Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Oh, what a Tanglewood we weave, when first we practice to . . . leave.
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- 3330 McCrarey Dr. [HAR]
WHAT TXDOT’S TINY 2-YEAR PUBLIC TRANSIT ALLOWANCE ADDS UP TO 
Transit-focused fact-finder Allyn West pulls out this nugget from the Texas Tribune’s report on regional transit development: “While the Texas Department of Transportation has a budget of more than $26 billion for the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years, less than 1 percent of that is earmarked for public transit.” That puts the burden squarely on county and local agencies — including metropolitan planning groups like the Houston-Galveston Area Council — to dig up funding for non-car-catering projects. [Texas Tribune via Allyn West] Photo of Preston St. METRO stop: telwink via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Buc-ee’s scored a sweeping victory in Texas federal court last month when a judge found rival rest stop chain Choke Canyon guilty of 4 wrongs: trademark infringement, dilution, unfair competition, and unjust enrichment. But the battle might not be over: “Choke Canyon is expected to appeal,“ reports Law360, “and Texas intellectual property experts say the store has a strong case that it was wrongly barred at trial from presenting key defense evidence.â€
Among the facts unheard during the 4-day trial: findings from an expert Choke Canyon commissioned to ask 300 people what they thought of the logos’ similarity. 99 percent of them “said there was no likelihood of confusion,” between the two.
Then there are the images that went unseen during the jury’s deliberation. Within that 6-hour period, jurors’ first question to Judge Keith P. Ellison was whether they should compare the set of logos pictured above — which includes the brands’ names — or picture-only versions, like the ones shown below:
Anatomy of the Case
A Swamplot reader reports that construction vehicles have started pushing dirt around on the east side of 610, opposite the Northwest Mall. That marks some down-to-earth progress on developer David Weekley Homes’ plans to turn the 5.4-acre northeast corner (indicated at top) into something homelier than what its encompassing 33.6-acre tract (indicated above) is now: vacant.
Weekley filed plans last month to create a new subdivision dubbed Heights at Minimax that’s entered where Salford Dr. now terminates in a roundabout. Those whereabouts set the neighborhood back some from the West Loop, beyond an undeveloped buffer zone.
You can see where the west end of that zone butts up against the highway behind the Miller Lite billboard in the photo below, taken back before construction wrapped up on 610’s elevated northbound feeder lanes above Hempstead Dr. last March:
Heights at Minimax
- H-E-B Opens First 2-Story Houston Store in Bellaire Today [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Of the 40 Apartment Projects Underway in Houston, 23 Are in the Suburbs [HBJ ($)]
- Midway Cos. To Refinance 15-Story West Houston Office Building CityCentre Five [Houston Chronicle]
- Harris County Budget Officer: Homeowners Are Paying Less in Property Taxes Than 6 Years Ago [Houston Public Media]
- Japanese Chain Go! Go! Curry Signs First Houston Franchise Deal [Eater Houston]
- The Carpenter Behind the ‘Catification’ of El Gato Coffeehouse in the Heights [Houstonia]
Photo of the Harrisburg Art Museum: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
A miraculous bit of destruction coming to 42nd St. — and 32nd St. as well. Plus these losses:
- 11673 Grandview Dr. [HAR]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: I-10 LOW-BRIDGE ALERT SYSTEM ISN’T EYE-CATCHING TO PASSING TRUCKERS 
“The sign mentioned in the posting is a joke — it’s small, off to the side, partially obscured, and it is not readily apparent what it’s referring to. Worse than that, it is 2 miles ahead of the 610 interchange, and 7 miles ahead of the Houston Ave. overpass. It is nowhere close to a sufficient or effective system, and along with the new low clearance signs inside the Loop, has every appearance of a band-aid solution to something that needs a more comprehensive approach.” [TMR, commenting on How TxDOT Tries To Stop Trucks from Clipping the Houston Ave. Bridge] Photo of I-10 near Houston Ave. bridge: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
HOW A 6-BILLBOARD COURTSHIP CAMPAIGN AIMS TO LURE LEBRON JAMES TO HOUSTON 
