Developer makes new pitch for luxury apartments Hanover BLVD Place It looks like Hanover is attempting to revive the upscale residential tower it announced in 2008, but called off a year later. The 37-story building was slated for a site in BLVD Place, the mixed-use development at San Felipe and Post Oak Blvd. The above rendering is on the company’s website in a section called “capital markets” where the developer lists proposed projects that need funding. According to the site, the $100 million building is is now a midrise with 358 units. Continue reading →

David Crossley, President Houston Tomorrow During its fiscal year 2011, the City of Houston apparently lost more population than it had gained in the previous 10 years. That’s according to a couple of numbers on page 227 of the City’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for that year. The City begins the year with 2,257,926 people and ends it with 2,107,208. This is kind of a problem for a City in the middle of one of the fastest-growing regions in the country. Could we be watching a rerun of Detroit? At Houston Tomorrow, we have been making the case that the City’s future is going to depend on producing large areas of transit-oriented development. We know from the Stephen Klineberg’s Kinder Houston Area Survey that 62% ... Continue reading →

Historic Alabama sign to stay (Houston Chronicle) Workers have just taken down the letters that spell out “Alabama” on the historic theater’s pylon sign. Property owner Weingarten Realty, however, says the sign is being restored. “We are replacing the neon and painting the Alabama letters. In order to paint the letters we are removing them and will re install them,” according to an email from the company to David Bush of Preservation Houston. “It’s a huge relief,” said Bush, who along with others, was concerned the sign was being removed or altered permanently as Trader Joe’s prepares to move into the space. “It’s been there since 1939,” he said. “It’s a neighborhood landmark. It’s pretty much one of a kind.” Continue reading →

Sonoma Retail Wine Bar & Restaurant is opening a second location in June. Sonoma Retail Wine Bar & Restaurant is the latest restaurant to move into the increasingly popular White Oak area. The Houston wine bar is gearing up to open its second location in June at 801 Studewood in The Heights, just down the road from Liberty Kitchen. Owner Farrah Fatouretchi-Cauley has operated the original location at 2720 Richmond Ave. for nearly five years and said it was always a goal to open multiple locations. “We’re taking the same concept and love for food and wine and expanding it,” she said. The new 2,7000-square-foot wine bar and restaurant will feature a larger kitchen and an expanded menu. In addition, wine enthusiasts also will have ... Continue reading →

After weeks of speculation, it's official: chef Ron Killen, of the highly regarded Pearland steak and seafood house, will open a new Killen's in the Heights space formerly occupied by Stella Sola. Rumors began flying about the fate of the 1001 Studewood corner location the minute chef Bryan Caswell shuttered Stella Sola on May 5, and Killen signed a deal with the building's owners on Saturday.The TABC willing, Killen is hoping to open within six weeks. Which means that in short order, Inner Loop fans of his restaurant's mighty steaks, killer fried shrimp and opulent side dishes will no longer have to make the trek to Pearland to enjoy them. It's good news for the burgeoning Heights dining scene and even better news for devotees ... Continue reading →

A three-story glass home in Tokyo - including split-level balconies without safety rails - intentionally offers little privacy to its occupants.Photo: Iwan BaanIn a connected world where privacy is a valued, but diminishing part of daily life, home remains a reliable refuge. But here’s one home that intentionally strips away even that illusion for its inhabitants. In this nearly transparent Tokyo home, known as House NA, outsiders can see everything and everyone inside. Tucked into a quiet residential neighborhood, this three-story, 914 square-foot home was created by an award winning Tokyo architect named Sou Fujimoto. His unusual design, with high glass walls and varying sized modular tables, contains 21 “floor plates” for residents and guests to sit, work, cook, eat, sleep, or play. Some of ... Continue reading →