Eventually. In the meantime, it’ll be fields of dirt for all of these:
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- Tailgating OK at Designated Dynamo Lots; Astros on the Fence [Houston Chronicle]
- Post Oak Bank Expands at 2000 W. Loop [CoStar Group]
- Dropped Bank Lawsuit Made $40M Diamond Beach Resort Loan Dispute Public, Randall Davis Complains [Galveston County Daily News]
- Details (but No Pics) of the Secret Briefing Room in Highland Village’s New Apple Store [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot]
- Watering Restrictions Lifted in The Woodlands [Woodlands Villager]
- Woodlands Developer Working with Sculptor To Replace Stolen Bronze Deer Statues [Woodlands Villager]
- Think Tank Envisions 2 Different Futures for Houston [Houston Chronicle]
- Your Input Wanted at Inner West Loop Mobility Study Meeting on March 29 [HAIF]
Photo of Kemah sunrise: Stephen J. Alexander via Swamplot Flickr Pool
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE HIGH COST OF BEAUTY “. . . admittedly, i’d love to live in a much more beautiful city such as san francisco, paris, nyc, or any number of the hundreds of small quaint towns dotting the american landscape. however, i don’t want to spend 50% of my budget on housing and i want access to plenty of jobs. i choose to live in houston fully knowing that my living expenses support nothing more than a cheap, ugly and easy city to live in. i love houston because it provides an alternative. i can understand other peoples viewpoint, but me and tons of others don’t want to pay exorbitant living expenses just so you all can have better views on your way home from work or while you walk your dog in my yard, there’s tons of other cities that can provide that to you. this will all change as the city becomes richer, just wait and you’ll get your day, but for now let’s just accept the city we all choose to live in for what it is and revel in the benefits it provides now.” [joel, commenting on Comment of the Day: We’ll Do It Our Way]
- 11810 Gladewood Ln. [HAR]
WHAT DO THEY WANT FROM THE THIRD WARD? “I own a small lot [near Scott and Alabama] in the third ward area, it is a gated lot near UH. A real estate agent wrote a letter asking if I would be interested in selling the lot. I paid no attention to it but he called and asked if I would be interested in selling. I told him if he made an offer I would consider it. I asked him what are they going to building on the lot but I could not find out until I signed the contract. It looks like this real estate agent does residential properties but new homes don’t sell fast in that area of third ward. Do you have any idea of what he could developing in that area? Could it have something to do with the rail line? I am just curious as to what could be built in that area. My lot is 5000 sq ft and it is surrounded by residential lots.” [Swamplot inbox]
Here’s what a $12,900 monthly lease in Rivercrest Estates will get you: Big house. Big lot. Barn. The wooded lot of 3.1 acres abuts Westheimer Rd. near Beltway 8.
- Houston Home Sales Climb for Ninth Straight Month, Finds HAR Report [Houston Chronicle]
- Movement Launches To Allow People to Raise 4-6 Hens Inside the Beltway, 610 Loop [Off the Kuff]
- Strong Winds, Rain Toppled Trees Throughout Houston Area [KHOU; slideshows here, here and here]
- Yesterday’s Storm Dumped Nearly 2 Inches on City [Houston Chronicle]
- Galveston City Council To Consider Bids to Replace 35 Causeway Lights [Galveston County Daily News]
- Centerpoint Classifies Street Lights by Zip Code, Fixing Glitch That Caused Outer-Loop Residents To Be Overcharged [Click2Houston]
- Houston Financial Prowess ‘Underestimated’ [Houston Business Journal]
- Slideshow: New Rice Village Boutique Office Facility Brings Modern Design, Art to the Workplace [Culturemap]
Photo of Hwy. 290 auto-dealer demo: Christopher Newsom via Swamplot Flickr Pool
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WE’LL DO IT OUR WAY “The (ugly) status quo is easy and cheap — why take risks? This is the mentality that makes Houston Houston, and this is why Houston is ugly, easy, and cheap. Just what Houston needs: another “Mediterranean†Villa, or French Chateau, or Spanish Revival building. BARF. Why not make it a mixture of all three and stir it up with a dirty, oily dipstick? All of the potential should be squeezed out of this project until it is as dry as last years Thanksgiving wishbone, then it should be propped up with an open-air parking garage, cheaply constructed cookie-cutter units that will be rather nasty in 10 years, and exorbitant rents. Then it will fit in purr-fectly! Go H-town!” [Bare, commenting on Apartments Planned for Montrose Fiesta Site Will Go Tall Mediterranean]
Unverified rumors from 2 sources that appear to be separate have now made their way to Swamplot, but we have no details or confirmation. The first is that Fiesta Mart is considering taking the Randall’s Flagship location at the corner of Westheimer and Shepherd Dr.; the second is that Fiesta actually will move into the space — from the West Alabama and Dunlavy location now slated for an apartment building. If you’ve got more of the scoop, let us know!
