We’re on the home stretch! Yesterday we opened two more categories for nominations in this, our second-annual Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate. Here’s the list of categories introduced so far: Most Overappreciated Neighborhood, Most Underappreciated Neighborhood, The “Only in Houston†Award, Best Teardown of the Year, Best Vacancy, and Favorite Houston Design Cliché. To make these awards as smart and razzle-dazzly as they can be, we need you to add your suggestions!
And now our next category: Neighborhood of the Year. What qualifications does a neighborhood need to meet in order to be declared Houston Neighborhood of the Year? You tell us — as you make your nomination! Of course, a neighborhood might be considered for Swamplot’s Neighborhood of the Year award for vastly different reasons than another one might be considered for an award of the same name from, say, the GHBA.
Please note that entrants in this category — as well as all the others — need not be located strictly inside Houston’s municipal boundaries. As longtime Swamplot readers will note, we try to track the idea of Houston as it regularly travels outside the city limits. Who’da thunk it, but last year’s “Only in Houston” award, for example, went to a rollercoaster-and-residence combo in Kemah.
Add your nominations in the comments below, or send us an email. If you need more guidance, consult the official rules. Who are the contenders?
- Previous award categories: Your Nominations for the Most Overappreciated Houston Neighborhood, Which Houston Neighborhood Is the Most Underappreciated?, Your Nominations for the “Only in Houston†Award, Best Teardown of the Year? Make Your Nominations!, Your Nominations Please: Best Vacancy, Now Accepting Nominations: Favorite Houston Design Cliché
- The Swamplot Awards for Houston Real Estate 2009: How To Make a Nomination [Swamplot]
- Swamplot Award Nominations 2009 [Swamplot]
Southampton is getting a lot of notoriety, as are Rice Military, Washingon Ave, and The Heights. EaDo is getting a lot of buzz, Old Sixth Ward is still holding on pretty well, and the overlooked gems like Meadowcreek are starting to be not so overlooked. All of those would be plausible choices.
My heart says that the nomination should go to Galveston for their amazingly successful rebuilding efforts. If the judges feel that is too far afield, then my second choice would be Midtown, because that has turned into something relatively new and unique for Houston. (not unique TO Houston by any means, but a housing/retail environment that is way more urban than anything we’ve seen here in nearly a century.)
I agree Midtown is very unique to Houston in nearly a century. Midtown would be an easy choice as the neighborhood of the decade. But just based on last year, I would go with Washington Ave (the whole super neighborhood 22) in terms of a neighborhood transformation in the positive direction.
Morgan’s Point. Topping out at nearly 30 feet above sea level thereby making most of it immune to storm surge yet enjoying sweeping views of Galveston Bay, this neighborhood features luxurious mansions at faux-mansion West U pricing. I just don’t think it gets much better.
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Just watch out for the mini-tsunamis created by the wakes of loaded-down tankers coming into port!
Southampton is getting a lot of notoriety…
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Gus will have to come up with a category just for Southampton and Boulevard Oaks.
Most notorious might do. Or most pretentious. Or most obnoxious.
Of the above, I’d agree that the Washington Ave. corridor has had a news-making year, so it should probably be in there. But the first neighborhood that came to my mind was Eastwood. Might just be my personal experience, but it seems to have gotten a lot of attention in 2009.
I’m a big fan of St. George Place in Uptown area. In fact, it should be Neighborhood of the Decade, completely transformed from the Galleria Ghetto to one of the most reasonably priced areas compared to it’s amenties (location, great brand-new elementary school, only zoned-area in all of Houston, etc). It’s often noted nationally as the BEST example EVER of a successful use of Tax Increment Re-inventment Zones turning a blight area into a hugely successful new tax-base for the entire city. No other neighborhood in all of Houston (and even the entire country) can claim such a remarkable transformation. And yet it’s a very walkable and friendly neighborhood with active civic groups. A true gem hidden in plain site. Wonderful!
@ theGman
Wow, I nominate you for the most blatantly obvious neighborhood self-promotion
You’re outside the loop, though, so it obviously doesn’t count. I’m JK’ing, of course, but to call that area “reasonably priced” (from what I see on har) is pretty ridiculous, particularly because all I see are townhomes. And if your idea of “walkable” is walking to the Galleria then yeah, I guess it’s walkable.
Another vote for Galveston – barely a year after Ike and their revenue-spawning festivals and events are up and running again. Good job!
Pasa-Feakin-Dena
Cashadena/Stinkadena/Assadena/Chemical City or whatever you like to call it….
its diverse and old…you got latinos/Indians/Asians/blacks/scandanavians…yesscandanavians
we got organized crime/ gang crime/ crime committed by the police and just run-of-the-mill crime oh and don’t forget Joe Horn….and my prediction soon to be GENTRIFICATION in North Pasadena or NoPa as it will be called soon…lol…NoPa(will be from Spencer highway and Up)
Yes it has a lot of crime a lot of illegals a ton of crooked cops 3 billion refineries as well as boxing clubs,taquerias,projects AND its actually one of the most URBAN places in Houston(drive down Spencer/ SOuthmore/Richey/Fairmont/Edgebrook and it actually has sidewalks and theres people actually walking ALL the time anyway thats just my opinion….
In closing Cashadena in my opinion is the Brooklyn of Houston…Ghetto/underappreciatted/old/ buuuuuuuut/ redeveloping/ diverse/urban and ready for a change….SUWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!
@ OkieEric:
Nominate a neighborhood, don’t rag ignorantly about someone else’s nomination.
You’ve obviously never been inside St George Place much if all you think it has are townhomes; and those single-family patio homes that line Hidalgo are a throw-back to east coast cities and Amsterdam; if Midtown and Rice Military had an organized developer(s) like SGP did to ensure most block faces have a unique by unifying feel, they’d look ten times better.
And yes its very reasonably priced given that just a block north is Del Monte and BriarCroft homes sell for twice as much and yet have much worse traffic hassles.
And, uh yeah, being able to walk to THE most sought after shopping and restaurants in the city and to your own school and soon to light-rail on Post Oak and have outsiders walk their dogs in your neighborhood, that’s the very definition of walkable.
Don’t get jealous of St George Place when it wins Neighborhood of the Decade/Year. Objectively and subjectively, it is.
:)
I nominate St George Place for the Neighborhood of the Year.
It was the first TIRZ in Houston and has made good use of the funds to increase the value and status of the neighborhood.
What once was “Galleria Crack Alley” has been slowly transformed to a great area to live with single family homes and patio homes coming up each year.
With the recent addition of St George Place Elementary, it has been an ideal place for families with kids.