Ongoing dispute over whether or no crane can operate in airspace at Rice Village construction zone

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A legal fight between a strip center and a high-rise in Rice Village has entered a new chapter, and it could come at a heavy price.

The battle is centered around a building at Rice Boulevard and Chaucer.

The owners of the strip mall next door sued the developers in 2025 and won a temporary injunction, ordering the crane to steer clear of the fenceline. However, a month later, the owners claimed they caught the developer violating that order.

The strip center side alleged that the condo side tore down a fence and put up its own on the wrong side of the property line.

The developer said any resulting delay could cost them $100,000 a week.

Like many Houston business owners, Guy Streatfield is excited to welcome the influx of World Cup spectators to his longtime shop, "British Isles."

"Well, all these things are fun, and games when they're the other side of town or elsewhere, but when they're only, you know, 10 feet away from your property where you're working and this thing comes swinging across, it's not that comfortable," Streatfield said.

Now he fears those dreams of extra business have been eclipsed by the tower emerging next door on Rice Boulevard.

ABC13 asked Streatfield if the crane had hovered over his store since the injunction came down. He said he can't definitely say it has.

Court records show Randall Davis Company appealed the temporary injunction, and it will be revisited by a judge later in May.