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The brand new YMCA planned for the corner of Griggs Rd. and Martin Luther King Blvd. will be the first ever named after a professional sports team: The Houston Texans. Construction is expected to begin later this year. The new Third Ward facility is meant to be a permanent replacement for the old South Central YMCA between UH and TSU at 3531 Wheeler, which was abandoned for temporary digs in a storefront on Scott St. several years ago.
At a press conference yesterday, officials from the YMCA and the Texans described the new complex as just part of a larger partnership between the two organizations.
Hey, isn’t Palm Center the planned location for the start of the Southeast Metrorail line? So the Y will mark the beginning of athletic training for a lot of kids . . . plus the start of train riding for a larger group. Cute.
After the jump: A tiny picture of the new facility, plus . . . that light rail map!
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Read more about: 77021, Houston-Texans, Light-Rail, Palm Center, Proposed Developments, Southeast Houston, Third Ward, Transportation
January 22, 2008 – 8:36 am

Renovate or demolish? It’s a false choice, really. Now you can do both!
If ever one listing encapsulated the essential paradox at the heart of the Third Ward’s uh . . . “resurgence,” it’s the one just posted for 2103 Berry St.
Contractors are hard at work completely renovating this Third Ward duplex . . . so that you can buy it and tear it down. Then you can start over and build brand-new townhouses! The brand-new listing features the construction-site photo above and the following description:
GREAT DUPLEX UNDER RENOVATIONS LOCATED MINUTES AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN,MIDTOWN, TOYOTA CENTER AND MINUTE MAID PARK. CORNER LOT SURROUNDED BY NEW CONSTRUCTION. PHENOMENAL OPPORTUNITY FOR A DEVELOPER’S OR INVESTOR’S TO BUILD TOWNHOMES.
Who says you can’t have it all?
After the jump: Can’t we just slather the stucco over the exterior brickwork and call it even?
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Read more about: 77004, Buying and Selling, Demolitions, Development Strategy, Duplexes, Homes for Sale, Real Estate Marketing, Renovations, Third Ward, Townhomes
November 19, 2007 – 10:04 am

For sale on Dowling, in the Third Ward: Super Liquor. Super cheap! After the jump, the inside scoop.
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Read more about: 77004, Businesses for Sale, Commercial Real Estate, Retail, Third Ward
Neighborhood obliteration never really took off in the Sixth Ward the way it did in the Fourth. Maybe the experience is something developers can learn from as they set about tackling the Third Ward. In the meantime, a new proposal would seal the Old Sixth Ward Historic District’s fate, extending a six-month moratorium on demolitions.
Here’s the concept: instead of being a plain ol’ Historic District, most of the Sixth Ward neighborhood would be renamed as a Protected Historic District. An entirely new concept.
This would be okay, really. The neighborhood is mostly small old Victorian houses. You don’t get the really spectacular demolitions unless the buildings have some concrete or steel.
Photo: 2015 Lubbock, available at Har.com
Read more about: 77007, Demolitions, Development Restrictions, Fourth Ward, Historic Districts, Neighborhoods: Old Sixth Ward, Old-Sixth-Ward, Third Ward