am

Photo: Jackson Myers via Swamplot Flickr Pool

07/12/13 4:20pm

A glowing (at least at dusk) example of Prairie School–style architecture by self-taught designer Richard S. Condon hugs the horizontal and hovers above the flatlands of Tanglewood. Its second level is almost entirely capped by casement windows. Condon passed away in January 2012. The residence on Doliver Dr. he built for himself in 1999 appeared on the market in March of this year, and has kept its asking price at a flat $3,260,000.

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07/12/13 3:00pm

RICHMOND STRIP NOT DOWN FOR THE COUNT? Real estate reporter Shaina Zucker cruises Richmond Ave., tallying up the evidence that she suggests might just point to a resurgence of that once-lively strip between Hillcroft and Chimney Rock: “30 — The number of For Lease signs visible; 4 — The number of For Sale signs visible; 6 — The number of empty lots visible; 5 — Number of active adult entertainment locations (strip clubs, novelty stores, etc.); 8 — Number of other active clubs/bars facing Richmond; 6 — Number of open fast-food locations; 20 — Number of auto sales/retailer locations; 3 — Number of active construction projects; 35,127 — Richmond at Fountain View average daily traffic volume by number of vehicles; 33,720 — Richmond at Chimney Rock average daily traffic volume by number of vehicles.” [Houston Business Journal] Photo of La Bare at 6234 Richmond: City Data

07/12/13 2:00pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW DID HOUSTON CHANGE FROM TOWNHOMES TO APARTMENTS? “Before the financial crash in 2008, developers were giddy to get large lots such as these and develop them into townhomes or high-end single family residential. See, for example, the townhomes that sit up against the railroad tracks on Center Street that now have a view of the Wal Mart parking lot. Or the gated community at Washington Ave. and Memorial Heights. Since then, I’m seeing more of these parcels developed into mid rise apartments, or shopping centers. Did something change in regards to bank financing or is this a response to more out of town money investing in Houston because it’s a ‘hot market’? Does anyone here know the answer?” [ShadyHeightster, commenting on A Second Midrise Alexan Planned Right Beside the First One on Yale] Illustration: Lulu

07/12/13 11:45am

A tipster tells Swamplot that the former Broken Spoke Cafe at 1809 Washington will soon be home to a new bar called the Caddy Shack. The cafe, located between Silver and Sabine in the Old Sixth Ward, closed last fall — and, unfortunately, soon after received the brunt of a fire that destroyed a vacant duplex next door.

Photo: Allyn West

07/12/13 10:00am

Here’s a look at the design from Morris Architects for the new 17-story Energy Tower IV. Does it seem familiar? That’s because it’s going to be identical to 2 existing ones: Energy Towers II and III. Construction, reports the Houston Business Journal, is expected to start next month. Developed by Mac Haik Realty, the new tower is planned to be 450,000 sq. ft., bringing the total amount here in the Energy Plaza at Kirkwood and I-10 to more than 2 million sq. ft. of office space. Prime Property adds that the building will be open in 2014.

Rendering: Mac Haik Realty