Houston Heights

Demolitions
03/08/10 4:44pm

Immanuel Lutheran: Okay, We Won’t Trash Our Old Church Building

by
Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Institutional Buildings, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
1 Comment

The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance has sent out an email reporting that the congregation of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Heights voted in a special meeting this past weekend not to demolish its sanctuary building after all.

So what’s going to happen to the unused 1932 brick structure instead? Says the GHPA:

The Gothic Revival building on Cortlandt Street at East 15th Street will be used as flex space to accommodate church functions and Immanuel Lutheran School activities as well as community events.

Sure, it’s likely to make a great space for events. But how could any church function match an all-out building demo for fun?

The GHPA reports the congregation has committed to spending $150,000 on the rehab — about twice the cost of the demolition, which had already been scheduled for May. GHPA credits the 90-days-to-oblivion feature of the city’s otherwise toothless preservation ordinance for the save:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , ,
Houston Heights
03/05/10 11:12am

H-E-B Plans To Build a Montrose Grocery Store at Wilshire Village

by
Lancaster Place, Proposed Developments, Retail
59 Comments

No, H-E-B isn’t just buying the former site of the Wilshire Village Apartments at the corner of Alabama and Dunlavy as a real estate investment. H-E-B Houston president Scott McClelland tells the Houston Business Journal‘s Allison Wollam that the company expects to open its Montrose store on that site next year:

We . . . have a site tied up at Alabama and Dunlavy in the Montrose area that we’re finalizing. I think that it’s far enough from our recently opened Bissonnet and Buffalo Speedway store and it will be a good new market for us.

Okay, while we’re at it . . . what are H-E-B’s plans for the Heights?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , ,
Cancellations and Delays
03/02/10 11:43am

Corner Site with Great Access: A Remnant of Houston Heights History

by
Condos, Houston Heights, Houston History, Real Estate Marketing
3 Comments

A commenter named Jamie fills in the details on this “Stairway To Nowhere” — which also appears to include a ramp — found on the corner of 18th and Ashland streets in the Heights. Blogger Viula of The Heights Life, who snapped the photo, is curious about where the stairs came from:

“They really struck me as part of a time gone by in the Heights,” she writes.

And what a time it was! Reports Jamie:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , ,
Houston Heights
02/19/10 2:51pm

Priced Out of the Heights

by
Taxes
40 Comments

Longtime Houston Heights resident Ivan Reyna tells Fox 26 reporter Isiah Carey that his family can no longer afford the 3-bedroom 1920 bungalow on Arlington St. his father bought for $18,000 — 37 years ago.

Across from the Reynas are two million dollar homes. Just down the block is another house that sold for $600,000. And that’s the problem. Reyna says as a result of the revitalization of the Heights he can’t afford his father’s dream any more. Ivan says, “the taxes have gone up 100% since they started building the mansions.”

HCAD records show the appraised value on the home has increased almost 40 percent over the last five years alone.

Ivan says they’re hoping to get at least $250,000 for their aging home as is. He knows potential buyers are not interested in the small structure to live in. Many of the newcomers want to shop around, buy the land, and tear down the structure.

Reyna says he’s alright with that. He, his sister, and older brother are hoping to make enough off the sale to move down to the Valley where Papa is. He says there they can get 5 acres of land for a cool $90,000.

Photo: Isiah Carey

, , ,
Demolitions
02/15/10 11:37am

If Wishes Were Museums: Don’t Give Up on That Immanuel Lutheran Church Demolition Just Yet

by
Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
2 Comments

That report we passed on last Friday about the congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Heights voting to turn its former sanctuary at the corner of Cortlandt and 15th St. into a museum of Lutheran history turns out to have been false. City Council members Edward Gonzalez and Sue Lovell, who announced the decision in a press release, jumped the gun a bit:

Lovell spokesman Tim Brookover said the councilwoman’s office received a report from a preservationist attending the meeting that there had “been a lot of talk about a Lutheran museum” and presumed the church group approved the plan.

Though informally discussed, such a proposal has not been formally presented to the governing board, [board president Ken Bakenhus] said.

But there was some progress at the meeting: The congregation did vote to reject local artist and engineer Gus Kopriva’s proposal to lease the sanctuary and turn it into an art museum, the Chronicle‘s Allan Turner reports.

Bakenhus told Turner late last year that the board was “’99 percent’ in favor” of spending $60,000 to demolish the 1932 brick building. The church has a signed contract to tear down the structure this summer.

Photo: Heights Blog

, , , , , , ,
Demolitions
02/12/10 9:47am

Immanuel Lutheran Church Likes a Different Museum Idea

by
Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
11 Comments



Update, 2/15: As Miz Brooke Smith notes in a comment below, the report turns out not to be true.

The congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Heights has reversed itself and voted not to tear down its 1932 brick sanctuary building after all, abc13 reports. Instead, they’ve decided to turn it into a museum.

Will it be a Heights art museum, as proposed and promoted by local gallery owner and engineer Gus Kopriva? No. Congregants voted to turn the structure at the corner of 15th and Cortlandt into a museum of Lutheran history.

