COMMENT OF THE DAY: DID YOU VOTE? “Wow, when Swamplot revealed the choices, nobody voted for this one. Someone actually said it was ‘the worst.’ So much for Swamplot readers speaking on behalf of the neighborhood.” [Jessie M, commenting on And the Winner of the Montrose H-E-B Roof-Design-by-Vote Is . . .]
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“It was an unfortunate leasing issue and nothing else,” say the owners of the Gallant Knight. And so the bar will be closing December 31st “at least for now.” Will there be an everyone-out-before-midnight New Year’s Eve party? The landlord of the bar’s new location at 2511 Bissonnet just east of Kirby didn’t renew the lease, an email from the bar explains: “We have just 60 days to empty our liquor cabinet.” An investor group led by Cushman & Wakefield director Stephen Schneidau bought the name and contents of the 34-year-old neighborhood bar at the corner of Holcombe and Morningside shortly after it closed in 2006, then reopened on Bissonnet almost a year and a half ago. Now sitting on the site of the bar’s original location at 2337 W. Holcombe: a branch of Comerica Bank.
- The Gallant Knight [Facebook]
- The Gallant Knight returns in retro fashion [Houston Business Journal]
Photo: Eating Our Words
H-E-B has announced the “winner” of the dress-up design contest for its new supermarket on the corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy — the site of the former Wilshire Village apartments. The top vote-getting entry, named “The Pavilion,” is easily distinguished from the other 2 proposals from San Antonio architects Lake Flato: It’s the one where the roof isn’t jaggedy and isn’t curvy. We’ll have more details shortly.
- Wilshire Village coverage [Swamplot]
View of Pavilion design from Dunlavy driveway: Lake Flato
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHO’S SITTING ON ALL THOSE VACANT BUILDINGS IN MIDTOWN? “I don’t get why there are so many empty buildings in the area. With such high land values (and tax rates), why don’t they sell them? It seems there are a lot of people that can afford the massive expense of sitting on a property (taxes, insurance, minimal upkeep to keep the city fines away, taxes, etc.) I’m sure a lot of instances it’s someone asking too much for a property. But if it’s still sitting after YEARS on the market (and YEARS of expense), something should tell you that you have it priced too high. I don’t know… I guess I’d just start freaking out if only a few months passed and an empty property of mine was just sitting there. I have had multifamily properties on the market but they’re full and [bringing] in income while on the market so I’ve never been in a rush. But a vacant building? *shudder*” [Cody, commenting on How You Can Help Large-Scale Graffiti in Midtown Get Off the Ground]
How many cars showed up? “If Steven Colbert can get away with 6 Billion on The Mall, we can call this 22,000…what’s in a number?” asks a reader who says there were actually probably 70 to 100 cars lined up at about 10:15 at last Saturday’s traffic-themed protest of the planned West End Walmart. Comments sent to Swamplot yesterday:
We made the scene at 18th & Rutland during preparation for what one organizer described as a “Flash Mob sort of thingâ€. . . . The mood was fairly lighthearted; it was a beautiful morning after all. Plan was to drive down and around the Koehler Street site and make general mischief, I guess. Saw one TV station camera crew, but did not see anything in print over the next couple of days. Admittedly, I didn’t look real hard.
While I don’t agree with these folks . . . I have to admit, I honor their activism.
“What we need is sustained outrageâ€, indeed!
