THE CHANGES COMING TO THE PRE-WAR PEACOCK & PLAZA APARTMENT COMPLEX DOWNTOWN 
The new owner of the Peacock & Plaza Apartments at 1414 Austin St. — a 2-building, 32-unit complex that sports a colorfully feathered mosaic a block west of the Toyota Center — tells Swamplot what’s in store for a portion of the property: “We plan to heavily upgrade each unit in one of the two buildings. New plumbing, electrical, upgrade of HVAC systems, all new kitchens, appliance, bathroom.†In the other building: “We’ll clean the units up but we’re going to try to leave it somewhat original,†says the representative of the buyer, Fat Property. Before Colorado-based FVMHP took over the complex in 2014, it had been owned by the same woman for 80 years, according to the current buyer. Designed by Houston architect Lenard Gabert, its first building went up in 1926; the second followed 14 years later. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Fat Property
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Opening-night observations from the new Truck Yard a block east of 59: “The Rockets game [just] finished so there were not a lot of people there yet. Ferris wheel did not seem to be operational and I’m not sure whether it’s just for looks or not. Either way, it was a bit of a maze walking around.”
Fueling Station
A reader sends photos looking inside a gutted corner of the southern River Oaks Shopping Center building east of McDuffie St. Formerly home to California Pizza Kitchen, Evolve Fitness Studio, Birraporetti’s, and Sherlock’s Pub, it’s now slated for a 2-floor Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille. A TABC notice has been posted on the storefront since March:
W. Gray & McDuffie
- 20-Acre Industrial Development Breaks Ground in Humble [HBJ ($)]
- How Much Downtown Houston Office Landlords Are Profiting, According to Savills Studley Report [HBJ ($)]
- Why Houston Luxury Home Sales Are Slowing Down [HBJ ($)]
- Historic Montrose Compound Under Contract To Developer Doesn’t Have Any Historic Protections To Prevent Demolition [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- H-E-B Opens New Store in Mont Belvieu Crossing Shopping Center [HBJ]
- Dallas Import Truck Yard Opens in East Village Development [Eater Houston]
- Final 4 Food Vendors Named for Downtown’s Finn Hall [Culturemap]
- State To Explore How To House Recovery Workforce After Natural Disasters [Houston Public Media]
- Still Waiting for the Lights To Be Fixed on Shepherd Drive [The Leader]
- William Fulton: Why I’m Scared To Walk in Houston [The Urban Edge]
Photo of Evelyn’s Park, Bellaire: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
They cannot take it from us if we willingly give it up.
- 1114 Broadway St. [HAR]
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN JOHNNY STEELE DOG PARK’S FLOOD-INDUCED REDO 
The caretakers of that oft-flooded pet park near Buffalo Bayou now say that “After careful consideration, we are making changes to the Johnny Steele Dog Park to improve maintenance operations and the park’s functionality.” Among those changes: getting rid of the pond in the large dog play area, rerouting the pond in the small dog area so that it flows through both sections, adding a “new seating wall” at the edge of the water, expanding the lawns throughout the park, enlarging the entrance to the large dog area, and creating a new entrance to the small dog area — all of which is expected to be done by early summer. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Buffalo Bayou Partnership
Releasing the Hounds
THE MENIL DRAWING INSTITUTE: 6 MORE MONTHS 
What’s been going on at the Menil Drawing Institute’s new building since its opening — originally scheduled for last October — was postponed over the summer? A lot of sensing and measuring: “It’s extremely important to monitor the climate control and the humidity gauges for a number of months to make sure there are no deviations,†the museum’s director Rebecca Rabinow tells the New York Times’ Andrew R. Chow., outlining what kind of ambiance is required for the paper works the structure will soon house. (Last year’s cold winter didn’t speed things up either — reports the Chronicle’s Molly Glentzer, killing off many of the new plants that had just been installed in the surrounding park according to the plan from landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates.) Now that both the indoor and outdoor environments have been stabilized, the official opening date for the 30,000-sq.-ft. building designed by L.A. architect Johnston Marklee has been set: November 3. It will cap off a 3-year building process that began in place of the since-completely-demolished Richmont Square apartments’ backsisde off Branard St. The new structure’s first residents: 41 works on paper by Jasper Johns. [New York Times; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Menil Drawing Institute: Paul Hester/The Menil Collection
