COMMENT OF THE DAY: A PARK GROWS IN IDYLWOOD “The neighborhood will be able to ‘use’ the vacant land but cannot build permanent structures upon it. With the exception of one lot at the far end of N. Macgregor, 9 are connecting so that they will form a large U shaped property. There’s been talk of a shared garden but who knows… The area still looks pretty rough right now, but the damaged sidewalks, where driveways once were, are being repaired and curbs installed. There are existing trees and lawns so hopefully it will become, at the very least, another usable green space. I suspect that, when the next big flood happens and some of the remaining homes get hit yet again, if another FEMA buyout is offered, we’ll be seeing more open land along N. Macgregor. . . .” [PYEWACKET2, commenting on Comment of the Day: The Great Idylwood Shoreline FEMA Buyout]
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Tag: Flooding
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE GREAT IDYLWOOD SHORELINE FEMA BUYOUT “The ten houses in Idylwood, 6 along N. Macgregor, 2 on Wildwood and 2 on Park Ln were all heavily damaged by Hurricane Ike. Most all those houses have been hit numerous times, not the least of which was Allison. Those homes were right on Brays Bayou. Come on folks, some of the homeowners hated to sell to FEMA but it was either that or jump through impossible hoops to raise the homes’ foundations. True, there’s been a lot of improvement to the bayou but who knows if those improvements will be effective when the next flood hits? Not everyone chose to take the buyout.” [PYEWACKET2, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Idylwood Hat Trick]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: READY FOR A FLOOD OF GUESTS “The Tremont House issued the following statement on this incident:As reported by the Galveston Police Department, there was an unfortunate incident on Saturday at The Tremont House which resulted in some slight damage to the hotel. Although the hotel still has two guest rooms out of service, the general operation of the hotel has not been disrupted. The hotel is currently determining the final cost of damages but estimates are approximately $25K, significantly lower than initial estimates. The hotel is operating as usual and is taking reservations for the upcoming Mardi Gras celebration including its 26th Annual Mardi Gras Ball scheduled on Saturday, Feb. 13. . . .” [Christine Hopkins, commenting on We Shall Rebuild! The Great Downtown Galveston Hotel Flood of 2010]
Disaster is no stranger to Galveston’s historic Tremont House hotel. Opened in 1839, the original building was destroyed by fire in 1865, but rebuilt 7 years later. That second building was ravaged by the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and eventually torn down in 1928. The latest incarnation of the Tremont House, which opened in 1985 in a dry-goods building at at 2300 Ship’s Mechanic Row that had been built 106 years earlier, flooded extensively during Hurricane Ike.
And now, just 7 months after reopening, the Tremont House has flooded again. The damage this time, however, came from an unruly and apparently intoxicated guest in town for a wedding, who — according to police — ripped a water pipe out of the wall:
The leaking water pipe caused extensive damage to three rooms, according to police statements. There also was damage to the hotel’s kitchen and employee cafeteria below, [Galveston police captain Jeff] Heyse said.
“Staff indicated the water was shut off but had already drained into freezers and other electronic equipment, which malfunctioned as a result,†Heyse said in a statement. “Numerous ceiling tiles, flooring and walls were affected by the water.â€
Hotel staff estimated damage at $100,000, including “irreplaceable items,†but a police report didn’t list what those items were, Heyse said.
- Tremont House torrent causes $100,000 in damage [Galveston County Daily News]
Photo of Tremont House Hotel, 2300 Ship’s Mechanic Row: Rasmus Lerdorf [license]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHEN SWAMP LIFE GIVES YOU SWAMP LEMONS “I guess it’s a ‘turning lemons into lemonade’ thing. When you live in a swamp, you may as well excavate enough fill to raise the houses above sea level, then turn the excavated surrounding lands into moats around your McCastles.” [J.V., commenting on Favorite Houston Design Cliché: Vote for One of These Official Nominees]
WHERE FLOODWATERS WILL PARK DOWNTOWN The Buffalo Bayou Partnership helped the City of Houston and the Harris County Flood Control District acquire a just-under-2-acre site Downtown for $7.3 million last week: “The property, which is currently being used as a surface parking lot, is sandwiched between Buffalo Bayou on the north and Commerce on the south, stretching from La Branch to Caroline. Roughly half of the land was acquired from a 15-person investment group led by David Loftus. The other half was bought from members of the Loftus family. Loftus says he acquired the site in 2002 with plans to erect a parking garage. After hearing about civic leaders’ intentions for the land, Loftus says he decided to wait and sell it instead. The land will be used to widen the bayou in an effort to mitigate flooding. The site will also double as a park with hike and bike trails during dryer times. Both projects are a part of long-term visions for the bayou system.” [Houston Business Journal]
From his perch high in the (formerly AIG) America Tower on Allen Parkway, Swamplot reader Stephen Cullar-Ledford forwards this latest dramatic scene, which aches for suitably metaphorical captioning.
