Tag: 77003

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2600 Block of Capitol St. with Signs from Veterans Memorial Dr., Houston

If you were wondering how a street-facing block of neat-in-a-row East Downtown townhomes might appear after being taken over by the opportunistic spirit exemplified by a bunch of north Houston strip-center businesses, rest your aching brain: Artist Carrie Marie Schneider has already done some of that hard a-visualizing work for you. Her mashup above combines signs from independent businesses along Veterans Memorial Dr. (the stretch between I-45 and Richey Rd.) with a row of recent townhomes on the 2600 block of Capitol St., between Live Oak and Nagle. The image, a projection of which constitutes a small part of her recently opened exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum, is one way to imagine a “real free-enterprise” conquest of more corporate-seeming block-by-block townhome developments. Blocks like the one pictured under all that signage “once seemed uncanny in Houston for their enforced coherence,” she writes in OffCite. “Now theyâ€™re difficult not to encounter.”

Right Here, Right Now: Houston [CAMH]
The Mixed Use Future of Now [OffCite]

Image: Carrie Marie Schneider

Mixed Use Mashup

77003, Art, East Downtown, Mixed-Use, Strip Centers, Townhomes

Apartments

08/28/14 11:45am

Land Is Being Cleared for New Apartments Next to the Soccer Stadium

Demolitions, East Downtown

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Demolition of 2414 Capitol St., East Downtown, Houston

Demo crews are clearing away a metal warehouse building and chopping up the surface concrete on the block surrounded by Dowling, Rusk, Capitol and St. Charles streets, across Dowling St. from BBVA Compass Stadium in East Downtown. Last year, Mill Creek Residential announced and then canceled plans for a possibly mixed-use apartment development it was calling EADO Station on that block and the one immediately north, facing Texas Ave.

JLB in East Downtown

77003, Apartments, Demolitions, East Downtown

Buying and Selling

08/26/14 12:15pm

Ecclesia Church Trumps Treasures Strip Club, as First Ward Congregation Signs Contract To Buy Former Meridian Nightclub

Churches, East Downtown

20 Comments

Former Meridian Nightclub, 1503 Chartres St., East Downtown, Houston

A little more than a year after settling into the new location it rehabbed from the former Phillips Paper Company warehouse at 1100 Elder St. in the First Ward, Ecclesia Church appears ready to begin another renovation project and move — this time to East Downtown. The church, which began its life 15 years ago as part of the Taft St. Coffee House complex in Montrose, signed a contract last Friday to purchase the 50,000-sq.-ft. former Meridian nightclub building at 1503 Chartres St. for $3.75 million, pastor and church founder Chris Seay announced during his sermon over the weekend.

The church plans to continue its serial-renovation, just-add-coffee-house growth strategy in the new space. (Taft St. Coffee House’s successor cafe in the First Ward is Paper Co., built into the church’s space there.) The Meridian building, where the nightclub closed in 2010, lies south of the George R. Brown Convention Center and the Toyota Center on the east side of the 59 overpass. The church had originally made several attempts to purchase the building back in 2009, Seay said. But a new chance arose recently, after a bankruptcy sale:

Stripping Buildings in East Downtown

77003, Buying and Selling, Churches, East Downtown

Bars and Clubs

06/02/14 2:30pm

For East Downtown Video Game Bar, Kickstarter Fundraising Attempt Is Game Over

East Downtown, Financing, Nightlife, Proposed Developments

9 Comments

With an entertaining, droll video (see above), a close-to-Downtown location already picked out, and a “first ever in Houston” concept, the fundraising effort for the Press Start Bar seemed to have a lot going for it. Alas, the Kickstarter game plan for the planned console-videogame-themed nightspot has failed to reach its high-score goal. After 30 days on the crowdfunding platform, the crew garnered $18,483 in pledges from 81 different backers. That’s impressive for a first try at the controls, but a bit shy of the stated $50,000 its founders said they needed toÂ secure the proposed location — “off Rusk and St. Emanuel”Â (between the 59 overpass and BBVA Compass Stadium) — obtain building permits, and get started with TABC licensing, to be able to serve craft beers and Pokemon-themed cocktails, among other menu items.

