It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here: The highly-anticipated grand opening of the Caroline Collective takes place this Saturday, June 7th beginning at 7:00 p.m. as Houston finally welcomes a coworking home of our own. The mission of the Caroline Collective is to provide a stimulating work environment for anyone who doesn't have a traditional office setting, but still wants to participate in a communal workspace and have a base of......

The Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo publicly stated opposition to the proposed redevelopment of the Astrodome into a hotel and convention center. Giving the reason that it would have negative effects on the Texans and the HLSR, spokesfolks didn't actually release details yet to back it up. Since the Astros' abandonment of the Astrodome, it has been tough to try to agree and finance good uses for it year-round. The hotel and......

Good morning, Houston. If you've lived here a while, you probably know that the city is prone to livestock running amok — so it shouldn't be too surprising that Third Ward residents found a pair of ewes loose in their neighborhood yesterday. Some neighbors and a KTRK crew tried to catch the animals and eventually chased them to the TSU campus, where a Harris County sheriff's deputy and KTRK photographer Ben Lutman made a......

If you didn't like the idea of our beloved Astrodome becoming a fancy hotel, then you won't be happy that a hotel plan is still in the works. The difference this time around, though, is that the new convention hotel will not incorporate the "historic" Texas themes which could have included an Alamo facade, faux courthouse, and a bunch of other corny things. The new plan, which doesn't yet have detailed renderings, opts for a......

So here's something interesting for people who keep track of abandoned downtown buildings: The Houston Business Journal reports that Omni Hotels has plans to revamp the old Sheraton-Lincoln into a luxury suite hotel. The 28-story hotel at 717 Polk Ave. opened in 1962 and closed in 1986; according to the folks at the Houston Architecture Forum, the nearby Hyatt Regency bought the building in the late 1990s for a proposed expansion, but that deal fell......

Good morning, Houston. We don't mind telling you that we really have no love for cockroaches, but we do have a little bit more appreciation for the little critters after reading the Chronicle's interview with the Houston Museum of Natural Science's curator of entomology, Nancy Greig. "They're neat," Greig said. "Only 12 out of 4,000 are pests." Ah, well, good. But why are those 12 always in our apartment? >> Perry: We need more......

So the next time you are flying your private jet into Houston after a “rockstar” weekend with Jay-Z you will have a new choice in landing spots. Houston Executive Airport, located off of Highway 90 just west of Katy, is set to break ground on the Henriksen Jet Center facility. The two-story facility will have a passenger lobby, pilot lounge, theater room and office / meeting rooms and is set to open in 2008. Houston......

The Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission voted yesterday to begin the landmark designation process for the River Oaks Shopping Center, River Oaks Theater and Alabama Theater/Bookstop, the three significant Art Deco structures that have been in the news since news broke last summer that Weingarten Realty Investors could be planning to demolish them to make way for new development. The move toward designating the buildings city landmarks comes without Weingarten's approval — the first......

Since Weingarten Realty Investors announced its plans Friday for the redevelopment of part of the River Oaks Shopping Center, Houstonist has gotten several e-mails from readers asking about the future of the other sections of the center. Specifically, we've heard a lot of questions about the fate of the River Oaks Theatre because of media reports including an article in the Houston Business Journal headlined "Theater safe as Weingarten plans $15M redevelopment at River Oaks......

Remember when the Astrodome was considered to be the 8th wonder of the world? It is amazing how quickly times have changed…now the redevelopment is struggling to meet funding deadlines for the $450 million project. In August 2006, the Astrodome Redevelopment Corporation (catchy name) signed a letter of intent proposing a 1,000 room 4-star luxury hotel and parking garage inside the previous sports stadium. The first 'proof of funding' deadline passed in December of 2006,......

Spend the Night on Blue Bayou Join the Buffalo Bayou Partnership tonight as they kick-off a year long series of stargazing, boat rides, storytelling and more along the Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade. The newest addition (and possibly our favorite) to the Buffalo Bayou hike and bike and trails, gives Houstonians multiple access points to bayou canoeing. The awarding-winning, and might we add, spectacular-looking, unique blue lighting creates a much needed outdoor friendly environment for nearby downtown,......

