Renovations

Featured Posts
07/31/14 5:00pm

Storybook Views of Upper Kirby’s Levy Park Redo at Eastside and Richmond

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Mixed Use, New Construction, Parks, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Upper Kirby
11 Comments

Rendering of Levy Park, 3801 Eastside St. at Richmond Ave., Upper Kirby, Houston

The Office of James Burnett has posted more detailed renderings of the newly expanded Levy Park just north of the Southwest Fwy. at Eastside St. as it’s supposed to look when work is complete sometime after next fall. Included in the $10 million plans for the 5.9-acre space are a performance pavilion, 2 big lawns, a dog park, and a food kiosk. A winding “children’s garden” will have tree houses and fountains around the middle-aged live oak trees relocated to the center of the park. There’ll be restrooms and room for farmers’ markets as well.

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Putting the Groove in Kirby Grove
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Condos
07/30/14 1:15pm

A High-Profile Real Estate Investor Dives into Sharpstown

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Crime, Real Estate Investing, Renovations, Sharpstown
22 Comments

Gardens at Bissonnet Condominiums, 7400 Bissonnet St., Sharpstown, Houston

Gardens at Bissonnet Condominiums, 7400 Bissonnet St., Sharpstown, HoustonInvestor Steve Moore, who’s made a name for himself by buying up, moving into, establishing unusual rules in, cleaning up, and lowering crime rates at some of the roughest apartment complexes in Houston neighborhoods such as Greenspoint and Westwood, has a new investment (and new address) — in Sharpstown. Working with an investment group, the owner of more than 5,000 apartment units has purchased a majority interest in the Gardens at Bissonnet condos at 7400 Bissonnet St., the 200-unit complex near Fondren Rd. known as the Le Promenade condos when it was home to the La Primera gang. Moore was sought out for the purchase by the Greater Sharpstown Management District after the condo complex was put into receivership last year; a series of security measures, which included changing the property’s name, were instituted as part of a legal settlement between the county and the property’s previous owners.

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Moving into the Gardens at Bissonnet
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Commercial Real Estate
07/22/14 1:15pm

The Houston Chronicle Will Abandon Downtown for This Freeway-Side Post Brutalist Bunker

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Downtown, Galleria, Renovations
24 Comments

Former Houston Post Building, 4747 Southwest Fwy., Houston

Yesterday afternoon’s news came couched in pillowy fluff: Houston’s largest news-gathering organization will be moving to an exciting new state-of-the-art facility in the Galleria area! No, the Houston Chronicle isn’t leaving the heart of the city it covers: Key reporters will remain downtown!

But here’s a rougher-edged reading of the newspaper’s apparent retreat: The Hearst Corporation is getting ready to sell off one of its most valuable Houston assets — a block and a half of prime Downtown real estate — so it’s telling Chron editorial staffers to find room for themselves somewhere in or around the austere 440,000-sq.-ft. concrete fort where the company’s distribution, circulation, local sales, and press operations have been camping out, on 21 acres in the lower right armpit formed by the intersection of Hwy. 59 and Loop 610.

The former Houston Post compound at 4747 Southwest Fwy. (above), designed by Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson in 1970 as a stark Brutalist follow-up to their work on the Astrodome, was part of the booty obtained by the Chronicle when it bought out its rival paper in 1995. The announcement calls the complex its “future campus,” but the extent of renovations or any new construction planned on the site is unclear.

What about that downtown foothold the paper is promising?

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A Newspaper Retreat
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Downtown
07/08/14 10:15am

De-Mad-Men-Ized Downtown ExxonMobil Tower Reminds Me of My Doctor’s Office, Complains Chron Columnist

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Highrises, Houston Architects, Houston Landmarks, Office Space, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Renovations
16 Comments

DE-MAD-MEN-IZED DOWNTOWN EXXONMOBIL TOWER REMINDS ME OF MY DOCTOR’S OFFICE, COMPLAINS CHRON COLUMNIST Lisa Gray, already on record as a non-fan of Shorenstein Realty’s plans to remove all the distinctive sun-shading fins from the soon-to-be-former ExxonMobil Tower at 800 Bell St. downtown (and incorporate all the space they occupied into the floor plates), says the sleek new video (with only semi-robotic, live-action scalies!) put out by the San Francisco real estate company (embedded at right; click in bottom right corner to see it full-screen) reveals that the renovation plans for the building are “even worse than I thought.” What’s the problem with removing what’s left of the building’s Mad Men-era accoutrements, and sheathing the recaptured space with shiny glass? The video shows that Downtown architecture firm Ziegler Cooper’s resulting design will be “a dead ringer,” she claims, for the Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza tower at the northern tip of the Med Center at 6200 Fannin. That building was designed by the firm’s Uptown-ish rival, Kirksey Architecture. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Video: Transwestern

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Commercial Real Estate
07/07/14 1:00pm

Rehab Work on Midtown’s Central Square Plaza Reaches the See-Through Stage

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Midtown, Office Buildings, Renovations
10 Comments

