COMMENT OF THE DAY: APARTMENT MESS SKEPTIC “. . . There should be grime around the light switch – there is not. There should be a big layer of filth on the blinds – there is not. The blind cord would be filthy – it is not. The walls are very very clean & white. They should be smudgy. In another set of these pictures, the kitchen cabinets are completely clean, no grime at the door knobs, no grime at the drawer pulls. Trust me – in this much filth, you would see that grime. ALSO – the big piles of cigarette butts were obviously dumped there. When you put out a cigarette, there is a smashing action. You don’t just throw a still burning cigarette on top of a giant pile of other cigarettes. MAYBE this person worked in a bar & collected a weeks worth of cigarettes & dumped them throughout the house……maybe….. But the whole thing looks staged to me – big time.” [KW, commenting on Inside the Messiest Apartment in Houston. Ever.]
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE ASTRODOME MOTHBALL SAVINGS PLAN “There was a Chronicle article a while back that estimated the cost of demolition at $30 million, as compared to something like $600,000 per year just to keep it in mothballs. I ran it through an NPV analysis, and it actually was not cost effective to tear it down. It’s better fiscal policy to keep it, even if we never use it for any purpose ever again. I’m not much of a sentimentalist, but this is the kind of historical preservation I can get behind. Anything to save a buck.” [TheNiche, commenting on County Judge Foresees New Use for Astrodome: Giant Enclosed Space, Shielded from Weather]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: UPPER MIDTOWN “Talking of rimshotting onto the popularity of neighboring areas did anyone else notice that the Alexan Height[s] apartments became the Midtown Heights after changing hands despite the fact that they are at I-10 and Oxford. Exactly how big is Midtown these days?” [Jimbo, commenting on Watch for Cottage Cheese Dropping from Heights]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WILSHIRE VILLAGE PAYMENT DUE “I forgot to mention that with regard to the loan Dilick took out to pay for taxes on the property four years ago, sources have reported that the bank set a deadline of early April 2009 for him to take steps toward paying back that loan. In demolishing the apartments and selling the land, Dilick would be able to pay back the loan and make a profit as well. . . . As to the comment, ‘This is private property. The owner should be able to do with it as he sees fit,’ the problem is that Jay Cohen, who inherited the property from his parents, still holds 80 percent ownership. Sadly, he was duped or forced by circumstance into signing over managing control to Dilick. . . .” [dredger, commenting on Comment of the Day: Grand Unified Wilshire Village Conspiracy Theory]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: GRAND UNIFIED WILSHIRE VILLAGE CONSPIRACY THEORY An “anonymous news reporter/non-resident” explains all the wacky goings-on at Wilshire Village — complete with a detailed timeline. Here’s an excerpt, but if you love real-estate soap operas, settle in with a snack and read the whole finger-pointing thing: “. . . The original owner, Jay H. Cohen, inherited the apartments and property from his parents, who had the apartments built in 1940. In November 2005, Matthew Dilick partnered with Cohen under a partnership called Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd., taking out a loan to pay for taxes. Through this partnership, Dilick was able to obtain general partnership status to make management decisions, and his widely published plan all along has been to demolish the buildings and sell the land. Before the apartments could be demolished, they would have to be vacated. But the original owner Jay H. Cohen maintained majority ownership and wished to keep the buildings standing. Toward that goal, Cohen obtained two repair permits in January and February 2009 and set electricians to consistently making electrical repairs over the course of the next couple of months. . . . Questions: If the buildings were demolished and new condos were built, would the City of Houston stand to profit by the increased value of the land and therefore increased taxes? Was the City of Houston working in coordination with Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd to cause the buildings to be vacated? Why were Cohen’s repair efforts disregarded by Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd. and the City of Houston? Has everything been legit? . . .” [dredger, commenting on Wilshire Village Is Ready for Its Closeup]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOUSTON COUNTER CULTURE “We, too, have formica counters — rather nice-looking, attractively textured and easy-to-care-for laminate — plus a useful bit of stainless steel around the sink. Past abodes have had concrete, little 1940’s hexagonal tiles, or 1960’s 4″ tiles in the kitchen. But, yes, Cathy, all this granite business has got me to thinking about the Next Big Countertop Thing. I predict that it will be Spanish