Looks like more changes are in store for Allen Parkway: According to the Chronicle, the Allen House apartments will soon be demolished to make way for Regent Square, a mixed-use "urban village" development. Construction on the first phase of the project, at Allen Parkway and Dunlavy, is expected to begin in September, with completion scheduled for 2010. The initial phase of Regent Square will include 740 apartment units, 230,000 square feet of retail space, 60,000......

Today's online article in the River Oaks Examiner further shows that Weingarten Realty Investors is continuing its murky stance about what's going on at the River Oaks Shopping Center. It started as a meeting of concerned homeowners who live on Brentwood Drive, just north of the River Oaks Shopping Center, and ended with about the same statement that Weingarten has been notorious for dropping - "We did give them an update on where we were,”......

Despite protests from a handful of Rice Village residents and tenants, City Council voted yesterday to move forward with abandonment of the 2400 block of Bolsover Street in the Village to make way for a multistory retail/residential development. Construction could begin in the spring on the project, which would include about 100,000 square feet of retail space and between 230 and 250 condo units costing a half-million dollars apiece. It's not clear exactly what the......

The Chronicle reported yesterday on an interesting dilemma facing people who want to make Houston a more urban, walkable city: In many cases, they can't, thanks to existing development ordinances that defer to the almighty car. The Chron article focuses on Midtown, where a lot has been done in the last 10 years to create pedestrian-friendly districts. Even so, "a lot" is relative — the area has gone from a no-man's land of abandoned warehouses......

Celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday with the Bikini Bandits and Phillyist! (NSFW). Speaking of Mr. Franklin, send in a picture of Ben (or Ed Rendell) with a red tongue and win a free t-shirt. And they might have the next YearlyKos in Philly. You know who's going to be upset about those Bikini Bandits? The Houston school system. Houstonist also reports on some redevelopment shenanigans over a landmark theater. LAist's sex advice column on......

Almost six weeks after the initial report about ideas for the River Oaks shopping center, the real estate company has released a more specific statement regarding the rumored demolitions. In a letter obtained by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, it was stated that: “Weingarten Realty has a long term commitment to retail shops and restaurants along West Gray and as a result, we are considering the addition of a key retail anchor . . .......

Harris County Commissioners Court gave the go-ahead for a private firm's proposal to redevelop the Astrodome as a mega-hotel, saying the 41-year-old stadium will no longer be a part of the county's disaster shelter plans. During future emergencies, other facilities, including the George R. Brown Convention Center and Reliant Center, will be the region's primary shelters, Harris County Judge Robert Eckels said. The Dome "is too expensive to maintain as a potential shelter space that......

In today's Wall Street Journal, Thaddeus Herrick reports on the continued concern about the fate of several landmarks in Houston. This time, though, there is a solid statement about the developments:David Deason, vice president for development at Barnes & Noble, said the New York-based company intends to close the Bookstop in favor of a "state of the art" facility. But Mr. Deason said the fate of the landmarks is in the hands of Weingarten. The......

Many may know Rice Village as a unique shopping area with a variety of stores, many different restaurants and cuisines, away from freeways and without big box-type establishments. Long time tenants are worried, though, that impending development in the area will run them out due to higher rent, which has increasingly occurred in the last few years. As reported by the Chronicle's David Kaplan:For 58 years, the quirky store has fit snugly in Rice Village,......

Now that everyone has had time to marvel at the thought of the River Oaks Shopping Center/theater (a couple of the few remaining art deco structures in this city) on the dark side of the wrecking ball, let Houstonist shift your attention several blocks away to the Alabama Theater. When Weingarten Realty and Pete Kaldis Realty teamed up in the early to mid-'80s to buy the property and adaptively re-use it, the theater, which was......

The Astrodome has been home to many things. It bore witness to the highs and lows of the Oilers and Astros. It has been credited with helping to change the face of men's college basketball and March Madness. People roped dogies, jumped over cars on motorcycles, cheered on Ronald Reagan and promised to kick things in on the floor of the Eighth Wonder of the World. More recently, it has sheltered evacuees during Hurricane Katrina......

I was near the ballpark downtown this week and noticed an old building being torn down. Do you know what it is? Just the other day, Houstonist was talking to a visitor from Atlanta who said Houston should be proud of all its fine old buildings that have potential for redevelopment. As if to prove that we're decidedly not proud, the wrecking ball almost immediately moved in on the old William Penn Hotel at 1423......