COMMENT OF THE DAY: STAPLES “NOT INVOLVED” IN THE ALABAMA THEATER “After writing to Staples PR this is their canned response: ‘While there has been speculation about Staples in connection with the historic Alabama Theater, we do not have a lease agreement at this location. Staples will continue to be a good neighbor that supports the communities where its customers and associates live and work as the company continues expanding in the Houston region. The rumors, however, have sparked a larger debate about the location. Therefore, we recommend that concerned citizens direct their letters and suggestions to Weingarten Realty as we are not involved in this development. Many thanks, Amy Shanler, PR Director'” [Andrea, commenting on Weingarten Realty: We Won’t Demolish the Interior of the Alabama Theater Until a Lease Is Signed]
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT ROYCE BUILDERS SOLD ME “I bought a home from them in oct 2007 and got riped off. First I am still trying to figure out how I even got financed based on my income. I was making about $1200.00 a month and my notes where almost $900.00 a month. Then I have an adjustable rate morgage which would go up every 6 months. I thought about it after the fact (I had to give up my home) that they must have messed with the figures to get me in the home at the first place. I couldn’t get them to come fix things that come with the home warranty. If anyone knows what kind if any lawsuit is out on them would you please let me know.” [monmon, commenting on No-Charity Case: Royce Builders Education in Bankruptcy]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HEIGHTS WALGREENS STRIP CENTER SHUFFLE “Woah is right. So how does this bode for the existing strip center across 20th where the old Walgreens is along with Kroger, etc.? Would love to know what the plans are for that whole strip now [that] that new Kroger is done and Walgreens seems to be going across the street. Anyone know?” [Mary, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Happy Hide a Way]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: FAVORED HOME FURNISHINGS OF THE FEDERAL WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM “I do not think Gallery Furniture was the provider of the furniture. If you look closer to the [Dining] Room furniture, it has distinct attributes with the American Drew – Jessica McClintock collection. I tried figuring out the other pieces in the other rooms and it appears the white wash part of the Jessica McClintock but cannot be for certain. If that is the case then it must be a pre-closing Finger Furniture store sale.” [sigma, commenting on The Memorial Drive Mansion Swamplot Knows Absolutely Nothing About]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: YOUR LOVELY NEW HOME IN TALLOWOOD “. . . I was in Dallas this weekend and while flipping through channels in the hotel room, I came across one of those Sunday morning suburban real estate infomercials where they showcase a single builder in one neighborhood that is under construction. During a testimonial from a recent homebuyer, the guy lauded the ‘acres of beautiful forests’ surrounding his new home. As the camera panned the landscape, I saw nothing but 10 foot tall invasive mesquite trees as far as the eye could see. Seems like our Houston realtors should start cashing in on the ‘aesthetic value’ of the ‘tallow forests’ – especially emphasizing the ‘fall color’ and its function as an ‘environmentally friendly privacy screen.’ Most homebuyers would have no idea what they’re looking at. Carefully rewording reality is usually what realtors do on HAR, anyway!” [Superdave, commenting on What Happens If You Don’t Garden the Wild]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT MAKES THE ALABAMA THEATER SO EASY TO LEASE “Sigh. I’ve been told in the past that Weingarten would like to have a restaurant in this location, but with a rent that is probably in the low-mid 30’s/sf, that puts the monthly rent at around $35,000 a month, which is out of the price range of many retailers and restaurateurs. Also, 14,000 sf would be a huge restaurant. One of the other little discussed obstacles in this building is the balcony, and the low headroom that it provides at the lobby entrance. Most of the building is concrete but I’ve been told that the balcony is in fact a steel structure. I would not be surprised if the balcony does not survive. Regarding the sloped floor, it is extremely difficult to rent sloping space like that in the age of ADA. Bookstop was constructed prior (1984) to the implementation of ADA. . . .” [mt, commenting on Weingarten Realty: We Won’t Demolish the Interior of the Alabama Theater Until a Lease Is Signed]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WE ARE ALL WEINGARTEN LEASING AGENTS NOW “. . . I’m not [against] historic preservation, but I find [it] silly and immature for people to attack Weingarten. If anybody could approach them with an idea or a plan to keep the theatre and turn it into a money making investment for any kind of use, I’m sure they’ll listen. If Weingarten could get a tenant without any changes to the space, wouldn’t you think they’ll go for that[?] They save a lot of money in that situation. They most likely looked into the gutting of the place since there isn’t much option for them. Saving a place purely on moral grounds that it is the right thing to do isn’t enough. It’s a place to start, but it’s a lot more that has to happen after that. In the end, a philanthropist or investor or a group of a combination of the two is needed. This group can either buy it out or develop a plan that Weingarten could get their rent and the place be saved. . . .” [kjb434, commenting on Weingarten Plans an Alabama Theater Demolition. Is Staples Moving In?]