Headlines
05/10/13 8:30am

Headlines: Texas City Buc-ee’s Weighs In; Line & Lariat Opens House for Downtown Debriefing

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Photo of Maryland Manor demolition at 1717 Bissonnet: Joey Zamora

Apartments
05/09/13 4:30pm

The Confusing Continuing Story of the Gramercy Place Apartments

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There sure have been some conflicting reports coming in lately about Gramercy Place. Since the old apartments on the 200 block of Portland St. behind the Museum Tower were sold last month to an LLC controlled by Hungry’s Cafe and Bistro owner Fred Sharifi, we first heard that they’d be torn down and replaced by 2 midrise residential towers. Around that same time, it seems, a real estate agent was sending a letter to Gramercy Place tenants claiming something similar and offering to help everyone find a new place to live.

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Comments
05/09/13 3:45pm

Comment of the Day: Here Come the GOOF-y Townhouses

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10 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HERE COME THE GOOF-Y TOWNHOUSES “The revisions to Chapter 42 mean that the fringes of Oak Forest, Garden Oaks and Spring Branch can be built up with lots of townhomes and other inner loop-esque density. Given that you now have to shell out $500-$800k to live in OF, GO or many parts of Spring Branch, I would bet that, all things constant, this listing would be seen as a steal in five to ten years . . .” [Old School, commenting on Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: Number 1, Fan]

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Comments
05/09/13 3:30pm

Comment of the Day Runner-Up: What’s on Sale at the Houston Permitting Center?

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COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: WHAT’S ON SALE AT THE HOUSTON PERMITTING CENTER? “When visiting the permit palace please ask about their red tag specials.” [lhd, commenting on Newly Historic Renovated Permitting Center To Hold Preservation Workshops on Renovating Historic Buildings]

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Buying and Selling
05/09/13 3:00pm

The Century Built Home in Garden Oaks That Sold in About an Hour

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Here’s the third of 4 houses designed by not-so-famous Houston architect Allen R. Williams in the 1940s and fifties, dubbed “Century Built” homes. If the name was intended to indicate how long the concrete-block homes were all supposed to last, the record isn’t so stellar: The one off Campbell Rd. was torn down some time ago. But the others are doing fine: One in Idylwood was snatched up by an architect a few years ago, and another in Country Club Place has served as a showcase for the renovation work of its current owner, architect Ben Koush.

But this unrenovated Century Built home at 851 W. 43rd St., in the middle of Garden Oaks, didn’t last so long, either: Real estate agent Robert Searcy tells Swamplot he had it locked up in a contract very quickly earlier this week, after he made a few phone calls. Not to a builder — the sellers didn’t want the place to be torn down — but reportedly to a serial renovator interested in Midcentury modern design.

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Apartments
05/09/13 2:00pm

Scenes from the Maryland Manor Demolition

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Here’s what’s going down over at 1717 Bissonnet. Making way for the Ashby Highrise — whose developers this week signed new builder Pepper-Lawson Construction to replace Linbeck, which decided to back out earlier this year — the salvaging and knocking down of Maryland Manor started last week. And this is what things looked like this morning:

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Public Safety
05/09/13 11:30am

Ordinance Now Protects the Vulnerable from Passing Cars, Projectiles

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ORDINANCE NOW PROTECTS THE VULNERABLE FROM PASSING CARS, PROJECTILES Yesterday, city council approved an ordinance requiring Houston drivers to play nicer with others. That means: No throwing things at them anymore, and no passing “vulnerable road users” without maintaining at least 3 ft. of space (or 6 ft., if you’re driving a commercial truck). And how are you supposed to know which road user is vulnerable? Maybe you can print out and keep in your car this list — not organized, presumably, by order of importance — from the city press release: “walkers or runners; the physically disabled, such as someone in a wheelchair; a stranded motorist or passengers; highway construction, utility or maintenance workers; tow truck operators; cyclists; moped, motor-driven cycle and scooter drivers; or horseback riders.” [City of Houston] Photo of cyclists on Fry Rd.: Flickr user josephkynguyen

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Historic Preservation
05/09/13 10:30am

Newly Historic Renovated Permitting Center To Hold Preservation Workshops on Renovating Historic Buildings

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All that hard work installing new wind turbines and solar panels and employee vegetable gardens at the Houston Permitting Center — or even the talk about building a hot dog stand inside — hasn’t seem to have affected its historic status, since the former Butler Brothers Building on Washington Ave in the Old Sixth Ward was given a protected landmark designation yesterday. And what does the newly historic and well-preserved Permitting Center plan to do with this street cred? Why, host historic preservation fairs, of course!

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Headlines
05/09/13 8:30am

Headlines: Palatial Palladium Preview; East Beach Makeover

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Photo of Buffalo Bayou Park: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Houston Heights
05/08/13 3:15pm

The New Old Heights Ice House

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A new version of the D&T Drive Inn opened up late last week, Eater Houston reports. Tucked away in Brooke Smith between bungalows brandishing Houston Texans paraphernalia at 1307 Enid St. just south of W. Cavalcade, the long-time ice house was spruced up and expanded by Down House owner Chris Cusack. Though this photo makes parking appear — well, tight, even if that Dumpster’s eventually moved, a map on D&T’s website shows that there will be a lot available along W. Cavalcade between Enid and Cordell.

Photo: Allyn West

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Comments
05/08/13 1:30pm

Comment of the Day: That Slow-Mo Build Down the Street

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6 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THAT SLOW-MO BUILD DOWN THE STREET “Builders started 6442 homes, but how many have been finished? One house on my street broke ground almost exactly a year ago and as of today, it has a foundation, framing, Tyvek wrap, most of a roof, a little plumbing, and a little drywall. The house and its ‘dry’wall have been open to the elements for a few months now, including during the torrential rains of a few weeks ago. There have been only 2 workers working on it at a time, and no one has been working on it at all in the past couple weeks. It’s not like I’m in a slow-moving undesirable area; on the contrary, I’m near the border of 77098 and 77006 where houses are going under contract within a week of landing on the MLS, and asking prices are 1.5x –- 2x what they were 5 years ago. I’ve read that all of the construction employees have defected to work on commercial sites. Maybe that rumor is true.” [GoogleMaster, commenting on Headlines: Houston Tourism Boost; Downtown MegaBus Congestion]

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Barker Cypress
05/08/13 1:05pm

Comment of the Day Runner-Up: Houston’s Shrinking Blast! Zone

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COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: HOUSTON’S SHRINKING BLAST! ZONE “I have had enough with Blast! Things went downhill fast at the Memorial City location with the ownership change. No soap in the showers, dirty sauna and steam rooms, weight equipment not being properly maintained, etc., etc. I said I would maintain my membership due to its location. Then in February 2013, Blast announces that the Memorial City location would be closing in a few weeks. I was VERY UPSET! I received a letter in the mail stating that my membership would be transferred to the Sharpstown location. That gym is out of the way for me so I started working out at the Barker Cypress location. On Monday, May 6 I go to work out and the landlord has locked Blast! out of the building due to non-payment of rent! Blast! closed the Galleria, Sugar Land, and Memorial City locations, and it seems as if the Barker Cypress location is shut down indefinitely. It’s time to find another gym!” [Floyd Worsley, Sr., commenting on Blast Begins Total Houston Takeover of Bally Total Fitness] Note: The Memorial City location of Blast! Fitness has closed, but the Barker Cypress location at 17750 Katy Fwy. is still open.

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