Tag: 77007

First Ward
11/29/10 11:36am

What Counts for Rehab: Houston Ave Bar, Reloaded

by
Nightlife, Openings and Closings, Renovations
8 Comments

A reader who’s been tracking the progress of a new drinking establishment opening in the building that used to house the Houston Ave Bar on the corner of Spring St. in the First Ward sent Swamplot these photos just before the holiday. And over the weekend, the place opened — in “soft launch mode.” The name: Re:HAB. Get it? There’s a big grassy parking lot next door, and the new hike and bike trail goes by just across the street. Which means if you fall off your bike or wagon you can always stumble in here to recuperate.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , ,
Foreclosures
11/08/10 4:35pm

A Little Piece of Fannie’s in the Heights, on the Block

by
Homes for Sale, Houston Heights
8 Comments

“I’m sure there are a 100 foreclosure auctions a day in town,” says a neighbor of this expanded and tarted-up house on 8th 1/2 St., “but this is the only outwardly visible one i’ve seen in the Heights.” Main clue for our tipster that the usual sales process wasn’t working: the Auction.com signs now posted “on every possible surface.” The 3-4 bedroom home is still listed on MLS for $359,000, but bidding will start at $139,000 in Wednesday’s live event at the Intercontinental Hotel near the Galleria. The home — vacant for about a year but painted twice during that time, we’re told — fell into the hands of Fannie Mae in July, and was listed for $369,000 at the beginning of August. Next door: 2 vacant lots that face Studewood, listed for sale the old-fashioned way.

, , , , ,
Apartments
11/05/10 2:43pm

Comment of the Day: Heights Plaza Residents, Tell Us Your Stories

by
Comments, Demolitions, Houston Heights, Quicklink
4 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HEIGHTS PLAZA RESIDENTS, TELL US YOUR STORIES “I’d be curious to know what happens to these people after the wrecking ball has come through. Will the folks be homeless? Will they have found their way elsewhere? I’m assuming the latter, but I don’t really know and I think it’s pretty uncommon for many publications to follow-through on this type of article.” [tcv, commenting on Walmart Coming — Everybody Out!]

, , , , , , ,
Construction Problems
11/05/10 1:19pm

The End of a Washington Monument

by
Demolitions, Magnolia Grove, Townhomes, Washington Ave
6 Comments

Workers are dismantling the two half-built-and-holding townhomes at the corner of Jackson Hill and Washington Ave., says the reader who sends us these photos of the activity at the well-known and well-weathered properties. Demolition permits for 915 and 917 Jackson Hill showed up on Swamplot earlier this week. “No bulldozers or anything, looks like they’re disassembling them from the top down,” explains our tipster. Could this be the dawn of . . . a brand-new parking lot for Washington?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , ,
Apartments
11/05/10 12:14pm

Walmart Coming — Everybody Out!

by
Demolitions, Houston Heights, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Retail, Strip Centers
28 Comments

WALMART COMING — EVERYBODY OUT! What residents of the Heights Plaza Apartments at 205 Heights Blvd. found on their doors Wednesday: Letters explaining that the Ainbinder Company has bought the entire complex and that no tenants’ leases will be renewed. For residents whose leases are up in December, that’s 30 days’ notice. Ainbinder will be extending Koehler St. through the property and building 2 strip centers on the remaining portions — as part of the Washington Heights District development that will include a new Walmart. “Although the sale of the complex to the Walmart developer wasn’t a surprise,” explains reporter Miya Shay, “the pace of the move out did catch some residents off guard. Developer Michael Ainbinder says he’s willing to work with residents who can’t find a place before their lease expires. . . . The last lease runs out at the end of April, and the developer says as soon as that happens, they will begin demolishing the property.” [abc13; previously on Swamplot]

, , , , , , ,
Neighborhood Disputes
11/03/10 1:06pm

Reader Report from Last Weekend’s West End Walmart Car Rally

by
Proposed Developments, Retail, Traffic, West End
29 Comments

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 thing”. . . . 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 outrage”, indeed!

Photo: Swamplot inbox

, , , , , , , ,
Houston Heights
11/01/10 2:13pm

Tacos a-Go-Going to the Heights; Hubcap Grill Expanding to Shady Acres

by
Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail, Shady Acres
19 Comments

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:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , ,
Quicklink
10/27/10 12:26pm

Electric Shuttles Get the Green Light

by
Transportation
2 Comments

ELECTRIC SHUTTLES GET THE GREEN LIGHT A vote by city council today caps the long, strange regulatory journey of Erik Ibarra’s Rev Eco-Shuttle service. Rules passed by the council in August restricted Jitney licenses to vehicles with 9 or more seats, effectively barring Ibarra from licensing any more of his Downtown, Midtown, and Washington Ave electric vehicles. Today’s vote allows the licensing of pedicabs and low-speed vehicles, including any new Rev 6-seaters. [Previously on Swamplot] Photo: Rev Eco-Shuttle