- Walmart CARNAGE Protest [Stop Heights Walmart]
- Protesters Hit The Streets To Stop The Heights WalMart [39 Online]
- Heights Walmart critics use ‘mobile protest’ to demonstrate traffic impact [11 News]
- West End Walmart coverage [Swamplot]
Photo: Swamplot inbox
A COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORY FOR HOUSTON’S DRAINAGE FUND Surprise! A late flood of support turned the tide for the “Renew Houston” campaign. Proposition 1, the city charter amendment that sets up a separate pool of money for drainage improvements and establishes new taxpayer fees to pay for it, ended up passing by a very narrow margin: a little more than 7,000 votes. The amendment was supported heavily by engineering and construction firms. [Bay Area Citizen]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: AN UPDATE FOR POTENTIAL CONDO INVESTORS AT PINE VILLAGE NORTH 
“the HOA has financial and legal problems. it’s operating month-2-month; no reserves. even though our assessments are supposed to cover exterior repairs of our units, you may never get your units repaired, unless you do it yourself. many of the units have serious plumbing problems. if the HOA is dissolved, PV may become a free-for-all; it’s almost that now. if you’re willing to risk all of that, then go ahead and buy, otherwise, don’t.” [Marina Sugg, commenting on Pine Village North Open House Welcome] Photo of Pine Village North: HAR
Street artist Daniel Anguilu hopes to cover the entire surface of this 4-story Midtown building with his distinctive animal-friendly murals. Anguilu — also known by his nom-de-spray, weah — began painting the former Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority building at 2850 Fannin St. in June. But it’s not exactly a stealth project: Anguilu was invited to take on what he’s calling the Public Decor Project by commercial real-estate broker Adam Brackman, whose family owns the building. And Brackman’s been providing him with mistinted no-VOC paint from New Living, the Rice Village green-home-supplies store where Brackman’s a partner.
“Closer inspection,” reports one of 2 readers who sent us photos of these heartwarming signs found on Studewood just north of Fitzgerald’s, “reveals these to be re-purposed campaign signs…Bill White ‘welcomes’ and Jessica Farrar ‘hearts’ Walmart, apparently.” Okay, so what have people been doing with the Rick Perry and Fernando Herrera signs?
- West End Walmart coverage [Swamplot]
Photo: Swamplot inbox
Let’s start the day out right, with plenty of wood fibers:
Houston sustainability director Laura Spanjian says B-cycle (shown above at Discovery Green earlier today) is just one of the systems the city is considering for its planned bike-sharing project. The city has funding from an EPA “climate showcase” program to install a bike-share kiosk or 2 in yet-to-be-identified locations Downtown — possibly along Buffalo Bayou or near Discovery Green. That first installation would just serve as a demo, says Spanjian. Once it’s in place, the city will look for funding for a more extensive bike-share system. Riders would use a credit card to check out the bikes; rides of half an hour or less would be free.
- BikeShare Technology Demonstration [Houston Green Scene]
- Houston Scores Federal Grant to Reduce Transportation-Related Emissions [KUHF]
- The magic bike is here [B-cycle]
Photo: Laura Spanjian
COMMENT OF THE DAY: OF COURSE, RESTORING THE ACTUAL ASTROWORLD WOULD BE A LITTLE MORE INVOLVED “I went to see this Saturday night. It’s in fairly ragged shape, but with a little skill and time it could easily be restored. I think the skills that an avid model railroader possesses would be adequate to restore this. Many of the familiar Astroworld rides are depicted, although no rollercoasters (except for the Alpine Sleigh Ride, which just barely qualifies). All the big roller coasters came later. Among the excellent features in the 1:144 scale model were Judge Hofheinz’s personal on-site office as well as his personal train station!” [Robert Boyd, commenting on For Sale: Early Model AstroWorld]
Is there an Onion Creek magnet effect? Reader Mary Ellen Arbuckle notes a second location of stylized Midtown Mexican-food joint Tacos A Go-Go will be shimmying into this strip-center spot at 2912 White Oak, just a few doors down from the Onion Creek Coffee House. The location is the former home of the International Ballet of Houston; there’s a TABC application notice up in one of the windows. Also scheduled to move in nearby, closer to the Onion Creek vortex: Christian’s Tailgate.
Meanwhile, half a mile west of the Heights’ western border, owner Ricky Craig has leased the former home of Mi Cocina Victor’s Cafe at 1133 W. 19th St., where he plans to open a second non-mobile location of tiny Downtown burger joint Hubcap Grill:
