- 7617 Ave. I [HAR]
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Which sections of this bi-level West University house were part of the 1938 original? Don’t count on the listing aerial map’s (incorrectly placed) marker to find it; the property sits one lot south of University Blvd. on a street east of Buffalo Speedway. The $1.578 million listing from mid-January features an actual occupied basement, though it isn’t pictured.
Tweaks and conversions over time appear to have shifted around room assignments. The dining room (top), for example . . .
All About the Basement
Among the big game in Sherwood Forest (the close-to-the-Loop Memorial-area neighborhood, not the royal hunting spread poached by Robin Hood) sits an updated 1965 contemporary on its third initial asking price: $4.29 million. A 2013 listing took aim at $4.995 million, which dropped to $4.39 million for a few months. Last summer, the $4.375 million ask trimmed back to $4.32 million two weeks later in a listing lasting 2 months. One wing curves its window wall around the groomed front lawn and clipped landscaping (middle). Pool, terrace, and tennis court extend from the back of the stucco home, which has a 2-story wing for the bedrooms (above).
Open Season
Will an auction accomplish what a previous listing didn’t for this Stern and Bucek-designed modern mansion in Southampton? The property had stuck to a $3.75 million asking price from September 2013 to June 2014 before calling a timeout. Its relisting by a new agent last week notes that when the auction kicks in later this month, the minimum starting bid will be . . .
Auction Action
Hardwood floors, according to the listing, are hiding throughout most of this 1955 mod. But there’s nothing secret about the midcentury aquamarine hues that flow out from the kitchen — the color pops against the mostly milk white interior. Owned by one family for 6 decades, the property landed on the market a week ago, with a $277,500 price tag.
Side Doors
- 70 W. Broad Oaks Dr. [HAR]
Higher-density development has been closing in on a renovated 1938 property on a corner in Turner Court (a pocket of Museum Park). The same trend has been under way within, where sleek office spaces stack up — though the column-studded buildout is more elegant than found in a common cube farm. In its listing earlier this week, the home-or-office property’s asking price is identified as $549,999. Some NOLA-inspired ornamentals trick out both levels of the front porch, which faces south on a stub of Hermann Dr. with access to the South Fwy. feeder road. But it’s cut off from the section a block south that heads west through Hermann Park from a big intersection shared with MacGregor Way at MacGregor Park.
Housework
- 6906 Spring Run Ln. [HAR]
For those who consume real estate like potato chips, here’s a 6-pack of homes in Kashmere Gardens that share a gated driveway on the north side. Identical in design, each home within the complex hit the market last week at $52,600. Although the tenant-occupied properties are located a block and a half south of the East Loop near Lockwood Dr., the banks of Hunting Bayou prevent direct access to the feeder road.
All in a Row
Rice U.’s real estate appetite for Rice Village property just picked up another choice tidbit: 2445 Times Blvd. That’s the 1955 flat-topped 7,500-sq.-ft. retail property on the southeast corner of Times Blvd. and Kelvin Dr. that’s spooned by mega-neighbor Village Arcade (which Rice also owns). In its listing by Davis Commercial, seller Rinkoff Rice Village LP’s asking price for the “trophy” corner was $3.995 million, though it initially sought $4.2 million. Who’s currently on display behind all the storefront windows?
Miss Saigon Goes to Rice
Tiles run below, above, and in between the rooms of a 1967 Sharpstown Country Club Terrace home that’s also stocked with rustic, handcrafted wooden doors. In place of a garage, there’s a “casita,” its listing last week touts. Located north of Beechnut St. and east of Gessner St., the palm-fronted property has a $265K asking price.
When Modern Went Heavy Tile
Down-home and modern, kicky and a bit sweet, a colorized slice of old Katy living — with a century’s-worth of “updates” — popped up on the market yesterday. Asking price: $300K. The 1910 expanded foursquare has prevailed within Katy’s N. Thomas Addition, a neighborhood located well west of the Grand Pkwy., north of U.S. 90, and past the Pin Oak Rd. exit of I-10. The owners revamped the AC, electrical, and plumbing systems, but it’s more fun to check out the checkered kitchen (above). Plenty more punch is served inside . . .
Punch Bowl
Which way is the view? From the balcony beneath the cantilevered section that marks the entry of the Modern mansion on nearly an acre in Pine Wood Estates? Through a pair of driveway gates off Memorial Drive, right where it makes its first bend west of the West Loop? Via butt-jointed glass walls, which open up further an already open floor plan (above)? MC2 Architects (pronounced Emcee Squared; publications have problems lifting their digits) designed the minimalist-but-lux tiltwall assembly for a client in 2012. It was first offered for sale 100 days ago, for $4.99 million.
Modern on Memorial
- 5509 Wipprecht St. [HAR]
If you’re feeling a little tipsy as you tour this 1998 custom home on Lampasas St. in St. George Place (the Galleria-area neighborhood formerly know as Lamar Terrace) you might catch the kind of views of it that are featured in its listing, lending a bit of a Fun House vibe to the stately corner property.
Tilt
