All construction work appears to have stopped, a reader notes, on the transformation of the former Pilgrim Cleaners and (later) Shriners Hospital clothing donation drop-off building at 4005 N. Braeswood into a second location of the Bacco wine bar. (The building, at the corner of Stella Link, backs up to Brays Bayou.) A red tag from city’s floodplain management office sticky-noted to the window beside the front door and dated July 3 gives a hint as to why: “Remodeling without floodplain permit in the floodplain,” it reads. On the next line, it adds another bit of advice: “Need electrical, plumbing, and structural permits as well.”
- Previously on Swamplot:Â Sixties Ex-Dry Cleaning Spot To Be Made Over as a Brays-Side Wine Bar
Photo: Swamplot inbox
When It Pours
FEMA’s mapping tool suggests the property is in the floodway, not just the floodplain. Otherwise nearly everyone in Meyerland, Bellaire and West U. would need a floodplain permit (maybe they do?).
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The deck is being built a few feet from a busy street. Last time I drove by, there were about dozen people sheltering under the pergola, waiting for a bus (the stop is 6 ft away).
This is why we can’t have nice things in Meyerland.
Bacco, don’t give up!! You might want to put cement furniture out there, rebarred into the ground, like picnic areas next to bayous do. That way, when the flood waters die down, you can just go hose them off and open up again!
I think it is downright stupid that people care about this small winebar when I huge 4 story apartment building is going to be built in the Knollwood Village neighborhood. Who cares about this winebar? We should focus on the horrible apartment building that Bethany Methodist plans to put in the middle of our neighborhood.
…shocker, floodplain issues. Seriously wonder how long this place will make it as it will inevitably be flooded.
This is potentially a project-killer for Bacco. As a local resident and civil engineer familiar with floodplain development I am disappointed that their development plans failed to identify this issue and address it. Yet another example of how opaque the engineering and construction industries are in this metropolis built by engineers and contractors. How did their contractor not notify them of this possible concern? How did the owners not realize that a site located ON the bayou would be in/near the floodplain? Probably would have killed the project if they had done their due diligence anyways…they would have had to rebuild or jack up the building 5′ in the air.
@ Robin Schwalb: I live in the general Med Center area, use the Braes Bayou trail, and I don’t have an issue with the planned Bethany project. After all, it is just those rabble-rousing senior citizens. :)
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I think the interest in the wine bar is that it is a project currently in progress (or not).
How dare Swamplot post about this thing I don’t care about instead of this other thing I care about!
Any news on this project?