Tag: Swamplot Awards 2016

Notices
12/02/16 4:30pm

The Final Category of the 2016 Swamplot Awards: Greatest Moment in Houston Real Estate

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We’ve come to the eighth and final category for this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. So far this week we’ve opened up nominations for Favorite Houston Design Cliché, Best Demolition, the “Where Are They Now?” Award, Best Industrial Incident, Special Achievement in Parking,  The Houston High Water Award, and — just this morning — Neighborhood of the Year.

Here’s the last one — and perhaps the most sweeping of them all: What was 2016’s Greatest Moment in Houston Real Estate?

Covering the real estate moments that make, change, and define the city is the whole point of Swamplot. So tell us: What real estate happenings from the past year stand out above the others? Was it something Swamplot wrote about? Or did we miss something that you think takes the real estate cake? Your nominated moments need not have taken place within city limits — but they should include sufficient Houston-ish qualities to be deserving of the award.

For this same category last time, the top spot went to the unexpected salvation and restoration of the Weingarten Mansion. The 2013 winner was Urban Living’s failed lawsuit against its own former customer, and in 2012, the award went to voter approval of funding for the Bayou Greenways Initiative.

We’ll need your help to pinpoint this year’s most award-worthy moment. Add your comments to this post or send us an email describing the moments you’d like to nominate — and don’t forget to tell us why. If you need to jog your memory, browse back through the site. And if you have any questions about how to make a nomination, you’ll likely find the answers here.

Now nominate away! As with each of the other categories, you’ve got a week to send in your top picks — so make sure you get your entries in by midnight on Friday, December 9, when the window to submit your choices will close for good.

The 2016 Swampies
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Notices
12/02/16 11:45am

Now Open: Nominations for Swamplot’s 2016 Neighborhood of the Year Award

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We’re almost done introducing the categories in this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. So far, we’ve opened nominations for Favorite Houston Design Cliché, Best Demolition, the “Where Are They Now?” Award, Best Industrial Incident, Special Achievement in Parking, and  The Houston High Water Award. If you haven’t done so already, there’s still time to put in your own suggestions for each of these.

This next category can get pretty competitive: Neighborhood of the Year. Past winners have come from all over the greater Houston area — the last honoree was Downtown, while the 2009 winner was . . . well . . . Galveston. (Robindell snagged the second place spot, last time.)

What qualifies a neighborhood to pick up that coveted “of the Year” designation? That’s for you to decide. When you make a nomination, be sure to say why your pick is especially award-worthy. You can submit your nominations — along with convincing explanations as to why your nominee should win — in the comments below, or in an email, by midnight on Friday, December 9. (If you’re just joining us, please consult the official rules for nominating.) Now tell us, who are this year’s contenders for Neighborhood of the Year?

The 2016 Swampies
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Notices
12/01/16 5:30pm

A Sixth Category Now Open for Nominations: The Houston High Water Award

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This morning we opened up another category for the Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. That brings the tally up to 5 so far — Favorite Houston Design Cliché, Best Demolition, the “Where Are They Now?” Award, Best Industrial Incident, and Special Achievement in Parking. Here’s the last new category for today: the High Water Award.

This award is meant to honor contributions to flooding and flood drama in the Bayou City — or gee, maybe there’s some even more compelling form of high water here we should take note of? What deserves the spotlight for its role in the Houston flooding story? It could be an event, a place, a symbol, a lawsuit, a myth, or a something-else-entirely; we’re looking for nominees that capture a key element or instance of the city’s relationship with excessive water. Whatever you choose, just be sure to explain yourself when you send in your picks.

To float your nominees for this award, leave a comment below with your suggestions (and your rationale). You can email it to us, too, but all nominations for this category are due by midnight next Thursday, December 8. (More on how to nominate can be found by clicking here.)

The 2016 Swampies
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Notices
12/01/16 11:45am

Fifth Category: The Swamplot Award for Special Achievement in Parking

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Yesterday we opened up 2 more categories for the  Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. So far we’ve got Favorite Houston Design Cliché, Best Demolition, the “Where Are They Now?” Award, and Best Industrial Incident. Category number 5, opening this morning for nominations, is the Swamplot Award for Special Achievement in Parking. 

