Oh Darling, Oh Francis! What will be left of you?
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- Hotel Derek’s $4.5M Renovation Project To Incorporate Materials That Reflect Its ‘Indigenous Surroundings’ [Houston Business Journal]
- Rush To Build Far-Flung Master-Planned Communities Around Houston Qualifies the City as a Hot Residential Market [Houston Business Journal ($)]
- Construction Begins on $5M Navigation Blvd. Beautification Project; To Include Pedestrian Promenade, Esplanade, Possible Revived Streetcar [KUHF]
- Johnson Space Center’s Take on ‘Gangnam Style’ Video Not as Embarrassing as Other Parodies [Culturemap]
- Metro CEO George Greanias Stepping Down Before End of Year [The Highwayman]
- Rice’s ‘Twilight Epiphany’ Included in List of ‘Most Talked About’ Buildings of 2012 [Atlantic Cities; previously on Swamplot]
Photo of Ben Milam Hotel demo aftermath: Candace Garcia via Swamplot Flickr Pool
And now we come to the zombie category of the Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. Or, to be more precise, the “It’s Alive!†Award. What place, person, or effort deserves such an honor? One of the official nominees listed below. You tell us which, with your votes!
You’ve got 4 of them to spend in this category: You can cast one vote in a comment at the bottom of this post, another in an email to Swamplot, another from Twitter, and another by posting on the wall of Swamplot’s Facebook fan page. (All the rules for voting are spelled out here.) If you want to help your favorite candidate win, start a campaign! The voting ends for this and all categories of the 2012 Swampies at 5 pm on Wednesday, December 26th.
The official nominees for the 2012 “It’s Alive!†Award are . . .
These renderings of the Marriott Marquis show the shapes of things coming — by 2016, according to current plans — to Downtown. Planned for the corner of Walker St. and Avenidas de las Americas, the hotel will stand facade-to-facade across Discovery Green with its older brother, the Hilton-Americas, doubling the number of rooms that serve the George R. Brown Convention Center.
Morris Architects, teamed up with Rida Development, is responsible for the design of this 30-story tower, which will have more than 1,000 guest rooms and exactly one 40,000-sq.-ft. grand ballroom. On the deck atop that ballroom appears to be some fully realized Texas mythology: the state as an island, surrounded by a chlorinated “lazy river.” Guests will tube around it, enjoying what’s more typically considered a Hill Country pastime.
And this is what the hotel is supposed to look like around dusk:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: IN SEARCH OF GENTLE DEMOLITION “Serious question here. I live in what is basically a future tear-down. It was my first house purchase 20 years ago, and I’m still in it. It’s a remuddled 30s-40s bungalow that looks like someone hired their brother-in-law to do the work, and it was previously a rental before I bought it. I’ve been resisting doing anything major to it because I have been actively looking for a ‘real house’ for quite a while now. It has the original 3″ oak floors that probably still have quite a bit of wear left in them, seeing as they haven’t been sanded and refinished very many times (only once in the last 20 years, and probably not more than once before that). It has an awesome counterweighted attic door that rolls down instead of unfolding. The bathroom sinks are older than I am (they’re dated on the bottom). The vintage 6-gallon-flush toilets might be desired by someone. Certainly the scrap metal inside the walls could fetch some bucks. So there might be some parts worth saving. But how do I find someone to deconstruct it, when that time comes?” [GoogleMaster, commenting on Comment of the Day: Used House Parts Scouting Report]
- 2602 Palo Pinto Dr. [HAR]
Cupola-capped, this perky 1967 seaside retreat in Seabrook’s El Jardin Del Mar community has expansive views of Upper Galveston Bay from cheery-trimmed windows and a gazebo-enhanced porch. Asking $350,000 since its initial listing 2 months ago, the property’s unwavering price includes all the “like-a-picture book” furnishings, many of which are as mirrored as the walls.
