Tag: Renovations

Houston Landmarks
09/24/13 10:00am

Who Took the Astro Outta the Astrodome?

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Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Reliant Park, Renovations, Stadiums
26 Comments

Part of the so-called “New Dome Experience” devised by the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. proposes that the space-age icon be slimmed down — and, if this new promo video is any indication, that means more than just removing ramps and staircases from the stadium’s unwashed exterior, but also chopping its name in half. You’ll see in this new commercial, produced by the recently formed committee to persuade voters in advance of this November’s this-or-nothing bond election, that the Astrodome is referred to throughout solely as “the Dome,” whether it’s hosting technology conferences, Ferris wheel demonstrations, or generic swimming championships.

Video: TheNewDomePAC

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Redevelopment
09/17/13 5:00pm

Bar Takes Old Guadalajara Spot on Washington

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Renovations, Restaurants, Washington Ave, Washington Corridor
6 Comments

A reader has spotted some signs hanging on the fence outside 4003 Washington near Leverkuhn, where the Guadalajara Bakery used to be: The slick one in the photo above for La Roux, and another just a few feet away indicating that La Roux has applied to sell alcohol. County records show that the 1930 4,368-sq.-ft. building at 4003 Washington and 2 nearby vacant lots — the 5,100-sq.-ft. one at 4011 Washington, and the 28,045-sq.-ft. one at 4015 Washington — are all owned by Kaplan Kalan Properties.

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Fifth Ward
09/17/13 11:45am

What’s That Cooking on Bringhurst and Clinton?

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Renovations, Restaurants
7 Comments

A reader sends in photos of a purty sunset lighting up this building’s “new paint and wood” in the Fifth Ward, right across Clinton Dr. from the former KBR site and its improved dirt. And what’s all this paint and wood gonna be for? A pizza place? Taco stand? The reader can only speculate: “Keep asking the construction folks when they are around but they don’t know. If you notice on top of the building they added a brand new ventilation/AC system, so we hope something starts soon.”

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Apartments
09/17/13 10:00am

Sprucing Up Some Aging Apartments in the Third Ward

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Buying and Selling, Renovations, Third Ward
16 Comments

Frequent flipper and Swamplot commenter Cody Lutsch of Fat Property is upgrading this apartment complex in the Third Ward. A listing for the remaining 2-bedroom units on HAR describes some of the improvements: “central air, new paint, ceilling fans [sic], windows, blinds, refinished hardwood floors, etc.” Apparently, Lutsch has also found a buyer for the property, who will be closing on the 3-building complex at 3008 Truxillo, just south of Alabama, in October. The photo above shows the northwest face of the complex — right across the street from the Truxillo Washateria — as seen from Ennis St.

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First Ward
09/16/13 12:30pm

Where Lovett Commercial Is Really Developing That Restaurant in the First Ward

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Proposed Developments, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail
5 Comments

So it turns out that Lovett Commercial is planning to put a new restaurant with retail space on an old industrial site in the First Ward — just not the site we thought. Those 1950s metal warehouses a reader photographed in the midst of demolition were taken down, says a Lovett rep, for the space. And the rep says Lovett has no plans to speak of for that site. But that restaurant, rendered here, will be just across the street on the southeast corner of Sawyer and Edwards. There, says the rep, the long building that stands parallel to the street at 2313 Edwards and backs up against the railroad tracks will not be torn down but renovated into something like what you see here.

More renderings:

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First Ward
09/09/13 3:15pm

Event Space Almost Ready To Rent at Summer Street Studios

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Houston Heights, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Warehouse Space
7 Comments

Since many of the big-headed attendees here at David Adickes’s former SculpturWorx compound are already dressed in formal wear — well, except for the Beatles — it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch for the Vanderbilt, the new event space with the highfalutin name being prepped for an opening later this month. A reader reports that the Vanderbilt has applied for its liquor license, and you can see one of those telltale TABC signs hanging beneath the plywood in the window at the top of the stairs.

Photo: Allyn West

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Buildouts
09/06/13 10:00am

A Grander Galleria: More Retail, More Restaurants, More Revenue — And a Residential Highrise Too?

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Demolitions, Galleria, Highrises, Houston Landmarks, Malls, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping, Uptown
36 Comments

Remember that unusable and really vague tip sent to Swamplot back in January? The one promising that a “major (non-residential) Houston property is about to make a significant change”? And it wasn’t Macy’s? Well, the in-the-know tipster now reports, we can let that cat out of the bag, since the Houston Business Journal and Houston Chronicle already have: The “Houston landmark” the tipster couldn’t tip us off about is the Galleria — which, it was announced yesterday by developer Simon Property Group, will be undergoing extensive renovations and partial demolition to create about 100,000 new sq. ft. of retail and restaurant space.

The plan calls for the Galleria III portion where Saks Fifth Avenue is currently located to be demolished — though the tipster says the Philip Johnson façade will be maintained — to make room for a bumped-out food court (shown in the rendering above). That freed-up Saks space will provide room for 35 new retailers and restaurants. Meanwhile, Saks will be moving into the Macy’s spot on Sage, and that Macy’s will be merging with the other Macy’s on Hidalgo. (Makes sense.) Also, a standalone box will be built in the parking lot for a few tenants who can afford to be more conspicuous to the stop-and-go crowd on Westheimer.