moss. Cheap, renewable, non-toxic, pleasantly yielding under a cutting board, and doubling as garnish for everything from humble casseroles to stuffed breast of veal…what’s not to like?” [Miz Brooke Smith, commenting on Neighborhood Guessing Game: Panel Discussion]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HEIGHTS HOME REPLACEMENT PROGRAM “Demo permits sold in the greater Heights last year – approx 220. (zips 007,008, 009) The Chron’s real estate report showed that 25% of 2008 home sales in the Heights were new construction. And how many were built in the last 10 years? Don’t know, but for anyone who thinks The Heights has NOT been decimated, go to HAR.com to see how nearly all listings were built since 1999 or are lot value only. Heard a story on the radio not long ago about how people stood in line for hours to see the Bill of Rights, but when an exact replica went on display, nobody bothered. What does that tell us?” [Sheila, commenting on Jack Preston Wood: Making an Impression in the Freeland Historic District]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: PRESSURE TO CONFORM “The maximum conforming loan at an 80% LTV translates to a selling price of just over $520k. Given the current interest rate premium on jumbo mortgages, new-builds that are just a little over this amount are tending to languish on the market, whereas those in the sub-$500k range seem to still be selling briskly. If I were a developer planning on putting up some $600k+ houses, I might re-think my plans and target buyers who can take advantage of the current low rates for conforming loans.” [Angostura, commenting on Latest Greenwood King Report: On the Double!]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: SMALL STREET ADDITIONS TO THE GALLERIA AREA 
“The Uptown TIRZ and District are actively working to build a grid in Uptown. Much of it will be funded by existing and new developments by the TIRZ funds and not from the general taxpayer base. . . . [This map shows] their planned addition of grid style layout to uptown. . . . It’ll take existing private access roads and convert some to public streets.” [kjb434, commenting on Uptown Traffic Grid] Map: Uptown Houston District
COMMENT OF THE DAY: KITCHEN COUNTERPOINT “By the way I meant formica counters, not linoleum. Just wanted to clear that up. Don’t want to be disqualified on a technicality.” [Jessica, commenting on Neighborhood Guessing Game: Fine Dining]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: DALLAS DISCOUNT “Nice property, but those prices per sq. ft. are RIDICULOUS. Even in comparison to other Texas cities, like Dallas and Austin. Best of luck leasing at that price point. Most NEW residential lease towers in Dallas have slashed rates. A friend of mine renewed his lease at the Cirque in Victory Park, which is much more fabulous than One Park Place, and his rate was reduced by $250 per month! Additionally, most properties now offer specials, like one-two months free.” [Ted, commenting on One Park Place or Another]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: GUESSING GAME MARKDOWN “This home was custom built as wheelchair accessible. The features noted are the obvious accessibility features. What makes this home a great example of universal design are the lack of thresholds and the curved radius walls which lessen the chance of crashes, but they also look great! The owners are not handicapped at all and are relocating. They now cannot imagine having shower doors and thresholds to trip over in their next home. The price has been reduced to $555,000.” [Thomas A B Johnson, commenting on Neighborhood Guessing Game Over: First Chair]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: LIVING THE WILDLIFE AT MOSAIC “It’s a Damn shame about those nesting rare birds but look on the bright side, if these condos keep selling like they have there will only be rare birds living there and trees growing up through the lobby anyway!” [james cianci, commenting on Mosaic Avoids Foreclosure, Files for Bankruptcy]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: DRIVING THE GENTLE HILLS OF TANGLEWOOD “. . . I think the layout of the streets can have a significant effect on how the neighbors interact. Did you know Tanglewood streets were laid out the way they are with several curving to give the feel of inclines where there were none lending it to a more genteel feeling as opposed to the straight street grid which is a bit cold. With those curvy streets, they still have a pretty straight street grid, but with more gentleness. While cul de sacs may create community within that cul de sac, I think it cuts the few houses on it off from the rest of the streets and therefore offers fewer opportunities for casual social interaction and in effect creates an us against them. Of course these are all generalizations, but developers deal in generalizations anyway.” [EMME, commenting on Welcome to Bizarro Heights. What Are You Drinking?]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL VILLAGE “Sounds like the high ground is still important to British occupation.” [Neil, commenting on Outlines of a Bunker Hill Village Theme Retreat]