77004 | Swamplot

09/20/16 1:15pm

SEARCH Homeless Services Locates Additional Tiny Treasures Around Edges of Third Ward Park

SEARCH House of Tiny Treasures, 2323 Francis St., Third Ward, Houston, 7700

Yesterday was opening day for SEARCH’s second House of Tiny Treasures,Â the organization’s child-education-slash-daycare operation. The new structure at the corner of Francis St. and currently-being-Emancipated Dowling forms a Francis-facingÂ U around the land last employed as aÂ playgroundÂ following decades of vacancy. On the back side of the block is theÂ crumbling formerÂ salon building which was brieflyÂ turned into a pre-integration time capsule living roomÂ as part of that 2013Â Beauty Box art installation;Â east on Stuart St. isÂ the spot where theÂ ZeRow solar rowhouse landedÂ after it went to Washington:

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Dowling Filling In

77004, Emancipation Park, Homelessness, New Construction, Openings and Closings, Parks, Redevelopment, Schools, Third Ward

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09/16/16 11:30am

Mosaic Penthouse Back With Half-Million Price Drop, Axes To Grind

by Christine Gerbode

Hermann Park, Homes for Sale

7 Comments

5925 Almeda Rd. #12809, Hermann Park, Houston, TX 77004

Mosaic and Montage Towers, Hermann Park, Houston That mosaic-filled penthouse in the north tower of the split-up-then-stuck-back-together Mosaic highrise complex has been relisted once againÂ as of Friday, this timeÂ down atÂ $1.49 million. The unit hitÂ the marketÂ in 2014Â asking forÂ $2.05 million (up from the $930,000 it originally sold for in 2012, in the wake of the original owners’Â bank-rupturing bankruptcy). Since then, the listing has taken only a few quick days off here and thereÂ to step down the price. The customized 3-bedroom pad includes the mother-of-pearl show-off-whatever-you-want slots in the main entrywayÂ (shown above; sickÂ guitar collection not included).Â Here’s a look around at some of the unit’s other tilework:

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Hermann Park Outlook

77004, Condos, Hermann Park, Highrises, Home Listings, Homes for Sale, Mosaic on Hermann Park

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09/12/16 1:45pm

Church Expansion Plan Casts Out Frenchy’s from Original Scott Spot

by Christine Gerbode

Third Ward

22 Comments

Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Master Plan excerpt The gospel-soundtracked video above, showing Wheeler Avenue Baptist’s plans to plant a larger sanctuary next door to its existing facilities,Â appears to showÂ that new structure landing on top of the original Frenchy’s location at 3919 Scott St. The creole chicken chain, which announced last year that it would be pushing for national expansion to 500 locations, also previously announced plans to tear downÂ the original spot and rebuild bigger, though the exact location of that rebuild wasn’t specified. (Just up the street,Â meanwhile, a Frenchy’s-connected entity called 3919 Scott Street appearsÂ to have purchased the entire city block southwest of the corner of Scott St. and Hadley back in 2009.Â )

TheÂ property at 3919 ScottÂ St.Â wasÂ bought over the summer byÂ the church; the renderings in the video (posted just this week) more or less match up to a few older depictions featured onÂ Harrison Kornberg Architects’s website for the project:

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Third Ward Chicken Prophecy

77004, Churches, Houston Landmarks, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Third Ward, University of Houston

Eastwood

09/01/16 1:30pm

Crosswalks Give Red Light Walkers The Finger in Midtown, Eastwood

by Christine Gerbode

Midtown, Quicklink

3 Comments

CROSSWALKS GIVE RED LIGHT WALKERS THE FINGER IN MIDTOWN, EASTWOOD Holman at San Jacinto streets, Midtown, Houston, 77004 The DON’T WALKÂ hand at the corner of Holman and San Jacinto streets has been straightened out after a post-paint spree of flipping the bird to pedestrians, Steve Romo reports this week. The offending intersection is home to a number of HCC buildings and the parking lot behind recently departed Adkins Architectural Antiques, as well as a retail strip; Â Romo notesÂ that his news team tracked down at least one other similarly altered sign over at the intersection of S. Lockwood Dr. and Leland St., near the Learn & Grow Academy daycare and HoustonÂ Fire Station 18. Â The city tells Romo it’s not the first time this kind of paint job has shown upÂ around townÂ (nor is it a uniquely Houston occurrence), and that the graffiti is a quick fix but divertsÂ city resources, adding that folks should letÂ 311 know if any more intersection signals are rudeÂ to them. [ABC13] Photo of signal at Holman and San Jacinto streets:Â Kate Erin C.

