Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday city offices were open.
This time let’s take things down a notch. From the top:
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Residences
- 702 Woodland St. 77009 (Woodland Heights)
- 608 Pittman St. 77009 (Brooke Smith; new construction by MLB Homes)
- 3224 Reba Dr. 77019 (River Oaks; new construction by Builders West)
- 7634 W. Knoll St. 77028 (Weyburn Place; new construction by Altura Homes)
- 2131 Swift Blvd. 77030 (Southgate; garage only)
- 5526 Candlewood Dr. 77056 (Tanglewood; partial demo for future remodel; photos)
- 891 Chas Ln. 77091
Photo of 702 Woodland St.: HAR
For the record, 702 Woodland is the first approved demolition inside the Woodland Heights Historic District.
Unfortunatly this was a house that was so far gone it could not be saved – severe termite and mold issues. No one disagreed that it was time for it to go.
I’m surprised there are not more of these demolitions in historic districts.
Aging long time owners do not always have the resources to update and repair per HD rules so they don’t do anything.
Demolition by neglect.
There is nothing in the HD ordinance that would require a permit to keep out termite, fix plumbing leaks, or fix leaks from the roof, windows, siding, etc. As long as you do not change the appearance of the exterior, you do not have to get a certificate of appropriateness to do repairs.
There are very few real teardowns left in the HDs. Most of the homes belonging to long-time owners are in good condition and just need to be renovated and updated.
Old School, tell that to the lady in the Heights who was replacing her fascia boards to meet insurance requirements. City inspectors shut her down and told her to get a permit. Simple repairs don’t need a permit, but if you start replacing large sections of fascia, soffitt, or siding, a permit is required. And in an HD, they may tell you you can’t use fiber cement products for soffitt and fascia.
Ross, a City permit is required even if you are not in a historic district.
Preserve: I think he knows that. Old School was saying you don’t need a permit to do xyz, when what he meant was you don’t need the COA to do xyz (which Ross was correcting)
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You still need a permit to do just about ANYTHING to fix up your house — including all the things Old School said. Which causes people to not do it, which causes the places to rot, and then get knocked down (which was PYEs point).
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I’ve told this story here but I had a 1940’s fourplex that I had just bought and the (original) window about fell out — frame and all. So I put a new one in the next day (same size, similar look, not a historic district so no issues there).
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The next day the prius patrol drove by and saw some of the old window debris by the property, realized the window was changed (w/o a permit, OMG!!), and I was fined about $200 and had to get the permit ($) and have the window installation inspected (at which time they could have made me replace all the insulation and god knows what else since technically the ‘wall was open’. I was told I got ‘lucky’ next to what they COULD have done to me)
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So of course these old places are going to get knocked down. Who the hell wants to deal with that?
I went to this house just a couple days ago, walked around inside of it and the entire back side had caved in and the floor had also caved in in the back half of the house. Theres black mold all over it and water damage everywhere. Im amazed its actually still standing.