Category Archives: Elsewhere in Houston

The Trib writes about One Bin For All

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Mostly familiar information if you’ve been following this story, but a good overview if it’s new to you. Laura Spanjian, Houston’s director of sustainability, says the city is spending millions to expand its conventional recycling service and is still evaluating … Continue reading →

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Pearland Presidential Head Park gets different development

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

What could have been, Pearland. What could have been. A 48-acre swath of land that once was envisioned as a park to showcase oversize busts of U.S. presidents has attracted a Chinese developer to Pearland. Beijing-based Modern Green Development, an … Continue reading →

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Street closings ahead

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Three busy Houston streets will shut down to vehicular traffic on selected Sunday afternoons in an effort to see if car-bound residents will walk, bike and explore each block rather than simply drive through. The … Continue reading →

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No stopping the San Felipe Skyscraper

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not at this time, anyway. A Harris County district court judge has denied an opposition group’s request to immediately halt construction on a 17-story office tower in a River Oaks area neighborhood. The group, which filed suit in February against … Continue reading →

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Ashby II: Highrise Boogaloo

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Ashby Highrise lawsuit may be over, but its legacy lives on. A lawsuit seeking to stop a 17-story office tower under development in a River Oaks-area neighborhood blasts the project as “abnormal and out of place” in a grass-roots … Continue reading →

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The D-word is back

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s never really gone away since 2009. Locked in a seemingly endless cycle of droughts and brief reprieves, the Houston region has quietly slipped back into yet another drought. Since December Houston has received less than half its normal rainfall. … Continue reading →

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New frontiers in giant statues

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

David Adickes will bring his art to Webster. The City of Webster is planning a 20,000 square-foot space-themed attraction with a towering astronaut statue to beckon visitors along I-45. According a proposal unveiled this week, the city’s five-acre tract of … Continue reading →

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The historic Astrodome

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure what effect this will have. The National Park Service has added the Astrodome, the world’s first domed stadium, to the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for tax breaks to aid in its rehabilitation but offering … Continue reading →

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Finally doing that front door facelift

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Better late than never. Renovations started this week on the historic Sunset Coffee Building at Allen’s Landing on the north end of downtown. The more than 100-year-old structure, now behind a fence as construction begins, is getting a $5.3 million … Continue reading →

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Livin’ small

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Kids today and their crazy ideas about how to live. The modern apartment is increasingly likely to look like this: a 380-square-foot space with a separate bedroom; a kitchen with fewer cabinets and more shelves; and a place in the … Continue reading →

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Big Brew

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I like the sound of this. For three days in October, the [George R. Brown] convention center will host Big Brew, a major new festival that aims to tap into the region’s burgeoning craft-beer scene by putting 1,000 beers out … Continue reading →

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Center Street recycling facility is closed

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So says Swamplot. Multiple emails to a couple of Heights neighorhood mailing lists sounded the alarm as well. This has been a long time coming. Originally, it was supposed to have been closed at the end of 2012, but I … Continue reading →

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How to make the warehouse transition something to look forward to

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. Houston developers plan to build a mixed-use project, including upscale apartments and retail, on a 15-acre tract close to downtown, replacing a large produce warehouse that’s occupied the space for decades. Capcor … Continue reading →

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The dry Heights

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

What’s a guy got to do to get a drink around here? Eighty years after the repeal of Prohibition – the anniversary of which came and went with hardly a toast last week – there is a sliver of Houston … Continue reading →

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Drinking al fresco

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the Things You Might Not Have Realized department. “It is a commonly-held belief that it’s illegal to walk down the street drinking a beer in Texas. However, that is not always the case.” Those words, which we recently happened … Continue reading →

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Working to solve the food desert problem

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is a success story on two levels. A number of area grocery stores like Jim’s Super might not be around if it were not for a little-known local Vietnamese immigrant family. John Vuong took over his first store in … Continue reading →

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Ashby Highrise lawsuit gets underway

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Better settle in and get comfy, we’re going to be here awhile. The trial that began Tuesday over the Ashby high-rise planned for a neighborhood near Rice University is poised to be a battle of experts. A Harris County jury … Continue reading →

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Ashby Highrise trial begins today

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This has been a long time coming. The case in state District Judge Randy Wilson’s court will begin Tuesday and is expected to last four weeks. A jury will hear from the parties involved and experts on both sides to … Continue reading →

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Want to buy a piece of the Dome?

