Tag: 77019

09/22/14 4:15pm

Blanton Estate Seeking $4.85 Million for Its Updated, Expanded Staub-Born River Oaks Estate

by CALwords

Home Design, Homes for Sale, Houston Architects, Interiors, River Oaks

8 Comments

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The last time this 1952 River Oaks home attributed to Staub and Rather was on the market was about a decade ago. At the time, it sold for $2.875 million to business titan and philanthropist Jack S. Blanton, who died in December of last year. The 1952 corner property features an expansion by a previous owner back in 1998 — around the time it sold for $1.08 million. In its listing earlier this month, the home’s asking price was $4.85 million.Â What sorts of add-ons have accompanied the rising prices?

Still Rather Staub-Like

77019, Home Design, Homes for Sale, Houston Architects, Interiors, John Staub, River Oaks

Apartments

09/19/14 1:45pm

Burnt-Down Axis Apartments Giving Up on Surviving Parking Garage

Demolitions, Disaster Aftermath, Fires, Montrose

10 Comments

Demolition of Axis Apartments Garage, 2400 West Dallas St., North Montrose, Houston

Remember the fire back in March at those apartments under construction on West Dallas next to the cemetery that destroyed the whole complex except for the parking garage? No big deal if you don’t, because you’d need to adjust your memory anyway. A reader notes to Swamplot that the surviving parking garage is now being demolished as well, months after the singed stick-frame structures around it at JLB Parters’ would-have-been Axis Apartments were carted away. So now you can remember the fire so bad they had to tear the whole thing downÂ — though it took them a while to give up on the garage.

On Second Thought, Scrap That

77019, Apartments, Demolitions, Disaster Aftermath, Fires, North Montrose, Parking-Garages

Condos

09/09/14 1:00pm

The New Midrise Condo Building on D’Amico St. off Dunlavy Should Look Something Like This

North Montrose, Proposed Developments

10 Comments

Rendering of Riva at the Park, 3331 D'Amico St., North Montrose, Houston

Here’s a rendering of the 7-story (2 of them parking) condo building Sims Luxury Builders is planning for the spot at 3331 D’Amico St. — just east of Dunlavy St. and south of Allen Pkwy. currently occupied by a dentist’s office and bridal shop structure where a sign went up late last month. Dubbed Riva at the Park, the building will contain 22 units (marked down from 24), on 3 floors of 4 units each and 2 floors of 5. A marketing rep tells Swamplot the building’s developers are aiming to have “larger units than Highland Tower or the Royalton,” but “superior finish allowances and very low maintenance fees but not as industrial as the loft buildings.” They condos are expected to start in the high $700s. The building will sit on the northern edge of the former Rincon Apartments, now called the Villas at River Oaks.

Houston’s new park place? Seven-story condo building to rise over Buffalo Bayou Park with views galore [Culturemap]
Previously on Swamplot:Â Signs of a Planned Midrise at Dâ€™Amico and Dunlavy

Rendering: Sims Luxury Builders

Riva at the Park

77019, Condos, North Montrose, Proposed Developments

Apartments

08/27/14 12:00pm

The 2 New Apartment Buildings Just West of Downtown That Alliance Residential Hasn’t Even Announced, but Is About To Start Building

Fourth Ward, Proposed Developments

20 Comments

707 Saulnier and 707 Robin Streets, Fourth Ward, Houston

Two separate apartment buildings, one 8 storiesÂ tall and the other 5, will be going up at the far east end of the Fourth Ward, just over the Gulf Fwy. from Downtown. The building bounded by Saulnier, Crosby, Heiner, and Robin will cover the entire 1.136-acre block, which is currently a surface parking lot (see photo above), and bear an address of 707 Saulnier St. The (presumably taller) building one block to the south, labeled 707 Robin St., will take up the vacant two-thirds-of-an-acre L-shaped portion of the block boundedÂ by Robin, Crosby, Heiner, and Andrews.

Developer Alliance Residential (the same company behind the Broadstone complexes at Main St. and West Alabama in Midtown and next to the new SkyHouse downtown, as well as other complexes in the Houston area) doesn’t appear to have announced the project publicly, except to let neighbors know that construction will begin on September 8thÂ and will shut down portions of the surrounding streets for the duration of construction, which is expected to last through October 2016.

A Swamplot reader sends these pics of the sites:

Fourth Ward

77019, Apartments, Fourth Ward, Proposed Developments

Buying and Selling

08/20/14 2:00pm

Signs of a Planned Midrise at D’Amico and Dunlavy

North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment

6 Comments

SIGNS OF A PLANNED MIDRISE AT D’AMICO AND DUNLAVY Sign for Riva at the Park, 3331 D'Amico St., North Montrose, Houston There’s a sign up in front of the former dentist’s office and bridal shop structure at 3327 and 3331 D’Amico St., tucked into the northern edge of the Villas at River Oaks (formerly Rincon) apartments on Dunlavy St. just south of Allen Pkwy. Sugar Land homebuilder Christopher Sims bought the properties in April; a logo for his Sims Luxury Builders, along with one for the probable architect, the Mirador Group, appear on a sign that went up on the 20,192-sq.-ft. lot last week, advertising a new midrise building named Riva at the Park. A website for the new development greets mailing-list signups with breezy copy touting the development’s location and appliances, but no description or rendering of what’s planned. Photo: Swamplot inbox

