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Tag: 77041
COMBINED ITALIAN WINERY AND PIPING PRODUCTS PLANT OPENING IN WESTLAND BUSINESS PARK 
What could better symbolize this city’s international sophistication and industriousness than the construction of an Italian winery in a Houston business park off West Rd. and Eldridge? Easy: Putting the winery inside a 60,000 sq.-ft. pipe-machining plant in said business park. Stefano Farina brand Chianti, Barolo, barbaresco, and prosecco will be fermented and bottled in a 5,000-sq.-ft. winery with its own separate cooling and ventilation systems after the dual facilities open, likely in March. Grape juice will be shipped there from the Farina Group’s wineries in Tuscany and Piedmont. Meanwhile, next door, the same company’s ITEX Piping Products plant will produce stainless steel flanges, stud bolts, nipples, swages and various piping products for Houston-area oil and gas businesses — from steel forged in the company’s Western European plants. [Houston Business Journal] Photo: Stefano Farina
There were no winners in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game. We’ll save the prize — that one-year individual Rice Design Alliance membership — for the winner of next week’s game.
Want to see what none of you guessed?
Sure ya do!
Do we have a winner of that free one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance?
Oh, yes we do!
Your guesses in this week’s game were all over the place: “south of Rice University between Holcombe and University, either side of Greenbriar,” Montrose, Fondren Southwest, Briargrove, “outer Memorial toward the Energy Corridor,” Nottingham Forest, Westchester, Meyerland, “along Long Point,” “off Navigation,” the neighborhoods north of Channelview,” Flintstone, Jersey Village, greater Champions, Clear Lake, “around Westpark, just outside the Loop,” “HBU/Chimney Rock vicinity,” Southwest Houston, Alief, Sharpstown, Bellaire, Deer Park, Richmond, near Pecan Grove, “290 and Beltway-ish,” Spring, Tomball, Conroe, “Spring Branch West, in the area bordered by Hammerly, I-10, Gessner, and the Beltway,” Magnolia Park, Baytown, Galena Park, “off Hempstead Highway,” Montgomery, Hempstead, “around Stuebner Airline,” “the near Southeast side,” Champions/1960, Hobby Airport area, and Pasadena.
The winner — for the second time this year — is MariaO, for this entry:
Definitely this monstrosity must be on a busy street, in an area that saw some building in the early 60s and then they kept on adding “features†throughout the decades. And it is not in an expensive area, or they would have redone the metal staircase in the entry. And several other things.
I’ll guess the northwest side, perhaps off Hempstead Highway?
Got a friend or family member you’d like to have join you as an RDA member, MariaO?
So many colorful guesses this week! This remarkably accurate one from elnina earns a close second place:
I think this is modern two story residential building from the 60’s. The house is large, and the owner, maybe in construction/remodeling business converted part of it to office space, maybe with a separate apartment and rented out.
Upstairs area looks definitely more contemporary, with updated windows and new floors, light and bright. But the remodeling is still in progress – the big room has new pergo floors but still old wood paneled walls in different color.
The sliding door from the living room upstairs leads to big terrace, and maybe to the partially enclosed whirlpool.
The other part of the house is more traditional, with lots of paneling and mirrors, brick wall accents, stone fireplace, old fashion wet bar and tile/terrazzo floors. The bathroom is a headache – he can’t decide which direction he wants to go (lol)
Definitely outside the loop but inside the Beltway, probably in semi-residential area.
It could be around Montgomery, Hempstead or Stuebner Airline – just a wild guess.
Also very close: Jeff, who went with “290 and Beltway-ish,” then added:
I think they pieced together remnants of several homes left in their yard after Hurricane Ike.
A special commendation goes to Porchman, who wrote to Swamplot with the actual listing, then threw out only this note of encouragement to fellow players:
Hard to believe it’s one house!
But it is! Well, sorta . . . kinda . . . maybe . . .
We have a winner — right on the nose! Who gets that RDA membership?
Many excellent — and entertaining — guesses in this week’s competition. There were 4 for The Woodlands and 3 each for Kingwood and Katy. Sugar Land and First Colony each got 2 votes. The rest: Clear Lake, Brook Forest, Cypress, Silverlake, Bellaire, the Energy Corridor, Cinco Ranch, Kelliwood, Bay Oaks in Clear Lake, “north of I-10, directly west of Barker-Cypress Rd., off Parkview Rd.,” “near Barker Cypress,” Barker-Cypress “in the vicinity of Pine Forest Country Club,” Greenhouse, “near a Hobby Lobby,” Missouri City, Lakewood Forest, Pearland, Twin Lakes, Jersey Village, Northgate Forest, Wimberly in Deer Park, the Lakeside area (“1970s early 80s pre bust energy corridor north of Westheimer south of Memorial”), near Fry Rd. south of I-10, Meyerland, below Memorial west of Voss, and Spring.
But BenC wins this week’s prize — a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance — for this enthusiastic entry:
Lots of oversize rooms and a pool make it ideal for energy corridor expats coming over from the dreary cold homeland. An outside picture would show at least one V8 powered car/suv.
Too big for the south of I10 energy corridor, to old (black appliances) for Lakes of Eldridge. I’m guessing twin lakes. Where ever it is the agent should earn a double commission on the sale.
Here’s more detail:
THE SAD CONSEQUENCES OF SKIPPING DESSERT Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream will be shutting down its plant at 4494 Campbell Rd., off Clay Rd. in Northwest Houston, by early April: “Dori Bailey, director of consumer communications for Dreyer’s, says the company chose to close the Houston facility, which produces 20 million gallons of ice cream a year, because production demand from the Houston area has been declining over the past several years. ‘Houston was also one of our smallest plants and it only had the capability to make packaged ice cream, while our other plants are able to make other brands of ice cream snacks as well,’ Bailey says. Bailey says the company hasn’t decided whether to sell or lease the 130,000-square-foot facility. About 50,000 square feet of the plant is factory space, while 80,000 square feet is warehouse space.” [Houston Business Journal]