Tag: 77019

Montrose
12/04/08 1:52pm

New Buffalo Bayou Bridge Will Encourage Tolerance of Houston

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North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Public Art
23 Comments

The newly revealed design for that $7 million pedestrian bridge over Buffalo Bayou near Montrose makes a brilliant metaphor for the appeal of this city, no? From a distance, it doesn’t seem like Houston is really . . . “passable,” either! But once you’re looking at it up close . . . sure, it’s all right: You can make it through. An excellent message to send prospective Houston tourists! Plus: Wasn’t that how the Houston Ship Channel got started too?

Official name of this Memorial Heights TIRZ project: The Tolerance Bridge. Perfect!

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Openings and Closings
11/12/08 9:10am

Hunan River, Back Door Sushi: A Little Behind on the Rent

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Restaurants, Retail, River Oaks, Shopping Centers
6 Comments

Sign for Hunan River Restaurant and Back Door Sushi, River Oaks Shopping Center, 2015 W. Gray St. No. J, Houston

The back door of the Hunan River restaurant — which also serves as the front door of Back Door Sushi — now features a stern letter from landlord Weingarten Realty, reports a reader who sent Swamplot a photo. The two restaurants share the kitchen of a small building in the back of the River Oaks Shopping Center, facing Peden.

“Your rentals are in fact delinquent and we have therefore changed the lock to your door pursuant to the provisions of Section 93.002 of the Texas Property Code,” reads the letter. It’s dated November 3rd, which means whatever’s locked inside has had plenty of time to marinate.

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Leasing
10/29/08 3:31pm

Replacing the West Gray Duplexes

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Montrose, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments
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Rendering of Proposed Office Building at 1335 W. Gray St., Houston

A reader wants to know about the 4-story office building Stream Realty is claiming it can fit on a couple of recently demo’ed lots on W. Gray near Waugh:

Hadn’t driven by this part of town in a while. Is this the sort of thing that went out the window when all the credit froze up, or did this sign just go up?

A listing on the Stream Realty website indicates that 1335 West Gray is supposed to contain 22,392 sq. ft. of space, with a third of it (on the top floor) apparently already spoken for. The first floor looks open for parking.

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Montrose
10/27/08 1:16pm

The Golden Room’s New Colors

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New Construction, North Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants
5 Comments

Khun Kay Thai-American Cafe on the Site of the Former Golden Room Thai Restaurant, 1209 Montrose Blvd., Montrose, Houston

A reader sends along this photo of the very brightly painted new structure now up at the corner of Montrose and W. Clay, where the much-tamer red-and-yellow Golden Room Thai restaurant used to be.

According to the Golden Room website, when the restaurant reopens it will have the same ownership and food but a new name: Khun Kay Thai-American Café.

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Commercial Real Estate
10/13/08 2:04pm

River Oaks Shopping Center Replacement: Vallone at the Top

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Leasing, Restaurants, River Oaks, Shopping Centers
4 Comments

Rendering of Shepherd Dr. Just North of West Gray, River Oaks Shopping Center, Houston

In the rendering above, it’s labeled Adagio Vino. In the marketing package for the River Oaks Shopping Center’s barely curving northwest replacement building, it’s called Il Tavolo. But the Houston Business Journal says that Tony and Jeff Vallone’s new Italian restaurant and wine bar going into that space in fall 2009 is not yet named.

The new restaurant, which will seat up to 150 people, will feature a first-floor dining room and outdoor dining area and a second-level wine bar with its own patio extending onto a balcony overlooking Shepherd Drive.

Rendering of River Oaks Shopping Center on Shepherd Dr. at W. Gray: Weingarten Realty

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Crime
09/10/08 9:39am

Gates of River Oaks Photo Tour

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Home Design, River Oaks
2 Comments

Driveway Gate of a Home in River Oaks, Houston, Texas

Joni Webb takes Cote de Texas readers on a driving tour of River Oaks houses, and reports:

. . . slowly yet surely, River Oaks has become a gated community of sorts without anyone realizing it. Instead of the one set of gates leading into the neighborhood, house after house is located behind their own iron gates now. Until my latest drive through, I hadn’t realized how many houses were gated in what was once a more accessible neighborhood. In America, we tend to think of gated communities as being far away, out in the suburbs, a place where people take flight against a rising crime rate. But here, in River Oaks, in the heart of the city, in the shadow of our downtown, this community has chosen to hide themselves behind formidable walls, and thus, have changed the look and atmosphere of one of our treasures.

Selections from Webb’s “exclusive” photo collection:

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Homebuilders
09/08/08 8:22am

Hazard Redevelopment: Growing Pains in Plain View

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Homes for Sale, Plainview, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Townhomes
6 Comments

Painview Sign at 2420 Hazard St., South of Fairview, Houston

Is this art too? Plainview’s townhouse transition spreads south of Fairview. Here’s a plain view of the soon-to-be-former duplex at 2420 Hazard. It’ll hurt — just a little bit.

After the jump: more photos spell out the story for you. Plus: A new back patio!

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Hazards
08/28/08 5:49pm

Grave Concerns for Regent Square

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Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment
1 Comment

GRAVE CONCERNS FOR REGENT SQUARE The College Memorial Park Cemetery once stretched across the entire block bounded by Dunlavy, W. Clay, Gross, and W. Dallas. Portions of the Allen House Apartments were built on former cemetery land that was sold in the 1960s. So what will the developers of Regent Square do? “In a statement, the company vice president said his group has created a site excavation action plan which includes continual archeological monitoring. So far, there is no documentation showing that the graves exist, but all parties agree that remains need to be preserved. The biggest goal is to restore the entire cemetery to what it use to be.” [11 News]

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Condos
07/15/08 11:06am

Regent Square Ghost Tower: I Come from the Future

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Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments
1 Comment

View of Proposed Regent Square, North Montrose, Houston, Showing Ghost Tower in the Distance

This updated rendering of Regent Square’s central square, showing a ghost-like tower looming in the not-so-distant distance, has been posted to CBRE’s leasing page for the project, notes sharp-eyed HAIF user ChannelTwoNews. A reader sent it to us, too.

