THE BUILDUP TO TEAR THINGS DOWN FOR THE NEW I-45 HAS BEGUN 
“I’ve noticed a trend in lower Fifth Ward to start building or planning to build in the path of the upcoming I-45 reroute,” writes a Swamplot reader. “Is there a chance that developers can make more money on their buyout if they have developed plans?” Developed or not, there’s certainly been some action along the right of way that TxDOT plans to crater for the new highway segment — like that recent buying and selling in East Downtown across from the GRB. No one’s signed up to build anything new on those parcels yet — but with roadwork not slated to start until 2020, that’s plenty of time to get something ready ahead of the demolitions the highwaymen have planned to make way for the reroute. [Previously on Swamplot] Diagram of I-45 reroute: TxDOT
Sign up for the Newsletter
DEMOLISHED WESTHEIMER SPY EMPORIUM’S NEXT MISSION: SURFACE PARKING 
The new-ish owner that brought down Spy Emporium‘s abandoned building at 1550 Westheimer Rd. earlier this year is now getting ready to turn the property into a parking lot, reports one local urban planner. The building changed hands at the beginning of this year — around the time the spy shop left for 610 and Westpark — to a group that owns the parcel home to Hugo’s on the other side of Mandell St.. That roughly half-acre property already includes its own set of spots in a back lot north of the restaurant building. Spottier in terms of parking availability: the recently-opened UB Preserv restaurant that took over Poscol’s former space in the strip center across Westheimer from Hugo’s about 2 months ago. It currently shares one lot with the other tenants lined up next door to it: Star Tailors & Alterations, D & S laundromat, and Urban Vapes. [C Money; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Spy Emporium
The owner of 306 Main St. is now marketing the building for lease, which means Moving Sidewalk‘s days are numbered inside. The bar took over from ramen restaurant Goro & Gun, which took over from Mediterranean spot Molto, which took over from Grum Bar & Grill, which took over from Hic-Cups Bar & Grill.
The biggest cosmetic change to the building over that roughly-10-year time span: the reddening of the church-like, windowed tympanum up above the front doors. Prior to Goro & Gun’s arrival, it’d been brown along with the entryway below it — both of which look out on the southbound Preston St. platform of METRO’s Red Line.
- Moving Sidewalk’s Downtown Space is Up For Lease [Eater]
- 306 Main St. [LoopNet]
- Previously on Swamplot: Where Will the Ramen Be?
Photos: LoopNet
Rail Drinks
- NFL Quarterback Robert Griffin III Puts Lake Conroe on the Market for $2.6M [HBJ]
- 3 Houston-Area Self-Storage Facilities Trade Hands [Realty News Report]
- More Details on Symbolic Brewing’s Upcoming Navigation Blvd. Drinking Spot [HBJ ($); previously on Swamplot]
- BCK Management Opening Bars Inside Houston Apartment Projects The James and The Ivy [HBJ]
- EggHaus Gourmet To Debut Next Door to King’s BierHaus in a Few Weeks [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Burgr Hous in EaDo Doesn’t Quite Make It to 2 Months Before Getting Locked Out [Eater Houston]
- CBRE Ranks Houston No. 32 Among Top 50 Markets in North America for Tech Industry Talent [HBJ ($)]
- Harris County Saw a Nearly 23% Increase in Flood Insurance Policies After Harvey [Houston Public Media]
- Rice University’s Harvey Memories Project Shares Digital Artifacts from the Storm [Houston Public Media]
- Temporary Flood Mitigation Plan for Lake Conroe and Lake Houston To Begin This Month [Houston Public Media]
Photo of Saint Arnold’s new beer cathedral: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
No more auto service at the corner of Almeda Genoa and Del Papa, and other Houston withdrawals:
- 311 Rainier Dr. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: NOT THE ONLY BURGER JOINT OFF 20TH ST. 