, , , , , , ,
Comments
10/22/10 6:17pm

Comment of the Day: How We’re Building the Heights

by
Development Strategies, Home Design, Homebuilding, Houston Heights, Quicklink
42 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW WE’RE BUILDING THE HEIGHTS “. . . I’ve been in the Heights for 17 years and I can count the ‘stucco mcmansions’ on one hand. 90% of new construction in the Heights is 3,000 to 4,000 sq. ft and at least gives a nod to some turn of the century style. A 4,000 sq.ft house is ALWAYS 2 stories and would . . . have an average footprint of about 2,400 sq.ft including porches. With a 500 sq. ft. garage that is a total of 3,000 sq.ft of coverage on a 6,600 sq. ft. lot, which, according to my calculations, is 45% of the lot. Where do I get my numbers? I’ve built about 50 of them and designed close to 200. All of my houses sell at the top of the market so I know EXACTLY what my competetors are building. The days of dividing a lot and building multiple units is over, at least for now. Prevailing Lot size and Building Line rules cover about 60% of the Heights and the market just doesn’t want them, so nobody is even thinking of doing it. The exception on 15th and Rutland has been in the planning since 2003 and is going to fail badly. . . .” [SCD, commenting on The Houston Historic District Repeal Scramble Begins]

, , , , , ,
Cottage Grove
10/18/10 11:24pm

Swamplot Street Sleuths: Downtown Flag Lot

by
Downtown, First Ward, Franchises and Chain Stores, New Construction, Renovations, Restaurants
3 Comments

Got a question about something going on in your neighborhood you’d like Swamplot to answer? Sorry, we can’t help you. But if you ask real nice and include a photo or 2 with your request, maybe the Swamplot Street Sleuths can! Who are they? Other readers, just like you, ready to demonstrate their mad skillz in hunting down stuff like this:

Answers to your questions:

  • Downtown: Flagspotters pinpointed the not-so-wavy Lone Star banner pictured above on the parking-lot side of the small office building at 1515 Rusk St. between La Branch and Crawford, directly behind the new Hess Tower parking garage. Yes, it’s even visible on Google Street View, reader Brian points out.
  • Cottage Grove: What’s that freshly built structure at 1500 Shepherd Dr. on the corner of Maxie, right across from the shuttered Shuck Daddy’s (which is slated to become another Lupe Tortilla Mexican Restaurant)? According to marketing director Heather McKeon, Bullritos Management is “finalizing the details with the franchisee” to bring the 12th area (and first freestanding) version of that burrito-and-margarita chain to that location. The 2,500 sq.-ft. Bullritos is expected to open in February or March of next year. Here’s a view:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , , ,
Apartments
10/18/10 11:42am

What They Were Hanging Over Memorial Dr. Last Weekend

by
Memorial Heights, New Construction
28 Comments

A reader sends in these high-level photos of the scene around noon on Saturday over Memorial Dr. just east of Studemont, where a 300-ton crane was completing the installation of a few beams of the new Rosemont pedestrian bridge. The vantage point: the 20th floor of the Memorial by Windsor apartments — yes, that’s the new name for the Legacy at Memorial apartment tower, as of a few weeks ago.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , ,
Buying and Selling
10/15/10 12:08pm

Park Memorial Condo Owners: Ready To Move Back In?

by
Condos, Hazrds, Lawsuits, Rice Military
7 Comments

Welcome home to Park Memorial! More than 2 years after city officials ordered the entire Memorial Dr. complex evacuated, the coast may now be clear for owners of the Park Memorial Condominiums to move back into their homes! Except, umm . . . some of those sheet-rock, copper-wiring, and AC-unit removal operations that have been going on in the meantime on the locked and officially empty grounds might make moving back in a little rough. 11 News’s Gabe Gutierrez reports that a Harris County district judge has ruled that the city’s order to vacate the property violated the state’s due process rules because there was no prior notice or hearing, and that there was “no evidence that there was any emergency or immediate danger that justified” requiring the residents to leave without one. The city plans to appeal the ruling.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , ,
Houston History
10/14/10 1:37pm

From Super Service to Service, and Other Big Changes Along Washington Ave

by
Streetscapes, Washington Ave, Washington Corridor
5 Comments

The president of a local real estate organization is hoping Swamplot readers can help her put together a slide show illustrating changes that have taken place over the years to the Washington Ave streetscape. How many of you have access to really old photos of Washington Ave? Well, you probably don’t have to go back too far to find images of a street that looked rather different than it does today. Send your old images — and please include captions and credit info — to the Swamplot tipline, and we’ll forward them to CCIM Houston/Gulf Coast‘s Ann-Marie Daleo, for inclusion in that organizations’ Washington Corridor Overview and Networking Event on November 4th. Daleo promises she’ll post the presentation online after the event, for anyone to download. And if any good before-and-after views come out of it we’ll post them here as well.

Photos: Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library (top) and GHPA (bottom)

, , , ,
Houston Heights
10/13/10 3:59pm

Christian’s Tailgate Opening on White Oak

by
Openings and Closings, Restaurants
12 Comments

Here’s a tailgater’s-eye-view of the former Heights Camphouse BBQ at 2820 White Oak, about to be reborn as the third location of Christian’s Tailgate Bar and Grill. The Heights Life blog posted a closeup view of the TABC notice posted on the front door earlier this week. Onion Creek Coffee House is less than 100 yards to the west.

Photo: Aaron Carpenter

, , ,
Cottage Grove
10/13/10 2:28pm

Dick Head’s, Mak Chin’s, Shuck Daddy’s, and Now Lupe Tortilla’s To Try

by
Openings and Closings, Restaurants
26 Comments



Next establishment moving into the restaurant testing ground known as 1511 Shepherd, according to a tipster: pidgin-Spanish promoters Lupe Tortilla. Shuck Daddy’s, which replaced Mak Chin’s just last year in the Cottage Grove location between Maxie and Eigel, closed up its oysters last month. Before that, yes, the building was home to fine-dining-establishment Richard Head’s.

Photo: Fred Eats Houston

, , ,
« Previous Page Next Page »