77019, Buying and Selling, Midrises, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment

08/06/14 1:45pm

And Now, a Drone-Video Walkthrough Tour of a $560K North Montrose Townhouse Behind TJ Maxx

Homes for Sale, Interiors, North Montrose, Real Estate Marketing, Townhomes

11 Comments

Sure, high-above drone still shots now regularly pepper real estate listings, but a reader wonders whether the effort shown above — and included in this for-sale website — might constitute the first video tour by quadcopter ever to appear in Houston’s MLS. It probably isn’t, if only because (as of early this afternoon), the 3-story townhouse at 1611 W. Clay St., which backs up to the TJ Maxx store on W. Gray St.,Â isn’t actually listed for sale on the MLS (it last sold in 2012, for $462,060). But the video was only posted on Monday, so give it some time. Asking price: $560,000.

The flying-remote-camera footage begins with an awe-inducing golden-hour survey of the home’s exterior and moves onto theÂ amazing views of downtown and the surrounding neighborhood that might be available were the townhouse to be 3 or so stories taller than it is. But more notable is the moment about 44 seconds in, when the flying-around-the-house quadcopter camera footage cuts directly into an interior walkthrough, starting from the front door (leaving out, of course, the awkward around-the-side-of-the-garage entrance common to homes of this type).

Real Estate Listing Innovations

77019, Homes for Sale, Interiors, North Montrose, Real Estate Marketing, Townhomes, Videos

Comments

07/31/14 3:15pm

Comment of the Day: A Brief Annotated History of Allen Parkway Village’s Dirty Neighbor

Fourth Ward, Houston History, Public Housing, Quicklink

6 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: A BRIEF ANNOTATED HISTORY OF ALLEN PARKWAY VILLAGE’S DIRTY NEIGHBOR Drawing of Allen Parkway Village Apartment, Fourth Ward, Houston “Wow, I never knew there was a waste incinerator right in the Fourth Ward. Hereâ€™s a handy timeline: Post-Civil War: Freed slaves construct their own neighborhood in the Fourth Ward. 1917: Camp Logan Race Riots are sparked off when a Houston policeman beats a black soldier in the Fourth Ward. 1920s: Gillette incinerator is built (PDF) right in the Fourth Ward. 1944: San Felipe Courts (todayâ€™s Allen Parkway Village) were built next to the incinerator. They were originally intended as public housing for the city (following a New Deal movement for public housing in the 1930s) but ended up being handed over to the defense department to exclusively house white WW2 veterans (PDF). The other motivation was to ‘clean up the slums’Â along Allen Parkway for passing commuters. 1964: San Felipe Courts are desegregated following the Civil Rights Act and renamed to Allen Parkway Village. 1970s-90s: Developers advocated for APVâ€™s demolition arguing that the public housingâ€™s costs didnâ€™t reflect the land’s ‘highest and best use.’ Meanwhile, the housing deteriorated due to neglect by the Houston Housing Authority and HUD. Residents organized and protested demolition leading to APVâ€™s rebuilding in 1997. Today: The city can now cash in by selling a plot of polluted land next to APV now that the Fourth Ward is gentrifying.” [Carpetbagger, commenting on The Best the City Can Get for Gillette; Not Jus Donutsâ€™ Extreme Cakeover] Illustration: Lulu

77019, Allen Parkway Village, Comments, Fourth Ward, Freedmen's Town, Houston History, Houston Housing Authority, Public Housing

Gardening

07/24/14 3:15pm

Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: Houseplant

Homes for Sale, Landscape, River Oaks

2 Comments

2406 River Oaks Blvd., River Oaks, Houston

2406 River Oaks Blvd. [HAR]

Photo: Benjamin Hill

77019, Gardening, Homes for Sale, Landscape, River Oaks

07/21/14 11:15am

A Second Neighborly Lawsuit Against Hines’s San Felipe Office Tower Demonstrates Effect of Ashby Highrise Ruling

Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Office Buildings, River Oaks

49 Comments

Rendering of 2229 San Felipe Tower A new lawsuit filed last week against the developers of the 2229 San Felipe office tower currently under construction between Shepherd and Kirby is a bit different from the one that a group of neighbors initiated against the same party back in February, a reader notes. The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are the owners of a River Oaks home directly across the street from the construction site, and they appear to have studied the ruling issued in the Ashby Highrise lawsuit carefully. (Back in May,Â Judge Randy Wilson ordered the developers of that building to pay neighbors $1.2 million to compensate them for “lost market damages,” but denied their request to halt the building’s construction)

Unlike their neighbors who sued before them, the residents of 2237 Stanmore Dr. are not seeking to prevent or delay the construction of Hines’s neighborhood office tower. Instead, it appears they are only seeking compensation for both public and private “nuisances” created by the 17-story building, including pollution, noise, and ground vibration during its construction and the resulting loss ofÂ sunlight and rain on their property. The building’s vaunted peepage opportunities don’t please them either:

