Just another day of area edifice cleanup.
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: KEEP HOUSTON CHEAP “. . . low property values are a positive for the people of Houston and the city. Inflating property values with use restrictions just accrues big profits to established landowners, drives up rent, limits competitive experimentation to find the best use of property, and enriches politically connected individuals savvy enough to navigate the various agencies charged with approving exceptions. Ask any average person living in or thinking of moving to London to list things that are bad about the city, and the inflated property prices will be high on their list 9 times out of 10.” [Kevin, commenting on Did Weingarten Realty Just Bury the 1939 Art Deco Interior of the Alabama Theater in Concrete?]
A reader wants to know what’s behind last week’s demo work (pictured) at the former used car lot operated by Sarco Enterprises at the northeast corner of Shepherd and Nett St., 2 blocks north of Washington Ave. Across Nett St. from the site: nightspots Nox, Diem Lounge, and Fox Hollow. “Maybe a new retail development or a new restaurant or a new club?” asks the reader. “The property is a great extension of the happenings along the Washington corridor.”
How was Seabrook homeowner Brad Gana able to wriggle out of foreclosure proceedings on his home at the last minute? By hiring a lawyer to argue that his house does not exist. And indeed, the visual evidence is compelling: All that’s left of Gana’s waterfront structure at 1910 Todville Rd., which apparently washed away 3 years ago during Hurricane Ike while Gana was working overseas, is an empty slab, protected by a front gate and littered until recently with a few of Gana’s tools and collectibles. (After the proceedings were canceled, KPRC’s Amy Davis reports, Bank of America had those items removed from the property.)
COMMENT OF THE DAY: NAMING THE HEIGHTS’ GREAT STUDEWOOD “The 1200 block of Omar isn’t in Norhill; it’s west of the Studivide.” [mollusk, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: A Crush on Omar]
The original greenhouse in Memorial Park — birthplace of thousands of plants sent regularly to city properties around town — lasted from 1946 until 3 years ago, though it was in bad shape even before Hurricane Ike blew away the makeshift plastic put in place of some missing windows. The new greenhouse — designed by local landscape architecture firm Clark Condon Associates, opened officially late last week, and paid for in part with federal hurricane-recovery funds — measures 8,600 sq. ft. and includes a cistern and automated watering and shading systems. A separate headhouse was also renovated as part of the project, and a brand-new prefab restroom set up nearby.
- Houston gets a new greenhouse, 3 years after Ike destroyed original [Memorial Examiner]
- New City Greenhouse Bigger and Better Than Old One [KUHF News]
Photo: KUHF News
It sure looks like it: Here’s a photo of the theater’s west parking lot, sent to Swamplot by a reader who noted that a concrete pour began on Saturday morning. Earlier this month, Weingarten received a permit for “Landlord Improvements — Infill/Leveling,” though the permit’s title doesn’t make it clear what kind of leveling the national REIT wanted to do to the landmarked structure at 2922 S. Shepherd Dr., which is expected to be transformed into Houston’s first Trader Joe’s market.
Why would Weingarten want to pour a thick layer of concrete onto the floor of its historic building — and how much demolition of the theater’s interior might be accompanying this work?
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Okay! Back to work. Carving up these housethings:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: EACH INGREDIENT IS IMPORTANT “. . . it IS the bayou odor, the bat guano smells, the methane sewer gas & auto exhaust fumes that combine to make the ‘Houston smell’!” [Patrick, commenting on More Pedestrian Bridges and Other Twists and Turns in the Plans for Buffalo Bayou Park]
Going up in place of those 2 mod office buildings at 3210 and 3310 Eastside St. east of Greenway Plaza that were scraped earlier this week: this 2-story, $6.3 million home for Houston’s branch of Dress for Success, a national charity that provides support services, career help, and a free store of interview-appropriate attire for women in need of a working-world boost. Once it’s complete, the Houston Dress for Success will be the first of the organization’s 80 U.S. affiliates to own its own land and building. Included in the upgrade from the current leased warehouse at 3915 Dacoma St.: a larger store and dressing-room area, more clothing storage and sorting space, more meeting space, a babysitting area, and much better access to public transportation. Crews demolishing the 2 existing buildings took a break for Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony, where fundraisers announced that pledges covering 97 percent of the cost of the Ziegler Cooper-designed structure have already received.
- A permanent home to rise for Dress for Success Houston [Bellaire Examiner]
- Dress for Success breaks ground on a new $6 million eco building, allowing it to add childcare [Culturemap]
- Non-profit to build new home [Prime Property]
Rendering: Ziegler Cooper Architects
From those rockin’ dudes at Metro, moving to their own beat: a timelapse view of last weekend’s marathon Friday night to Monday morning East End Line construction project at the intersection of Harrisburg and Lockwood. (Traffic lanes and utilities had already been installed.) The beat goes on. . . .
- East End Line coverage [Swamplot]
Video: Metro
Part of the $50 million plan to turn the banks of Buffalo Bayou west of Downtown from Sabine St. to Shepherd Dr. into a single, continuous linear park: a new entry plaza on Sabine St. at the city waterworks station (near the skatepark, above), a small lake at the end of Dunlavy St., and 3 new pedestrian bridges. One of the bridges is planned for a site just east of Shepherd; another across from the police officer memorial; and the third at Jackson Hill St. Also: lighting, new water features, public art, renovated trails, and a dog park. A separate, $5 million project funded and run by the Harris County Flood Control District will attempt to return the bayou to a more “natural” configuration — by removing sediment and invasive plants and building in bluffs, sandbars, high and low banks, possibly some additional twists and turns, and other more genuinely bayou-ish features. Here’s a plan of the whole thing (turned sideways to fit):
A little clearing to the north, a little clearing to the west. Stand clear of these:
Here’s what you’ll want to know about the new Sundance Cinemas taking the place of the shuttered Angelika Film Center in Bayou Place downtown: First, you’ll still get 3 hours of free parking underground. Seating is by single-seat reservation only, but you’ll be able to pick your preferred movie-watching spot (and print out your tickets) from the comfort of your own computer if you want to avoid lines. Adult tix for evening shows are $10.50 ($3 less for matinees), but there’s a tacked-on “amenity fee” that varies from nothing to $3 depending on the time of day and day of the week of your showing. What amenities will you be receiving in return for that little upcharge? Well, there’s the parking, the seat-reservation system, and the facility’s cost of maintaining “as green a facility as possible.” Plus, the 8-screen theater promises no TV-style advertisements before movies start.
And how’s the place looking so far?
