Without its stylized pediment and lip of aging awning, a funky mixed use property in Houston Heights is just a boxy building, its stucco in fading 1984 hues of seafoam green and coral. Inside, though, a more modern vibe takes hold (top) above studio space occupying the entire ground floor (middle). In its listing last week, the updated work-live pad’s asking price was $665,000.
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On the second level, bamboo flooring runs the width of the color-blocked living-dining-kitchen space . . .
The galley kitchen’s snazzy cabinets are a navel-gazing 42 inches tall.
Near the bar-height side of the black granite counters, there’s access to an enclosed former patio, now carpeted, at the front of the building:
Offices currently occupy several nooks and bedrooms upstairs. This workspace at one end of the opened-up living area is listed as the dining room, with an observation window poking into the kitchen:
The listing mentions 4 bedrooms, all upstairs. Two of them make the listing photos. They’re finished in gray-scale tones and feature half-vaulted ceilings. Sets of sliding doors access a back balcony that extends the width of the 4,070-sq.-ft. building:
Downstairs, there’s a darkened 38-ft. by 23-ft. “extra room” with 14-ft. ceiling . . .
a kitchenette with spiraled access to upstairs . . .
and a full bathroom. (The other one is upstairs.)
Meanwhile, at the front of the home, a thin blue line suggests where the foyer and the front office part ways:
The 1-bay garage is contained within the building’s footprint; the back of it is open to the adjacent studio space.
Other parking is available curbside and behind the building, which occupies a 2,925-sq.-ft. lot. Access to it is from an alley running past the north-facing property and bisecting the block of homes south of it that face streets east and west. Reagan High School’s campus is located a half-block walk east of the property.
According to MLS records, the property last sold in January 2013, for $266,300. HCAD appears to contradict that, however, indicating that producer-author-speaker Curry Glassell is still the owner — and has been since 2003.
- 314 E. 13th St. [HAR]
Needs more stripper pole.
Listing says it’s ‘zoned commercial’. There’s zoning in the Heights?
IF I buy this property and use this for my residence, how do I keep people from parking in the front parking spaces?
I want to do a coffee table book of the interiors of all the odd residential buildings in the Heights. You really can’t judge a book by its cover. I would have never thought that there was a porn studio in this building.
Which “Heights” is this in? Formally requesting the fill-in-the-blank pre-word on all future Heights posts, please (ex. ______ Heights). Kind of freaking me out that this post doesn’t have one.
Bob-
You could borrow a technique that originated in the heights but which has been perfected in Rice Military. Drop a couple boulders in the spots. Or pick up some fake towing signs. Though on your own property you could have them towed all day long nothing fake about it.
I actually really like the setup. If I was single I would love a place like this (though not so overpriced). Set the downstairs up as a garage for motorcycles and cool cars, throw a hot tub in and the before mentioned pole and it would be a sweet bachelor pad.