Its earlier morph from 1940 cottage to pet grooming shop with easy-care flooring could remain or revert to home use, declares the listing for this property in Dearborn Place. It’s tucked behind a couple of strip centers fronting S. Shepherd, just south of West Alabama. Pens and gated areas — inside and out — make it easy to contain any unruly guests, as do the quarters out back.

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As a 1,322 sq.-ft. house, the floor plan included a living room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, and a library. Currently, there are 2 half-baths, their doors pictured through the cased opening in the photo above. Other changes include fluorescent lighting overhead and glass panels on a few interior doors and walls (at right). HCAD dates a remodeling to 2011. Here are some of the re-purposed rooms:

The lot, which measures 7,000 sq. ft., abuts retail properties to its west and north (below). The pink one dates to 1998. The painted brick wall is the back half of a 1960-built center at the West Alabama corner.

Despite a covered patio and a driveway running the full depth of the lot, there’s still a patch of lawn for recreation. The parking area is at the front of the garage-free property, just beyond the substantial wooden gate across the driveway:

The property has a $520,000 asking price; it last changed hands in 2007. The rest of the block is residential.

• 2056 Sul Ross St. [HAR]