We just know you’ll be wanting to get in one last snoop-through of that 5,701-sq.-ft. 1928 mansion on Chevy Chase that received its demolition permit yesterday. And who is Swamplot to deny you?
Who’da thunk that — try as he might, River Oaks society architect Charles Oliver still couldn’t design something as attractive as the four-fifths-of-an-acre lot he placed it on?
Can’t get enough marble tile, paneled doors, or finely wrought yet unobtrusive burglar bars? You’ll find this River Oaks gem just a swerve north of the Shepherd Curve. It appeared on MLS over the weekend.
A few delightful surprises inside:
That condo in The Huntingdon belonging to Ken and Linda Lay may soon have company on the market. Randi Stanford, daughter of alleged swindler Robert Allen Stanford — who’s lived in a 2,803-sq.-ft. condo in the same highrise at 2121 Kirby for the last 3 years — has agreed to vacate her unit by the end of March.
The agreement ends a longstanding dispute. The court-appointed receiver for the assets of the Stanford Financial Group will put the unit up for sale.
According to HCAD records, Unit 16NE is owned by an LLC whose address is listed as 5050 Westheimer Rd. — the former headquarters of Stanford Financial Group. Writes the Chronicle‘s Mary Flood:
A report by an accountant working for the receiver showed that Allen Stanford paid for the condo with
 $1.3 million in early 2006. It shows that at least $44,000 paid for condo maintenance came directly from company funds, and that $34,000 of that came from the certificates of deposits issued by Stanford’s bank in Antigua that are at the heart of the alleged fraud.
Photo of The Huntingdon: HAR
Now that photos have been posted — and the asking price has been chopped a full 7 percent — the whole world gets to peek inside the full-floor condo in The Huntingdon that belonged to Enron founder and CEO Ken Lay and his wife Linda. The buildout on the 33rd floor of 2121 Kirby Dr. was designed in the late nineties by Houston architect Leslie Barry Davidson, who’s proven herself versatile in many historical styles that pre-date highrise construction. But the listing photos show what looks like a glum castle retreat for a king and queen who’ve lost their jester.
Oh, but those 360-degree skyline views of Houston! And really, with angry investors and Californians likely to approach from any direction, you’d maybe want a hideout with 4 good corner balconies, just so you can assess the risks:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: 77019 FIXER UPPERS “I have a property in the 77019 area. I am undecided on what to do with it. I expect the property value is in the land rather then house in this instance above. $525K sounds about the going rate in that area for the house above. For the land alone my house sits on I could easily take half a million for it. It raises real questions, since anything I did to the property would not add to its value, if that makes sense. Just recently for instance I noticed that Croix are building on a lot which previously had a fabulous little bungalow on, which was in excellent condition and well restored, sadly Croix demolished it because the value was in the land itself. Sadly also the seller looks to have let it go for less than the land was worth. The house value becomes confusing in the whole value thing. I’ve noticed that builders even the ‘build on your own lot’ people are reluctant to help, give any advice, or take on the work – they want the land, it’s as simple as that. Rather than give it to those people I will probably end up restoring the property and living in it, but whatever is spent on it, it will not add anything to the value of the property which is a sad thing.” [David, commenting on Redo, Rinse, Repeat: Brun Bungalow, Makeover Magnet]
HEIGHTS VS. MONTROSE: THE LEGAL BATTLE After giving himself 5 months to settle into his new Sunset Heights home, HBJ editor and former longtime west-Montrose resident Bill Schadewald sets about appraising the relative merits of his once and future ’hoods: “Montrose: Dozens of nearby attorneys ready to help me consummate a merger, negotiate an acquisition or initiate a hostile takeover. Heights: Hundreds of lawyers on hand to fix my speeding ticket, handle my uncontested divorce or represent me in a minor traffic accident case. Edge: Heights. Some of the lawyers even have brothers-in-law to do the car repairs and throw in a new set of hubcaps for free.” [Houston Business Journal]
And now the official announcement of “what everyone already knew” about the new River Oaks Shopping Center: That second-story space with the overextended (and intensely negotiated) porte-cochere facing onto Shepherd is slated to be a third Américas restaurant. Weingarten Realty reports that Michael Cordúa will open a 9,150-sq.-ft. West-Gray-and-Shepherd version in the fall of this year, featuring an elevated bar area and private event spaces. Cordúa will work again with Cheesecake Factory stylist Jordan Mozer to design his 7th local restaurant. Tony and Jeff Vallone backed out of plans to open a restaurant named Il Tavolo in the same location one year ago.
