77003 | Swamplot | Page 5

02/02/17 11:45am

How Midtown’s First Hill Was Born

by Christine Gerbode

Midtown Entry Portal work site, Brazos St. at I-45 and Pierce St., Midtown, Houston, 77003

Some of theÂ intermediate developmental stages of theÂ pointy new hillÂ between the Pierce Elevated andÂ the old Mr. Peeples spotÂ raised a few questions in the mind of a nearby reader (chief among them: whether the Midtown Redevelopment Authority was constructingÂ an ark.)Â A few photos from last weekÂ (including the top shot above) showed what appear to be wooden formsÂ heralding the pouring of aÂ concrete landscaping wall. A set of new shots from this morning paint a more complete picture of the site, showing a cargo of several new treesÂ now settled in place in the gentle concave curve behindÂ the structured hill’s prow (as seen in the second shot above). Beyond the wall, the other side of the mound appears to have been dotted with ornamental grass:

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Piling It On Off Bagby

77003, Freeways, Landscaping, Midtown, Midtown Redevelopment Authority

01/20/17 11:00am

Creation, Destruction at Fannin and Tuam

by Christine Gerbode

The former Mental Health and Mental Retardation Association building at 2850 Fannin St. andÂ its many murals are now rubble, a reader notes. The shot above catches the destroyed structureÂ next to Sebastien Boileau’sÂ Preservons la Creation mural across the streetÂ on the back of 2800 San Jacinto St., juxtaposedÂ with what appears to be some carefully timed oncoming traffic to add that dramatic glow to the painted figure’s outstretchedÂ spray paint can. The reader also caught one of the excavators climbing atop its defeated adversary earlier in the day, beneath the giant cross of the St. Joseph Professional Building:

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Cycles of Midtown

77003, Demolition, Midtown, Murals, Public Art

01/19/17 11:30am

ESPN Moves Super Bowl Shows from Midtown Park to Downtown Parking Lot Next to Salvation Army HQ

by Christine Gerbode

A spokesperson from ESPN confirms to Swamplot that the network will not be using underground-parking-garaged Midtown Park as the mainÂ set for its Super Bowl week teevee shows after all,Â contrary to thatÂ October announcement. Workers were on the scene on Monday (as shown here), and the main pavilion structure appears to have been undergoing glow testsÂ in the last few weeksÂ by the same lighting design company that designed the new US59 bridge LEDs. The scaffolding-covered CamdenÂ apartmentsÂ structure, however, appears to be missing some more significant finishing touches:

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Super Bowl Super Blocks

77002, 77003, Construction, Downtown, Midtown, Parking-Lots, Parks

01/17/17 4:45pm

Multiple Excavators Divide and Conquer Former Midtown Mural Hub

by Christine Gerbode

The building at 2850 Fannin St. (seen here across the Main St. light-rail tracks next to the recently gassed Art Supply building) has been split into piecesÂ as of this morning. A reader on the scene caught sight (and footage, above) of several excavators simultaneously scraping away at the scene, with aid from a smallÂ bulldozer. Here’s a few more views of what was left of the structure and its extensive paint job:

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Parting Shots

77003, Demolitions, Midtown, Murals, Videos

01/13/17 5:15pm

Scenes from a Midtown Gas Leak Response

by Christine Gerbode

Fannin at Dennis streets, Midtown, Houston, 77003

Demolition setup at 2850 Fannin St., Midtown, Houston, 77003 Before being shooed away by fire department folks near the corner of Dennis and Fannin streets around noon yesterday, reader and art blogger Robert Boyd managed to snap a shot of the hole dug recently along the sidewalk. “You might be able to see that the fire fighters were wearing gas masks,” Boyd notes, surmising that the digging wasÂ related to theÂ gas lines for the under-deconstruction former Mental Health and Mental Retardation Association buildingÂ building a block further south (shown above); the digging apparently also caused the gas leak that triggered the shutdown of several nearby streets for part of the day.Â Boyd reports that the folks in the Art Supply on Main building, located between the digging and the demo site,Â “were totally cut off for most of [the day]. HFD showed up and asked up all to stay inside — we could get out of our parking lot, but not back in.”

The emergency crews departed mid-afternoon, shortly after Boyd snapped a more elevated shot of the fire engine (evocatively juxtaposed with a signal-red stop sign and a rare view of fall-esque Houston foliage):

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Sights and Scents of Dennis St.

