Investor Steve Moore, who’s made a name for himself by buying up, moving into, establishing unusual rules in, cleaning up, and lowering crime rates at some of the roughest apartment complexes in Houston neighborhoods such as Greenspoint and Westwood, has a new investment (and new address) — in Sharpstown. Working with an investment group, the owner of more than 5,000 apartment units has purchased a majority interest in the Gardens at Bissonnet condos at 7400 Bissonnet St., the 200-unit complex near Fondren Rd. known as the Le Promenade condos when it was home to the La Primera gang. Moore was sought out for the purchase by the Greater Sharpstown Management District after the condo complex was put into receivership last year; a series of security measures, which included changing the property’s name, were instituted as part of a legal settlement between the county and the property’s previous owners.
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About 20 units at the complex are individually owned; In addition to the money he’s putting into improvements, Moore’s group is providing a $500,000 interest-free loan to the condo association to make exterior repairs and upgrade security.
Reports KTRK’s Deborah Wrigley: “Moore took over this property 12 days ago. Since then, the parking lot dotted with potholes has been repaved; flowers and sod planted, and more than a ton of tossed-out furniture and belongings have been set out by dumpsters. Crime has already decreased since the county injunction — down by more than 50 percent since three years ago. ‘If I was your average slum lord, I could make money at this,’ Moore says. ‘But I’m not a slum lord.”
“I’m not sure, but I believe that being a flat-out slumlord is more popular — um, more profitable,” Moore tells Fox26 reporter Isiah Carey. “But this is more fun. This, to me, this is like –it’s feel good, it’s fun. I’d rather do this than maximize income.”
- The Gardens at Bissonnet Purchased by Steve Moore [Mike Laster]
- Turning Around Troubled Apartments, and Changing Lives [abc13]
- Real estate investor hopes to turn around troubled apartment complex [MyFox Houston]
- Receivership Extended as Sharpstown Condos Start to Shed Gang Complex [Hair Balls]
- County Attorney Ryan negotiates settlement to make dangerous condominium complex safer [Guidry News]
Best of luck with that, seriously.
where’s the Like button
He may be ahead of his time. I think within a decade you’re going to see redevelopment creep into the Sharpstown area. Assuming of course the Houston area continues to grow as it is currently, fuel prices stay relatively high, and real estate both in the Inner Loop areas and in the ‘burbs continues to become less affordable.
Very good news, hopefully just the beginning. He’s got his work cut out for him, but they can turn around a few maybe a few will follow and so on. It would be cool to see that area finally really turn around, it’s a great location. Now tackle Gulfton, please.
I think he IS maximizing income, but by taking a long view, and praying.
What a refreshing attitude, from an investor who actually cares about saving neighborhoods. It would be nice if Sharpstown could finally turn around, but this is a good place to start. Bravo!
good for him! Sounds like Christmas came early for the owners of the 20 other condos
I live in Sharpstown, and you can not imagine how happy we are to have these units under control. Most of the property seems to be owned by an out-of-country owner, so I’m not sure how he’s going to work around that – unless he managed to buy some of that person’s properties.
It has been an eyesore for years. At least the Gulfton area has some community value to it (there was an great article in Cite magazine recently about the area). La Promenade was nothing but an alley of potholes, trash and broken windows.
If I won the lottery, I would love to start buying up the less-kept up houses of Sharpstown, renovate them and sell them or rent them out at reasonable costs – I think living in the area you are investing in is always a good decision.
I wish Steve Moore lots and lots of luck and prosperity!!
Great stuff. We will take South West back!
Good luck! It’s cool to read about people doing this. I think there are some areas of Houston that have huge upside and are priced well lower than that should be (and quite honestly at the prices some of these go for, there is very little downside).
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I’m a big fan of east of 288, inner loop.
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What doesn’t make sense is the monster prices that older class C Montrose apt buildings go for. For the returns those give, you might as well buy a 10 year government bond.
This is very good news. I have worked with Steve Moore. He’s an amazing landlord and a great guy. He devotes himself to his properties – and what’s cool is that he first and foremost concentrates on safety and security. His view is that if you make the complex a safe place to love, tenants will stay longer: you’ll have less tenant turnover and that means more money for you as a landlord – in the long run. He’s absolutely and 110% right.
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In fact, I wish someone would set up a meeting between Steve Moore and new HUD Secretary / former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. From what I gather, HUD could stand to learn from what Moore is doing in how they handle low-income housing. I’m not saying that to be bombastic at all.
just don’t get the sharpstown love myself. understand the location and low prices, but if you’re commuting downtown you’re still dealing with the worst of it and could just go a bit further to find better areas. if commuting to I10 you’re choosing between the 610 or the BW, sorta like picking your own poison.
MR.Moore I WOULD TO WORK FOR YOU I WOULD LIKE TO HELP THE COMMUNITY GET BETTER AND SAFER PLACE TO LIVE I WOULD LIKE TO BE INVOLVE LEARNING AND LISTENING MY NAME IS LYNETTE I STARTED MY OWN BUSSINESS CLEANING AND AND I ‘M ALSO A CHAPLAIN AND I’M IN THE MINISTRY I OUT TO HAILF WAY HOUSING. FEMALE AND MALE AND I ALSO DO PRISON MINISTRY. I WOULD LOVE TO JOIN YOU HELPING THE COMMUNITY MAKING IT A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE AND A CHANGE. THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO CONTINUE TO DO AND LEARN. HAVE A BLESS JOURNEY IN JESUS NAME.
I’d love it if Sharpstown could come back as a viable place for a middle class family to buy a house a live. It would have to be an area of Sharpstown that is far enough south from Gulfton but far enough north of all the mess south of Bissonnet. What’s the area of homes like that’s between Fondren, Bissonnet, Hilcroft, and Bellaire?
Wow. This is great, best of luck to Mr. Moore.
@walker
That specific area is doing quite well. Some homes have fallen into disrepair but the amount of remodels is outstanding. Some beautifully done homes. Gulfton is obviously a barrier but there’s no way the area won’t turn around. It’s bordered by the galleria to the north and bellaire to the east.
Gang bangers need a place to live too, yo.
Seriously though. This pace needs a bulldozer, not new management. Same goes for lots of other sites nearby.
Although written in 2006, Skip Hollandsworth (one of the best crime writers IMO) wrote a piece for Texas Monthly about the gang scene in Houston. If you have the time, take a read – pretty fascinating/interesting stuff. http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/you-dont-want-know-what-we-do-after-dark
@Bernard: a lot of people have pushed very hard for demolition at 7400 Bissonnet. It has been going on for over a decade. Getting the place out of the clutches of Guo Ping (aka Peter) Li itself took almost a decade.
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Unfortunately I don’t think we’re going to get 7400 Bissonnet demolished. Steve Moore’s overhaul might be the best we can hope for. The name change was a good thing. Now we need to lobby the State to change the address. “7400 Bissonnet” has been claimed by the La Primera gang. They tattoo “7400” on each other and it refers to this property. The only way to permanently get them out is for “7400 Bissonnet” to go away.
Of course the Sharpstown Management Distict didn’t seek out Mr. Moore, he’s on the Board. The GSMD paid the Harris County Attorneys Office to file suit against the owners two years ago. Now insider Moore buys up the property. There’s always more to the story. He’s by all accounts a good guy, but it is still an insider deal unreported by the media.
Great work….this is what it’s really all about!
He’s using unlawfull ways to slowly take the 20+ owners properties from them and the crime in there has gone up just it’s no longer reported.