Last year, the purchase and subsequent demolition of a series of small properties on the half-block surrounded by Westcott, Feagan, and Knox streets in Rice Military piqued the interest of a Swamplot reader, who wondered what would become of the 35,613-sq.-ft. combined parcel immediately south of the Commonwealth Title office building at 550 Westcott St. It turns out the properties’ purchaser, the Oakton Foundation, is connected to the Woodlawn Foundation, a nonprofit that fundraises and funnels funds to projects supported by the Catholic Prelature of Opus Dei. And they’ve decided to use the site for the 4-story Mediterranean style building depicted here. The Westcott Study Center for Men will run Opus Dei programs and house 14 staff residents — just a couple blocks south of the western end of Houston’s best known strip of debauchery, Washington Ave.
“It amazes me that we’ve become so rich as a society that we can collectively afford to have fashions of home improvements that will go in and out of style (although remain perfectly functional) the same way clothes do. The funniest to me is when you see on one of these HGTV shows someone espousing all the right ‘green’ mantras, but the first thing they do when they get the house it tear out all the perfectly functioning appliances, cabinets, counters and carpet…etc to be thrown in a dumpster. All the while feeling smug about how sustainable the place is because they are putting in bamboo flooring . . .” [
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