COMMENT OF THE DAY: ENDING THE GAYWOOD EMBARRASSMENT “As a longtime resident of Gaywood, I can tell you we have had a lot of fun with that name. In fact, I have even entertained making the following motion at one of our homeowners’ association meetings: ‘In order to end the embarrassment we all suffer because of the name of this subdivision, we should remove that offensive, misleading, double-entendre word from the name. Therefore, I propose that we rename our subdivision . . . GayFOREST.’†[Scott, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Capping Haddick]
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More details are out on the plans to pile taller buildings onto the southeast corner of Richmond and Buffalo Speedway that Swamplot reported on last week: PM Realty, which earlier this month bought the 5-acre site and the 5-story Solvay America office building that sits on the southern portion of it, plans to build the 18-story office tower pictured above on the park-like portion at the north end of the property — leaving in place a bank of oaks facing Richmond, as shown in this view, from the northwest:
- 3918 Palace Spring [HAR]
- Toll Brothers Buys, Will Build on 692 Acres in Montgomery County near I-45, Future Grand Parkway [Prime Property]
- KB Home Purchases 103 Acres in Katy for 275 Built-to-Order Homes [Houston Business Journal]
- Trader Joe’s on Voss at San Felipe To Open January 4 [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Blacksmith Coffee Opening in Former Mary’s Spot on Westheimer Late December [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Luby’s Buying Cheeseburger in Paradise, Plans To Expand [Houston Business Journal]
- University of Houston Will Lose 2,140 Parking Spaces During Stadium Construction [Culturemap]
- Dominique Sachse Tours $12.9M Home in River Oaks [Click2Houston]
- Residents at Odds Over Historic District Designation for Germantown [abc13]
- Lights in the Heights To Be Toned Down Again: No Esplanade Entertainment, Street Vendors [Leader News; previously on Swamplot]
- State Auctioning Off Right To Have HOUSTON Vanity License Plate [Hair Balls]
- Texas’s ‘Richest’ City Is Midland, Finds Report [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of Blacksmith Coffee Under Construction, 1022 Westheimer: Candace Garcia
NEW MYSTERY OWNER OF 136 ACRES IN THE FIFTH WARD 
Missing from today’s announcement by KBR that the company has completed the sale of its Ship-Channel-front 136-acre former headquarters campus at 4100 Clinton Dr. in the Fifth Ward: any mention of the buyer — or the sales price. Both details were available earlier in the week on a different sale the engineering, construction, and military contracting company was involved in — of the 40-story Downtown office tower that KBR leases and partially owned. (The tower at 601 Jefferson went to an affiliate of New York’s W.P. Carey, for $174.6 million.) [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot] Image: HFF
COMMENT OF THE DAY: DIRECTING BAYPORT TOURISTS “This terminal sure has had some bad PR. Sure there’s the container terminal right next door, but it’s not so unsightly. And planting a few hundred or so palm trees could even obstruct that view from the roadway if so desired. There aren’t any refineries in the immediate area — lots of homes though. Those departing from the Bayport Cruise Terminal should be directed to drive from I-45 to NASA Bypass/Parkway to 146 to Port Road — thus avoiding the unsightly industrial area on 225. Make sure the passengers see Clear Lake on their way to the terminal instead of the Port of Houston. NASA and Kemah are just a few miles from this terminal. Kinda touristy if you ask me. Lots of land available for building hotels, restaurants, and shops too. It’s not Galveston — no. But it’s not all dark clouds as many make it out to be.” [Thomas, commenting on Comment of the Day Runner-Up: Bayport for Tourists]
If you streamlined a multi-peaked Cotswaldian cottage and stuccoed it, the results might look like this crisp patio home in West Lake Annex, north of Richmond Ave. between Afton Oaks and the railroad tracks. The mid-block property debuted as a listing last week at $675,000. It sits on the back half of a shared-access lot; its stylized, tree-topped balconies (above) face the back of its closer-to-curbside neighbor.
- 11942 Briar Forest Dr. [HAR]
How about we replace this old house with something a little more . . . buoyant?
- New ‘Economic Development Zone’ Along South Loop, Northeast End of Downtown Will Include Reliant Park, AstroWorld Site [Houston Chronicle]
- HOT Lanes Now Open on I-45 North [KUHF]
- Construction of Mixed-Income Developments on Sites of Demolished Galveston Public Housing Projects Could Begin Next Summer [Galveston County Daily News]
- Council Votes To Demolish Single Story House Next to Bellaire Library [Bellaire Examiner]
- Hines Outsourcing Its Houston, Dallas Leasing Operations to Colvill Office Properties [Prime Property]
- Hospitality Industry Added $13B to Harris County Last Year [KUHF]
- The Denuding of Batanga’s Downtown Patio [Eating Our Words]
- Residents Push To Revamp Castillo Park [Ultimate Heights News]
- Drought Drives Texans To Install Rainwater Collection Systems [Austin-American Statesman]
- Galveston Considering Projects To Improve Mobility, Access, Traffic Circulation on the Island [Galveston County Daily News]
- Flasher Exposing Himself to Visitors at T.C. Jester Park [abc13]
- 7 Formerly Jinxed Houston Restaurant Locations That Have Reversed the Curse [Eating Our Words]
Photo of Nob Hill Park, Spring Branch: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool
COMMENT OF THE DAY: TOO DULL TO BE HAUNTED “As a former owner of a condo in Park Memorial (just a few feet south of the slab where the bones were found), I hate to break it to you hopeful readers, but there was not even remotely anything spooky or creepy that occurred on the grounds during the 5 years I lived there. There simply wasn’t anything going on . . . paranormal or otherwise. Sorry.” [Dave, commenting on Park Memorial Condos, New Apartments Built on Top of Old Rice Military Cemetery]
COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: BAYPORT FOR TOURISTS “So no rent and docking fees? Which means the port will only be making money off of parking? Maybe something off of the cruise tickets? The Bayport cruise terminal is a nice feature, but the problem is that it’s located in the middle of nowhere. Most cruise ports are located where passengers can get off the cruise and be a tourist. Even though Galveston is the beginning and ending for many cruise passengers, it is also a destination for many also. New Orleans also feeds off this. The Bayport terminal is essentially dropping off passengers at a cargo terminal in the middle of a petro-chemical complex. FUN!” [kjb434, commenting on Port of Houston Paying $6.7 Million in Cruise Bait for Suddenly Popular Bayport Terminal]
- 8414 Neff St. [HAR]
Nest-Feathering and costume-designing customers of Glick Textiles Fabric Warehouse learned from a “pre-announcement” mailer over Thanksgiving that the Upper Kirby interior decor resource is closing and the company is going out of business. The property was sold mid-month by Levan Group I — the outfit behind Midtown’s High Fashion fabric, furniture, and home-goods empire — for an undisclosed price, though the asking price was $3.8 million. Glick, a sister company of High Fashion Fabrics and High Fashion Home, will vacate by February 2013. The site’s new owner is a familiar furnishings venture, planning an “enhanced concept” for the freeway-side spot.
