More room for groceries? The building immediately north of the Studemont Kroger that used to house HVAC company Johnson Supply is being torn down. The top photo shows the building from Studemont; the bottom photo shows the progress — or regress? — of the demo as of noon today.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: INSPIRED BY DESTRUCTION “What a charming house, perfectly sized for the lot. I like the painterly exterior colors, terra-cotta and celadon with the touch of yellow in the tiles. Someone had a very clever eye. I avoid shelter magazines, as they only foster envy and discontent in me. It’s surprising how much inspiration there is to be found just in the soon-to-be-demolished houses on Swamplot.” [luciaphile, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: The Marshall Plan]
FUNDING THE POST OAK BRT 
Metro board chair Gilbert Garcia throws in his $.02 on Uptown Houston’s proposed Post Oak bus rapid transit system that Swamplot reported last month: “There are transit needs everywhere. We know all about them. But Metro’s resources are finite,” Garcia tells the Houston Chronicle‘s Dug Begley. “‘If we can solve the transit needs in this region without stretching Metro resources, like this does, that is great.'” The project is expected to cost $177.5 million, Begley reports, though TIRZ-powered Uptown Houston will pay up to $92 million of that. “The rest would come from $24 million in state transportation funds, and a $45 million grant from the Houston-Galveston Area Council, using federal money the region received,” Begley reports. And the buses could start running as soon as 2017. Uptown Houston’s president John Breeding adds, ‘”We’re the guys who put arches across the street. . . . We’re the guys who put giant granite balls from China at the entrances.'” [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Image: Uptown Management District
Facing Kelvin St., this franchise of Alabama-based Zoës Kitchen is shaping up to open soon in Hanover at Rice Village, the mixed-use apartments bound by Kelvin, Dunstan, and Morningside (shown at left). The fast-casual restaurant is now hiring, says the vinyl sign hanging from the street-level patio railing. Besides this one at 5215 Kelvin, Zoës Kitchen has 7 other locations in Houston. (Swamplot reported in January that Chris Leung’s dessert shop, Cloud 10, is expected to go in on Kelvin St. as well sometime this spring.)
Photos: Allyn West;Â Chris Litherland (Hanover)
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Down with the Post Oak McDonald’s, and other fast demo food:
Photo of WaterWall Place at Hidalgo and McCue: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
For a charitable nonprofit, Rodeo Houston comes across as a tad indifferent about one of Houston’s neediest causes: CEO Skip Wagner tells the Houston Business Journal‘s Emily Wilkinson that Rodeo Houston is “busting at the seams” and needs more space: “And we’ve got 18 acres that is just wasted right in the heart of Reliant.” What, Wilkinson asks, would Wagner prefer to see happen to the Astrodome?
“Honestly, we don’t care. There are two options — one is tear it down. If so, it would become open area, and we would use it effectively that way. Second, ultimately if they gut it or renovate it, as long as we can use it to put on elements of our show, then we’re fine with that.”
And what about the 48 acres Rodeo Houston bought of the former AstroWorld site across 610? “We could move things like our bus operations over there and expand the presentation footprint (at Reliant),” says Wagner. “We can look at how to use it for its maximum benefit — maybe put in some RV hookups.”
Photo: Candace Garcia
COMMENT OF THE DAY: RECREATING GREAT MOMENTS IN BIG BOX HISTORY “Ironically the glass facade is strikingly similar to a designed, but never built Great Indoors store prototype that was slated to open in 2004. The prototype coincided with the merger of Sears with Kmart when all new concept development (and gross profit) for Sears ceased. Pity.” [Hdtex, commenting on Great New Indoors Replacing The Old Great Indoors]
Sharing Benignus Plaza with Jason’s Deli, Texas State Optical, and a salon, this 2,500-sq.-ft. suite at 10321 Katy Freeway will be the first Club Champion store in Texas. The Chicago-based company sells custom golf clubs built to fit, and it provides a demo space for practice. Sitting just east of Town & Country Village, the Benignus Plaza store will be almost directly across I-10 from Hicks Ventures’ proposed Block 10 West Office Park.
Photos: Swamplot inbox
Before and after photos of a renovated 1965 home in Maplewood South (above) show how the transformation flipped not only the property but also its finishes, which deepened in tones and accents from light (top) to dark (above) as part of the overhaul. The property sold in November 2012 for $182,500. After its 3-month makeover, though, the home’s initial asking price is $334,000.
Photo of Downtown: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
