11/11/13 3:15pm

A regular Swamplot reader has a question about the sidewalk on the south side of Cinco Ranch Blvd. as the street passes between retention ponds for the North Lake Village and South Lake Village neighborhoods, just west of Cinco Lakes Dr. (map here). “The sidewalk exists on the south side of the street block from Peek Rd. to Mason Rd. When it reaches the pond, the sidewalk moves to the inside of the fence and becomes private. The fence is between the street and the sidewalk.” What’s a pedestrian supposed to do when the only sidewalk moves into a gated area, and is marked as off limits? Asks the reader: “Can a pedestrian be cited as a trespasser? Note the North side of the street is a golf course with no sidewalk.”

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09/06/13 11:15am

Justin Turner of the cheddar-colored, school-themed burger bus — a frequent visitor to the can-you-hear-me-above-the-generators Houston Food Park in East Downtown — tells Eater Houston that he’s planning to open 3 non-wheeled restaurants in the next 5 years. That’s in addition to the stand he set up at Sections 114 and 115 inside Reliant Stadium to cook patties while the Texans play. Bernie’s will still operate 3 buses to serve close-in ’hoods, but it appears that all the restaurants will be outside the Loop: The first to open, says Turner, will be on Bellaire west of 610, the second in Katy, and the third “another place out in the ‘burbs.”

Photo of Bernie’s Burger Bus at Inversion at 1953 Montrose Blvd: Yelp user Jason T.

09/04/13 4:30pm

Here’s a look at Houston’s next Trader Joe’s, set to open in Cinco Ranch sometime next year. It’ll be at 2643 Commercial Center Blvd., right in the center of all that commerce just west of the Grand Pkwy. This new 12,500-sq.-ft. store will be the 4th in the area. The last to open was the one on San Felipe and Voss in January, across the street from the Randall’s that has since been torn down to make way for a new Whole Foods.

Rendering: Trader Joe’s

07/18/13 12:00pm

FEEDING NEW APARTMENTS TO THE GRAND PKWY. FEEDER Austin developers Oden Hughes say that they have been eager to build in Houston, but the company’s first project here has come only as far east as Katy: A 354-unit apartment complex is going up a few miles east of Katy Mills Mall on 14 acres at the southwest corner of Kingsland Blvd. and the southbound Grand Pkwy. feeder. The Rancher reports that rent here at the so-called Parkside Grand Parkway will range between $850 and $1,655 a month for the complex planned to include 2 pools, a fitness center, and “an air-conditioned dog washing station.” [The Rancher] Rendering: Oden Hughes

07/09/13 4:00pm

The sign in the dirt tells you all you need to know: Hilton plans to build one of its newish line of Home2 Suites here on the eastbound Katy Fwy. feeder between S. Mason and Westgreen Blvd. A reader sends in this photo and a few specs, writing that the proposed 60,000 sq.-ft. hotel will have 92 rooms and will link up with the exercise trails that run back behind the car dealerships along Mason Creek into George Bush Park.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

04/22/13 11:00am

HOMEBUILDERS PLAYING THROUGH OLD KATY GOLF COURSE Just flip the sand traps to sandboxes and the water hazards to water features, and you’re most of the way there: A 440-home master-planned community, reports The Rancher’s Zach Haverkamp, is aimed for the site of the old Green Meadows Golf Course in Katy: Lennar Homes, Meritage Homes, and Village Builders have started construction on the first model homes of the Falls at Green Meadows on the 242-acre, 36-hole course groomed out of the prairie near Franz Rd. and Avenue D. The course was open from 1965 to 2008. Developer Tim Fitzpatrick tells Haverkamp: “We wanted to be in the heart of Katy, and if you look around, this is one of the few tracts . . . that remain.” [The Rancher] Photo: Zach Haverkamp

01/24/13 4:45pm

Houston architect Wylie W. Vale passed away early this morning. He was 96. Vale’s career, according to photographer Ben Hill, who has documented his works, spanned from 1939 to 2001. Working in an array of styles, Vale played a substantial role in shaping the looks of River Oaks, Tanglewood, and Memorial. The home pictured above is in Katy.

Photos: Ben Hill

04/30/12 6:32pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: DELINEATING THE HOUSTON-KATY BORDER DMZ “I always thought George Bush Park was an appropriate boundary between what should be called ‘Houston’ and what should be called ‘Katy.’ However, this requires suffering a weird ‘interzone’ considering the feeder roads and Park Ten. Still, Park Ten has a feel of neutrality to it. Might still work.” [Katied, commenting on A Peek Inside Houston’s New J. Crew No. 2]

03/09/12 12:27pm

A few homeowners in Katy’s Nottingham Country subdivision have now filed 2 separate lawsuits against Kickerillo Company, Inc. — the successor company to the firm that originally developed the subdivision in the 1970s. In 2010, Kickerillo transferred a strip of land along the southwest side of Mason Creek to the Harris County Flood District; the agency plans to build a 10-ft.-wide, $3.25 million trail along the waterway. The trail would allow bikers and hikers a clear path from the Kingsland Park & Ride on I-10 near Mason Rd. to George Bush Park. In a couple of news reports covering the controversy last year, Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack declared that the land along the waterway, which passes beyond the backyard fences of many Nottingham Country residents, now belongs to the county. A county attorney said that homeowners’ claims to the property resulted from a “misreading” of the plat.

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01/25/12 1:07pm

CRAPE MYRTLE MAIMING SEASON HAS BEGUN “I ventured out into the burbs this past weekend (Katy) and witnessed the unthinkable — crape murder!” reports a reader. And here’s a photo, sent in from the scene of the triple-massacre aftermath, near the intersection of Pintail and Spoonbill streets in Hunters Terrace. Just a little off the top, please. [Swamplot inbox] Photo: Swamplot inbox