What is it?

Two condo towers are planned for the first phase of the project. In a rendering leaked to us back in May, the condo towers are are drawn as shadowy boxes. But this new ghost tower isn’t one of them.

After the jump: the ghost of Regent Square’s future!

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Apartments
07/11/08 1:22pm

South Shepherd Apartments: Withdrawn

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Proposed Developments, Shepherd Curve
4 Comments

RR Donnelley Building, 1015 S. Shepherd, Houston

A reader forwards us a report indicating Trammell Crow Residential has withdrawn its variance requests for the South Shepherd Apartments, planned for the current site of the RR Donnelley printing company building on the Shepherd Curve, between the themey Renoir and Gotham condo buildings. And it’s not just the variance requests — apparently the entire project has been withdrawn from consideration by the city. Judging from the Planning Commission hearings — and from the comments on Swamplot’s story about the project — there was a fair amount of neighborhood opposition to aspects of the project. Is this simply a strategic retreat or is Trammell Crow backing out?

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Demolitions
07/09/08 11:13am

Hot Bagel Shop: Not Going Too Far Away

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Openings and Closings, Retail, River Oaks, Strip Centers
No Comments

New Strip Center Under Construction at 2318 S. Shepherd Dr., the Future Home of the Hot Bagel Shop

Bagel addict Charles Kuffner reports that the famed Hot Bagel Shop on Shepherd will be moving across and down the street in the fall, into this expanded strip center now under construction on Shepherd just north of Fairview. The new strip center has already swallowed the Houston Shoe Hospital location next door.

The Hot Bagel Shop’s current building — already bleeding tenants — will be torn down, Kuffner reports.

Photo: Charles Kuffner

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Boulevard Oaks
06/27/08 1:54pm

Wabi Sabi: Sold!

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Buying and Selling, Greenbriar, Home Design, Homebuying, Montrose, New Construction: Residential, Real Estate Marketing, Temple Terrace
No Comments

Wabi Sabi House, 2316 Bartlett St., Houston

The Wabi Sabi House in Boulevard Oaks has sold, reports developer Carol Barden. And she says the buyer found his new home . . . by reading Swamplot.

The buyer apparently came across the Wabi Sabi while reading stories on this site about another Barden property: yes, that lonely Modern townhome on Stanford St. in Montrose designed by Francois de Menil that Barden was still trying to unload. Swamplot’s last report noticed that once-a-million dollar townhouse being offered for $749,000. Barden tells us that the Menil townhouse is now under contract. She won’t reveal any pricing details, but says that she “didn’t discount the price again.”

Photo of Wabi Sabi House: Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen

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Apartments
06/13/08 1:49pm

Between Gotham and Renoir: Squeezing New Apartments into the Shepherd Curve Theme Park

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Condos, Proposed Developments, Shepherd Curve
6 Comments

RR Donnelley Building, 1015 S. Shepherd, Houston

Trammell Crow Residential is planning a new apartment building on the current site of the RR Donnelley printing company building on S. Shepherd, some sleuthing neighbors tell us.

The printing company sits between two cartoon condos near W. Dallas: Randall Davis’s Gotham and Renoir. The site for the apartments will include all of the land currently owned by Donnelley, extending from Shepherd through the parking lot east to Gross St. The Nazarene Missionary Baptist Church on Newhouse St. may own a small piece of the parking lot, reports an email making the rounds in the neighborhood.

Trammell Crow, which runs the Alexan apartment chain, is reportedly still in the early stages of planning . . . though apparently far enough along for the company’s planners to request some variances from the city. One variance request

is to not have to widen Newhouse to the now required standard of 50 ft. . . . To do so would adversely impact the church and the one townhouse at the end of Newhouse.

More details and photos after the jump!

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Mixed Use
05/27/08 11:23am

The New Regent Square: Details and Drawings

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Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments
7 Comments

Aerial View of New Regent Square Square, Houston

Thanks to two helpful readers, we have a solid update on Regent Square, now that the GID Urban Development Group has straightened out that kink in its plans. First comes word of updated drawings, panned in dizzying Ken Burns-worthy passes on the development’s website. And then: more of the scoop!

It’s all waiting for you, after the jump: a report on presentations at last week’s meeting of the North Montrose Civic Association, plus stationary images of the new Regent Square, lovingly stitched together for your at-a-glance perusal by another Swamplot correspondent.

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Mixed Use
05/22/08 9:38am

Regent Square Developers: Parking Garages Scared Us Straight

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Montrose, North Montrose, Parking, Proposed Developments, Streets
1 Comment

Axonometric of Proposed Regent Square Development, North Montrose, Houston

Those of you still wondering why Regent Square’s quaint crooked street was axed from the project’s most recent plan — along with a few lush-looking inner courtyards — will be interested to read this explanation unearthed from a variance request submitted to the Planning Commission for today’s hearing:

After careful value engineering, it was determined to eliminate the below grade parking and replace that parking in additional structured garage parking. In addition, the diagonal private street that bi-sected the site has been modified and now runs perpendicular to Dunlavy. This also provided for a more efficient design of the structured parking garages.

After the jump: The new plan. When . . . and what?

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