“A lot of times, players recruit players,” Rockets fan Greg Andrews tells the Chronicle’s Maggie Gordon, “Teams recruit players. And now, what I’d like to see is fans recruit players.†That’s what the 36-year-old oil-and-gas equipment executive hopes to do with the set of 6 billboards he installed along Houston roads last week. His pitch focuses on Houston’s spirit: “we’re a very hospitable, nice environment,” he says — a potential draw for the 3-time MVP as he enters his mid-30s: “Family matters. It matters in Houston, and it matters to LeBron.†Since the Cavs player isn’t likely to be driving the Houston freeways anytime soon though, Andrews hopes the signs will first inspire other fans to echo his plea (elaborated on his website) in videos shared online and hashtagged #htownthecrown. “My ultimate goal,” says Andrews “is to have J.J. Watt, Jose Altuve, Travis Scott, those Houston celebrities do ‘Hey LeBron’ video” The billboards will stay up for 3 weeks, past the July 1 deadline for LeBron to forgo the rest of his $35.7 million contract with Cleveland and opt into free agency. [Houston Chronicle ($)] Photo: Kyle Hagerty
The latest 18-wheeler to drive into the Houston Ave. bridge didn’t make enough of an impact to force repairs yesterday, although it did stall I-10 traffic all the way to T.C. Jester while TxDOT closed 2 lanes to clear the debris (including the truckload pictured above pinning a sedan) and inspect the overpass to ensure its integrity. (The last round of bridge maintenance in March — to repair a strike in December — couldn’t have come at a better time: “Just as crews were putting barriers in place,” for an overnight closure to fix the damaged structure, another truck drove into it — reported Houston Public Media’s Gail Delaughter.)
Over the last 4 years, the 14-ft.-3-in.-high bridge has been hit 22 times — reports Click2Houston; historically, it’s struck “more than any other bridge in the Houston area,” says a TxDOT spokesperson. Not a great track record — until you factor in how many trucks aren’t hitting it as a result of TxDOT’s high-tech warning system. In 2015, the agency installed infrared sensors at Mercury Dr. and Wirt Road that detect oversized vehicles and — if spotted — flash a warning message to get off the road on an electronic billboard. Between January and June 2 of this year alone, the sensors transmitted 13,477 warnings.
- TxDOT using ‘size detectors’ to limit bridge strikes [KHOU]
- Grappling with a pair of Houston bridges that keep getting hit [Click2Houston]
- Bridge Due For Repairs Is Hit Again By A Truck, TxDOT Moves Ahead With I-10 Closure [Houston Public Media]
Photos: Emily Black
Chronic Drive-By Zone
WESTBURY MOD SELLERS DROP PRICE, VIDEO OF SPACE AGE 3-BEDROOM OFF W. BELLFORT Brubeck plays in the background as this new clip from the sellers of 5702 Warm Springs Rd. pans around the 1959 single-story just off W. Bellfort, showing off some of its era-appropriate renovations like laminate kitchen countertops, cork floors, a mosaic-patterned wall by the entrance, and Formica surfaces throughout. $10k fell off the asking price yesterday, bringing the house [a previous Swamplot sponsor] down to $379,000. [Oscar Fine Properties; listing] Video: Oscar Fine Properties
- Springwoods Village’s CityPlace I Office Building Breaks Ground [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
- Inside the Newly-Completed Luxury High Rise The River Oaks [Houston Chronicle]
- Kiewit Engineering Group Subleasing 2 Floors of Energy Tower IV in the Energy Corridor [Realty News Report]
- The Praedium Group Acquires the Discovery at Mandolin Apartments in Northwest Houston [Realty News Report]
- UH’s Fertitta Center to Host First Game Dec. 1 After $60M Renovation [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
- Aqua Park Altitude H20 Opening Houston-Area Location in Rosharon [Culturemap]
- Houston’s First Shell Shack To Debut Next Month on Wash Ave [Eater Houston]
- Bernie’s Burger Bus Opening Fourth Location in Missouri City [Culturemap]
- Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café Coming to Market Street in The Woodlands This Fall [Eater Houston]
- How Urban Planning Has Become a Self-Fulfilling Highway-Building Bureaucracy in Texas Cities [The Texas Tribune]
- Green Group Holdings Ends Years-Long Legal Efforts To Build Landfill in Waller County [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of the former Maxwell House factory: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Just your Friendly Public Warehouse, bidding adieu:
- 5143 Green Tree Rd. [HAR]
