- 620 Wellesley Dr. [HAR]
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Tag: 77024
The house at 230 Blalock is back on the market this week for just under $2.2 million — more than half a million more than what the city of Piney Point accepted for the house in 2008 (eating a $60,000 loss). The city purchased the 5-bedroom house to use as City Hall back in aught-7, after being kicked out of the Houston strip mall it was using at 7721 San Felipe St.
The city council was subsequently told that no, they couldn’t keep it, and the house went back up for sale, with some debate about whether or not to update the interiors before flipping the property. The most recent owner, however, decided to go for the upgrades. Here’s a few before-and-after shots:
Piney Point
- 204 Kensington Ct. [HAR]
- 11402 Quail Hollow Ln. [HAR]
Hidden in the woods behind the Houston Racquet Club, this C-floorplan mod leaning out toward Buffalo Bayou is currently on the market for just under $2.4 million — down from $3.8 million at the end of September, and $2.9 million at the start of November. The 7,449-sq.-ft. home is now being sold for what the listing claims is lot value, though a $900/monthyear maintenance fee is included. The curvaceous structure contains 3 bedrooms, 3 and a half bathrooms, a pool, and a small mixed-species grove.
Sadly, no photos of the interior are included in the listing, but aerial views are:
Home Invasion in Hunterwood
-  12 Stonegate Dr. [HAR]
From high atop its I-10-side rooftop robo-pineapple, the powers-that-be at MetroNational have heard of your desires to see a timelapse video illustrating the monstrous growth of Memorial City, just as it prepares to spill north across the mighty 30-lane Katy Fwy. Well, the company’s marketing department has, at least. And has bestowed upon Swamplot readers the next-best thing: the tetraptych pictured above, featuring aerial shots dating back almost 50 years and extending to . . . 4 years ago.
But what’s happened since? Edge City gotta keep up with the times! It now stands out above the expanse of west Houston sprawl in blazing color:
Big, Bigger, Biggiest Yet
COMMENT OF THE DAY: RISE OF THE MEMORIAL CITY MONSTER 
“Does any else remember the old Memorial City Hospital that used to sit on the east-bound Katy Freeway feeder (west of Gessner)? It was once just a small 3 stories tall. Then they built 3 more floors on top of those, making it 6. Then it kept growing/morphing until it turned into the crazy space alien tower that it is today.
Memorial City Mall has similarly morphed and changed continuously over the past 3 decades, constantly changing its footprint, accessibility, and façade. I would love to see some sort of time lapse of all the changes. With this expansion across I-10, I’m envisioning an eventual network of skywalks spanning the freeway to connect it all, like a great big vampire squid.” [Superdave, commenting on Memorial City Prepares To Cross the Katy] Illustration: Lulu
- 355 Tynebridge Ln. [HAR]
Steps stick out like a tongue from the pop-eyed façade of a recently renovated 1969 Woodstone home. But is it saying “ah” or “nyah-nyah?” The elevated entry sits between matching front-loader garages supporting twin window bays. Fully paved, the front “yard” meets the street’s cul-de-sac in the Memorial-area neighborhood, which is located west of Gessner Rd. and north of Briar Forest Dr. Listed a week ago, the property is asking $1.149 million. Following a splitsville floor plan, the home’s living and sleeping areas form parallel universes on both levels.
Divided Light
Crews working on the site of the former Village Mobil on the inbound I-10 feeder road at 8819 Katy Fwy. have now covered up part of the former gas station sign with a new hood announcing the Starbucks drive-thru now under construction in its place. But only the top part of the sign. “Will the Hedwig Village Starbucks stick with the ‘by the gallon’ pricing strategy of its predecessor?” asks reader (and Metro board member) Christof Spieler, who snapped this photo.
- Previously on Swamplot: Hedwig Village’s New Freeway-Side Starbucks Drive-Thru Is Coming To Save Your Missed Exit
Photo: Christof Spieler
Regular, Super, or Diesel?
Headed into the Loop along I-10 and missed the exit for the Starbucks in the shopping center at Echo Ln.? Construction has already begun on your new inbound coffee-stop backup. The former site of the stone-encrusted Village Mobil gas station at the corner of Brogden and the eastbound Katy Fwy. feeder road (pictured here as it appeared before it was torn down last year) between Campbell and Voss is currently being transformed into a brand-new Starbucks drive-thru, a source tells Swamplot. And you can reach it from the next exit, for Bingle and Voss — if, in your uncaffeinated state, you can move 3 lanes over on the feeder fast enough. (If not, just apologize to the drivers you almost cut off and try to duck into the Sweet Tomatoes parking lot across the way to work your way back; if you miss that, you can take a mile-long turnaround through the neighborhood by making a right turn on Old Voss Rd.)
Katy Fwy. Coffee Chase
Craggy stonework and red roof tiles rock a rustic Euro farmhouse vibe in Hedwig Village at a 2011 custom home by and for the builder behind Cunningham Development (and the Andalusian-inspired Cáceres enclave community in the Rice Military area). The listing, posted yesterday, has a $3.895 million asking price, but doesn’t include too many peeks at (or around) the property. It’s just north of Beinhorn Rd., between Piney Point Rd. and Voss Rd., in a neighborhood with several newer built homes mixing in with the remaining mid-fifties inventory.
Roomy Rooms
ONE WAY TO GET RID OF THAT PESKY TRAFFIC: TAKE AWAY THE STREETS 
Signs are up around the Memorial City Apartments at 872 Bettina Ln., immediately south of the Memorial City Mall and adjacent to Frostwood, announcing a request that the city abandon portions of Bettina Ct., Strey Ln., and Kimberley Ln. (where the above photo was taken). The request was submitted by the limited partnership that owns the apartments. Its purpose, according to the city’s public works department, is “to reduce the amount of cut-through traffic in the neighborhood.” If granted, the complex would grant the city utility easements over the existing right-of-way. There’s more to it, according to the public works department: “Right-of-way will also be conveyed back to the City for a cul-de-sac to be constructed at the new terminus of Kimberley Lane, which will provide a connection to the driveway in to Bunker Hill Elementary. The cul-de-sac will also contain a 911 emergency gate to allow emergency vehicles to access the apartment complex from Kimberley Lane. Access to Bettina Court and Strey Lane will remain open from Barryknoll Lane, but any traffic turning on to these streets after the abandonment will only be able to access the apartment complex. Signs notifying the public of the subject request were posted April 3, 2015 and will remain up for 30 days.” So is everyone on board with this? So far, only 9 calls have been made to the city in response to the signs, with just one objecting to the deal. Photo: Swamplot inbox
