Swamplot

Today’s Sponsor of the Day post comes to us from Crescere Capital Management, with an announcement about the Gospel Truth Pentecostal Church in Oak Forest. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!

The Gospel Truth Pentecostal Church sits on a 2-acre site at 1624 W. 34th St., just east of Ella Blvd. The congregation has outgrown this facility and is moving to a much larger building now under construction at 809 West Rd. (and changing its name, to Victory Worship Center), which it hopes to occupy in time for Easter 2017. So . . . now there’s more news about changes in store for this part of Oak Forest. The Gospel Truth congregation has sold its 34th St. property to Crescere, the same company that owns the Shops at Oak Forest at the corner of 43rd St. and Ella Blvd. and is developing the new 33 1/3 @ Thirtyfourth retail center at the corner of 34th and Ella — a half-block away from the church on the other side of the street.

The church, which was built in 1970, is a 7,000-sq.-ft. structure that could be repurposed for any number of uses — especially any requiring plenty of parking. The building fronts 34th St, with parking lots in back, fronting both 34th 1/2 St. in back and Couch St. on the west side.

If you’re interested in leasing this space or getting more information about it, talk to the leasing agent, Tony Armstrong. He can be reached at (713) 222-2737.

Got an important neighborhood announcement? If it’s on Swamplot, your neighbors will read it. Find out how to become a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day here.

Our sponsor today is Honey Art Cafe, set to open this fall at the northwest corner of Richmond and S. Shepherd Dr. in Upper Kirby. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!

Honey Art Cafe will be a gallery, a cafe, and a space for art lessons. All of the food and drinks will be made with natural ingredients, and the cafe will feature art by local artists and offer weekly beginner-friendly art classes.

In addition, there will also be a lot of free events for the community — like live painting demos, doodle dates, and weekly artist meet-ups.

If you’d like to be one of Honey Art Cafe’s first patrons, you can get a jumpstart by reserving a “One of Everything” Dessert Tasting or a month of unlimited art classes through the Honey Art Cafe Kickstarter.

For more info, visit the Honey Art Cafe website or its Kickstarter page, or follow the cafe on Facebook or Instagram.

Taking a turn as a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day is a great way to get attention for your new venture. Find out how to do it here.

Our sponsor today is Unit 5I in Inwood Manor, at 3711 San Felipe St. Swamplot appreciates the support!

Inwood Manor has been a landmark on San Felipe since 1964, when the building was constructed for the then-president of BYU, Ernest Wilkinson. Following the design of its architects, midcentury modernists Neuhaus & Taylor, Inwood Manor wears its structural frame on the outside: Cast-in-place concrete arches rise up 16 floors along the façade, cantilevering dramatic 12-ft.-square balconies at the corners.

One of those balconies sits just outside the living room and bedroom of this fifth-floor unit. Views to the north point over the tree-lined landscape of River Oaks. To the right (pictured at top) is a view of Downtown, which lies to the east. This 1-bedroom unit was extensively renovated in 2014, giving it raised ceilings, motorized window shades, a new audio-video system, a workstation with a built-in desk and storage, and task- and art-specific lighting. Also: Caesarstone quartz countertops and stainless-steel appliances.

The unit comes with an assigned parking space and a separate storage space. A swimming pool and an exercise room are also on the property, along with a formal garden in back. Inwood Manor also maintains 3 guest apartments, according to the seller.

Whether you’re thinking about living here or just interested in seeing a redone unit in a classic Neuhaus & Taylor building, you’ll want to take a look at the property website for more photos and info. Also: A floor plan of Unit 5I is available here.

Highlight your finest offerings on Swamplot. It’s easy to become a Sponsor of the Day!

Today’s sponsor is the townhome at 3302 Audley St. Unit 110. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!