What has advanced the culture of parking in Houston? Has a game-changing garage or surface lot made waves on the scene? Or maybe you’ve noticed some less tangible contributions — perhaps serving to inspire new approaches to vehicle accommodation, or encapsulating a particular Houston parking zeitgeist.  Feel free to give this category any twists you think it deserves — just be sure to explain yourself when you send your picks our way.

To submit your nominees for this category, give us the what and why in the comments below. Or you can email us, instead— just do it by midnight this Thursday, December 8. More guidance on how to nominate can be found here.

The 2016 Swampies
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Notices
11/30/16 2:30pm

And Now, This Year’s Fourth Swamplot Awards Category: Best Industrial Incident

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Earlier today we introduced a new category for this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. There are a total of 3 so far: Favorite Houston Design Cliché, Best Demolition and a newbie: the “Where Are They Now?” Award. Now we’ll open up nominations for another category making its debut this year: Best Industrial Incident.

Time for some flash and bang! Houston’s lack of zoning and particular economic mish-mash make for some interesting neighbors; sometimes those neighborly relationships heat up, or get a little smelly. What was the best chemicals-meet-the-cute-little-neighborhood-next-door story this year? Most interesting unintentional send-off by land, sea, or air? Most dramatic accidental fireworks display? Feel free to creatively misinterpret this category — just be sure to sell your vision as you describe your nominee.

To submit your nominations for the official ballot, tell us about your top choices in the comments section below (along with as good a description as you can muster). You can always email it to us, too — just get it in by midnight this Wednesday, December 7. More guidelines can be found here.

The 2016 Swampies
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Notices
11/30/16 12:00pm

Introducing the Third Swamplot Awards Category: The ‘Where Are They Now?’ Award

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This next category for the 2016 Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate is a brand new one. Yesterday we opened up nominations the first 2: Favorite Houston Design Cliché and Best Demolition. Here’s number three: the “Where Are They Now?” Award.

This category is meant to honor transformations. Places with a truly Houston-ish story to tell — whether that story’s a comeback, a midlife crisis, or a fall from grace — are all around us. Maybe there’s a particularly award-worthy contrast between your nominee’s humble or high-falutin’ origins and whatever it became down the line, after the crowds faded away (. . . or the oil market crashed, or the surrounding neighborhood went full Tuscan). Which places have fallen on hard times — or made the best of them? What spots around town are employed now in a way their creators (or previous owners) might never have expected? 

To launch your nominees on their way toward the official ballot, submit your suggestion — along with a clever explanation for why it’s a good fit — in the comments section below. You can also email your nominations to us — just make sure, either way, to do so no later than midnight this Wednesday, December 7. More guidance can be found here.

The 2016 Swampies
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Awards
11/29/16 3:00pm

The Second Swamplot Awards Category Is Now Open for Your Nominations: Best Demolition of 2016

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Awards Programs, Demolitions, Notices
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We’ve already opened the first category for this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate, celebrating the Houston area’s best design clichés. Let’s get started this afternoon on the second category: the year’s Best Demolition.

Teardowns are plentiful in Houston — just take a peek back through Swamplot’s archive of daily demo reports. But for Swampies season, we’re looking for that special award-worthy demo that really goes above and beyond (or below, perhaps). Did a teardown this year have a certain historic weight to it? Did something go down with a bang, or with some extra flair and panache? What property should be honored this time around, and why?

Send us your well-argued nominations to the comments section below — or send them in a private message to our tips line. For more on the nomination process, head here.

Nominations for both categories announced today will remain open until midnight next Tuesday, December 6. We’ll be introducing more fun categories as the week goes on, so be sure to get your nominations in now for the first 2!

The 2016 Swampies
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Awards
11/29/16 12:00pm

The First Category in the Swamplot Awards, Now Open For Your Nominations: Favorite Houston Design Cliché

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Notices
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We’re kicking off this year’s Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate with a category that’s been a strong part of the program since the very first Swampies (back in aught-8): Favorite Houston Design Cliché.