77004, Eastwood, Midtown, Traffic Signals

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08/31/16 1:00pm

Got Anything To Say About the City Buying That Land at 288 and N. MacGregor for an H-E-B?

by Christine Gerbode

Riverside Terrace, Third Ward

13 Comments

Former Site of Planned HCC College of Health Sciencesâ€™ Medical Science & Technology Early College Charter High School, Hwy. 288 and North MacGregor Way, Third Ward, Houston

A meeting is set for September 7th to take public input on the city’s plan to purchase the long-vacant land at the northeast corner of SH 288 and MacGregor to let H-E-B build a store on the site (at the edges of a few of Houston’s USDA-defined food deserts). The cityÂ says the meeting and comment period (which lasts through September 11) are standard parts of its 8-step programÂ when developing within the floodplain —Â Brays Bayou is just to the left of the frame above (snapped back in 2014), whichÂ the southeastern corner of the land asÂ the facade-and-foreclosure-twin Mosaic and MontageÂ towers peek over from west of 288.

The land isÂ currently ownedÂ by Houston Community College; theÂ college system bought the tract (reportedlyÂ for the second time) back in 2013 as the proposed site of the elaborately monikeredÂ HCC Coleman College of Health Sciencesâ€™ Medical Science & Technology Early College Charter High School.Â The city would bundle the landÂ together with some adjacent already-city-ownedÂ property to lease it to H-E-B, and the grocery chain would be able to buy the whole packageÂ once all 72,000 sq. ft. of new store are constructed and certified forÂ occupancy.Â

Public Meeting Notice [City of Houston]
Previously on Swamplot:Â Visiting the Future Site of the New Third Ward Medical High School with the Ridiculously Long Name

Photo:Â Swamplot inbox

Flood Plain Food Desert

77004, Buying and Selling, Floodplains, Food Deserts, Grocery Stores, Proposed Developments, Riverside-Terrace, Third Ward

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08/25/16 11:00am

Planned 10-Week Dowling St. Name Change Kicks Off Tomorrow

by Christine Gerbode

Second Ward, Third Ward

15 Comments

Rendering of Emancipation Park, Dowling St., Third Ward, Houston

Houston Planning Commission chief of staff Brian Crimmins announced yesterday that tomorrow will be the day aÂ proposed name change of Dowling St. is announced to those with property alongÂ the road. TheÂ planned timeline for a few public meetings and someÂ comment-takingÂ stretches over the course of the next few months, with the if-everything-goes-as-planned rededication date of the street as Emancipation Ave. set for Sunday, November 6.Â The proposed change would mark the second de-Dowling in Houston this year, following the shifting of Dowling Middle School’s allegianceÂ over to Audrey H. Lawson as part of HISD’s lawsuit-inspiring Confederate expulsion.

Previously on Swamplot:Â Downtown’s Naked Confederate Birdman Unflapped By Renamings;Â Lanier Gets to Keep Half of Its Name as HISD Expels Confederates;Â A Preview of What’s Changing at Jefferson Davis High School Other Than Its Confederate Name;Â Every School In Texas Named After a Confederate Loyalist, Mapped

RenderingÂ of under-renovation Emancipation Park atÂ 3018 Dowling St.:Â Phil Frelon

Emancipation Anticipation

77004, Emancipation Park, Houston History, Names, Second Ward, Third Ward

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08/23/16 5:45pm

The Setback Setbacks at 1403 McGowen St.

by Christine Gerbode

Midtown

12 Comments

1403 McGowen St., Midtown, Houston, 77004
Variance request at 1403 McGowen St.

Signage up on McGowen between La Branch and Austin streets heralds the property owner’s recent request for a few variances approvals from the city, include reduced buildingÂ line setbacksÂ on the site.Â Plans submitted with the request show cross sections of an 8-story midrise (arranged as 3 levels of parking topped by condo unitsÂ above), which the application says was planned back when the owners were under the impression that the lot already had reduced building setbacks following city approvals ofÂ aÂ previous owner’s project on the land that fell through.

As was discovered during the city’s permitting review, the previous variance approval was only applicable to the scrapped project, though the application claims that caveat wasn’t noted with mentions of the variance attached to the property’s plat records. City planners purportedly told the developers (which appear to include Knudson and Allied Orion Group) thatÂ they could get the same reduced setback linesÂ approved again if they turnÂ the first floor of the condo project into residences or retail.

