Tag: Construction Sites

Featured Posts
05/14/18 11:15am

Mannequin Couple Now Checking Out the Views from Unfinished Golfcrest Redo

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Golfcrest, Renovations
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The dramatic remake of a 1941 single-story is winding down on the corner of McHenry and Carothers streets, and one plastic couple has now stripped down completely and headed inside the building. From the glass picture window upstairs, you can see an unclothed male figure (shown in the closeup) on the left, who bears a striking resemblance to one member of the mannequin construction team that had been at work (and arranged in various tableaus) in the house’s yard over the past few years.

His apparent female partner — on second glance — appears not entirely nude after all:

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Model Home
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Featured Posts
09/22/17 5:00pm

The Inflatable Swan That’s Been Twirling Around in a Flooded Midtown Construction Site Almost All Week

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Flooding, Midtown
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Unless there’s been some sort of re-inflation and relaunching regime in place in the meantime, it’s now been at least 4 days that an inflatable swan has been floating around the seasonal pond currently filling the excavated future construction site at 3300 Main St. in Midtown. Houston’s code enforcement building previously stood here; the site was later purchased by PMRG for the construction of a 336-unit highrise apartment tower. For now, though, it’s the domain of a twirling floatie: “It’s quite relaxing watching the wind blow it around and around and around,” reports the reader who snapped this shot of it this afternoon.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

The Pond at 3300 Main
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Featured Posts
08/17/17 2:00pm

Pay No Attention to the Construction Work Now Taking Place on the Ashby Highrise Site

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Highrises, Proposed Developments
7 Comments

Buckhead Investment Partners tells Swamplot that the work crew, excavator, and large drainage pipes spotted on location yesterday and today at the east end of the site of the residential building known as the Ashby Highrise at 1717 Bissonnet St. constitutes nothing more than “on-going site work.” Multiple permits to construct the proposed 21-story Boulevard Oaks tower have been issued over the past decade — the most recent ones a little less than a year ago. And construction crews have been active on the site before. But Buckhead reports to Swamplot that there is “nothing else meaningful to report at this time.”

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Just Digging It
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Featured Posts
11/02/16 1:30pm

New Movement on Midtown’s Playhouse Model and Former Adult Modeling Studio Block

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Midtown
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Bagby at Drew streets, Midtown, Houston, 77003

The recently yellow-tagged building that once housed Aloha Modeling Studio has picked up a new companion of late, a reader notes: the trailer above, which was spotted last week settled in behind the storeNplay.com children’s playhouse that hangs around at the corner of Bagby and Drew streets (sometimes with friends). Most of the lot has been kept cleared down to the dirt for the past few years, though the fence appears to be a new addition. That’s the parking garage of the second CityPlace Midtown apartment building on the left; below is a shot of the playhouse on the eastern side of the lot, with the glowing tip of 1600 Smith St. (née Continental Center I) peeking over its right shoulder:

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Set Up on Bagby
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Featured Posts
10/06/16 11:45am

An Orange and Silver Welcome to Hanover Montrose from the Disco Kroger Parking Lot

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WAMM
5 Comments

Flag Man by 3400 Montrose, WAMM, Houston, 77006

The Hawthorne-facing apartment highrise at 3400 Montrose is now open for general business, as the orange sign recently added over the door declares in all-caps. Across the street at the edge of the Disco Kroger parking lot, another orange sign is also directing folks toward the entrance, a reader notes — as of yesterday evening, the decked-out flag man above was set up across from the tower’s main entrance as some heavy equipment work wrapped up in the street behind it. Here’s a close-up portrait:

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Hawthorne St. Style
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Boulevard Oaks
09/07/16 4:15pm

Don’t Look Now, But There’s a Crew Literally Breaking Some Ground Over at the Ashby Highrise Site

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Ashby Highrise Site, 1717 Bissonnet St. at Ashby St., Boulevard Oaks, Houston

The gates are wide open this afternoon at 1717 Bissonnet, notes Mike Bloom, who sends along a few pictures of today’s excavator-vs-concrete action at the scene. Some workers and some pipes can be seen hanging around as the operator cracks into a bit of former parking lot on the northwest corner (a survivor of the Maryland Manor demolition back in 2013).

And a permit related to foundation and sitework were issued this week, following the smattering issued for some electrical and fire line work back before June’s appeal ruling (which declared that the surrounding neighborhood can’t be awarded damages for a project that hasn’t actually been built yet.) Might some deeper digging be on the way?

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Stirrings at 1717 Bissonnet
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Apartments
06/22/16 11:00am

Hanover Montrose Looking Increasingly Pale as Opening Nears

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Highrises, WAMM
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Hanover Montrose, 3400 Montrose Blvd., WAMM, Houston, 77006

Rendering of Proposed 30-Story Hanover Apartment Tower at 3400 Montrose, Montrose, HoustonThe eastern face of 3400 Montrose Blvd. appears to be losing color this week as the building’s mid-August opening looms ever closer. A reader sends the above over-the-Walgreens shot of the Skybar-replacing apartment tower (which now looks to have most of its balcony railings in place as well), capturing part of the building’s patch-by-patch transition this week from concrete gray to previous-rendering white.

And anyone jonesing for some up-in-the-air views following the closure of the Chase Tower Sky Lobby can get a half-strength fix from this shot of Downtown, taken by the tipster earlier this spring from a ledge on the building’s 28th floor:

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Almost Showtime by Disco Kroger
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Construction Materials
05/20/16 4:15pm

Model Construction Worker Caught With Pants Down On Site, Turns Out To Be a Phony

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Golfcrest
4 Comments

Fake Construction Workers, McHenry at Carothers streets, Golfcrest, Houston, 77087

Fake Construction Workers, McHenry at Carothers streets, Golfcrest, Houston, 77087Something caught the eye of occasional construction scrutinizer Tuco Ramirez yesterday at the corner of McHenry and Carothers streets (and not just the site’s elaborate and colorful vinyl construction fencing): what appeared to be 2 workers on the job in the middle of the downpour and accompanying lightning. Upon slowing down to take a closer look, Ramirez realized the figures “were standing still — turns out they weren’t working at all.” 

Above are some close-ups of the mannequins snapped after the rain slowed down; while both do appear to be making an effort to model some level of appropriate protective gear, each still lacks a few of the basics, from safety goggles to pants.  “Have to admit, if it wasn’t pouring cats and dogs at the time, I would never have noticed they were fake,” continues Ramirez. “I got out of my truck to snap these shots from a good perspective, but I assure you they look very convincing from the street view.”

Here’s the rest of the scene:

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Props in Golfcrest
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Featured Posts
05/02/16 12:30pm

Setting the Scene for a Golfcrest Remake

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Golfcrest
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7204 Mchenry St., Golfcrest, Houston, 77087

On the corner of McHenry and Carothers streets in Golfcrest, a reader notes both ongoing construction and its increasingly complex backdrop: “They’ve put up walls around [the site], probably for security, but they’ve been dressing up these walls . . . I’m pretty sure that pink door trim is made of vinyl.” County records show that the property (west of Telephone Rd. and south of the South Loop) was sold in February of last year; permits have since been issued related to a remodel and add-on to the 1941 home.

Photo: Tuco Ramirez

Now in Technicolor
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