Pay Up

2229 San Felipe, 77019, Lawsuits, Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Office Buildings, River Oaks, Vermont Commons

07/03/14 12:30pm

Scoping Out the Fireworks View from the Roofdeck of a City View Courtyard Townhome off West Dallas

by CALwords

Fourth Ward, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Townhomes

2 Comments

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The rooftop terrace of this 2008 City View Courtyard townhome ought to be a decent spot for watching tomorrow’s Freedom Over Texas fireworks show. The Fourth Ward location between W. Dallas St. and the back of Allen Parkway Village falls in Freedmen’s Town — though not the portion designated and nationally registered as Freedmen’s Town Historic District. The townhome property’s name is only semi-apt; while “city view” (top) is a sure thing, the “courtyard” reference is less clear. Perhaps it refers to the narrow strip of fenced pensÂ between the 2 back-to-back 3-packs? Even without the seasonalÂ pyrotechnics of Houston’s Official July 4th Celebration to view, the end-cap’s perspective peeks at office peaks, . . .

Skyrockets at Night

77019, Allen Parkway Village, Freedmen's Town, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Rooftop Terraces, Townhomes

Home Decor

06/27/14 3:00pm

Houston Home Listing Photo of the Day: The Cushy Pen

by CALwords

Home Design, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Tall Timbers

15 Comments

Relaxation Room, 4000 Willowick Rd., Tall Timbers, River Oaks, Houston

4000 Willowick Rd. [HAR]

77019, Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, River Oaks, Tall Timbers

Houston History

06/25/14 2:30pm

Dressing Up the Menil House, Scaring the Architect Away

Modern Design, Quicklink, River Oaks

5 Comments

DRESSING UP THE MENIL HOUSE, SCARING THE ARCHITECT AWAY Dressing Room of Menil House, Decorated by Charles James, 3363 San Felipe St., Houston “Philip [Johnson] felt we should have a Mies van der Rohe settee, a Mies van der Rohe glass table and two Mies van der Rohe chairs on a little musty-colored rug,” explained Dominique de Menil about the distinctive yet undeniably Miesian modern home at 3363 San Felipe St. the already-somewhat-famous museum curator-turned-architect had designed for her and her husband. “We wanted something more voluptuous.” And so in 1950 the first family of Schlumberger hired Mr. Voluptuous himself, the dress designer Charles James, to create the new home’s interiors — something he had never done before, and never would do again. How’d that turn out? Here’s Joanna McCutcheon, giving some background to the Menil Collection’s current exhibition featuring clothing and furniture James designed for his patron: “Upon entering the house — a clean, strictly modernist construction of brick, steel and glass, he immediately demanded that the ceilings be raised 10 inches. He wanted additional room to facilitate his plan of coating the walls in lurid felt and velvet. . . . The walls of the Johnson house were swaddled in dyed felts, while dark spaces were illuminated with shocking colour. Horrified, Johnson refused to include the house in his portfolio for decades afterwards.” [Disegno Daily] Photo of Menil House dressing room: Menil Collection

77019, Houston History, Menil Collection, Modern Design, River Oaks

Buying and Selling

06/09/14 12:45pm

Harold’s in the Heights, Lucky Burger Redeveloper Putting Something Together on West Gray

Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail

6 Comments

1515-1705 West Gray St., Montrose, Houston

The team at Braun Enterprises has bought up a series of properties wedged between the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center on West Gray St. and the electrical substation at the corner of Peden St. and Dunlavy, including the 2 retail buildings pictured above. Braun bought up a total of 5 separate parcels in 4 transactions this year, including the offices of Miner-Dederick Construction at 1532 Peden, and retail spaces at 1515, 1705, and 1707 West Gray. That’s a bit shy of an acre in total. Real Estate Bisnow’s Catie Dixon reports Braun is considering selling, leasing, redeveloping, or building something for a future tenant on the property. Here’s a renderingÂ from Braun showing what a renovation of might look like:

Peden Transformers

77019, Buying and Selling, Montrose, Retail

Bars and Clubs

05/30/14 12:45pm

The Folks Operating the New Marfreless Are a Bunch of Posers, Say the Folks Who Used To Run the Bar

Lawsuits, Leasing, Vermont Commons

3 Comments

Marfreless, 2006 Peden St., River Oaks Shopping Center, Houston The former operators of Marfreless — the oh-so-dark bar that hid behind the unmarked blue door under the stairs in back of the River Oaks Shopping Center for more than a decade until shutting down in the middle of last year — filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the group that later renovated the space and opened a bar of the same name inside it in January of this year. In essence, the suit claims that the bar’s current operators are imposters, and are using the Marfreless name in its former leased location — and claiming to have reopened it — without permission. â€œMarfreless was temporarily closed in March of 2013, when it transitioned to new ownership, the third in its distinguished lifetime,â€ reads the new Marfreless website, created by the bar’s current operators. But the lawsuit claims that isn’t true. “Despite these representations by Defendant,” reads a filing by Marfreless Ventures, LP, “no such ownership transition has ever taken place.”