What Houston building, shopping center, streetscape, home, interior, neighborhood, or yard cliché deserves recognition?

In 2014, the top honoree in this category was The Midrise Woodframe Apartment Building, AKA The Texas Donut; The Townhome Farm came in as the runner-up, trailed by strong contenders like The Oak Tree Stump. Winners in years gone by have included  The Typical Inner Loop Townhouse Plan,  Humping Bungalows, aka Humper Houses, “Lick ’n’ stick” fake-rock siding, Lone Stars, “Lakes of” subdivisions, and “Tuscanization.”

Who’s turn will it be this year — a jilted also-ran, or a newcomer to the scene? Well, that’s up to you. Your suggestions for this award may be inspired from stories you’ve read on Swamplot or from your own keen eye for overused detail.

Enter your choice in a comment to this post — or in an email to the Swamplot tip line, with the subject line “Nomination: Favorite Houston Design Cliche.” Nominations for this category will be accepted until midnight next Tuesday, December 6, after which the best-presented choices will be put on the official ballot and opened for voting.

You can submit as many nominations as you like, but your suggestions will have a better chance of making it to the ballot (and garnering votes once they’re there) if you make your point in a clever and convincing way. Photos help, too! Send images to the Swamplot tip line, but be sure to identify them and indicate what they’re for. If you need some guidance, here’s more information on how to make a nomination. And if you like a particular nomination someone else has submitted, feel free to second, expand, or improve upon it in the comments to help it find a place on the actual ballot.

Got it? Good. Send us your favorite clichés now!

The 2016 Swampies
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Awards
11/29/16 9:15am

How To Make a Nomination for the 2016 Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate

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Notices
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Welcome to the 2016 Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate, where you get to choose the nominees! Here’s how the system works:

Nominations are opened in each award category as that category is announced. You can enter your nomination for a category as a comment to the post announcing that award category. Or you can submit a nomination in a private email to the Swamplot tip line (be sure to put the name of the category in the subject line).

Nominations for each category will be accepted for one week after the category opens. After that week, the best-presented choices will be opened for voting.

Here’s a list of all the award-category announcements that have been made so far; new ones will show up there as they’re announced this week.

You may submit as many nominations as you like in each category. But your choices will have a better chance of making it to the official ballot if you use the opportunity to make your point in a clever and convincing way. When the actual awards open for voting, each selected nomination will be introduced with some edited bastardization of the arguments readers made in the nomination. So be eloquent and persuasive! If you can send your own photos in support of your nomination, that will help a lot — and help you make your case to voters. Send images to the Swamplot tip line too (but be sure to identify them, and indicate what they’re for).

Comments to nomination posts will be counted as nominations only — not as votes in the final tabulation. Nominations may be seconded, expanded, or improved, and even simple “me too” comments might help an entry find a place on the actual ballot, but they won’t be counted as votes for the winner. The actual voting begins in the second week — stay tuned for more details!

The 2016 Swampies
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Notices
11/28/16 1:45pm

The 2016 Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate Begin Today

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Did you miss Swamplot’s year-end awards program? Well, it’s back! The 2016 Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate — aka the Swampies — start right now.

For those of you tuning in for the first time, the Swampies honor the designs, developments, neighborhoods, peculiarities, and personalities that make Houston so… Houston-y. But they’ll need your help to do it.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll be introducing this year’s 8 official categories one at a time. For each, we’ll need you to nominate 2016’s most ballot-worthy candidates, which you’ll be able to do in 2 different ways: by leaving a comment on the post announcing each category, or by emailing us (just be sure to put the name of the category in the subject line). We want to hear what you think deserves recognition this year — and why. The better you can explain why, the better the chance your nominees will show up next week on the official ballots.

As always, Houston is your city — and the Swampies are your awards. You make the nominations, you stuff the ballot box with your votes. We hope you’ll join in the fun!

The 2016 Swampies
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