A couple of readers have expressed — how best to put this? — concern for the financial well-being of the developers behind the Bammel Park Homes featured on Swamplot early last year. Writes one recent visitor to the complex:
The development was originally intended to have 12 homes. There are only three complete and it doesn’t look as if any more will be built. . . . The front gate is rusted, the driveways haven’t been paved, the fountain is clogged, there isn’t any landscaping and loose wires are hanging here and there.
Didn’t Black Diamond Development claim the park-like setting would in fact be “enchanted”? Meanwhile, the asking prices for the hefty properties at 3204, 3244, and 3248 Bammel Ln. have been cut in three hacks each from $2.239 million to $1.798 million. Just look at all the bricks that includes:
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Actually, this carefully shaped hallway (and the top photo) is from the 5,000-sq.-ft. unit at 3248 Bammel, which is “finished and fabulous.” Next door, 3244 Bammel is still “ready to be customized”:
There’s been no movement in the pricing for any of the properties since last December. Yes, the 3 homes are directly across the street from The Fabulous Flea — and catty-corner from Stanfordian Man.
- 3204, 3244, and 3248 Bammel Ln. [HAR]
- Bammel Lane Park Homes [Black Diamond Development]
- Previously on Swamplot:Bammel Lane Park Homes: Still Going On?
Photos: Bammel Lane Park Homes
We looked at these last Fall, and they were well-designed, seemed to be well-built and had fantastic finishes and fixtures, BUT we could not swallow the $2M price tag for that block on that street. Location matters and specific location matters too. These may officially be in Upper Kirby, but they are in the wrong place for the price point. I think they’ll be lucky to get $1.5M.
When the money runs out, the money runs out. And the development stops. Whether it’s a $200,000 home development or a $2 million home development. And suddenly the homes, at least the $2 million homes, are ready for those “custom finishes.” That hopefully the buyer will contract with someone else for.
As for the “Tuscan Castle Look” inside, well, in Houston when houses begin to settle all sorts of strange things can happen. Tiles will pop up from floors. And bricks may fall down from ceilings.
$1.8 mil still seems high, considering what similar money will buy in River Oaks or West University Place.
The builder, Black Diamond Builders, is having some serious financial problems. Each of their developments are having trouble. At Caceres, Black Diamond has been outsold two to one by the community’s other builder Rhoe & Wright. Rumor has it that they just lost one of their communities in the Tanglewood Area and will possibly lose others soon.
But John – there is much evidence to support the theory that, in Houston anyway, location matters not a bit to a large swath of the population. How else to explain the 300k plus homes next to RR tracks and in plats that Allison turned to lakes? Indeed, I have seen no place like Houston when it comes to juxtapositions that one would think impossible to sell.
Living near railroad tracks are a fact of life in every major city. There are thousands of homes alongside Chicago’s “L”, for instance. I assume you are referring to the townhomes on Heights that are literally on the tracks, which are a bit close for most tastes but not all. Tracks run alongside multi-million dollar properties in River Oaks too afterall. The initiation of the Quiet Zone along Washington (TODAY!!!) will only promote more development and buying in the area. Prices are already up in the area. The problem for most is not the train, but the horns.
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I will agree that location doesn’t matter to some, neither does design, proportion, or scale matter to some. But these things matter to most, I think.
“finess” might have been referring to the snout houses prices just under $1mil and next to the RR tracks in Bellaire.
Enchanted is just Realtor speak for haunted.
Just like “ready to be cusomized” means we ran out of money, and would like some of yours to finish this.
Not just RR tracks – how about Lone Star Poultry at 12th and Rutland in the Heights? How about the swanky townhomes going up next to metal fabricator and McMansions not far from sewage treatment plants? In other cities, residential property is usually somewhat sequestered. I find visitors from elsewhere amazed at Houston and what high prices people will pay to live overlooking a recycling center.
98, 19, 08 and 06 zip codes carry an awful lot of cachet amongst some sets….
Not just RR tracks – how about Lone Star Poultry at 12th and Rutland in the Heights?
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This comment is a bit close to home for me as we live on the 1200 block of Rutland. I feel obliged to disagree with the comparison between Lone Star and a train. We’ve never smelled chicken or been bothered by truck noise or anything. I heard from some old-timers that Lone Star used to be a problem but neighbors complained and it’s no longer an issue. Our interaction with Lone Star has been nothing but positive…one of the truck drivers had to make room for a load of chicken and gave us a whole sack of cabbage as we were walking by.
How River Oakian. Except. Not. Close but no cigars.
77098 has cachet, I didn’t know.
No one even goes to those open houses. The houses are a good $500k overpriced (at least!), especially considering there seems to be no intention of completing the whole enclosed 12 house villa anytime soon.