A few months ago it was fog, this afternoon it’s a rainbow over downtown . . .
- Previously on Swamplot: More AIG Bonus Photos: Right Back Atcha!, AIG Surrounded by Fog in Houston, Too
Photo: Stephen Cullar-Ledford
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A BOOST FOR THE BOLIVAR BUYOUT? “A large part of Bolivar is going to be turned into a nature preserve. FEMA is buying out many of the properties. . . . I suppose that buyout was made easier by the rate of foreclosures. . . .” [Raj, commenting on Where the Action Was: Houston Summer Foreclosure Map]
Robert Boyd’s original remarks on the scraping of the Wilshire Village Apartments briefly mentioned another older apartment complex that Matt Dilick redeveloped and now runs: the Bayou on the Bend Apartments, at 5201 Memorial, just west of Shepherd. Boyd’s link to discussions of that complex at ratings website Apartment Ratings sparked a quick note from a reader:
It looks like Apartment Ratings attracts tenants who want to complain, but it seems like most of the gripes about other apartments focus on managers who are hard to deal with, thin walls, neighborhood crime, that sort of stuff. Have you read the reviews of Bayou on the Bend?
Bayou on the Bend gets a 35 percent positive rating from readers who have written in to comment — certainly not the lowest number for a large Houston complex. Here are a few choice excerpts:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: ENGULFED! “In a century or two, Houston will be underwater.” [markd, commenting on Comment of the Day: Where the Skyscrapers Will Be Built]
How’s the street surfing in your neighborhood?
Photo: Flickr user jarrod-drew, via The High on the Hog Blog
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE HOUSTON FLOOD HOUSE “. . . Lifting every flood-threatened home one story would solve so many problems – where to park the cars, where to store the trash can, where to house the nanny, where to store the wine (doesn’t everybody have these problems?) Just like old-time Louisiana homes. (Anyone been to Laura Plantation?) A while back there was discussion on Swamplot concerning a prototypical or traditional Houston architecture type. I think it should be dog-trot style, with roof-top garden, and raised on gulf-coast-style columns.” [movocelot, commenting on From Show House to Wet House to No House: Saying Goodbye the MacGregor Way]
The 2-story 1939 brick home at 1504 N. MacGregor Way, on the banks of Brays Bayou in Idylwood, has completed the Swamplot trifecta. In July of last year the home made its first appearance, as the subject of a Neighborhood Guessing Game (answer revealed here). In September, after the pre-Hurricane Ike storm surge brought about 2 feet of water in for an extensive tour of the first floor, the home was featured again: an after-Ike-cleanup poster house, still on the market for $359,000.
And then, this morning, a third and likely final showing on Swamplot: in our Daily Demolition Report.
A quick look back at the home’s better (and not-so-much better) days:
MEASURING PROGRESS IN CUBIC FEET PER SECOND “Also, over the past 50 years, high-impact building and roadway development have reduced the amount of permeable surface to accept stormwater, increasing flooding and pollution. Stream flow speeds in Houston, for example, have increased from under 5,000 cu ft per second in 1930 to about 27,500 cfs in 2000, says the U.S. Geological Survey. With stream-flow increases come a greater potential for flooding. The actual stream flow from 2001’s Tropical Storm Allison in Houston’s Brays Bayou peaked sharply at about 34,000 cfs, 20 hours from the start of runoff. This compares to a more gradual stream flow in 1915, before development. . . . Allison, which caused $5 billion of damage in Houston, would have been a nonevent even 50 years ago because the natural landscape would have absorbed the water, say sources.” [GreenSource]
Reader Jeromy Murphy sends in this photo he took this morning along the banks of Buffalo Bayou, from the jogging path in Buffalo Bayou Park under I-45. What’s going on over there across the water?
While walking back to my office from a downtown meeting, I noticed workers installing new sod along the Bayou. I wonder how long this will last considering the weather report? Anyone along the ship channel need some new sod? It’s probably headed their way.
What’s wrong with a little sod freshening?