- Previously on Swamplot: Apartments Planned for Montrose Fiesta Site Will Go Tall Mediterranean
Photo of Randall’s Flagship Shepherd Square: Panoramio user Wolfgang Houston
ConocoPhillips refining offshoot Phillips 66 will build a new headquarters facility no more than 10 miles away from the company’s current location, “within the I-10 and Beltway 8 corridors,” according to an email sent to employees this morning. The company had already indicated that Phillips 66 employees would leave the company’s iconic current facility at Dairy Ashford and Eldridge, but the announcement that the oil company’s headquarters will be built from scratch is new.
- City Council May Allow Tailgating Outside Downtown Sports Venues as Dynamo Opening Nears [KHOU]
- First Phase of Texas City Tanger Outlet Center 85 Percent Leased [Galveston County Daily News]
- Granite Properties To Build 12-Story Westchase Office Tower [Houston Business Journal]
- League City In Talks To Buy 10M Gallons of Water a Day from Pasadena [Galveston County Daily News]
- Sinkholes Strike Backyards on Falloon Dr., South Crooked Creek [KHOU]
- Three Upcoming West U Town Hall Meetings To Address On-Street Parking [West University Examiner]
- The Restoration Hardware-Like Wares of Tomball’s Laurie’s Home Furnishings [Design Houston]
- Houston Among First Cities To Get Electric Ford Focus [Fuel Fix]
- In Texas Tradition, Museums That Enshrine the Quirky [New York Times]
Photo of Hutcheson St. power lines: Christopher Newsom via Swamplot Flickr Pool
COMMENT OF THE DAY: AT THE EDGE OF EXEMPTION “Churches and private education getting a pass on property taxes is just wrong wrong wrong. it opens up too many loopholes. things become clouded, like when 2nd baptist buys the adjacent shopping center. they own it, they operate a portion of it for church activities, does that take the entire property off the tax roles? That’s easily a $20MM property now not part of COH taxes, and yet using an unusually high pro-rata portion of traffic control, road maintenance since the remaining businesses there are high traffic. another example — i want to buy a piece of real estate. i start a ‘church’ and then buy it. i now have a free hold on a piece of dirt forever, don’t I? . . . private schools and universities are no different. st agnes now has taken a 4 corners hard corner off the tax roll @ bellaire/fondren so they can have athletic fields, and theoretically could continue to take in the same manner forever. who is to say a board member there wouldn’t buy/BTS a building for them, then pass on the effective tax savings through a long-term cheap rent deal??? HBU – same thing. the list goes on and on.” [HTX REZ, commenting on There Was a Church, and There Went the Steeple]
GALVESTON ELEMENTARY STILL IN AFTER-SCHOOL DETENTION 
Well into Burnet Elementary School’s third year of post-Ike limbo, a school district spokesman says one idea is to fix the hurricane-ravaged property’s exterior, roof, and air conditioning so it can be used as warehouse space. There’s “a good chance” FEMA would pay for repairs, but no funds have been negotiated yet. Then there’s the other option: selling the campus. But the district doesn’t think it would get a very good price in the current market, and what if they need to open up a new school a few years later? [Galveston County Daily News] Photo: Galveston ISD
