Bringing you the happening sounds of the vacant former Morse Wholesale Paper Co. on the east side — live, via YouTube!
Can’t get enough of this sort of thing? More Industrial:
08/03/10 3:43pm
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East End
A big thank you to our photographers this week: russell.hancock, biggsbean, can-da-chee garcia, Lizard666, eg66tex, and xnomad. What’d they do? Capture an East End neighborhood on pixels for us.
And here is their work, all from within 500 ft. of the intersection of Harrisburg Blvd. & Wayside Dr.: Swamplot’s 5th group photo feature.
How does it look?
Some fun recent pix from around town!
Above, from this weekend: the Williams Tower just moments before liftoff, as captured by Flickr user Bokeh Down.
Oh yes there’s more:
Remember that naming contest for East Downtown? A reader writes in:
I got an email from the East Downtown Management District saying that a name has been chosen for the district and the new website will debut on January 19th the website is www.eadohouston.com so I’m thinking the new name is EaDo?
The East Downtown District registered that domain name in July. Plus, EaDo would jibe with this little comment left on Swamplot last month.
So what were the runners-up? Perhaps: Edo, E.D.O., E-Do, or Eat-O? Next up: More naming competitions, for West Houston, Lower Kirby, and North Norhill!
- Name the District [East Downtown Management District]
- East Downtown Management District
- East Downtown District Wants a New Name [Swamplot]
- Aerosol Warfare Declares E.D.O. the Street Art District [Swamplot]
Photo: Jackson Myers
A resident of nearby Simms Woods sends us photos of an apartment complex off Wayside Dr. that’s received a number of citations recently . . . but not the good kind:
The citations to the Courtyard Apartments on Villa de Matel allege eight structural and electrical problems, including rotting wood, missing balcony railings, loose boards and broken windows, city officials said. . . .
Tenant Victoria Vargas said that when she moved in a year ago, the management refused to replace the tattered mini-blinds, outdated appliances and worn carpet.
Now, she said in Spanish, she also must contend with leaky ceilings, rats and high energy bills for her $400-a-month unit.
State Rep. Hubert Vo has owned the 241-unit complex at 950 Villa de Matel through a company called Newlink Investment since July of 2002, according to HCAD records.
The mess — and the neglect apparently visited on his tenants, who are clearly not in his district — doesn’t look healthy for Mr. Vo, a Democrat who’s running for re-election this year. But maybe someone can help him out!
A commenter on the Chronicle‘s Houston Politics blog passes on a report that Vo bought the Courtyard Apartments for $2.8 million, and notes that they are now available for sale . . . for just $20,332 a unit! That’s only $4.9 million for 7.6 acres of juicy East End Inner Loop property! From the listing brochure:
This property affords a buyer good upside potential thru a moderate/heavy rehab. This community is constructed in a classic garden style design and was built in 1972.
After the jump: more pix of this prime real estate, just steps away from the Gus Wortham Golf Course and ripe for that moderate/heavy rehab! Plus: more Vo East End apartment holdings!
The Lenny’s Sub Shops continue their Houston conquest. The franchise is now up to seventeen stores, with eleven opening soon, including one in this new shopping center about to begin construction on the Gulf Freeway feeder just north of Wayside. That’s almost a third of the way to the company’s goal!
The I-45 (northbound) and Wayside property developer is Bobby Orr, who complained to the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff about the glut of suburban strip centers back in June: “We’re going urban,” he said. And really, the Orr Commercial properties are all over the map. But don’t be fooled by the side-of-the-freeway location and strip-center layout on this one: Luring hungry drivers out of inner-loop freeway traffic jams is an important part of Houston’s urban spirit.
- NEC I-45 at S. Wayside [Orr Commercial]
- Franchise Sub Leases To Blanket Houston [Swamplot]
- Shopping Center Update: Franchises, Anchors, and All Those Nail Salons [Swamplot]