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE RUTLAND ST. SCARECROWS “Those houses are still in various stages of uncompleteness. Woe looks to be the fate of anyone who tries to get anything done there. Bill Baldwin is now the latest to try and for his sake, I hope he succeeds. But those places have been eyesores for awhile now. Personally, I think that places like the old Eighth Avenue Elementary site and 2200-2207 Rutland serve as scarecrows of a sort, scaring off townhome developers, much like the ones at 15th and Yale used to before a community garden went in there. . . .” [Martin Hajovsky, commenting on Heights Home Composting: The Amazing Disappearing Waterhill Townhomes; previously on Swamplot]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: BREAKING IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF HOUSTON REAL ESTATE GO-GETTERS “Back when I worked [in] real estate, being a visionary was something of a liability. I’ve been laughed at in my face before by coworkers because I pitched an idea that was outside of the box. I made a couple of investments that were . . . driven by creativity, interest, passion, vision, legacy, AND also by ego. And on paper, they also made sense financially, but they turned out to be money pits. I really believed in them at the time and made an honest-to-goodness effort. But now I’m broke (and feel broken), am doing temp work for the Census, have no other prospects, and am looking at military options. The only redeeming quality about these investments is that they’d be so difficult to sell at this point that the bank doesn’t seem to want them back. If I invest again in real estate, it will be a much more boring endeavor, a commoditized investment following a traditional set of strategies. I’d want for a contractor to be able to show up at the job site, glance at the plans, and know EXACTLY what to do because they’ve done it a hundred times before. ‘Build me a rectangular prism.'” [TheNiche, commenting on Weingarten Plans an Alabama Theater Demolition. Is Staples Moving In?]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: LOST IN THE NOZONE “It always strikes me as odd that most major developers who operate in Houston also operate in cities with strict zoning, determined planning, and even architectural review boards with much success, but some Houstonians continue to think that they will abandon this city if we enact any of the same. They are clueless. Post Properties wrote Houston off in part because of the lack of stricter planning guidelines – which resulted in their Midtown project becoming an island of urban living surrounded by parking lots and suburban style development. (CVS, are you listening) . . . Midtown has become a mishmash of disjointed development with the opportunity for creating the city’s best urban environment lost for decades. The same debacle is happening right now in the Washington Corridor. Area groups have fought for years to get the city to enact and enforce very basic planning guidelines for Washington Ave like wider walkable sidewalks of 6′-8′ instead of 3′, and guidelines to bring storefronts to the streetfront instead of parking lots. A couple of developers have instituted these features on their own, but most have not, so once again we have an area that looks very disjointed, is confusing to navigate, and very unfriendly to the many people who would like to park once and walk between the many new businesses. . . .” [John, commenting on Extending Metro’s Main St. Rail Line to Fort Bend County]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: INNER LOOP REUNION OF THE EX-PRESIDENTS’ HEADS “I wish someone would get all of the presidents back together! They are very sad now. A kind donor, say perhaps the magnanimous Landed Gent who always boasts of his splendor here on Swamplot, should cut a deal for the Wilshire Village property and foster the development of a Presidential Park. I’m sure it’s like a buy 20 get one free sort of deal, so maybe we could get that nifty telephone too.” [Bobby Hadley, commenting on Pearland Heads Cut Off: The WaterLight District’s Giant Presidential Bust]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE THE WATER AND THE MONEY WERE “wow. in 2007 lenders doing 66% debt on raw land. raw land that looks flood prone. wow.” [JPSivco, commenting on Pearland Heads Cut Off: The WaterLight District’s Giant Presidential Bust]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: AND WHERE WOULD THAT PUT VERSAILLES? “If Louis XIV was reincarnated as an insurance broker in Houston, this is where he would live.” [finness, commenting on Where the La-Z-Boys in Lazybrook Are Frozen in Time]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MONTROSE AIN’T LIKE IT USED TO BE “What’s with the petitions and the rainbows and unicorns? Renderings? Real hippys would squat on the land, throw up some tents to sell their bead jewelry and homemade hippy stuff until the police and/or bulldozers come. 21st century Montrose is full of pussies. 20 bucks sez the guy with the hearts on his sign is in line on opening day ready to fill his hemp messenger bag with organic chicken breasts and a sustainably farmed pomengranate flavored something or other at the overpriced new neighborhood-centric HEB.” [meatsack, commenting on What the Montrose Land Defense Coalition Really Wants To See at Wilshire Village]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: A PARK GROWS IN IDYLWOOD “The neighborhood will be able to ‘use’ the vacant land but cannot build permanent structures upon it. With the exception of one lot at the far end of N. Macgregor, 9 are connecting so that they will form a large U shaped property. There’s been talk of a shared garden but who knows… The area still looks pretty rough right now, but the damaged sidewalks, where driveways once were, are being repaired and curbs installed. There are existing trees and lawns so hopefully it will become, at the very least, another usable green space. I suspect that, when the next big flood happens and some of the remaining homes get hit yet again, if another FEMA buyout is offered, we’ll be seeing more open land along N. Macgregor. . . .” [PYEWACKET2, commenting on Comment of the Day: The Great Idylwood Shoreline FEMA Buyout]