Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
The clearing continues at Richmond and Cummins; plus openings in a few more select spots where the dirt will soon shine:
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Do you know this building? It’s somewhere in Northeast Houston. And by October of 2012 it’s scheduled to become a brewpub run by startup City Acre Brewing Co. Owner Daniel Glover tells Houston Press food critic Katharine Shilcutt that the undisclosed location will offer food as well. A preview Oktoberfest event is scheduled there for next month.
- City Acre Brewing Co. [Facebook]
- Openings & Closings: See Ya, Tequila [Eating Our Words]
- Teaser: City Acre Brewing [Eater Houston]
Photo: City Acre Brewing
Let’s see what we can round up before the weekend. Anything more than these places?
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THERE GOES THE CHURCH, THERE GOES THE STEEPLE “Yes, the stained glass is being salvaged. The old pipe organ went to UT and many other art pieces were saved. It is unfortunate to see this go, but it is just a building. The Church is the people. Mark 13: ‘1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”’” [Jeromy Murphy, commenting on Mod Richmond Ave. Church Ready To Fall for New Apartments]
Note: Update below.
The hip roof on this 1958 modern home in Knippwood is only 7 years old, but whether it had a different shape originally isn’t clear from the outside photos — they stand back from the building on its 17,120-sq.-ft. lot. There’s no seller disclosure available, and the place is being sold “as is.” What will you find inside?
SOMEBODY FORGED TURTLEWOOD SQUARE SIGNATURES, BUT IT WASN’T HOANG 
Who forged neighbor signatures on a petition circulated to change the name of Turtlewood Dr. to Little Saigon Dr.? Someone who submitted them to city council member Al Hoang, a preliminary inquiry by the city’s Office of the Investigator General has determined. The report, issued last week, also appears to clear Hoang of allegations that he abused city resources in seeking to get the name of his street — in a development called Turtlewood Square, south of Bellaire Blvd. just outside the Beltway — switched. A lawsuit filed by neighbors in the case will continue; the decision on whether to proceed with an investigation of the forgeries will be up to the district attorney’s office. [Houston Politics; more detail; previously on Swamplot] Photo: HAR
Looks like a second round of demolition for the Sylvan Rd. zombie apartments . . . plus a few knocks on this house trio:
MORE JOLTS FROM BUFFALO GRILLE COFFEE Now in the H-E-B Buffalo Market parking lot at Buffalo Speedway and Bissonnet, on the site of what used to be the Buffalo Grille: the first in a network of eVgo electric vehicle charging stations to be planted in parking lots around the city. The plug-in spots are right near what used to be the coffee serving area, notes Chronicle energy reporter Tom Fowler. Opening in the next couple of weeks: stations near NRG’s headquarters at the Shops at Houston Center downtown, and in front of 2 Walgreens: at 19710 Holzwarth St. and 8942 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. North. 25 of the Houston-area stations, featuring both 240-volt and the faster 480-volt chargers, are scheduled to open by the end of the year. [Fuel Fix; previously on Swamplot]
A reader sends in a drawing showing MetroNational’s long term plans to develop the “Lifestyle Tract” at Memorial City — on I-10 west of Bunker Hill Rd. That new office building going up at 945 Gaylord is the 14-story tower the company is developing for Nexen Petroleum, which is moving its headquarters here from Plano. The Houston Business Journal reported the company would be leasing 250,000 sq. ft. from MetroNational — and that the building would be a mirror image of the Cemex tower to the west.
ACCOUNTING FOR ALL THOSE OVERZEALOUS DICK SIGN POSTERS 
Political consultant and bandit-sign monitor Greg Wythe digs into campaign filings to assess a recent claim by at-large city council candidate Eric Dick — that many of the ubiquitous and often illegally posted signs advertising his candidacy throughout Houston are the work of “overzealous volunteers.” Wythe’s findings: At a sign distribution meeting held at the Captain Benny’s at 10896 Northwest Fwy. just south of 34th St. in mid-May, Dick’s campaign shelled out a whopping $22.36 to feed the overzealous crowd. But payments to a company hired to distribute the campaign’s signs amount to more than $5,000. [Greg’s Opinion; background; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Empty Lot Primary
There should be room for improvements. If there isn’t, you’ll have to make it.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: SQUIRREL WARS “That is exactly how my arch nemesis taunts me from my front porch! He is brazen but sharp. I saw him recently bending over a large pot once filled with aloe vera plants. He was hanging half out of the pot because he ate all the plants and couldn’t drag his bloated self out. He did, however, make it to the oak when seeing him through the window ran out to confront him. No luck. I’d sware he sat there grinning at me and flicking me with his tail! We’re going into our 5th month. Going to be a long Fall. . . .” [Jai Woods, commenting on All the Cool Squirrels Are Doing It]
MONTROSE HOSTEL OPENING SOON 
The former Lovett Inn at 501 Lovett St. in the heart of Montrose will officially reopen as Hostelling International USA’s Morty Rich Hostel on September 25. The 50-bed facility, which will have both shared and private rooms for travelers, is named after the late son of Houston entrepreneurs, developers, and Rice U benefactors Hershel and Hilda Rich. [Hair Balls; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Bart Vis [license]
PICKING UP CASH FOR THE CHEMICAL SPEW How did Harris County government swing half a million dollars in cash from Shell Chemical? The company is turning over that amount as part of a settlement covering 5 unreported chemical releases between April 2008 and March 2010 at the company’s Deer Park plant on Hwy. 225 just east of Beltway 8. According to Harris County’s lawyer on the case, Shell Chemical also made an “important concession,” which will likely result in more advance warning of similar future windfalls headed our way: Shell says it’ll now alert the county’s local pollution control office, and not just state officials, of “pollution events.†[Pasadena Citizen]
Construction fencing has already gone up around the Central Presbyterian Church at 3788 Richmond near Greenway Plaza, a reader reports. The Modern church campus was designed in 1962 by Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson — just a few years before the same local architecture firm set to work on a small project called the Astrodome. Two years ago the congregation moved a couple miles northwest to merge with the St. Philip Presbyterian Church, just outside the Loop on San Felipe. Houston Mod fans have been trying to save the vacant church from demolition ever since.
But the church buildings won’t be sticking around for long.
