Prime Views of the Coming 59 Bridge Re-Enlightenment from a Vassar Court Townhome

With the nearby bridges over the Southwest Fwy. slated for re-lighting, a softly glowing 2008 Vassar Court townhome could be facing some illuminary competition down the line. The front-loading property rises 3 stories along a block of older properties, adjacent to a crook in the one-way street, which travels west and ends at Hazard St., by the bridge. The residence may be 5 years old, but apparently it’s only been gently occupied: The 4-day-old listing describes it as a rarely-used second home for its art-collector owners. Price tag: $849,000.

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On the ground level, the floor plan includes an anteroom off the foyer . . .

one of the 3 bedrooms . . .

and a full bathroom with walk-in shower:

Atrium space on the north side rises 2 stories from the entry. The steel-and-wood staircase lands in the middle of the second level’s layout:

The kitchen (appliances never used, according to the listing) and dining area are on one side:

And the exposed-truss living room is on the other:

There’s also a niche study with access to a covered balcony . . .

providing a view of the freeway’s retaining walls and a through-the-rooftops peek at the curving span of the bridge at Woodhead St. (visible between the power poles in this photo):

A master suite on the third level (the listing indicates there are 2) includes the top-floor terrace:

At 2,464 sq. ft., Unit A is about 400 sq. ft. smaller than its contemporary neighbor, county tax records indicate. Its lot measures 2,187 sq. ft.

16 Comment

  • I guess the “art-collector” owners keep ALL of their art in the “other” home. This home has absolutely no art, good or bad and the decor is marginal at best.

  • Painted exposed wood trusses, now that’s an example of doing shit just ’cause you can, not because it makes any sense.

  • There were a couple of paintings in those photos, but not the kind of art extravaganza I was expecting based on the description.

  • @commonsense – the painted trusses got nothing compared to the exposed engineered lumber beams…now that’s a first.

  • $300K over HCAD appraisal, yeah, good luck with that, even with the view of traffic….

  • @Texmex01, for the 50th time in the last few months… HCAD appraisal/assessments have little to do with real market value. If you want to get an idea if they’re asking a fair price, look at comparable sales in the area… or even the sale history of this particular home.

  • The owner appears to be far more of a Maxxanista than an art collector.

  • Yeah 2,400 sq ft on a 2,100 sq ft lot.

    The only thing this house has going for it is that it is “brand new.” Still, given its size and location 850K is probably asking too much. Though it could sell for 700-750.

  • I agree – the price is too high for something this close to the freeway – the car noise will be nonstop (unless there’s heavy traffic). Hopefully they installed double pane windows to mitigate it.
    If you get a chance, check out the pink house across the (very narrow) street on Google street view.
    The house is 5 years old and the appliances have never been used?! Have they kept perishables in an Igloo cooler and only cooked using a toaster over (…well the second one, I can kinda believe).

  • People are beginning to think Houston is Los Angeles–these price increases are unrealistic, he may get 600000, it’s a good location (tho too close to 59)–it’s really sad that realtors list these properties for so far over market value, I wouldn’t even bother considering this property since the owner and realtor are so out of touch with reality –I might buy this if it had a cute of the Hollywood Hills, but not a Houston Freeway–get real

  • View* (I loath iPhone spell check)

  • commonsense and superdave — the painted and exposed trusses and exposed (likely) engineered beams are popping up in more and more town homes. at first I thought it was cheap (and in fairness, it is), but they have grown on me — it makes the town home feel more like a loft.

  • I like exposed glue-lams. Btw in that second pic you can see the “highway house” by Wittenberg & Oberholzer; nice northern view.

  • I might even give a pass on glue-lam beams, when they’re sanded and stained, there’s some interest to them, but the open web truss is made of rough studs, stuck together with odd shaped metal connectors, up close they look terrible.

  • To those remarks about artwork, why would anyone keep their expensive art in a vacant house on the market?? Having pics of the house all over the web would be like saying “please break in and steal me”. This house was obviously staged for pics, probably not the owners stuff. It’s nice to see some modern design instead of all the boring traditional styles you see in Houston. Step outside your bubble people

  • A beaumont Dr trying to make a chunk of change off this piece of real estate crap…the future slums of Houston…300,000 isn’t a bad profit..if he can get it…art collector..yeah right.. and I am slim and 21!!!!