Central Square Plaza Building, 2100 Travis St., Midtown, Houston

Central Square Plaza Building, 2100 Travis St., Midtown, HoustonThere’s been a bit of action in the ongoing demo-and-rehab of the long-vacant Central Square Plaza complex at 2100 Travis St. in Midtown. Roving photographer Marc Longoria catches the shot from the building’s backside above, showing where you can now see through portions of the 14-story complex, which was originally developed by Houston oil tycoon Glenn McCarthy (of Shamrock Hotel fame) and designed by architects Lars Bang and Lucian Hood. And from the Twitter account of the building’s owner, Claremont Property Company, this morning comes the scene portrayed at left, showing crane work on the north-facing Gray St. side of the building.

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Office Redo Doings
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Adaptive Reuse
06/30/14 12:30pm

Looking Through the Complete Renovation of the Sunset Coffee Building at Allen’s Landing

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Allen's Landing, Downtown, Historic Preservation, Renovations
7 Comments

Adaptive Reuse of Former Sunset Coffee, International Coffee Company Building, Commerce St. Between Main St. and Fannin, Allen's Landing, Downtown Houston

When Houston First and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership announced the complete redo of the former Sunset Coffee building (also known as the International Coffee Company building) at Allen’s Landing last year, they meant it: This pic posted to the Houston First Facebook page doesn’t make it look like there’s a whole lot left — beyond columns and floors — of the 1910 structure parked off Commerce St. between Main and Fannin, but it does allow better glimpses of the Harris County Jail across the bayou through the cleared-out floors.

Following a design from San Antonio architects Lake Flato, the $2.5 million renovation project is scheduled to be complete a year from now. The finished structure will include canoe and kayak rental space on the ground floor facing the bayou and office and event space above. Here’s a rendering of the same from-the-bayou view:

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Seeing Through the Redo
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Featured Posts
06/25/14 5:30pm

Why Karen Lantz Is Ready To Give Up Her Swingin’ Lake Travis Mod Vacation Cabin Redo

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Houston Architects, Modern Design, Renovations, Uncategorized
23 Comments

6404 Lakeshore Dr., Lago Vista, Texas

6404 Lakeshore Dr., Lago Vista, TexasWhy is Houston architect Karen Lantz putting up for sale the 1963 split-level cabin near Lake Travis she painstakingly brought back to life and renovated? To free up funds for more on-her-own projects for her family, she tells Swamplot. Of course, a real-estate listing of an architect’s own home can do double marketing duty: There’s always the chance someone might see your home and want to buy it! But there’s also a chance someone might see your home and want something kind of like it, but somewhere else. . . .

So Lantz went a little wild with the online show-and-tell, repurposing many of the images she had had taken and drawn of the property when she submitted it for professional recognition (both Lantz and the home won awards from the AIA last year) into a fancy listing website that pokes into all sorts of different sections of the half-acre lot, pointing out the “drainage swale,” “bamboo grove,” “firefly grotto” (with video of the bugs in action), “firefly patio,” BBQ patio, “arroyo,” swings (above left), and — oh, yeah, the house too:

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Letting Go in Lago Vista
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Featured Posts
06/12/14 2:45pm

Deshagged, Depaneled, and Despindled, a Tweaked Timbergrove Home Teases the Rentally Minded

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Homes for Lease, Interiors, Renovations, Timbergrove Manor
15 Comments

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Here’s an unfurnished-but-refinished 1962 Timbergrove Manor home that’s seeking a tenant for $3,600 per month. Renovations completed since its last sale, in 2012, transformed the look of the kitchen (at top) and bathrooms at least. Those spaces are the focus of the latest listing — though a view of the redone dining room is included, it’s a pretty tiny photo.

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After the Slab Job
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Featured Posts
06/11/14 4:15pm

Revisiting That International Stylin’ in a $4.3 Million Renovated Mod on Clear Lake in Glen Cove

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Glen Cove, Home Decor, Home Design, Homes for Sale, Houston Architects, Interiors, League City, Modern Design, Renovations
11 Comments

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Clear Lake laps placidly (at least for now) at the shore of a Mies-inspired home designed in 1974 by Houston architect Edmund Furley and located in Glen Cove (the one in League City, not the one near Houston’s Memorial Park). The waterfront retreat’s undated renovations (top) are attributed to interior designer J. Randall Powers and William Caudell (the still-living designer, not Bill Caudill the late CRS architect). Photos in the property’s listing last week generously tour the interior and grounds, but present just one through-the-gate peek at the home’s front (above). There’s a $4.3 million asking price dangling above the wowza waterside spread, but its $12 annual maintenance fee appears to be a real deal.

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Weather Channel
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Featured Posts
06/09/14 5:00pm

The Big Rooms Carved Out of an Updated Holly Park Home

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Holly Park, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Renovations
1 Comment

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The floor plan may qualify as “open,” but rooms take shape nonetheless (top) in a compact 1960 Holly Park home that was listed in late May with a $375,000 asking price. The updated property sits mid-block on a street in the middle of its neighborhood, which is located near Timbergrove Manor, south of W. 18th St. near the West Loop feeder road’s transition into the North Loop.