77003, Demolitions, Hazardous Materials, Midtown

01/12/17 3:45pm

Mural-Slathered Former MHMRA Building Readies For The End

by Christine Gerbode

Highrises, Midtown

Murals at former MHMRA building, 2850 Fannin St., Midtown, Houston, 77003 Demolition setup at 2850 Fannin St., Midtown, Houston, 77003

The colorful faces behind the chain-link fencing surrounding the former Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority building at 2850 Fannin St. have been joined this week by a few pieces of bright yellow knock-down equipment. Permits came through last week clearing the site for clearance in advance of a planned 27-story apartment highriseÂ going by the name Main Midtown. The tower was okayed for a parking variance in late October, as part of which Australian developer Caydon Properties agreed to install over 200 bike spaces.Â

The long-empty MHMRA structure got its last hurrah this fall when much of the street-level wallspace was painted over in tan, making way for new muralage.Â A nearby residentÂ buzzed around the site recently taking some final snaps of the paintings (like the one featured at the top of the page) before the demo gets going in earnest — here’s a sampling below:

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Midtown Breakdown

77003, Apartments, Demolition, Highrises, Midtown, Murals, Proposed Developments

01/12/17 11:30am

Work Crews Creating Actual Hill by the I-45 Exit Ramp Behind Mr. Peeple’s Old Spot

by Christine Gerbode

Midtown Entry Portal work site, Brazos St. at I-45 and Pierce St., Midtown, Houston, 77003

More signs of the Midtown Redevelopment Authority’s current 3-part landscapingÂ project: theÂ large hillÂ being crafted whereÂ the longÂ I-45 exit ramp intoÂ Pierce St. hitsÂ Brazos St. Bid documents for the project also mention landscaping walls, accent lighting, and decorative stone as part of the rest of the plan for the spot. The newly elevated site sits east acrossÂ the I-45 offloaderÂ from the former home of high-gloss steak and seafood house Mr. Peeples, which shut down back in March.Â The Bagby-facing building, which served as a Boy Scouts of America office prior to the restaurant makeover, is still up forÂ lease; a marketing flier advertises all 3 stories as up for grabs, along withÂ theÂ 8,702-sq.-ft. basement. Here’s the full frontal:

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Moving Up in Midtown

77003, Buildings for Lease, Landscaping, Midtown, Midtown Redevelopment Authority, Restaurants, Signs

12/28/16 2:45pm

Interior of EaDo Interior Design Shop Art Hous Scooped Out To Make Room for Burgr Hous

by Christine Gerbode

East Downtown, Restaurants

Art Hous, 811 St. Emanuel St., East Downtown, Houston, 77003
wahlburgers

The folks at ACS studio architecture say that the insides of the former Art Hous art and interior design center on St. Emanuel St. are being cleared out for the planned installation of Burgr Hous. Demo permits for the interior walls of the space, which is wedged between Warehouse Live and Lucky’s Pub, came through early last month. When it’s wrapped up, the remodel may have a vibe kinda like the space shown above, which ACS currently has up on their website for the project as a visual reference for the redesign — though the image depicts theÂ branding of the Boston-based reality-teevee-starring Wahlburgers chain. The firm has a floorplan out as well, however, showing a different layout:

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E-Less in EaDo

77003, Adaptive Reuse, East Downtown, Remodeling, Restaurants

Buildings for Lease

12/14/16 10:45am

Now Leasing: Long Sing Supermarket in East Downtown

by Christine Gerbode

East Downtown, Restaurants, Retail

Long Sing Market Leasing Flier, 2017 Walker St., East Downtown, Houston, 77003

The Long Sing Supermarket building is now up for grabs, per a fresh leasing listing that appeared last week. The 8,260-sf.-ft. retail spaceÂ and its internal lunchÂ counter sit across Walker St. from physicist-mascotted Neil’s Bahr, and next to Little Woodrow’s EaDo (visible in yellow toÂ the right,Â with its face toward the corner with St. Emanuel St. where Warehouse Live hangs out).Â TheÂ pagoda-topped grocery store was listed forÂ sale a few times since 2014 — back before the glassyÂ Marriott Marquis highrise started photobombing the building’s listing shots from across 59, as it does inÂ the photo below:

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Market To Market

77003, Buildings for Lease, East Downtown, Grocery Stores, Restaurants, Retail

12/13/16 2:30pm

East Downtown’s East Village To Get Even More Liquored Up

by Christine Gerbode

East Village leasing and renderings

The latest sketchup of the site plan for Ancorian’s East Village projectÂ in East Downtown shows what may be a second distillery nestled into the 2 blocks of warehouses now in various states of conversion between Polk and Lamar streets alongÂ St. Emanuel and Hutchins. Meanwhile, a group of rum distillers going by the name Revolution Rum has laid claim to an address next to the development (in a warehouse just north of 8th Wonder Brewery’s, across Hutchins from the planned Houston location ofÂ chain craft vodka distillery Our/Vodka). It’s not clear whether the spot marked on the leasing flierÂ is a separate project, or if one of the 2 potential liquor operationsÂ mightÂ have a satellite storefront in the complex, facing St. Emanuel St.

