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Tag: 77066
Originally listed in December at $167,000, this 5-bedroom, 3-bath, and 1-half-bath home features dramatic avian motifs and a few eye catching finishes, like the mirrored doors above.  As for the occasional bit of unfinished cabinetry or unpapered wall — just unhatched potential, which the listing says is reflected in the price. After a couple will-they-won’t-they under-contract periods and a price drop down to $159,900, the house is now free as a bird and back up on the market at $165,000. The 1972 home offers easy access to FM 1960, just a few miles east of Willowbrook Mall.
The second floor balcony overlooks the front yard:
Champions Roosts
This 1981 Queen Anne-inspired property (just north of 249 at Beltway 8 and two blocks south of Bourgeois Rd.) lets you straddle the line between past and present— the exterior of the Cypress Creek home showcases Victorian-era architectural stylings, while more modern amenities pop up inside. Listed earlier this month for $185,000, the 2,116-sq.-ft. home has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, as well as a garage apartment, a pool, and a master suite with its own turret. Step onto the wrap-around porch and come inside for a tour:
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Alt-Nouveau
REFORMED OIL WORKER TYPES GIVING UP PUMP JACK, OPENING NEW BREWERY NEAR THE WILLOWBROOK MALL 
Why are the owners of the microbrewery set to open later this year in this industrial building in the Four Season Business Park at 6820 Bourgeois Rd., a mile southeast-ish of the Willowbrook Mall, calling themselves the 11 Below Brewing Co.? Should their beers be served that cold? “Start with the oilfield, and move to the brewing industry, just like our founders,” the company explains on its Facebook page. “There’s 42 gallons in a barrel of crude oil, but only 31 gallons in a barrel of beer. See what we did there?” You should also see that the original name, Pump Jack Brewing Co., encountered some “trademark drama,” according to the founders, prompting the change. [11 Below Brewing] Photo with superimposed logo: 11 Below
Just 6 months after a companywide audit of worker IDs resulted in the loss of 269 of its 489 employees, Champion Window has decided to shut down its entire manufacturing division — axing an additional 135 workers. The largest manufacturer of vinyl and aluminum windows in the South Central U.S. was served with a grand jury subpoena last November over its hiring practices; a subsequent investigation by federal agents revealed that a large number of the company’s employees had no legal authorization to work in the U.S. Champion will shift its manufacturing operation from its Houston plant at 12427 Duncan Rd. near the Willowbrook Mall to its parent company, Dallas-based Atrium Windows and Doors, in December. Recently, Champion filed suit against 2 former top executives, alleging their “negligent disregard” for whether job applicants had authorization to work in the country “nearly crippled” the company’s operations.
- Champion Window to close Houston plant, cut 135 jobs [Houston Business Journal]
- Houston firm on track after losing 269 undocumented workers [Houston Business Journal]
- Champion Window sues former CEO and CFO over hiring practices [Ultimate Woodlands]
- Background [Champion Window]
Photo: Champion Window
- 5903 Spanish Oak Dr. [HAR]
H-E-B is testing a new no-frills warehouse-style grocery concept with a new store set to open early next month at 12035 Antoine, about a mile and a half north of the Beltway at the corner of Veterans Memorial. The prototype Joe V’s Smart Shop will be nearly twice the size of the typical H-E-B Pantry, reports the Chronicle‘s David Kaplan:
Smaller than a full-size H-E-B, Joe V’s will carry about 9,000 items, compared with a traditional supermarket, which has about 37,000.
Joe V’s might have five ketchups, while a full-size H-E-B would have 25, [Houston VP Armando] Perez said. The Joe V’s ketchups will include well-known brands and H-E-B private labels.
Joe V’s will have produce and self-serve meat, seafood and bakery departments. The biggest savings will often be in the grocery and general merchandise sections, Perez said.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE O WHERE HAS OUR SUBDIVISION’S BUILDER GONE? “Does anyone have any information of OBRA HOMES bankruptcy? I am also in TimberMeadows and a few of us are trying to organize a meeting this coming Sunday, Nov 15th at 6 pm to see about hiring an attorney to contact OBRA Homes. Any info will help. Thanks.” [Miguel, commenting on Obra Homes Secret Hiding Place Revealed!]
Some wide ranging — but very sharp — guesses in this week’s game!
There were 2 votes each for Spring, the Woodlands, and Fort Bend, plus 1 each for Quail Valley, Missouri City, “the newer parts of Missouri City/Sugar Land, off Highway 6 and the powerline easement,” Mission Bend, and First Colony. The rest: “Memorial just outside the Beltway,” Newcastle at Bissonnet, Westchase, Sagemeadow, Sageglen, Katy, Pearland, “near Spears Rd. and Veterans Memorial,” “one of the 1980s subdivisions off of Dixie Farm Rd.,” Champions, “off Briarforest, just inside Highway 6,” Oak Forest, Copperfield, Bear Creek-Highway 6, Blackhawk, and “the 1960/Cypress area off 249.”
This week the top prize goes to 3 players, for their almost-triangulating guesses. First, CK, who went out on a nearby limb with that tossed-off “near Spears Road and Veterans Memorial,” after naming a whole bunch of far-flung suburbs. Why that intersection? Because
There’s crap like this out there too.
Even closer was Scott, who guessed Champions, then almost threw off the judges by declaring himself “bad at this game.”
The “1960/Cypress area off 249″ guess came from movocelot, who also earns points for narrowing down the home’s age with this insightful “could be seventies, could be eighties” accounting:
These say 1980s to me:
windows with low sills, drywall returns, tiny little transoms, black appliances, tympanum Levolour shade in Master.“Things that make me go ‘70s:â€
heavy ceiling texture, shiny, built-on-sight cabinets & plywood/applied-molding ‘paneling’, small baseboard, chair rail & crown, white 4×4 ceramic bath surround, bold stained glass (I don’t see how folks can tell it’s plastic… looks like HO has a hobby)
And now . . . will the real neighborhood please stand up?