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Midtown Condo Limbo

77004, Condos, Midrises, Midtown, Proposed Developments, Variances

Quicklink

08/22/16 4:30pm

The UT Austin Segregation Lawsuit That Made TSU Houston’s First Public University

by Christine Gerbode

Schools, Texas Southern University, University of Houston

No Comments

THE UT AUSTIN SEGREGATION LAWSUIT THAT MADE TSU HOUSTON’S FIRST PUBLIC UNIVERSITY Thurgood Marshall School of Law 3100 Cleburne St., Texas Southern University, Houston, TX 77004 AÂ recountingÂ of someÂ Houston higher-ed history comes from Ben Werlund this past weekend — namely,Â howÂ University of Houston and Texas Southern University ended upÂ as separate but adjacentÂ public universities in the Third Ward.Â In 1927 the schools were founded as Houston Junior College and Houston Colored Junior College, segregated schools that eventually woundÂ up onÂ neighboring landÂ after being renamed University of Houston and the Houston College for Negroes.Â In 1946, black HoustonianÂ Heman Marion Sweatt was denied admission to all-whiteÂ UT Austin’s law school;Â as the resulting lawsuit worked its way up to the Supreme Court in the pre-Brown v. Board of Education landscape of separate-but-equalÂ requirements, the stateÂ quickly bought and renamed the Houston College for Negroes and added a law school, tryingÂ to prove that black students had comparable options to the Austin campus. “And thus, Houston’s first public university was born,” writes Werlund, to keep theÂ Texas school system “from having to integrate its flagship in Austin.” The Supreme Court, however,Â didn’t buy thatÂ the new Houston lawÂ offeringsÂ measured up toÂ the nearly 70-year-old UT law program,Â and UT Austin had to admit Sweatt after a 1950 ruling.Â TSU law professor James Douglas tells Werlund thatÂ the state legislature proceeded to cut TSU’s budget by 40 percent the next year; the private all-whiteÂ University of Houston didn’tÂ start to admit black students until 1962,Â shortly after which itÂ turned public.Â “This was in the ’60s,” notes Douglas — “In 1964, I don’t think the people in Austin really thought integration was going to stickÂ . . .Â I don’t think they ever thought this whole idea of having 2Â universities close to each other was ever going to be a problem.” [Houston Chronicle] Image of Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University: TSU

77004, Houston History, Names, Schools, Third Ward, Universities

Buildings for Lease

07/27/16 12:45pm

Architectural Antiques Shop Leaves 1917 Brick and Mortar Spot, Embraces the Digital Age

by Christine Gerbode

Midtown

8 Comments

Adkins Architectural Antiques, 3515 Fannin St., Midtown, 77004

Closing Sale Sign at Adkins Architectural Antiques, 3515 Fannin St., Midtown, 77004 A reader noted these notes nearÂ the door of the former homeÂ of Adkins Architectural Antiques, which had been operating out of the 100-ish-year-old houseÂ at 3515 FanninÂ (at the corner with Berry St.). The shop is rebranding as Adkins Antique Hardware Co.Â and retreating from the realm of physical architecture to a fully digital storefront.Â The company’s inventory also looks to be shiftingÂ away from bigger items like salvaged doors and windows to focus in on the little things — likeÂ knobs, pulls, and hinges, bothÂ oldÂ andÂ old-looking. Per the new website, you might still be able toÂ get anÂ in-person appointment as theÂ closingÂ sale wraps up.

The property itself was listed for lease on LoopNetaboutÂ 2 weeks ago,Â under its HCAD alter ego of 1103 Berry. The house and its early-1990s warehouse are the only structures on the block, which otherwise serves as parking lot.Â CBRE’s leasing flier aerial (below) showsÂ the space bathed in green highlighting,Â in placeÂ between the Ensemble Theater, several Houston Community College buildings, that Holman-St.-facing strip center,Â and the Downtown Pregnancy Help Center (thought the fact that itÂ doesn’t show much progress on the recently-wrapped MATCH building dates the shot):

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Out with the Old in Midtown

77004, Antiques, Buildings for Lease, Midtown

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07/19/16 5:30pm

The Glittering 5-Story Affordable Housing Thinktank Bubble That Could Rise by Emancipation Park

by Christine Gerbode

Third Ward

25 Comments

Update, 7/20: The renderings and description have been removed from both LAI’s website and the online portfolio website where they were previously displayed. At the request of the architect, Swamplot has removed the images as well; this article has been updated.

AÂ glassy sphere shown in aÂ rendering ~~currently~~ previously displayed on theÂ website ofÂ Colorado-basedÂ LAI Design GroupÂ looked to be part of a design for aÂ nonprofit workspace and affordable housing thinktank called the Coleman Global Center.Â An attached description of the projectÂ ~~doesn’t~~ didn’t specificallyÂ identify the location of theÂ rendering (beyond noting that project is “in Houston”). But another rendered view of the project ~~(posted to porfolio site Behance)~~ showed the bubble right across Dowling St. from theÂ almost-finished new community center at Emancipation Park (and its easy-to-identifyÂ reflection pool) at the corner with Elgin.Â And Leah Binkovitz’s May interviewÂ with stateÂ representativeÂ Garnet Coleman and a set of collaborating Third Ward nonprofit directors ambiguously highlights that particular cornerÂ as playing an important role in plans to shiftÂ how gentrification unfolds in the neighborhood.