Press Restart

77003, Bars and Clubs, Crowdfunding, East Downtown, Nightlife, Proposed Developments

Buying and Selling

04/02/14 4:45pm

A Scene from the Newly Demolished East End

East End, Homebuilders, Land Sales

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Vacant Lot at 3510 Sherman St. at York St., East End, Houston

Spotted on a reader’s drive to Champ Burger: the newly vacant almost-an-acre lot at the corner of York and Sherman streets east of East Downtown, where the New Era Nursing and Rehab facility at 3510 Sherman St. was recently demolished. An entity controlled by Lovett Homes developer Frank Liu purchased the property last October.

Lovett Gotta

77003, Buying and Selling, Demolitions, East End, Homebuilders, Land Sales

East End

02/10/14 10:15am

C’mon Everybody, Haul on Over to the East End with Us

Homes for Sale

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Homes Moved to Lubbock Grove, Near Sampson and Preston Streets, East End, Houston

Two of the 6 wood-framed Victorian refugees renewable-energy exec Michael Skelly and his wife Anne Whitlock had moved last month to lots adjacent to the red-brick former fire house at 319 Sampson St. they’re renovating as their home are still not spoken for,Â according to Lisa Gray’s account: “One of the houses will become Whitlock and Skelly’s guest house. They’ve been trying to entice friends to buy and rehab the others, to join what Anne calls ‘our crazy adventure.’ Generally, the couple’s friends aren’t interested in moving themselves — though some like the idea for one of their kids, or as an investment in an area sure to gentrify. Real-estate broker Tom Bacon, a friend of Skelly’s, referred his son Drew, a 25-year-old artist who recently moved back from Brooklyn. In the little house across from the firehouse, he’ll be only a short walk from his studio on Preston. So far, Whitlock and Skelly have enticed one friend from their own generation: Diana EspitÃa, who serves on the Houston Parks Board with Michael. EspitÃa, who now lives in Southgate, plans to connect two of the houses, forming a home large enough for her, her teenage daughter, her brother and her parents, who are in their 60s. Her parents, says EspitÃa, love the new neighborhood; it reminds them of their old home in BogotÃ¡.”

Houston energy mogul’s crazy idea for a compound of turn-of-the-century homes [Houston Chronicle ($)]
Previously on Swamplot: This Weekend, the Rowhouses of Lubbock Grove Are Moving to Lubbock Grove

Photo:Â Janusz Design

Any More Takers?

77003, East End, Historic Preservation, Homes for Sale, Housemoving, Lubbock Grove, Redevelopment, Rowhouses, Second Ward

East End

01/17/14 5:15pm

This Weekend, the Rowhouses of Lubbock Grove Are Moving to Lubbock Grove

Historic Preservation, Redevelopment, Second Ward

6 Comments

Lubbock Grove Homes, St. Charles and Garrow Sts., Second Ward, Houston

Got big plans for Saturday night? These 6 Victorian-era Second Ward rowhouses will be parading down 8 blocks of Garrow St. past Settegast Park east of Downtown to new spots further east, in time to escape the construction of some impending townhomes on their longtime lots. The move was originally scheduled for early last week, but was postponed because of a damaged utility pole discovered along the route. (It was also kinda cold.)

Fire Station Friends

77003, East End, East End Line, Historic Preservation, Housemoving, Houston Architects, Houston History, Lubbock Grove, Redevelopment, Rowhouses, Second Ward

12/27/13 12:45pm

The Aftermath of a Shocking Metro Development on the Southeast Line

Public Transportation

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Repairs on Metro Southeast Line at McKinney, Houston

Why were crews yanking out and replacing a brand-new 240-ft.-long stretch of rail and concrete on the not-even-opened-yet Southeast Line at McKinney St. (above), next to the Columbia Tap trail in East Downtown, earlier this month? Because back on May 30th, a 7.2kV CenterPoint Energy electrical line fell onto the tracks and their overhead line three-quarters of a mile to the south, at Scott St. and Coyle St.

Zzzzzzap!

In addition to the McKinney St. burnout, 20-ft. sections of rail and track slab got zapped near crossings at Nagle St. and Elgin. At the incident site, 80 ft. of concrete and anti-vibration insulation had to be scrapped and replaced.