Photo of Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1448 Cortlandt St.: Flickr user dey37

, , , , , ,
Adaptive Reuse
02/04/10 1:45pm

Houstonians Now Eat Their Vegetables in the Strangest Places

by
Houston Heights, Midtown, Old Sixth Ward, Quicklink, Restaurants, Washington Corridor
5 Comments

HOUSTONIANS NOW EAT THEIR VEGETABLES IN THE STRANGEST PLACES Food and travel writer Salma Abdelnour, who grew up here, takes New York Times travel section readers on a tour of 5 Houston restaurants carved out of former something-or-others: the car dealership that became Reef, the ice house that became Beaver’s, the burlap factory that became Textile, the appliance warehouse that became Block 7 Wine Company. Somehow the spaghetti-western-themed strip center that ultimately became Stella Sola gets mixed up in this crowd (Abdelnour calls the building a “town house”). She adds: “In the film ‘Urban Cowboy,’ based in Houston and nearby Pasadena, the mother of the John Travolta character told him, ‘You just can’t get good vegetables in Houston.’ You certainly can now.” [New York Times] Photo of Stella Sola: 2Scale Architects

, , , , , , , ,
Buying and Selling
01/14/10 11:11am

Under Construction: 946 Arlington’s Very Extensive Remodel

by
Demolitions, Home Design, Houston Heights, Renovations
12 Comments

A Swamplot reader sends in photos from the construction site at the corner of Arlington and 10th St. in the Heights, where 7677 Homes has apparently been busy transforming a much-talked-about 1,048-sq.-ft. bungalow into a 3,128-sq.-ft. home for a new buyer. Reports our site snoop:

The back of the house came off several weeks ago, leaving between 600 – 700 SF of the original structure.

Now the forms for the new piers are in.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , ,
Houston Heights
01/08/10 9:39am

Heights Vs. Montrose: The Legal Battle

by
Montrose, Quicklink, Sunset Heights
4 Comments

HEIGHTS VS. MONTROSE: THE LEGAL BATTLE After giving himself 5 months to settle into his new Sunset Heights home, HBJ editor and former longtime west-Montrose resident Bill Schadewald sets about appraising the relative merits of his once and future ’hoods: “Montrose: Dozens of nearby attorneys ready to help me consummate a merger, negotiate an acquisition or initiate a hostile takeover. Heights: Hundreds of lawyers on hand to fix my speeding ticket, handle my uncontested divorce or represent me in a minor traffic accident case. Edge: Heights. Some of the lawyers even have brothers-in-law to do the car repairs and throw in a new set of hubcaps for free.” [Houston Business Journal]

, , , , ,
Historic Preservation
01/07/10 1:05pm

This Is Not a Demolished Church

by
Houston Heights, Religious Facilities
No Comments

The 3D documentation artists who’ve been scanning the facade of Immanuel Lutheran Church’s unwanted sanctuary building at 1448 Cortland St. in the Heights issue an important caution to those appreciating their craft:

Once archived, the data file’s full-scale scan and related imagery becomes a resource for preservationists, conservators, architects, engineers, site managers, or others needing access for a variety of purposes, from maintenance to insurance to historical reference, explained the team from Smart GeoMetrics, a division of Smart MultiMedia. The venture’s principals are Richard Lasater and Doug Smith of the Rice Village area. . . .

Lasater said — with emphasis — that digital documentation is an archival tool, “not a replacement’ for a building.”

Image: Smart GeoMetrics

, , , , ,
Homes for Sale
01/04/10 9:33am

Swamplot Price Adjuster Price Adjustment: Down 25 Percent!

by
Houston Heights, Price Adjuster, Price Reductions
No Comments

A reader brings our attention to a little adjustment that’s been made to the asking price of the property at 301 E. 10th St., a house in the Heights that was the focus of a Swamplot Price Adjuster feature a couple of months ago. With the apparent encouragement of many of our readers, the price was cut from $600K to $450K — just before the end of the year. Any takers now?

If we’re going to feature more properties on the Swamplot Price Adjuster in the coming year, we need your nominations! Find a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot! Be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

, , , ,
Art
12/22/09 11:26am

Saved by a HAM: The Museum Plan for Immanuel Lutheran Church

by
Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
5 Comments

Immanuel Lutheran Church has a signed contract to demolish its original sanctuary structure at the corner of 15th St. and Cortlandt in the Heights this summer. But art gallery owner and structural engineer Gus Kopriva wants to turn the 1932 building into an art museum instead.

Kopriva, who was involved in the recent renovation of the Heights Theater and owns Redbud Gallery on 11th St., is scheduled to present his concept to the church today. It would involve a long-term lease and a new nonprofit organization to raise money for the renovation, writes Allan Turner in the Chronicle:

“It’s been my long-term dream to create a Texas arts mecca,” Kopriva said. The museum, which he would call the Heights Arts Museum (HAM), would also house art archives, he said.

Backing Kopriva’s proposal are the Houston Heights Association and the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, both of which have struggled to save the church, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo of Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1448 Cortlandt St.: Flickr user dey37

, , , , , , ,
First Ward
12/21/09 10:58am

Rail Removal Program Complete for the Year: Heights Hike and Bike Trail Opens

by
Houston Heights, New Construction, Openings and Closings, Transportation
38 Comments

Sometime after this photo was taken at the start of the month, the missing rail on the rebuilt trestle bridge over White Oak Bayou was installed. But the rest of the rails are gone! A 5-mile segment of the MKT Trail through the Heights, named after the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad tracks that used to run along it, opened over the weekend. The trail starts at 26th St., runs down Nicholson to 7th St., east along 7th for a bit, down and across the bayou. It ends at Spring St. and I-45. When will it connect to Downtown, or new trails to the north?

Four other bike paths opened in 2009, making 15 new miles in all:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , ,
Buying and Selling
12/03/09 4:47pm

Comment of the Day: Reports of the Demolition of 946 Arlington Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

by
Comments, Demolitions, Houston Heights, Quicklink, Renovations
No Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: REPORTS OF THE DEMOLITION OF 946 ARLINGTON HAVE BEEN GREATLY EXAGGERATED “7677 Home IS remodeling and enlarging this home. The demo permit is for the awkward addition on the back of the home and some of the existing structure to start the remodeling process. The property is under contract and the plans show that most of the existing structure will remain.” [Heights Realtor, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Truck Tired]

, , , , , ,
« Previous Page Next Page »