Other additions to the siteplanÂ include the name ofÂ Agricole Hospitality,Â now on the map at the corner of Dallas and St. Emanuel (and embellished with the logos for theÂ group’s existing Heights trifecta of Revival Market, Coltivare, and Eight Row Flint). Fort Worth-rootedÂ beer and burger jointÂ Rodeo Goat and Dallas-based trailer-bar Truck Yard have territories staked out as well, next to a thin slice of retail space labeled Poku. The architects at mÄkÂ have also released another few renderings up of design ideas for various parts of the 2Â block complex, including a shinyÂ restaurant mockup depicted along Polk St. near the now-silver-skinned Secret Group comedy club:

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Spirits of EaDo

77003, Breweries, Distilleries, East Downtown, East Village, Leasing, Restaurants, Retail

12/12/16 1:00pm

The Blue and Sandy Fields of EaDo’s Next Play-Your-Own Sports Bar

by Christine Gerbode

HTX Sports Creek, 2619 Polk St., East Downtown, Houston, 77003

A 3-block jaunt from the proposed site of the recently reincarnated Ivy Lofts development will land you at 2619 Polk St., where do-it-yourself sports bar Sports Creek is setting up. The developers look to be planting a series of sand volleyball courts and blue-turfed soccer fields on the long-paved-over block bounded by Polk, Live Oak, Nagle, and Dallas streets (catty-corner from the former Kings warehouse building slated for a wholesale-to-retail makeover).

One of the involved developers recently told Maggie Gordon that the new place should open in January, and that there will be 3 volleyball courts; the above rendering shows the latest published update to the bar’s planned layout of the space (though it appears to show 4 courts instead). It’s also not totally clear which side of the development that drawing is meant to show, as none of the site’s depicted neighbors appear to quite match up with the array of townhomes, warehouses, and electrical substation that ring the block.

Older renderings released earlier this year showed the business with only 1 and 2 fields and courts respectively, on a much skinnier piece of land:

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Courting Polk St.

77003, Bars, East Downtown, Sports Courts

12/09/16 10:45am

In Search of the Elusive Midtown Boundary, at the W. Gray and Webster Split

by Christine Gerbode

Fourth Ward, Midtown

Midtown Entry Portal site, W. Gray at Matthews St., Midtown/Fourth Ward, Houston, 77019

Where exactly, these days, does Fourth Ward end and Midtown begin?Â That may be a little bit clearer before long (depending on how you define the 2) — aÂ reader notes that someone looksÂ to be getting ready to stake a visibleÂ claimÂ for Midtown on the narrow strip of land at the crotch of Webster and W. Gray streets, just west of Matthews St. and the latest add-on to the Post Midtown Square development. (The yellow signage of that recently scorched Fuzzy’s is visible on the left.)

The silt fencing rimming the median segment as of late comes with a construction sign calling the spot “Midtown Entry Portal — Site 3.”Â That grassy sliver does sit at the end ofÂ aÂ short but pointy fingerÂ of land jutting out of the northwesternÂ boundaryÂ of the area’s tax increment reinvestment zone, which as of 2009Â is shaped about like this:

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TIRZspotting

77003, 77019, Fourth Ward, Midtown, Names, Signs, TIRZs

12/01/16 2:30pm

HCC’s San Jacinto Memorial Green Now Green Again in Midtown

by Christine Gerbode

San Jacinto Memorial Green, 1300 HolmanSt., Midtown, Houston, 77003

That tiny replica of the San Jacinto Monument near San Jacinto and Holman streets is surrounded these days by the landscaping of Houston Community College’s San Jacinto Memorial Green, the green-space-turned-parking-lot-turned-back-to-green-space next to theÂ adjacentÂ building that once housed San Jacinto High School. A reader sends an early-evening out-the-window shot of the park, which is scheduled to formally open on Saturday.

That shot facesÂ Holman St., with Caroline St. visible to the northeast and lined up with the green space’sÂ lit walkway; most ofÂ the lawn seen to the left of that path wasÂ paved parking lotbetween the 1980s and 2014. The photo is taken from the former San Jac high school structure itself (now employed as part of HCC’s Central Campus, and referred to as the San Jacinto Memorial Building by the time of its 2012 addition to the National Register of Historic Places):

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Remembering Asphalt Gone By

77003, Green space, HCC, Historic Buildings, Midtown, Schools

11/22/16 10:45am

A Moment for Skyward Contemplation at Main St.’s City Code Enforcement Building as The End Nears

by Christine Gerbode

As theÂ walls crumble and the last days unfold forÂ the city’s old code enforcement office in Midtown, a hidden stained-glass window has been uncovered — asÂ seen here in a shotÂ taken by a reader yesterday evening from across the light-rail tracks.Â Once the structure is fully deconstructed, the way will be open for that plannedÂ mixed-use-skyscraper fromÂ PM Realty to rise toward the heavens.Â In front of the window is the long-since-de-greened greenscreenÂ trellis installed to dress up the main Main entrance of the concrete structure, back in the late aughts:Â

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Preparing To Rise in Midtown

77003, Demolitions, Mid-Century Modern, Midtown, Office Buildings, Stained Glass Windows, Windows

Buildings for Sale

11/17/16 1:15pm

Start Houston’s Old Eado Headquarters, Robot Human Hand Mural Up for Grabs

by Christine Gerbode

The current East Downtown home of startup kickstarterÂ Start Houston is on the market at the moment, as the organizationÂ looks for a new spaceÂ to host its growing techie crowd. A rep tells Swamplot that the group can’t say yet where the new digs will be — but the old digs at 1121 Delano St. are currently listed for sale at aroundÂ $795,000. The 1963 building’s features include the human-robot peaceÂ wall facing Dallas St.:

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Starting Again Elsewhere

77003, Commercial Properties for Sale, East Downtown

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