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Tidy and Tiny
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Featured Posts
06/06/14 11:00am

A Glenbrook Valley Sixties Mod’s Big Comeback Showoff

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Glenbrook Valley, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Renovations
16 Comments

8008 Colgate St., Glenbrook Valley, Houston

8008 Colgate St., Glenbrook Valley, HoustonIt isn’t listed on MLS, but this 2-story mod from 1963 is now for sale. You can see it this weekend: The house at 8008 Colgate St. in Glenbrook Valley is one of 3 featured properties in this weekend’s “Mod of the Month” open house hosted by Houston Mod (along with 2 Meadowcreek Village homes that were featured on Swamplot recently). This one is the product of a to-the-studs renovation and expansion completed last year.

What a journey it’s been: “A long term owner had let the house go,” reports agent Robert Searcy, who’s representing the seller. “The flat roof had leaked, water and mold damage plus animals that had been allowed to defecate in the house, I think maybe even some that died in the house and were never removed. The owner’s cars had been sitting in the garage for decades, on flats, fake Christmas trees and junk piled on them, (a Rolls Royce and a Jaguar sedan, both had been bought new originally).”

Here are a few before-and-after views to give a picture:

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Double Decker Redo
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Featured Posts
05/20/14 4:15pm

Adding a Pool for a Flip Turn in Hermosa Court

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Home Decor, Home Design, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Renovations, Woodland Heights
20 Comments

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Does a smashing new splashscape — along with a dash of fresh interior paint — at a Woodland Heights home that had been renovated just a few years earlier merit this kind of price jump?  An extensive overhaul completed in 2010 to a 1920 structure along a wiggle of Merrill St. in the Hermosa Court section of the neighborhood brought a $750K buyer to the property in 2012. Last week, the re-re-tweaked vintage property reappeared on the market, this time asking $997,500.

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Woodland Heights, for Just Under $1 Million
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Featured Posts
04/16/14 10:00am

Former Country Kitchen Spot Near Timbergrove Almost Ready for New Gig as Warehouse Bar & Chill

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Lazybrook, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Timbergrove Manor
4 Comments

Warehouse Bar & Chill, 3333 W. 11th St., Timbergrove Manor, Houston

From reader Jody Henry comes this pic of the newly transformed facade of the former Country Kitchen location on the western reaches of 11th St. near Seamist. The front patio is built out; burgers, salads, beers, and wings are waiting in the wings. Warehouse Bar & Chill is a week and a half away from opening at 3333 W. 11th St., according to the new establishment’s Facebook page.

Photo: Jody Henry

Just Add Patio
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Featured Posts
04/09/14 3:30pm

A Topped Off Ranch in Willow Meadows for $639K

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Homes for Sale, Interiors, Renovations, Willow Meadows
3 Comments

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When renovations in 2007 perched a partial second story atop a 1957 ranch-style home in Willow Meadows, several original rooms gained high clearance (top). The project anchored its new load with 59 bell-bottom piers below and gutted out the plumbing, wiring, and lighting fixtures, among other tweaks. A week ago, the property was listed on the market with a $639,000 asking price. It had last changed hands in 2007, for $520,000.

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Up and Over
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Adaptive Reuse
04/07/14 11:00am

‘Renovation’ of Menil Bungalow into Menil Café Will Be More Extensive Than Originally Planned

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Demolitions, Houston Architects, Menil Collection, Montrose, Museums, Renovations, Restaurants
5 Comments

Construction of Bistro Menil, 1512 Sul Ross St., Montrose, Houston

Construction of Bistro Menil, 1512 Sul Ross St., Montrose, HoustonWhatever the original plans were for the partial demolition of the gray-painted 1940 bungalow that sat across the street from the Menil Collection and across the footpath to the West Alabama St. parking lot from the Menil Bookstore, they appear to have been exceeded. A reader sends in these photos of the construction site at 1512 Sul Ross St.; they show that the woodframe structure intended for “adaptive reuse” into a new Bistro Menil according to a design by Stern and Bucek Architects has been removed entirely.

The Menil had announced plans for the bungalow-to-bistro conversion at that spot last October, in concert with an upgrade of the parking-lot path into a “new campus gateway” designed by landscape firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. “In keeping with the emphasis on sustainability that is a keynote of the landscape design,” read a Menil press release, “the Menil’s café is designed by Stern and Bucek through the adaptive reuse of one of the bungalows that define the character of the Menil’s campus.” The press release also noted that the Menil’s architect, Renzo Piano, had originally proposed putting a café in this exact location. Since named (via a contest) Bistro Menil, the arts institution’s first eating spot is set to be run by Café Annie, Taco Milagro, and Café Express alum Greg Martin.

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Leaving Only Footprints
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