Tucked deep into the neighborhood bounded by West Alabama, Buffalo Speedway, Kirby Dr. and Richmond Ave., this 2-bedroom, 2-1/2-bath home is close to much of what Upper Kirby has to offer. Greenway Plaza is a short walk away; the new complex going in around a revamped Levy Park is a 10-minute stroll in the opposite direction. On Saturday mornings if you’re living here you’ll want to step out to enjoy the Eastside Farmers Market — just down the street.

Audley Place is a small, gated community. The main living space (pictured at top) is on the second floor, and features a Bose surround-sound system and custom shades in the living-dining space and a kitchen with stainless-steel appliances and quartz countertops. Both bedrooms — each with its own bath — are on the third floor.

This home just appeared on the market this week. If you’d like to see a bit more of it, do check out the property website. It’s listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers.

Got the right home in the right place — but still looking for the right buyer? Get the right person’s attention by becoming a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.

Swamplot’s sponsor today is the 4-bedroom, 5-1/2-bath home at 826 Le Green St. Thank you for supporting this site!

The original single-story brick bungalow at 826 Le Green St. was built in 1929, in a section of the Heights called Ridgewood. An extensive renovation and addition by Pipe Dream Builders begun last year has turned it into the 2-story, 3,252-sq.-ft. home with a 2-car garage you see pictured above. The home retains its original brick siding, fireplace, and many other features. But much of the home is brand new — including structural framing, piers, electrical systems, and plumbing.

Now there’s a whole new upstairs, which includes a gameroom with built-in shelving and its own half-bath; all 4 bedrooms have en suite baths. (There’s also a full bath downstairs, in case you want to use the study, off the main living space, as a fifth bedroom.) The air-conditioning system, controlled by Nest thermostats, has 4 zones. The oak floors have a natural finish. The kitchen (pictured above), which features Carrara marble countertops and a Bertazzoni gas range (with a pot filler mounted on a matching marble backsplash above), looks onto the back porch. The adjacent mud room connects to both the garage and back yard.

If you’re interested in the Heights, you probably don’t need to be sold on the location. But this home is central: Both the 19th St. shopping district and the smaller commercial hub surrounding 11th St. and Studewood are within walking distance — not to mention, to the east, the recently redone Heights Place shopping center on Main St. at the lower end of Airline Dr., home to Foreign Correspondents and Morningstar Coffee and Donuts. Both I-10 and I-45 are straight shots by car.

Be sure to check out the extensive photo album of the home’s new look included in the property website, where you’ll also find more details about the renovation.

Ready to debut the new you? Step out in a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day.

Today’s Sponsor of the Day is the custom-wine-room creators at NCV Custom Wine Rooms. Thanks for supporting Swamplot, NCV!

Is there an under-used space in your home that’s maybe been aching for a transformation into something a bit more — daring? The space shown above used to be a boring paneled home office. A bit of custom installation work from NCV Custom Wine Rooms and . . . now it’s a climate-controlled wine-storage room that’s become the focal point of the home.

The room holds around 2,000 bottles; it features built-in LED lighting, a variety of racking styles fashioned from sapele, and custom metal and glass doors. NCV Custom Wine Rooms did everything you see in the photos — except pick the furniture and the chandelier.

If you’re interested in finding out what NCV Custom Wine Rooms can do for your or a client’s home, take a look at the gallery of varied sample installations shown on the Nos Caves Vin website.

Is your marketing message all bottled up? Uncork it with an appearance as Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day!

Swamplot’s sponsor today is Houston’s own Central Bank. Our thanks to the bank — for the continued support!

Central Bank has 4 (central) Houston branches available to meet your business or personal needs: in Midtown, the Heights, West Houston, and Post Oak Place.

Central Bank believes that change is essential to its success; the company actively pursues the latest in service, technology, and products. Central Bank aims to know its customers personally and to be their primary business and personal financial resource. The bank’s staff values relationships and strives to be available when you need them.

To learn more about how Central Bank can meet your banking needs, please call any of the following Senior Vice Presidents: Kenny Beard, at 832.485.2376; Bonnie Purvis, at 832.485.2354; Gary Noble, at 832.485.2366; or Ryan Tillman, at 832.485.2307. You can also find out more on the bank’s website.

