Tag: Headlines

• City Considering Purchasing Unused HCC Lot at Texas 288 and MacGregor Way for Site of Potential H-E-B [Houston Chronicle]
• i3 Interests Buys 3-Building Northwest Medical Center in North Houston [Houston Chronicle]
• Renovation To Convert 380-Room DoubleTree Hotel & Suites Houston Near the Galleria into 476-Room Hotel [Houston Chronicle]
• New Pearl Luxury Apartment Community Opens in Westchase District [HBJ]
• City Will Reimburse White Oak Music Hall Under Construction in Near Northside Up To $1.1M for Public Improvements [Houston Chronicle]
• State To Consider Allowing Anonymous Buyer To Purchase Porretto Beach in Galveston for $6M [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Memorial Park Conservancy Now In Charge of Memorial Park Maintenance Under New Ordinance [Houston Public Media]
• City Council Designates 7 Houston Properties Designated as Historic Landmarks [Houston Public Media]

Photo: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• BBVA Compass Plaza Sets Record for Houston Office Building Sale at More Than $527 Per Square Foot [Realty News Report]
• Residential Units, More Retail and Parking Eyed for North Side of River Oaks Shopping Center [Houston Chronicle]
• Houston Expected To Break Ground on $909M Worth of New Projects in 2016, Down 9% Year Over Year, According to CMD Group [HBJ]
• Rice University To Build New Office Building, Parking Garage [HBJ]
• Developers Have Exhausted the Downtown Living Initiative [HBJ]
• A Quarter of Houston’s Population Lives in a Food Desert [Houston Chronicle]
• Murders Caused a Loss of More Than $52M in Texas Home Values Last Year, According to Finder.com [Houston Chronicle]
• New Park Board Study Calls for Traffic Improvements in Galveston [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Deep River Plantation Subdivision Seriously Flooded by Trinity River for Third Time This Year [KHOU]
• Harris County District Attorney’s Office Charges Man Who Blocked Traffic on I-45 for Proposal with Obstruction of Highway [abc13]
• Guy Who Crashed Rare Bugatti Sports Car into La Marque Lagoon Sentenced to a Year in Federal Prison [Jalopnik]

Photo of ICE at Discovery Green: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Nova Asset Management Says Occupancy Rates at Its Houston Apartment Complexes Have Slipped Amid Oil Slump [Houston Chronicle]
• Shell Plans To Shed 2,800 Jobs After Buying BG Group On Top of 7,500 Cuts Previously Announced [Click2Houston]
• Why There Are So Many Mattress Stores, Explained [The Straight Dope; previously on Swamplot]
• Metro Considering 2-Way Transfers [Houston Chronicle]
• How Bike-Sharing Reduces Driving and Boosts Transit Use [The Urban Edge]
• Drone Owners Must Register with the FAA by February 19 Next Year [The Verge]
• Slideshow: The Winners of AIA Houston’s 2015 Gingerbread Build-Off Competition [HBJ]
• Exxon Mobil Looking To Hire a Climate Researcher [Fuel Fix]
• Man Shut Down 1-45 Near Downtown Houston To Propose to His Girlfriend [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Discovery Green: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Sylvester Turner Beats Bill King in Runoff Contest To Become Houston’s Next Mayor [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• Ardenwood Group Buys 7207 Regency Square Office Building in Southwest Houston [Realty News Report]
• Texas A&M University at Galveston Breaks Ground on $46M Academic Complex [Galveston County Daily News ($)]
• Manzel Contemporary Homes Plans To Redevelop 1960s-Era Apartments at 2508 Southmore Blvd. into Condominiums [HBJ]
• Building Homes in Houston When Oil is at $35 a Barrel [Realty News Report]
• Good Dog Houston Opening Second Location in Former Brick & Spoon/Bocados Space on West Alabama [Culturemap]
• Biskit Junkie Closes Original Oak Forest Location as Montrose Spot Set To Open on Westheimer Next Month [Culturemap]
• David Shelton Moving Gallery to 4411 Montrose in Downstairs Spot Previously Occupied by Wade Wilson Art [Glasstire]
• Austin-Based Black Swan Yoga, JuiceLand Expanding To Houston in January with Shared Location at 3210 White Oak Dr. [HBJ]
• Memorial from Kirkwood to Eldridge To Have 4 Lanes, More Traffic Lights, Improved Curbs and Sidewalks, Bike Lanes After $39M Upgrade [Houston Chronicle]
• Jury Awards West University Couple $5.4M in Foreclosure Fraud Case Against Wells Fargo and Carrington Mortgage Services [Houston Chronicle]
• The 5 Best Houston-Area Neighborhoods for Holiday Light Displays, According to Redfin [Culturemap]

