10/24/18 1:15pm

A Swamplot reader sends a photo of the crane that’s gone vertical at the corner of Welch and Revere streets just outside River Oaks where Pelican Builders plans to put its 9-story Revere at River Oaks condo midrise. The ’50s-mod condo complex its replacing was torn down last year, leaving an empty patch running lengthwise along Welch St., adjacent to the homes and townhomes that make up the rest of the block. They’re all overlooked by the 34-floor Huntingdon condo tower a few blocks west, shown looming large in the photo at top.

Photo: Swamplox inbox. Rendering: Kirksey Architecture

 

Spiking the Lot
06/30/17 11:15am

If you’re trying to justify the expense and hassle of mounting and maintaining a capable security cam outside your home, shouldn’t the ability to capture timelapse footage of demolition crews as they quickly dispose of cute fifties condo complexes across the street tip the scales in favor? Here’s a sample benefit: the above video from the Nest camera of Bill Curry, which documents in quickly digestible form the final dozen-plus hours last Friday of the 26-unit Googie-style complex at the southeast corner of Welch and Revere streets adjacent to River Oaks — as it gets eaten from behind by a Komatsu track excavator.

Another possible benefit: A much longer timelapse documenting the construction of the 32-unit 9-story condo midrise Pelican Builders now plans to put on the site.

Video: Bill Curry

Nest to Nothing, Next to River Oaks
06/21/17 12:45pm

As heralded by yesterday’s daily demo report: Time is up for the little mod condo complex on Welch and Revere streets, which is being cleared out for Pelican Builders’ 9-story not-quite-in-River-Oaks The Revere at River Oaks condo midrise. A reader sends these up-close shots of the demo crew’s work this morning, including the extensive remodeling the once-narrow walkway between segments of the now-empty carport along the south side of Welch:

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1 If By Komatsu
03/09/15 1:00pm

Rendering of Mimosa Place, 2415 Mimosa Dr., Avalon Place, Houston

HBJ reporter Paul Takahashi has details on the gated compound of 18 homes Pelican Builders is planning to fit onto the about-an-acre site of the recently vacated Mimosa Lane Apartments and Argonne Forest Apartments at the corner of Mimosa Dr. and Argonne St., behind the Huntingdon condo tower in Avalon Place. And — surprise! — they’ll be very similar to the townhouse-style structures in Pelican’s Bancroft Place compound 2-1/2 miles to the west, which was designed by the same architect, the Hopkins Company.

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Avalon Place
02/02/15 1:00pm

Mimosa Ln. Apartments, 2415 Mimosa Ln., Avalon Place, Houston

Mimosa Ln. Apartments, 2415 Mimosa Ln., Avalon Place, HoustonLast call came for the Mimosa Lane Apartments a couple of months ago — residents of the 1960 garden apartment complex in Avalon Place (along with those of its neighbor, the Argonne Forest Apartments) were given notice in early October of an end-of-November clear-out. That was apparently plenty of time to get word out about a goodbye party or 2.

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A Garden Apartment Sendoff
10/02/14 11:30am

Mimosa Lane Apartments, 2415 Mimosa Ln.,  Avalon Place, Houston

Argonne Forest Apartments, 2115 Argonne St.,  Avalon Place, Houston

Residents of the Mimosa Lane Apartments at 2415 Mimosa Dr. (at top) and the Argonne Forest Apartments at 2115 Argonne St. (pictured above) will need to find new places to live before the end of November. An eviction notice reports that the buildings will be demolished and the property redeveloped after that date. Though the notice doesn’t describe any new development, a source tells Swamplot that townhomes are planned.

The two 2-story apartment complexes sit next to each other on a little more than an acre of land on a corner directly east of the Huntingdon condo tower, just past the eastern border of River Oaks. The Mimosa Lane apartments have 32 units and the Argonne Forest 14, according to county tax records. They were built between 1954 and 1960.

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Mimosa Lane and Argonne Forest
02/15/08 7:02pm

Avalon Place House, Old English Version, Family Room, River Oaks, Houston

Avalon Place House, Old Swedish Version, Family Room, River Oaks, Houston

Houston interior designer Joni Webb takes time out from her usual focus on French design to tell the story of a home in Avalon Place that was done up first in an English country style (top photo), and then — some years later — completely redone by the same owners to something more . . . 18th century Swedish (second from top).

The English incarnation, which was captured in a Country Living magazine feature in the 1990s, had taken years to perfect, Webb reports:

. . . the finished project was perfect: a cozy English, country-style home, filled with authentic antiques, Italian oil paintings, wall to wall seagrass, faux painted yellow and red walls, toile wallpapers, Bennison fabrics and Kenneth Turner candles. It was an open, fun house – the site of many parties where people gathered around a roaring fire and lounged in the deep George Smith sofa, all the while remarking on how warm and inviting the home was.

So, it was a great surprise to many, including [Houston interior designer Carol] Glasser herself, when the wife declared she had changed. She no longer loved her home’s decor, she wanted a new look – a Swedish look – and not just a Swedish antique here and there, but a total, complete Swedish home. And so, for the second time, everything in the house was either sold or was stored and they started the process of decorating their home, completely from scratch, again.

Who best to complete this European migration? Carol Glasser, the same designer who had created the house’s first look. (This time, she enlisted help from Swedish Style expert Katrin Cargill.) After the jump, more before-and-after photos, plus nitty-gritty details of international style-travel.

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