Hot Rails

77003, East Downtown, Light-Rail, Metro, Repairs, Southeast Line

East End

12/20/13 5:30pm

Houston Makerspace Now Ready To Make a Space for Itself in This East End Warehouse

Leasing, Warehouse Space

9 Comments

100 Hutcheson St., East End, Houston

Having successfully reached its scaled-back crowdfundraising goals with a $10,000 Indiegogo run back in September, the team behind the Houston Makerspace says it has secured a lease for 21,000 sq. ft. in this warehouse building at 100 Hutcheson St., 4 blocks north of the coming rail line on Harrisburg. Inside, eventually, will be shops for jewelry fabrication, screen printing, rapid prototyping (with a laser cutter and 3D printers), carpentry, metalwork, and sewing and textile work, and plain ol’ work work. There are also plans to put in a commercial kitchen and classrooms, install 3,000 sq. ft. of climate-controlled office, studio, and lounge space. Outside, they hope to set up a garden.

Shop Talk

77003, East End, Leasing, Warehouse Space

Apartments

10/28/13 12:30pm

Stadium-Side Apartments in EaDo a No-Go

Cancellations and Delays, East Downtown, Proposed Developments

23 Comments

Dallas developer Mill Creek Residential has “called off” plans to build a 5-story apartment block across Dowling St. from Dynamo Stadium in East Downtown. Set just south of the soon-to-open light rail stop at Texas Ave. and Dowling, the 315-unit complex was to have been called EaDo Station. The company recently announced a slightly smaller development near the Med Center: 265 apartments at 1755 Wyndale St. near Holcombe and South Braeswood.

Deal of the Week: Mill Creek to put apartments near Medical Center [Houston Chronicle ($)]
Previously on Swamplot: Home Games: Apartments To Go Up Beside Dynamo Stadium, Light Rail in East Downtown

Renderings of EaDo Station: Mill Creek Residential

77003, Apartments, Cancellations and Delays, East Downtown, Proposed Developments

10/21/13 3:25pm

Scraping Along: East Downtown Pedestrian Path Underway

New Construction, Streetscapes

13 Comments

And 4 more blocks to go: Site work began last week here in East Downtown to chunk up the pavement into such tidy piles and clear the way for that 5-block pedestrian path known as the EaDo Promenade. These photos show what the very north end of the path, at McKinney and Bastrop St. a block south of BBVA Compass Stadium, looks like, as of yesterday:

77003, East Downtown, New Construction, Pedestrians, Streetscapes

10/21/13 10:10am

A Pack of Trackside Townhomes in East Downtown

New Construction, Townhouses

25 Comments

Here are some pics of the rail-ridin’ townhouses Urban Living is developing in East Downtown. These gated 2-story, 2- and 3-bedroom homes crowd in on the lot bound by Lamar, Roberts, and the Southeast Line, which curves away here from the Columbia Tap bike trail and veers toward Scott St.

77003, East Downtown, New Construction, Townhouses

10/11/13 11:00am

Townhouses Going Up in East Downtown

New Construction, Townhouses

12 Comments

Here’s more development in East Downtown: These townhouses are under construction on the corner of Live Oak and Lamar, just 2 blocks from the Columbia Tap bike trail that leads to BBVA Compass Stadium. Eventually, according to a site plan on the InTown Homes website, 22 of these 3- and 4-bedroom townhouses will stand on the block bound by Lamar, Live Oak, St. Charles, and McKinney. They’re starting at $364,900.

77003, Dynamo Stadium, East Downtown, New Construction, Rails to Trails, Townhouses

Apartments

10/10/13 11:45am

Another Apartment Complex in East Downtown?

Development Strategies, East Downtown, Land Development, Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Retail

18 Comments

Here are some drawings of an apartment building that appears to be aimed for an empty lot in East Downtown. As drawn, the concept shows the 216-unit EaDo Place standing on the block bound by Bell, Clay, Chartres, and St. Emanuel — that’s right beside the former Meridian Club, where the food trucks idle and generators hum at the Houston Food Park. And it’s just 2 blocks from Bastrop St., where that pedestrian promenade leading to BBVA Compass Stadium is to be put into place. If built, the apartments would stand at 2616 Clay, just on the other side of the Southwest Fwy. from the George R. Brown Convention Center, and would top off some ground-floor retail, with a 30,938-sq.-ft. grocery store facing Bell and St. Emanuel.