Photo of Hermann Park: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• 4M-SF Daikin Industries HVAC Manufacturing Plant in Northwest Houston the Largest Industrial Project Under Construction in the U.S. [Realty News Report]
• GSL Welcome Group Acquires Strafford Industrial Building [HBJ]
• Manzel Contemporary Homes Starts Construction on Luxury Townhome Community Museum’s Gate in the Museum District [HBJ]
• Houston Purchasing Managers Index Falls to 6-Month Low in November [Houston Public Media]
• Zillow, Florida Atlantic University Offer Mixed Predictions on a Housing Bubble in Houston [HBJ]
• Halliburton’s $1.5M Tax Abatement To Help Improve Road Near Its North Houston Campus Questioned [Houston Chronicle]
• Axelrad Beer Garden Now Open at Alabama and Almeda Aims To Bridge 3rd Ward, Museum District, Montrose Communities [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of the Texas Medical Center: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Home Prices Fell for First Time in Nearly 4 Years, Dropping 3.5% Year-Over-Year in November to $262,064, Finds HAR [HBJ]
• Houston Home Sales, Statewide Sales Tax Revenue Down Too Amid Oil Slump [Houston Chronicle]
• Proposed Gilley-Themed Project in La Porte Projected To Bring in $50M in Annual Taxable Sales [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Gehan, Westin To Start Constructing First 170 Homes in 4,500-Home Lago Mar Development in February [HBJ; previously on Swamplot]
• Houston City Council Unanimously Approves Establishing a TIRZ for Montrose [Houston Public Media]
• New Interstate 14 To Be Cobbled Together from U.S. 290 190, Other Existing Roads from Western Texas to Louisiana Border [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Downtown Houston: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston’s Luxury Home Prices Down 7% in the Third Quarter Compared To Last Year, Finds Redfin [Houston Chronicle]
• So Far 43 Home Sites Pre-Sold at Tiger Woods’ Luxury Golf Resort Bluejack National in Northwest Houston [HBJ]
• Goodwill’s Computer Works Downsizes To Noticeably Smaller Location at 171 N. Sam Houston Parkway East [TechBlog]
• The Brisket House Opening a Third Location in Former Fuddruckers Near the Champions Area in March 2016 [Houston Chronicle]
• First Phase of $200M Memorial Park Makeover Begins with Groundbreaking of Eastern Glades Project [HBJ]
• Gulf Coast Rail District To Study Options for Rail Line Along I-10 Corridor Connecting To Downtown Amtrak Station [Houston Public Media]
• Luxury Bus Service Vonlane Launching Houston-Austin Route Beginning Jan. 17 [Culturemap]
• Mobility Houston Project Wants Your Ideas on Ways To Improve Transportation [Houston Chronicle]
• 4-Alarm Fire at Palms on Westheimer Apartment Complex Damages 36 Units [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Williams Tower: Bill Barfield via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Texas On Pace To Set Another Home Sales Record This Year, According to Texas Annual Housing Report [Culturemap]
• Growth in Health Care, Construction To Alleviate Effects of Oil Slump in 2016, Forecasts Greater Houston Partnership [Houston Chronicle]
• Dinerstein, Hanover Both Planning High-Rise Apartment Towers at Intersection of Post Oak Blvd. and San Felipe [Realty News Report]
• Atlanta-Based Cortland Partners Planning To Acquire Apartment Properties, Develop Multifamily Project in Houston Next Year [HBJ]
• DeLuxe Theater To Mark $5.5M Restoration Next Week [Houston Chronicle]
• Kinder Institute To Study Role That Private Development Has Played in Houston’s Growth [The Urban Edge]
• Metro Fine-Tuning Bus Network Changes Based on Rider and Bus Driver Feedback [Houston Public Media]
• Avoid These 5 Houston Roads This Holiday Season [Houston Press]
• Houston’s Most Fascinating People of 2015 [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Twilight Epiphany Skyspace at Rice University: Jan Buchholtz via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Houston Building Contracts Totaled $14.1B from January to October, Down from $29.7B Last Year [Houston Public Media]
• New Houston Home Sales Have Slowed By As Much As 15%, According to Trendmaker Homes [HBJ]
• Roka Akor Steak, Seafood & Sushi To Anchor First-Floor Retail Space in 2929 Weslayan [Houston Chronicle]
• River Oaks Steakhouse Harwood Grill That Took Over 60 Degrees Mastercrafted Space 7 Months Ago Closing Dec. 12 [Culturemap]
• Why the Melrose Building is One of Houston’s Important Structures [Houston Chronicle]
• Colliers International’s Marshall S. Clinkscales on the Eastside’s Retail Center Market Growth [Realty News Report]
• Post Oak Bus Lane Construction Encouraged One Jeweler To Relocate Off Post Oak Blvd. [HBJ]
• Waller County Among the Fastest-Growing Counties in the U.S., According to Census Data [HBJ]