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Now’s your chance, but act fast. Five hundred pairs of upper-deck “rainbow gut” seats and old Astrodome space helmets worn by the grounds crew nearly 50 years ago are among the items up for grabs Saturday during a sale and … Continue reading →

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The next wave of curbside recycling

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From last week, some good news for those of who that still don’t have the 96-gallon wheeled recycling bins. Houston will roll out its biweekly, automated curbside recycling service to 70,000 additional residences throughout the city just in time for … Continue reading →

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Bayou Greenways project moving along

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Work is underway, land is being acquired, and money is being raised. Now, the Houston Parks Board and its public partners hope to revive some of the city’s natural treasures through Bayou Greenways 2020, a 150-mile trail system that, once … Continue reading →

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Next wave of recycling bins approved

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: City Council on Wednesday OK’d funding to complete efforts to double the number of 96-gallon green recycling bins parked at city curbs, but it is unclear which 70,000 homes will be next to receive the service. […] … Continue reading →

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On affordable housing in Houston

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. More Houstonians are spending a higher percentage of their incomes on housing, a new study from Rice University’s Shell Center for Sustainability shows. The report’s key finding revealed that half of Houston’s City Council districts do not meet the … Continue reading →

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Ashby lawsuit to proceed

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be darned. A judge has declined to dismiss a key piece of a lawsuit against the developers of 1717 Bissonnet, a proposed 21-story residential building widely referred to as the Ashby high-rise. The developers were denied a request that … Continue reading →

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Maybe the Ashby Highrise isn’t as evil as we thought

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Home prices don’t lie, I guess. So far, the controversial high-rise under development near Rice University hasn’t hurt the housing market in the neighborhoods around it. The average home price in the nearby Boulevard Oaks area was $1.36 million in the … Continue reading →

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The feral hogs of Kingwood

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

They’re everywhere. Kingwood communities that are battling feral hogs could be in it for the long haul, experts say. The huge, fearless cousins of domestic pigs have been roaming through the affluent northern suburb for at least a month, said … Continue reading →

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Key Maps

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, if this doesn’t inspire a wave of nostalgia, you either haven’t lived in Houston for long or you’re under the age of 30. Jen Marie Rau, the mapmaker’s daughter, is not a big fan of global positioning satellites or … Continue reading →

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Hiram Clarke TIRZ

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I think this will be a good thing. The Houston City Council and the Fort Bend County Commissioners Court approved a plan this month to boost development in Houston’s southwest corner with the creation of a tax increment reinvestment zone. … Continue reading →

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Not pissing off your neighbors is generally a good thing

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the message I get from this story about one developer who is trying to not piss off the people who live near his proposed development. Oak trees along the sidewalks? Check. A push to build a dog park? Check. … Continue reading →

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City reaches settlement with developer over Woodland Park damage

Posted on August 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Mayor Annise Parker, the City of Houston Legal Department and the Houston Parks and Recreation Department (HPARD) announced the City has recovered $300,000 to restore recent damage to Woodland Park by a private developer. Woodland Park, located at … Continue reading →

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How much does it cost to really live in Houston?

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good question. So what does it cost to secure an “adequate but modest living” in the Houston area? According to the Economic Policy Institute, it requires an annual income of $63,600 for a family of two adults and two children. … Continue reading →

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Ashby everywhere: The San Felipe highrise

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Hard to keep track of them all. THESE UNDERSTATED “Stop the San Felipe Skyscraper” signs started going up about knee-high this weekend in River Oaks and Vermont Commons to protest that shiny 17-story office tower that Hines is proposing to build nearby. Though these … Continue reading →

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Ashbys all over

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s that Chron story that I mentioned yesterday, which talks about increasing neighborhood resistance to multi-story residential projects in areas that mostly have single-family houses. Tension mounted as 20 or so Morrison Street residents, armed with city documents and Internet … Continue reading →

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More construction on Yale

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Alexan Heights II: Midrise Boogaloo. For residents near Yale and 6th street, Independence Day fireworks were nothing compared to the sparks flying when news of another proposed apartment complex came to light July 5. A heads-up notification from District … Continue reading →

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