~~Compare the renderingÂ below (which shows the bubble building in place) to architect Phil Frelon’sÂ angled aerialÂ rendering of Emancipation Park (included further below):~~

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Third Ward

77004, Affordable Housing, Architecture, Midtown Redevelopment Authority, Nonprofit-Development, Nonprofits, Proposed Developments, Third Ward

Graffiti

06/16/16 11:30am

Houston’s Electrifying Insult Art Has Its Critics

by Christine Gerbode

Midtown, Quicklink

6 Comments

HOUSTON’S ELECTRIFYING INSULT ART HAS ITS CRITICS graffiti at 1601 Alabama St., Midtown, Houston, 77004 A roving Houston graffiti connoisseur issuedÂ a short but scathing reviewÂ this week ofÂ the latest addition to the utility box at the corner of Alabama St. and Almeda Rd. via the automatic city complaint-filing app SeeClickFix. The user calls the scrawled proclamation ‘bad art’;Â the Midtown Management District saysÂ it’sÂ on the case. The display, directly across Almeda from hammock-rich beer garden Axelrad, does not appear to be one of the coming-up-on-100 mini murals being placed on electrical utility boxes around the city by Up Art Studios. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo of electrical utility box at 1601 Alabama St.: SeeClickFix

77004, Apps, Graffiti, Midtown, Public Art

Quicklink

02/02/16 12:00pm

Housing, Retail, Ramp to 59 Planned for I-45 at Cullen Blvd.

by Christine Gerbode

31 Comments

HOUSING, RETAIL, RAMP TO 59 PLANNED FOR I-45 AT CULLEN BLVD. Rendering of the Gateway at Cullen, Cullen Blvd. at I-45, Greater Third Ward, Houston, 77004 New housing geared toward University of Houston and Texas Southern University students is planned near the U of H Main Campus’s main entrance on Cullen Blvd., according to PRNewswire. Plans for the Gateway at Cullen development include 531 beds (in single, double, quadruple, and quintuple groupings), mostly in townhome-esque 2-story configurations, which will contrast with most of Fountain Residential’s previous campus-geared housing projects in the area.Â PRNewswire also reports that plans are in the works to replace the nearby Bestway Motor Inn with a new on-ramp to 59, and that the former Fingers Furniture warehouse will be turning into a retail center anchored by a grocery store. [PRNewswire, previously on Swamplot] Rendering: Fountain Residential

77004, Freeways, Grocery Stores, New Construction, Proposed Developments, TSU, U of H

Featured Posts

02/02/16 10:45am

Strip Center Art Gallery Makes Room for Installation of Highrise in Museum Park

by Christine Gerbode

Highrises, Museum Park, Proposed Developments, Strip Centers

9 Comments

The demo job on the strip center on Blodgett St. between Crawford and La Branch has finally been completed, following a multi-year pause. Until late last fall, the strip contained Sub-Saharan African art gallery Gallery Jatad (since departed to an Almeda Rd. location), while J Food Mart previously held down the fort on the opposite end of the row — but much of the middle of the complex (left, in the above photo) was gutted in 2013. Demo permits for the rest of the structure were issued on Thursday, and the building was down by late yesterday afternoon, a reader writes.

The land under the strip was bought by Trans Unity Partners in January 2015, with an eye toward developing the spot as the Chelsea at Museum District, an 18-story condo highrise. Back then, Trans Unity was uncertain about moving forward with the plan in light of predicted market conditions.

Specs for the Chelsea at Museum District (not to be confused with the highrise formerly known as Chelsea Montrose) mention 95-ish units atop 6 stories of parking. HAIF user urbannizer even dug up a draft rendering of the project, set artfully amid a field of flowers, last October:

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Now Off Display

77004, Art Galleries, Condos, Highrises, Museum Park, Proposed Developments, Retail, Strip Centers

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12/23/15 2:45pm

2-Story Single Family Home with Built-In Taco Stand Now Available in the Museum District

by Everett Bradshaw

Homes for Sale, Interiors, MacGregor Park, Museum District

7 Comments

4504 Caroline, Museum District, Houston, 77004
Do you have an untapped entrepreneurial side and flautas worth flaunting? This 3-bedroom, 2-bath 1930’s home comes equipped with its own taco stand, ready to serve your culinary ambitions. Located on 7,500 sq.ft. directly behind the Mexican Consulate, the 2,882 sq.-ft. building and attachment are yours for $420,000. (In related news, Happy Jalapeno is now closed.)