New River Oaks Shopping Center: a hazy deal?

It's no secret that Tom Horan isn't happy about the demolition of the River Oaks Shopping Center: Back in September, when wrecking crews took down the north arc of the historic complex, Horan was there to channel Joni Mitchell. And now that crews have begun construction on the building's replacement — a much larger shopping strip with an adjacent four-story parking garage that'll loom over Horan's back yard — he's back to remind us that he's still mad. From KHOU:

"I mean the air, it's pretty clean right now. It feels good. But if you can imagine the oppressive fumes and how it's going to take over the beautiful plot of land for my grandbabies to play in. It makes me sad, and it makes me mad," Horan said.

If you've been following the River Oaks saga, you may remember when River Oaks owners Weingarten Realty Investors met with Horan and his Brentwood Drive neighbors to discuss plans for the center's redevelopment, but told them not to tell anybody about it. It seems things have gotten a little better since then: Buddy McCauley, president of the Live Oak Civic Association — which represents the future garage's neighbors — told Channel 11 that Weingarten has planned to install windows in the garage, for example. (We're sure that'll totally make up for having a four-story structure at the back fence.) "They have responded to our needs the best they could," McCauley said.

It's not enough for Horan, though. He plans to call a press conference later this week and request an environmental study to look at the impact the increased traffic at the center will have. We guess he didn't hear about the windows.

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Photo: flickr user Pixeltopia