Become a Swamplot sponsor and get your company the attention it deserves. Here’s how to do it. 

Today’s Swamplot Sponsor is the 3-bedroom, 2-bath home at 3607 Durhill St. in Woodside. Thanks for the support!

Among the recent changes made to this brick 1956 Ranch: additions to the master bedroom suite — enlarging it, adding a separate room-sized (144-sq.-ft.) walk-in closet and fitting a new walk-in shower in the bathroom. At the back of the home, a courtyard off the family room has been enclosed to make a sun room, which now faces a wooden deck built around a large oak tree. The deck connects to the detached garage as well as to the back yard of the 8,256-sq.-ft. lot.

You’ll find hardwood floors in most rooms, including the 3 bedrooms; the kitchen, which has a breakfast bar facing into the adjacent family room (at right in the photo above), features stainless-steel appliances and Carrara marble countertops. The neighborhood, Woodside, covers most of the triangle formed by Brays Bayou, the South Loop, and S. Main St. This property is near its center, between Stella Link and Buffalo Speedway.

More information about the home — along with many more photos — are available on the property website. It’s listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both buyers and sellers.

Renovations ready to show off? Reserve a spot as a Swamplot Sponsor of the Day!

There’s a free program you might be interested in attending this Friday, August 12th, that’s being put on by the New Leaders Council — Houston. The program is called “Hacking Gentrification,” and it is Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day. Thanks for the support!

Something tells us some Swamplot readers might have an opinion or 2 on this topic: Could Houston become the city that figures out how to avoid the pitfalls of gentrification?

This event is a chance for you to learn a few things about the issues involved in gentrification, but also to express your own opinions, hear those of others, and meet and network with other people engaged with the topic.

The first part of the program will be a moderated discussion featuring Houstonians with expertise in many of the issues surrounding gentrification: affordable housing, aging in place, criminal justice, urban planning, education, access to capital, and more.

The second part will be an open space conversation, so audience and panel members can dive deep on opinions, ideas, or questions that seize their imagination.

The goal? Maybe just new connections or more questions, but maybe a new partnership or an ad hoc committee to turn an idea into a plan for action.

The New Leaders Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan leadership-development program bringing progressive values to the civic discourse in Houston, throughout Texas, and across the country.

Join the conversation this Friday, August 12th, from 1:30 to 5 pm at The Montrose Center, 401 Branard St. in Montrose. There’s no cost to attend. You can find more information about the NLC—Houston on the organization’s website. And check out this page for more details about this Friday’s program.

Got something you need to discuss? When you’re a Sponsor of the Day, all of Swamplot will be listening. Find out how to become one here.

Swamplot’s sponsor today is the 4-story home at 2242 Lakeshore Edge Dr. in Hilshire Lakes. Thank you for the support!

Where can you find waterfront living this close-in? In the gated community that flanks the 10-acre lake near Hollister Rd. and Hammerly Blvd. in Spring Branch. This 3,086-sq.-ft. residence originally served as the neighborhood’s model home. The gated garden terrace that sits just outside the guest bedroom suite on the first floor includes a small vegetable garden and fruit trees planted by Edible Earth Resources (a previous Swamplot Sponsor of the Day). It faces onto one of 2 community green spaces in the complex. A second-story balcony is linked by French doors to the home’s main living space; a roof deck with a gas grill hookup on the fourth floor has clear views of the water.

The 3-bedroom, 4-and-a-half-bath home was built with energy-minded features, including a tankless water heater, 2×6 exterior walls, and a metal roof. The second-floor living space has windows on 3 sides. On the top floor a game room or den (or possible fourth bedroom) connects to the roof deck; it has its own separate wet bar and wine fridge.

If you’d like to find out more details about this unique home, or see more photos of it — including more views of the adjacent lake — please take a look at the property website.

You like Swamplot? You should become a sponsor!