Articles by

Aaron Carpenter

11/23/10 11:30am

This expansive custom home creation resides on just under 3 1/2 acres in the Tomball subdivision of Haven, right near Oklahoma (the one in Texas). There are 5 bedrooms and 5 baths in the main building’s 5,700 sq. ft. But if that doesn’t give you enough space to to maintain your sense of privacy, there’s always the 1,300 sq.-ft. 2-bedroom guesthouse out back. Garage space is ample enough for a 7-car motorcade, with entry protected by an automatic gate. Interior moods at the main house range from masculine to woodsy to golden to pink; additional perks include a private cinema chamber, exercise room, plus that multi-tiered entrance fountain. More views:

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10/04/10 11:22pm

Got a question about something going on in your neighborhood you’d like Swamplot to answer? Sorry, we can’t help you. But if you ask real nice and include a photo or 2 with your request, maybe the Swamplot Street Sleuths can! Who are they? Other readers, just like you, ready to demonstrate their mad skillz in hunting down stuff like this:

Well, our readers didn’t come up with answers to these questions from last time, so Swamplot did a little digging:

  • River Oaks: Will the recently denuded River Oaks Blvd. host any actual oaks again? According to River Oaks Property Owners general manager Gary Mangold, that decision hasn’t been made yet. ROPO, the River Oaks Foundation, and boulevard residents will eventually vote on one of 3 separate proposals for reforestation.
  • Houston Heights: Design firm APD‘s Mark Van Doren tells Swamplot there never was a plan to put parking under the scooted-over and raised Perry-Swilley House now settling into its new digs at 1103 Heights Blvd., one lot north of its original site (see photo below). But there are plans to park an enclosed wine cellar and gameroom under about 30 percent of the house’s elevated footprint. What’s going into the lot on the corner of Heights and 11th St. the house vacated? Either a single-story commercial building or a 2-story house fitted for commercial purposes, Van Doren says. Either one would be “historically styled.” But nothing’s happening for now — the property owner is waiting for an anchor tenant to appear.

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09/27/10 12:16pm

Speaking of Katy schools: The power lines in the photo on the left, a couple miles southwest of Katy Mills mall, flag the dividing line between Jefferson Development’s Firethorne subdivision, zoned to Katy ISD, and the just-announced Firethorne West addition in Fulshear the company just announced — which will be served by the Lamar Consolidated ISD. The new Katy ISD elementary school site waiting for November’s bond vote and proudly featured in the center of Firethorne’s master plan will not be serving the 1,400 planned homes in Firethorne West, even though they’ll be only 2 blocks away. The kids in Firethorne West will likely be attending Huggins Elementary, which is more than five miles to the southwest. And until new roads are built they’d actually get to drive past that “Future Katy ISD” elementary school every school day to get there:

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