Photo of Edwards Street concrete pour: Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Redfin Launches New Home Value Estimate Tool in Houston [HBJ]
• The Houston Neighborhoods Where Rents Are Rising and Falling the Most [HBJ]
• New Temenos Building That Provides Services for the Homeless Opens Near Downtown [Houston Public Media; previously on Swamplot]
• The Last of the Blair House Apartments at 4139 Bellaire Blvd. [Houston Streetwise; previously on Swamplot]
• Dallas Firm CyrusOne Opens First Phase of Houston West III Data Center at Its Massive Campus in the Energy Corridor [HBJ]
• Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Expanding To Sugar Land’s Imperial Market [Houston Chronicle]
• State Officials To Detail Plans for Elevated Managed Lanes Along Loop 610 at Meeting Next Week [Houston Chronicle]
• Pemex Opens First Gas Station Outside of Mexico in Houston, More Planned [Houston Chronicle]
• Ranking the Houston-Area Suburbs with the Most Things To Do [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Sunset Coffee Place: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Proposed La Porte Town Center Would Include a New Mickey Gilley’s Dance Hall [Houston Chronicle]
• Kroger-Anchored Retail Center Shadow Creek Marketplace in Pearland Changes Hands [Realty News Report]
• Co-Working Space The Headquarters Aimed at Technology and Creative Class Opening in the East End [HBJ]
• Final Steel Beam of Smart Financial Centre Under Construction in Sugar Land Installed [Houston Public Media]
• The Blue Fish Will Complete Restaurant Row at Hughes Landing in The Woodlands When It Opens Early Next Year [HBJ]
• New 20-Acre North Houston Bike Park Will Feature a BMX-Sanctioned Race Track, BMX Freestyle Amenities, Street Courses [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of the Fifth Ward: o texano via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Long-Abandoned Melrose Building in Downtown Houston Being Developed into a Le Meridien Luxury Hotel [Houston Chronicle]
• Hanover Co. Under Contract To Buy Land in the Galleria Area Likely for New Luxury Apartment Project [HBJ]
• In Wake of ExxonMobil’s Move To The Woodlands Greenspoint Has Lowest Occupancy Rate of Any Houston Submarket [Houston Public Media]
• The Most Expensive Homes in Houston Are in Memorial, West University, Fulshear [HBJ]
• Top 10 Most Expensive Houston Neighborhoods To Rent an Apartment, According to Transwestern [HBJ]
• How the Fight Against Urban Renewal Shaped 1970s Houston [CityLab]
• Dick’s Sporting Goods To Open 5 Stores in the Houston Area Next Year [HBJ]
• Brookstreet Bar-B-Que Opening Fifth Houston-Area Location, First in the Inner Loop, in Montrose Next Spring [Culturemap]
• Mattress Firm To Acquire HMK Mattress Holdings in Deal Valued at $780M [HBJ]
• Photos of Abundant Parking Space on Black Friday Get Anti-Sprawl Activists All Riled Up [Strong Towns]

Photo: thranth via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Smithco Development, Mischer Investments Break Ground on HEB-Anchored Cypress Creek Plaza in Cypress [Realty News Report]
• Phase 3 of BLVD Place in Uptown in the Works, Will Look Just Like Phase 2 [HBJ]
• Gulf Coast Commercial Group Considering Building Stacked Big-Box Retail Development at Tarkett Site Near Downtown [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
• A More Pronounced Slowdown May Be Materializing in Houston, Caution Macquarie Analysts [Business Insider]
• Cresa’s André Granello on the Current Office and Industrial Conditions in Houston [Realty News Report]
• What Houston Can Do To Create More Affordable Housing [HBJ]
• Japanese Dollar Store Daiso Planning To Open 50 New Stores in Texas Starting Primarily in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth [Houston Chronicle]
• Pinkerton’s Barbecue Opening at 1504 Airline Drive in the Heights Area Early Next Year [Culturemap]
• Galveston City Council Approves $4.9M Contract To Install Long-Awaited Improvements on Seawall Blvd. [Galveston County Daily News ($)]

Photo of Sri Meenakshi Temple in Pearland: elnina via Swamplot Flickr Pool

• Piney Point Village Has the Largest Homes in Houston and the Nation [HBJ]
• Historic Woodland Heights Prairie-Style Mansion at 205 Bayland Taken Off the Market, Will Be Remodeled [Houston Chronicle]
• West Loop, Southwest Fwy., Northwest Fwy. Segments Ranked Among Top 50 Worst Bottlenecks in the U.S. [abc13]
• Houston’s Outgoing Director of the Office of Sustainability on the City’s Green Future [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of Discovery Green: Marc Longoria via Swamplot Flickr Pool