- The Houston Areas with the Biggest Gains, Losses in Apartment Occupancy [HBJ ($)]
- Latest CoreLogic Study Finds Houston Home Prices Are Overvalued [Houston Chronicle]
- Gastropub PoitÃn To Open May 14 in Sawyer Yards [Culturemap]
- Singaporean Restaurant Sing To Join Smoosh, Snooze in Lowell Street Market [Eater Houston]
- Katz’s Deli on Westheimer Gets a Facelift for 20th Anniversary [Houston Chronicle]
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Approves Funds To Repair Buffalo Bayou, Dredge Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Harbor [Houston Chronicle]
- Weather Experts Advising Houston Residents To Get Flood Insurance Before Hurricane Season Starts [Houston Chronicle]
Photo of H-E-B under construction at Buffalo Heights, corner of Washington Ave and S. Heights Blvd.: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Some wet, some dried, some going:
- 3142 Shawnee Dr. [HAR]
HARRIS COUNTY OPTS TO SCHEDULE FLOOD BOND VOTE FOR HARVEY’S ANNIVERSARY 
The Harris County Commissioners Court voted this morning to move forward with scheduling a multi-billion-dollar flood control bond referendum — to fund property buyouts, bayou widening, and other mitigation efforts — for August 25. “Why August 25?†Judge Ed Emmett asked the room — which included the Chronicle’s Mihir Zaveri — “It’s the 1-year anniversary of Harvey. It’s got a certain sex appeal to it.†Commissioner Rodney Ellis at first opposed the commemorative date, fearing voter turnout could be weak during the summer. “If it is one shot that we have, I just want to make sure we get it right,†he said. (If the referendum fails, the earliest the court could hold another one would be in May 2019.) He argued instead for a date during November’s mid-term elections but changed his mind “for the sake of unity†after an appeal from fellow Commissioner Steve Radack — putting a unanimous finishing touch on the back-and-forth. What’s now needed in order to get it on the calendar? Governor Greg Abbott’s sign-off, followed by a vote from Harris County making the date official. [Houston Chronicle; more] Photo of Buffalo Bayou flooded by Hurricane Harvey: Adam Brackman
SUGAR LAND’S CONVICTS-FOR-LEASE PAST UNEARTHS ITSELF OFF UNIVERSITY BLVD. 
Crews at work on the new Sugar Land school building — dubbed The James Reese Career and Technical Center — at the corner of Chatham Ave. and University Blvd. made unexpected human contact in the middle of last month, Fort Bend ISD spokesperson Veronica Sopher tells Click2Houston’s Syan Rhodes: “We were back-filling into a trench when we found some remains, or what we thought could be remains.” The caretaker of a graveyard less than a mile away — which sits on the former Imperial State Prison Farm — wasn’t surprised. Having overseen the Old Imperial Farm Cemetary (pictured above with the same errant spelling) for nearly 20 years — reports the Chronicle’s Brooke A. Lewis — “[Reginald] Moore believes it’s just part of a larger graveyard that includes the remains of those who were part of the convict leasing system,” a statewide program through which Texas allowed mostly black prisoners to be contracted out for free labor shortly after slavery was outlawed. Fearing damage to the then-undiscovered grave sites, Moore “relentlessly pushed city and school officials to study the open area near the cemetery and urged them not to build nearby,” but construction began anyway last November. It’s now being held up in the area where the inadvertent exhumations took place. [Houston Chronicle; more] Photo: Historic Houston
- Taylor Morrison Acquires 107 Acres To Expand the Avalon at Riverstone Community [Realty News Report]
- San Francisco-Based Prologis To Increase Houston Portfolio with Acquisition of Denver-Based DCT Industrial Trust [Houston Chronicle]
- 3737 Buffalo Speedway in Greenway Plaza Area Refinanced [HBJ]
- Tranquility Development Group Entity Under Contract To Buy Unique Montrose Residential Property [Houston Chronicle ($)]
- Mayor Turner, City Council Defend Meritage Homes’ Spring Brook Village Subdivision [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
- Slideshow: Satellite Images Show Houston Before and After Harvey [Houston Chronicle]
- The Woodlands Loses Restaurants Bonefish Grill, Culver’s [Houston Chronicle]
- Developer Claims City Still Owes It Money for Improvements to Hitchcock Community Harborwalk [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
- City Christens Connection Between White Oak Bayou Greenway and Buffalo Bayou Trails [Culturemap; Houston’s Bayou Biking Connector Is Now Complete]
- Houston Ranked Among the Top 10 U.S. Cities for Mortgage Loan Denials in Lending Tree Study [Houston Public Media]
Photo of Graustark St. bridge over 59, Castle Court, Montrose: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool
Headlines
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Have we truly taken this about as far as we can go?