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Before we begin, let’s just get these small items out of the way:
- California-Based REIT Buys West Loop I, II Office Complex in Bellaire for Undisclosed Amount [Houston Chronicle]
- City Still Looking To Expand ‘Urban Development’ Rules Beyond the Loop; Council Committee To Discuss Changes Next Month [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot]
- TxDOT To Explore Extending 249 to Navasota for Houston-to-College Station Highway [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Galveston Could Get $13.5M in Federal Money To Expand Beaches in Front of Seawall [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Former TGI Friday’s on 290 near Pinemont Gutted, Outfitted with More Than 90 Hi-Def TVs for New Twin Peaks [Eater Houston]
- More Than 1 Year After Ordinance, 33 Restaurants Now Have Dog-Friendly Patios [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Modern Home Tour Stops in Houston on January 26 [PRWeb]
Photo of Allen Pkwy.: Candace Garcia via Swamplot Flickr Pool
And now, a very special category in the 2012 Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate is open for voting! What makes it so special? Well, the word “special†is in the name of the award, for one thing. It’s our Award for Special Achievement in Traffic. And we need your judgment, your comments, and your votes to determine the winner.
The official nominees in this category — as advanced and presented by Swamplot readers — are listed below. Now’s your chance to vote — which you can do up to 4 times if you follow our rules: once in a comment below, once in an email to Swamplot, once using Twitter, and once by scribbling on the wall of Swamplot’s page on Facebook. That not enough for you? Then recruit your friends to vote, too! But make sure you get all the votes in by the deadline: 5 pm on Wednesday, December 26th.
And now, the official nominees for the Award for Special Achievement in Traffic:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HAVE I GOT TREES FOR YOU “One miserable tree in the entire 10,500 sq. ft. yard. I’ve heard that home buyers hate landscaping, but this is ridiculous. How ’bout a few bald cypress on the west side to cut down utility bills? A few live oaks in the front would be nice. A few water oaks in the back would be interesting, or go crazy and make it Shumard oaks. Even a mass planting of pink muhly could go somewhere; to hell with the neighbors put ‘em in the front! I’ll stop now.” [Chef, commenting on Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: Glacier Bay]
- 10603 Carlota Ct. [HAR]
Longtime speculation that the entire vacant 104-acre site formerly occupied by the AstroWorld amusement park might someday be turned into some sort of singular mixed-use development took a hit yesterday as the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced it is buying the entire western half of the property, which sits across the 610 Loop from Reliant Park. The charitable organization hopes to close on the 48-acre tract by the end of the year. The purchase price is listed on its website as approximately $42.8 million, or $20.50 per sq. ft., “after charitable considerations by the seller.” That’s a Dallas investment firm known as the Mallick Group, which has owned the vacant property since 2010.
What will it rodeo do on all that land?
- Mission Cos. Acquires Office Building at Gulf Fwy. and Beltway 8 from Capital Commercial Investments for Undisclosed Amount [Houston Business Journal]
- Scott Gertner’s Newest Sky Bar Now Open on Top of Houston Pavilions; No Polo Boots Allowed [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot]
- Eatsie Boys Cafe in Old Kraftsmen Space on Montrose Now Open [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Council Approves Contract with 2 Vendors for Paid Seawall Parking Plan [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- Toll Prices Set for Segments of Grand Pkwy.: Katy to Cypress Will Start at $7.19. [The Highwayman]
- Driver’s License Mega Center in Former Albertson’s in Spring Opens Today, Along with One in Rosenberg [KHOU]
- ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Budget Cuts Would Cost Houston More Than 5,000 NASA Jobs, Claims Report [Houston Business Journal]
- CityCentre’s Hotel Sorella Ranks as Second-Best Place To Stay in Texas [Condé Nast Traveler via Houston Business Journal]
- Four Glenbrook Valley Homes Open for ‘Mod of the Month’ Tour Sunday [HAIF]
Photo of Med Center: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