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Adaptive Reuse
09/04/13 1:30pm

Comment of the Day: The Qualities That Make Houston So Special

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Comments, Quicklink, Renovations
27 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE QUALITIES THAT MAKE HOUSTON SO SPECIAL “Only in Houston can a building be ‘impossible’ to renovate to another use; and the citizens believe it. Try telling that BS to New Yorkers, Parisians, Bostonians, or even the folks in NOLA. Houstonians are a rare breed of gullible; and developers here (including MDAnderson) are a rare breed of lame.” [JON, commenting on The Last Remaining Piece of the Prudential Tower] Illustration: Lulu

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Medical Buildings
09/04/13 10:00am

Former Houston Rocket Royce White Putting His Name on Mental Health Clinic on W. Bellfort

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Openings and Closings, Public Health, Westbury
7 Comments

Royce White might never have suited up for the Houston Rockets, spending most of his rookie season toiling in the D-League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and — umm, tweeting, but it appears he has found a way to contribute to the city. Last week, White — who suffers from generalized anxiety disorder — announced that his foundation, Anxious Mind’s, which he started when he was playing college ball at Iowa State, will partner with Bee Busy Wellness Clinic to open a free mental health facility on W. Bellfort. The clinic will also provide dental services and primary care and will open this January inside the Rubik’s Cube-like former Frank Neighborhood Library at 6440 W. Bellfort, shown here, just west of Westbury and Meyerland. White played in only 16 games last season; he was caught up in disputes with Rockets management about travel arrangements — he hates to fly — and team doctors. In July, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Photo: Allyn West

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Houston Heights
08/29/13 12:00pm

Heights Telephone Museum To Be Renovated Into Lofts

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Lofts, Museums, Proposed Developments, Renovations
18 Comments

Hold the phone! Rumored to be a goner, the 1957 Telephone Museum on the corner 18th and Ashland, which was sold about a year ago, will soon be cleaned up and converted into 24 luxury lofts, says Donna Sonne Wright of homebuilders Rohe & Wright. And Wright also tells Swamplot that 21 cottages will be built here too, replacing the fenced-in surface parking lot off 17th. Unfortunately, no renderings of the project are yet available. Rohe & Wright is the same firm responsible for the Saint Honoré gated community under construction off San Felipe.

Photo: Allyn West

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Old Sixth Ward
08/29/13 11:00am

A Redone Corner Store on an Old Sixth Ward Corner

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Retail
4 Comments

Even more action in the Old Sixth Ward: A reader sends this photo of the former Bayou City Market on the corner of Henderson and Kane, which appears to have been chosen as the future location of Bun Penny Food & Wine. The reader says that the neighborhood corner store has been closed for a few years. It’s just a few blocks south of the proposed location of that new office building fronting Washington Ave.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

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Midtown
08/26/13 4:00pm

A Substandard Structure To Become Sterling House Bar in Midtown

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Proposed Developments, Renovations
17 Comments

This wobbly 108-year-old house in Midtown, remodeled in 1999, might be fixed up one more time and converted into a bar. Or it might be demolished to make room for something new, says the reader who sends this photo and word of a recently secured TABC license for the so-called Sterling House here at 3015 Bagby St., just 1 block north of Elgin. The 1905 2,850-sq.-ft. house, sitting on a 4,918-sq.-ft. lot at the corner of Bagby and Rosalie, changed hands back in 2009, but it appears to have been waiting around for something to happen since then.

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Openings and Closings
08/26/13 11:00am

A Restaurant Reno in Upper Kirby

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Restaurants, Upper Kirby
6 Comments

It appears that this former caterer’s at 3030 Audley St. and Sul Ross is being converted into a restaurant. Photos of the building show that permits for the Upper Kirby location on the other side of W. Alabama from Lamar High School have been acquired to rebuild the roof, which, according to info on NuHabitat, was damaged by Hurricane Ike. The name of the new restaurant will be the Audley Street Cafe.

Photos: Swamplot inbox

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Montrose
08/22/13 10:00am

A Greek Restaurant Revival in Montrose

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Openings and Closings, Renovations, Restaurants
12 Comments

This 1920 house at 4210 Roseland is being renovated into a Greek restaurant. The reader who sends this photo estimates that it could be open next year. County records show that the house was last sold in 2010; it’s about 2,154 sq. ft. and sits on a 4,500-sq.-ft. lot just south of Colquitt and east of Montrose Blvd.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

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Downtown
08/15/13 10:15am

GreenStreet, Getting Going

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New Construction, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers
9 Comments

GREENSTREET, GETTING GOING Just 4 short months after that party it threw for itself, GreenStreet might start becoming something more than a new name and a few signs, reports the Houston Business Journal. Though graffiti artists worked in June to enliven some of the former Houston Pavilions infamously inward-facing spaces with murals, it seems real construction — expected to last between 6 and 9 more months — will begin in a few weeks. The thrust of the renovations? Here’s Shaina Zucker: “Changes to the 568,294-square-foot property . . . include removing existing implements to the interior corridor while creating a new linear urban park.” [Art Attack; Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot] Rendering: GreenStreet

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