Photo of River Oaks Shopping Center: River Oaks Examiner
Driving around North Montrose, a reader is surprised to find the Allen House Apartments still standing. Weren’t those units part of the Allen House that was demolished more than 2 years ago — so the land could rest for a bit while Regent Square tries to get some funding?
I am curious as to why 2 buildings of the erstwhile allen house were left untouched. Was Regent square never expected to cover these lots or is this allen house a new entity with no links to the GID Urban Development Group ? Are these going to be demolished in the future?
THIS TIME, FOR THE DEVELOPERS Two proposals out of Mayor White’s office earlier this year — one to pay down the consumer debt of homebuyers, the other to give $5,000 bonuses to Realtors representing buyers in 8 revitalization areas — didn’t get very far. But City Council approved the latest version yesterday: $620,000 in construction subsidies from the TIRZ Affordable Housing Fund for 10 homes — 4 in Trinity Gardens and 6 in the Fourth Ward. The participating builders and CDCs are to be chosen by the city’s Housing and Community Development Director. “The developers may sell the homes after they are used for at least a year as models, but the net proceeds must be reinvested in the same community.” [Houston Chronicle, via Swamplot inbox; details on page 200 here (PDF)]
Over on Lovely Listing, readers are noting the resemblance of this shiny new yet-to-be-manufactured residence planned by On Point Custom Homes for 1517 Driscoll St. to a certain alcohol-guzzling teevee robot.
Both do feature state-of-the-art home automation systems.
The posting’s author begs:
Oh please oh please oh please someone buy this house and paint it silver and put your TV antenna on top please please please
How about a view of that shiny metal backside?
From his perch high in the (formerly AIG) America Tower on Allen Parkway, Swamplot reader Stephen Cullar-Ledford forwards this latest dramatic scene, which aches for suitably metaphorical captioning.
A few months ago it was fog, this afternoon it’s a rainbow over downtown . . .
Photo: Stephen Cullar-Ledford
POST OFFICE SALES: NEVER MIND Those gargoyles-on-sticks facing Downtown from Randall Davis’s Metropolis condo building get to keep their view. Nancy Sarnoff reports that two post offices offered for sale earlier this year (including the River Oaks P.O. adjacent to the Metropolis) have been taken off the market: “‘Bids were just so low we stopped that project for the time being,’ said Charlie Phillips, postal operations analyst for the [U.S. Postal Service]. Those properties are at 1900 West Gray at Dunlavy and 2802 Timmons, near West Alabama.” No report yet on the outcome of bidding for the Downtown Post Office at 401 Franklin St. [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
Strictly speaking, Starbucks number 3 at the corner of West Gray and Shepherd is the new “Barnes and Noble Cafe” inside the just-opened bookstore. But we all know who calls the shots there.
And now we know: The universe is without end.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: APARTMENT MODEL SHOWINGS “If ‘Nudist sundeck + 1 hired model –> 100% occupancy’ was the case, then the Core (on Washington Ave) and Bel Air (on Allen Parkway) and many others in the similiar ‘scene’ and price range would be at 100% occupancy too. But they are not. BTW, the Bel Air pool is really really nice!” [irfan, commenting on Taking More Than Half Off at Those Apartments with the French Quarter Look]
NO, YOU CAN’T SEE KEN AND LINDA LAY’S RENAISSANCE-Y HIGHRISE CONDO The storied full-floor unit on the 33rd floor of the Huntingdon at 2121 Kirby is at long last on the market . . . for $12.8 Million: “The condo sale is being handled privately by Beau Herrold, Linda Lay’s son from her first marriage. Tours are by invitation only . . . When a Chronicle reporter expressed interest in seeing the condo, so as to best to describe the Italian renaissance decor and ‘villa-style living’ touted in a real estate flier, Herrold had only one comment. ‘I bet you would.’” [Houston Chronicle]
