Stop, children. Watts — that sound. Everybody look what’s going down:
Sign up for the Newsletter
Tag: Demolitions
Keep at it, keep at it. No rest until they’re all gone.
A popular local dance move, caught on camera. Sent in from a reader who was shopping at the West Gray Kroger over the weekend: what looks like the final curtain call for the former Houston Ballet building a block to the west at 1916 West Gray. The Ballet’s new building opened Downtown earlier this year. Going up in place of its destroyed former home, which was previously a clothing factory: apartments.
- Previously on Swamplot: The Apartments Taking the Place of the Houston Ballet on West Gray
Photo: Nate Frizzell
Just another day of area edifice cleanup.
A reader wants to know what’s behind last week’s demo work (pictured) at the former used car lot operated by Sarco Enterprises at the northeast corner of Shepherd and Nett St., 2 blocks north of Washington Ave. Across Nett St. from the site: nightspots Nox, Diem Lounge, and Fox Hollow. “Maybe a new retail development or a new restaurant or a new club?” asks the reader. “The property is a great extension of the happenings along the Washington corridor.”
It sure looks like it: Here’s a photo of the theater’s west parking lot, sent to Swamplot by a reader who noted that a concrete pour began on Saturday morning. Earlier this month, Weingarten received a permit for “Landlord Improvements — Infill/Leveling,” though the permit’s title doesn’t make it clear what kind of leveling the national REIT wanted to do to the landmarked structure at 2922 S. Shepherd Dr., which is expected to be transformed into Houston’s first Trader Joe’s market.
Why would Weingarten want to pour a thick layer of concrete onto the floor of its historic building — and how much demolition of the theater’s interior might be accompanying this work?
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Okay! Back to work. Carving up these housethings:
Going up in place of those 2 mod office buildings at 3210 and 3310 Eastside St. east of Greenway Plaza that were scraped earlier this week: this 2-story, $6.3 million home for Houston’s branch of Dress for Success, a national charity that provides support services, career help, and a free store of interview-appropriate attire for women in need of a working-world boost. Once it’s complete, the Houston Dress for Success will be the first of the organization’s 80 U.S. affiliates to own its own land and building. Included in the upgrade from the current leased warehouse at 3915 Dacoma St.: a larger store and dressing-room area, more clothing storage and sorting space, more meeting space, a babysitting area, and much better access to public transportation. Crews demolishing the 2 existing buildings took a break for Tuesday’s groundbreaking ceremony, where fundraisers announced that pledges covering 97 percent of the cost of the Ziegler Cooper-designed structure have already received.
- A permanent home to rise for Dress for Success Houston [Bellaire Examiner]
- Dress for Success breaks ground on a new $6 million eco building, allowing it to add childcare [Culturemap]
- Non-profit to build new home [Prime Property]
Rendering: Ziegler Cooper Architects
A little clearing to the north, a little clearing to the west. Stand clear of these:
“I missed all of the fun,” complains the reader who sent in these photos of yesterday’s demolition extravaganza at 3210 and 3310 Eastside St. between Richmond and Alabama east of Greenway Plaza. “Not sure what the plans are, but apparently there was a ceremony to commemorate the event. The [above] photo shows an event tent with chairs in their abandoned parking lot. . . . It was essentially a large party tent & it looked as if several dozen chairs were being put away.” What was this place?
Start planning now for the imminent absence of these structures:
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
Houston’s impending parking lot, and other clearings to come: