12/21/15 1:30pm

Solstice Alignment in Montrose

Still hunting for that perfect spot to boil up some fresh eye of newt during tonight’s winter solstice sunset? Github user and mapping fanatic Demeter Sztanko has you covered, a reader tells Swamplot just in time. Sztanko has programmed an interactive map highlighting all the streets aligned with the summer and winter solstices — so you too can get in on the mystical fun from a bit closer to home than Wilshire. Choice picks for an in-line solstice vantage include that entire off-kilter neighborhood north of Westheimer between Waugh and Mandell (pictured above) and certain segments of the South Loop.

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G.I.S. for Druids
12/08/15 9:45am

Oui Banh Mi, 1601 Richmond, Montrose, Houston, 77006

Lucky Burger, 1601 Richmond Ave. at Mandell St., Montrose, HoustonHere’s a photo of the new construction underway on the now-barrel-bereft lot at 1601 Richmond, future home of drive-thru Vietnamese sandwich shop Oui Banh Mi. The new structure, shown above from Mandell, is currently shrouded in housewrap. (The historical photo of Lucky Burger is taken from the Richmond side.)

The Lucky Burger barrel, which stood on the corner for more than 40 years, was demolished on Halloween under the cover of citywide flood warnings.

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Oui Banh Mi, No Barrel
12/02/15 3:15pm

MAYOR PARKER CLEARS UP RICHMOND AVE SHELL STATION SELF STORAGE TREE REMOVAL MYSTERY Street Oak Tree Stump, 1810 Richmond Ave., Montrose, HoustonStumped by the sudden disappearance of 4 or 5 large oak trees in the city easement fronting a vacant lot adjacent to the recently demolished Shell station at 1810 Richmond Ave, between Hazard and Woodhead? They were chopped down last week, in advance of a new Montrose Big Tex Self Storage facility soon to begin construction on the site. Mayor Parker is on the case, reassuring concerned street-tree watchers: The trees “were in bad health & posed safety threat,” she tweeted earlier today. “Fully permitted removal granted with plan to plant new trees.” [HAIF] Photo of Richmond Ave stump: Kyle Nielsen

12/02/15 1:00pm

Twin Mattress Firms, 1003 Westheimer Rd, Montrose, Houston, 77006

The strip mall at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose now sports two “Mattress Firm” storefronts right next door to one another, operating independently. The western Mattress Firm, on the right in the photo above, has been converted from a Mattress Pro through the subtle but definitive application of a small banner, filling the gap left by the removal of the word “Pro”. All Mattress Pro stores had until November 6th to convert signage, following a mid-September announcement that Mattress Firm would be discontinuing the subsidiary brand.

What exactly has changed? Not the Mattress Pro logo, which still bounces along in contrast to Mattress Firm’s aggressive yellow swipe. The relabeled store, now styled as a Mattress Firm: Final Markdown facility, will sell Mattress Firm products at a bargain-bin discount, while the regular Mattress Firm next door will continue to sell those products at full price.

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Doubling Down
07/16/15 2:00pm

Key Maps Store, 1411 W. Alabama St., Montrose, Houston

Key Maps Store, 1411 W. Alabama St., Montrose, HoustonYou have until tomorrow, maybe, to grab some of the cartographic treasures remaining at the longtime Inner Loop home of Key Maps, Houston’s homegrown map company. Items you buy will be 70 percent off — or free if you fish them from the yellow Dumpster parked out front at 1411 W. Alabama. But it’s a pretty chaotic scene, a reader tells us: Framed wall-maps, Key Map books that used to be found in the back seat pocket of most Houston cars, and other items are being loaded into moving trucks in preparation for a relocation to a new storefront at 5622 Richmond Ave., on the north side of the strip near Chimney Rock.

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Which Way from West Alabama
06/25/15 3:30pm

Signature Care Center, 1007 Westheimer Rd., Montrose, Houston

Signature Care Center, 1007 Westheimer Rd., Montrose, HoustonIf something bad happens to you at the Spec’s Liquor store, 369 Oriental Bistro, Half Price Books, or the Mattress Firm or Mattress Pro stores in the Westmont Shopping Center (known back in its Art Deco days as the Tower Community Center) at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose, you won’t have far to go for medical help. A new 24-hour emergency care center is opening up early next month between the mattress store duo and the Chinese restaurant, in a space that’s been vacant for a while.

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SignatureCare
06/15/15 5:15pm

BLACK LAB EDGES OUT MELANGE CREPERIE FOR EATSIE BOYS SPACE Eatsie Boys, 4100 Montrose Blvd., Montrose, HoustonThe old “circumstances beyond our control” got in the way of Melange Creperie’s previously announced move into the former Eatsie Boys spot in the Campanile center at 4100 Montrose Blvd., the crepe stand’s proprietor announced late last week. Eric Sandler reports that the location’s neighbor, The Black Labrador pub, will instead expand into the space. In an email sent to backers of the Kickstarter through which $52,215 was raised for the crepe stand’s move to an indoor site, owner Sean Carroll reported he’s still looking in Midtown and Montrose for a lease space. In the meantime, Melange Creperie will begin operating regular hours next to the freezer case inside the Montrose H-E-B. [Culturemap; Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of 4100 Montrose Blvd.: Local Sugar

06/01/15 3:30pm

Vinoteca Poscol, 608 Westheimer Rd., Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Houston

A new sign is up already on the building next door to Katz’s Deli, at 608 Westheimer Rd. But Vinoteca Poscol won’t be moving from its current strip-center spot at 1609 Westheimer to this new, and lower, Westheimer location until sometime after the Fourth of July, owner Marco Wiles tells Houstonia‘s Katharine Shilcutt.

The exterior of the former home of Azamian Rugs and (before that) AIDS Foundation Houston’s Stone Soup has already seen quite a few changes in its new Italian Restaurant redo, especially to the front of the house. Gone is the old single-story addition that pushed up to the sidewalk. Next to be completed: interior renovations, and perhaps an extra letter for the sign.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

On the House
05/26/15 11:30am

Burnt Home at 116 Westheimer Rd. at Bagby St., Montrose, Houston

Burnt Home at 116 Westheimer Rd. at Bagby St., Montrose, HoustonWhile much of the rest of Houston is recovering from — or still dealing with — high water after last night’s torrential rains, the long-vacant house at 116 Westheimer Rd. is showing off the scars it incurred from a disaster of a different sort. A fire raged through the structure Friday night.

The 1904 building is adjacent to the Jus’ Mac macaroni and cheese outlet in the 106 Westheimer strip center at the corner of Bagby St. A Swamplot reader sent in these photos showing the home as it appeared this morning:

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Fire This Time
05/18/15 3:00pm

THE GREATEST CONCENTRATION OF NEW HOUSTON APARTMENTS IS IN AND AROUND MONTROSE Rendering of Proposed Encore CC&G Apartments, 1341 Castle Ct., Montrose, HoustonThe Susanne, the Lofts at Mid Main, 3400 Montrose, Camden McGowen Station, The Carter, Broadstone Skyline, The Southmore, Alexan Midtown, Encore CC&G (pictured here), the Axis, and the DLC at Midtown. That’s Catie Dixon’s list of 11 multifamily complexes with more than 200 units each now going up (or about to). Together, they add up to 3,195 new apartments — but a bunch of smaller buildings brings the total number of new apartments now scheduled to debut this year and next in Montrose, Midtown, and the Museum District to just under 4,400, she calculates: “That’s almost one-third of multifamily development underway in Harris County, PMRG director of research Ariel Guerrero tells us.” [Real Estate Bisnow] Rendering of Encore CC&G apartments: Encore Enterprises

05/13/15 3:45pm

MENIL COLLECTION WINS SPECIAL APPROVAL FROM CITY OF HOUSTON TO PAVE LESS Planned Changes to Menil Collection, Showing Boundaries of Special Parking Area, Montrose, HoustonWith the approval granted by city council today, the 30-acre campus surrounding the Menil Collection now qualifies as Houston’s first-ever special parking area. The new status will allow the Menil to provide just 1.8 spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. of gallery, bookstore, and classroom space within the district, rather than the 3 per 1,000 sq. ft. normally required under city ordinances. The rules would apply on the blocks bounded by W. Alabama, Mandell, Richmond, and Yupon and Graustark. A plan delineating these boundaries included in a parking study conducted for the Menil (above) shows — among other additions provided for in the institution’s new master plan — a new park on the middle portion of the site of the Richmont Square Apartments, immediately south of the Menil Drawing Institute, now under construction along an eastward extension of W. Main St. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Plan: Lockwood, Andrews, and Newnam (PDF) 

05/12/15 1:30pm

TAKARA-SO COMPLEX BACK ON THE MARKET, THIS TIME WITH NEW UTH UPGRADE Takara-So Apartments, 1919 W. Main St., Dearborn Place, Montrose, HoustonIf you were thinking its purchase by a SoCal investment firm almost exactly 1 year ago meant the pseudo-Japanesee 1962 apartment complex at 1919 W. Main St. would be shielded from the evict-and-redevelop cycle for a few years, think again. Apartment Income Investors has put the Takara-So Apartments, which sit on most of the block surrounded by Hazard, W. Main, Colquitt, and McDuffie, back on the market — with a twist. Though on-site signs have not been changed, the complex is described as the Takara South Apartments in a sleek set of marketing materials produced by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, the firm that’s marketing the 77-unit, 10-building, 1.22-acre property once owned by Allen Stanford. Why unload the storied complex now? So much has happened in a Montrose year: There’s that $2.05 million jump in the property’s tax appraisal. And maybe some profits to be made: Though no asking price is listed, included comps indicate the sellers are likely aiming for offers between $8 and $10.8 million. The purchase price was listed on company documents as $5.51 million. [LoopNet; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Newmark Grubb Knight Frank

05/11/15 3:00pm

Renovations at 202 Westheimer Rd., Montrose, Houston

Neighbors and passers-by have been curious about the renovations taking place at the strip center at the corner of Lower Westheimer and Helena St., where the Hollywood Food & Cigars #3 convenience store at 202 Westheimer Rd. — and its neighbor Tejas Bootskicked off a couple years ago. The building, once home to Baby Giant #2, has recently been painted a bright white; its sign has been denuded, and sidewalk reconstruction work is underway:

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From Baby Giant to Mattress Pro?