“Really needed another burger option in that area. So within a couple minutes drive of each other there will now be The Burger Joint, Balls Out Burger, Hubcap, Bernie’s Burger Bus, Becks Prime, Christian’s Tailgate, Whataburger, Cedar Creek, and all the other fast food options.” [DL, commenting on Blank Abel Motors Sign Now Directing N. Shepherd Traffic to Its Burger Joint Replacement] Illustration: Lulu
A Swamplot reader sends photos of a few street-fronting changes over at the new Pizza Motus moving in next to West University Masonic Lodge No. 1292: There’s now a sign on the storefront and some benches on the sidewalk outside it. A bit tougher to spot is the door in the middle of the concave façade; it recently turned green.
Former tenant Edloe St. Cafe had the whole place painted red during its time inside:
On Deck in West U.
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: EAST END POWER GRID COULDN’T HANDLE THE HEAT 
“There was a blackout in my area, East End of Downtown, that night (July 23, 2018). We were without power for nearly 2 hours. Per a neighbor, CenterPoint relayed that over 900 homes were without power. There wasn’t a light on within visibility. Suddenly there was silence, except for my scream of ‘Nooooo!’ that apparently was heard all the way down the block. I called CenterPoint, whose automated message stated ‘A power outage has been reported in your area. The estimated time for repair is 11:45pm.’ Power was indeed restored at about that time, though can’t say that we enjoyed the heat through the wait.” [Corbin Dodge, commenting on Texas Electric Customers Are on a Record-Breaking Power Usage Spree] Illustration: Lulu
THE EAST DOWNTOWN BLOCK WEST OF TRUCK YARD HAS A NEW OWNER 
A group connected to Houston developer Ancorian has snatched up nearly the entire block directly west of recently-opened bars Rodeo Goat and Truck Yard in East Downtown, according to documents filed with the county. The quadrant — bounded by Dallas, Lamar, Chartres, and St. Emanuel streets — is where contractor Britain Electric had its facilities, pictured above, for more than 6 decades before moving out to Brittmore Rd. about a mile and a half north of I-10 just over a year ago. All of its buildings are Ancorian’s now (including a few auxiliary ones across the street), along with everything else on the block except 3 parcels fronting Chartres St. on the northeast corner — one of which played host to the former Silver House Theatre performing arts venue. Photo: Yellowpages
The owner of the vacant, 3,476-sq.-ft. King’s Center retail building a few blocks outside Beltway 8 has installed Smoothie King as its first new tenant. But the beverage chain doesn’t quite have the place under sovereign domain: developer Ancorian is still marketing the structure’s 2,400-sq.-ft. vacant majority.
In the photo above, you can see some of the circular residue on the tower left behind by previous tenant Logan Farms Honey Glazed Hams & Market Café. The less-aptly-named restaurant left the building it had occupied in full for greener strip center pastures down the street on the corner of Wilcrest Dr. at the end of 2016.
It had the place done up like this during its residency:
By Royal Decree
The complicated thing about trying to turn an old Heights home — like this one at 733 W. 24th St. — into a coffee shop is that the neighborhood’s original lots are smaller than Houston allows for commercial use. Although the house pictured at top sits on a pair of adjacent 25-ft. lots, their combined frontage still falls short of the 60-ft. minimum required to lump them together into a space for something other than single-family residential.
But that’s not stopping the owner that bought the house earlier this year from seeking an exception to the rule. On Thursday, Houston’s city planning commission will consider a variance that’d allow the plans to go ahead anyway by consolidating the lots into a single 50-ft.-wide, business-friendly parcel.
Then comes the question of parking. Right now, a driveway leads up to a carport on the west side of the house:
Cafe Conversion
- What Alliance Residential Has Planned for Its 5-Story Apartments Near The Silos at Sawyer Yards [HBJ ($); previously on Swamplot]
- Six Houston Library Branches Still Closed 11 Months After Harvey [Houston Public Media]
- Houston On Track to Use More Water This Month Than Any Other Since Record 2011 Drought [Houston Chronicle]
- A Bike Tour of Brays Bayou’s Green Infrastructure [OffCite]
Photo of White Oak Bayou: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Turn the land as if rotating crops, for structures are our bounty.
- 3200 Shelldrake Wy. [HAR]
