- 2902 Morrison Ave. [HAR]
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Tag: 77009
Just add performer (or pastor) and this former church building with studio-friendly sound and light system will be ready to roll. Or rock. The 1985 property on a residential street is set within Depenbrook Allen, a Near Northside neighborhood located off Quitman St. near I-45. Re-listed last week, the former home of Ministerio Zoe Vida now has a new asking price of $169,900. Previous price points ranged from $245,000 (at its initial listing in May 2013) to the $175K it had reached by December, when it went on a quick winter break.
Take a Seat
- 1135 Louise St. [HAR]
- 315 Embry St. [HAR]
- 507 Moody St. [HAR]
WHERE THE LITTLE PINK FLAGS ARE WAVING NOW, NEXT TO I-45 NORTH 
Reader Joel Balderas seeks some Brooke Smith-area feeder road intel: “I’m curious what’s going on at the property located at approximately 2450 North Freeway. I live just around the corner and I noticed that a couple weeks ago the for sale sign was taken down and stakes were placed around the property with pink flags. The lot looks to be about an acre and a half and sits on the northbound side of I-45 between North Main and Patton. I-45 bounds it to the west. Little White Oak and Top Brass are to the north. A small home is to the south at 2406 North Freeway. To the east is a wooded area that would double the size of the lot. After the wooded area you would hit Little White Oak again. On the north east corner is a T-Mobile tower and on the south west corner is a large billboard facing north, which is currently advertising Fiesta. If you hear of anything I’d appreciate the info.” Photo: Joel Balderas
A barn door and a side fence help define space for a Sunset Heights home, but neither appears to be a fixed feature. The interior’s barn door, for example, rolls into place to screen shut a bedroom otherwise open to the main hallway (at right). And beyond the side fence, there’s a vacant lot, but half of it belongs to this property. The souped-up straight-shot bungalow appeared on the market last week with a $475,000 asking price.
Door on Demand
WINTER SNOBALLS FOR HOUSTON 
Just in time to serve up a white Christmas — at least before a few pumps of flavoring are added to your order — MAM’s House of Ice has opened its first-ever non-wheeled, year-round location. It’s at 1040 W. Cavalcade St. in Sunset Heights, about a mile east of the popular mobile storefront’s longstanding trailer-parking spot. That means snoballs (along with a few warmer dessert-y and snack-y items added to the menu) will now be available year-round. [b4-u-eat; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Mam’s House of Ice
- 512 Enid St. [HAR]
- 504 Byrne St. [HAR]
When a shutterbug crosses a picket line, the results could look like this white-fenced, louver-loving 1920 cottage in Woodland Heights. The well-porched property is on its third run at the market in 5 months. This round, initiated earlier this week by a new agency, sets the price at $550,000. An initial listing of the corner lot cottage in July 2013 was priced at $635,000, though the ask was reduced to $599,000 a month later. A relisting in September floated a $575,000 price tag, but only for a month. (Way back in 1997, the home sold for $229,900.)
The Louvered Life
There’s been a Metro train siting at the new Quitman station of the North Line extension, just south of the train’s turnoff from North Main, reader Joel Balderas reports. Unlike earlier appearances, the train appears to be operating under its own power. Here’s the photo evidence:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHEN TOWNHOMES COME TO LINDALE PARK 
“Most of the best appreciation in the Heights is in sections that are already deed restricted for lot size or have adopted the minimum lot size under chapter 42. Lindale is not like Midtown or parts of Montrose that have already been torn apart by non-residential development or have been chopped up with lots of townhomes. It looks more like Oak Forest did ten years ago. And if comps were a deterrent, no one would be replacing 1200 sq. ft. ranch homes in Oak Forest with 3500 sq. ft. custom homes.
When a neighborhood gets bought out for town homes, the incentive to maintain the existing housing stock is lost. Your house is only worth what the dirt is worth. A foundation that has $5,000 of repairs to get it level looks just the same as one without after an afternoon with back hoe ripping through it. The result is that the existing neighborhood will go way downhill while the new construction takes over.” [Old School, commenting on Headlines: A Giant Kroger for Kingwood; Inn at the Ballpark Rebranding] Illustration: Lulu
Looks like MAM’s House of Ice will be opening inside this 780-sq.-ft. former paint supply liquor store at 1040 W. Cavalcade — just in time for winter! This spot is a bit east of where the sky-blue dessert trailer usually parks at Rutland and 20th. Why here? The owners explain to Eater Houston that they “‘tried really hard not to go into a strip center because [they] wanted to have green space’ so that families could go out, extend blankets on the green and enjoy the outdoor picnic tables.” HCAD records show that this new lot comes in at 3,500 sq. ft.
- New Orleans Style Snoballs [MAM’s House of Ice]
- MAM’S House of Ice Snoballs to Open in November [Eater Houston]
- Previously on Swamplot: Snoballs at MAM’s: the Heights of Ice
Photo: Eater Houston
- 2928 Michaux St. [HAR]
