12/11/14 3:30pm

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Here is the lot plan for University Grove, a 39-lot single-family development to go in at the corner of Leeland St. and Cullen Blvd., across the Gulf Freeway from UH, just across the street from Mandola’s Deli, right behind the Polk St. Kroger and hard by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway line.

Landowner Leeland Baking Company, Inc. is listed as a subsidiary of Flowers Foods Inc., the Thomasville, GA-based mega-bakery behind such brands as Nature’s Own, Whitewheat, Wonder Bread, Cobblestone Mill, and Tastykake.

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The Yeast End
08/08/14 2:46pm

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When renovated by a previous owner in 2007, a 1936 Craftsman-like home in Eastwood modernized but also played up period details. A subtle color wash in pastel shades (above) adds to the pastoral mojo, though house and driveway sit behind an iron fence at the front lot line. Earlier this week, the property popped up on the market with a $345,000 asking price. Its location is 3 lots north of S. Lockwood Dr. and 3 blocks from the Eastwood/Lockwood stop on Metro’s coming East End line.

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Done Over
07/14/14 2:00pm

Harrisburg Crossing, 4300-4500 Harrisburg Blvd. at Lockwood, East End, Houston

Former Historic Houston Salvage Warehouse, 4300 Harrisburg Blvd., East End, HoustonUpdate, 3:30 pm: A spokesperson for H-E-B informs Swamplot that the company has no plans for a Joe V’s Smart Shop in this area. Separately, a rep from Lovett Commercial indicates that the plans and declaration posted on its website that a Joe V’s Smart Shop is coming to the center are “outdated,” and that no grocery store is currently planned for that site. We’ve updated the story below accordingly.

This row of metal warehouse buildings at 4300 Harrisburg Blvd. was used for a time recently as a temporary home for the Historic Houston salvage warehouse and more recently as a spraypaint-covered tribute to the deceased graffiti artist known as Nekst (see video below) — will be torn down to make way for a new grocery store from H-E-B, according to site plans posted online by the property’s developer. The 5.34-acre site, which stretches between Oakhurst St. and Eastwood St., sits just east of the Maximus Coffee plant east of Downtown, and just north of Eastwood. This should be the first new grocery store built on a light rail line, but it won’t be a conventional H-E-B. Instead, the plans show it’ll be a Joe V’s Smart Shop, the Texas grocery chain’s low-cost, low-selection, high-volume, low-touch warehouse-style market.

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No Ice
05/27/14 4:45pm

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Since its purchase in 2010 for $65,000, an Eastwood property has gained what is described as — in the most recent of its 3 separate listings so far this year — a 2011 “Craftsman-inspired” home. The current listing has a $519,000 asking price. That’s down from the $555,000 mentioned in its March through April 2014 market debut and its weeklong appearance in early May at $529,999.

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With All the Trimmings
05/01/14 2:15pm

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Over in Eastwood, a corner 1940 property that sold in the middle of last month has reappeared on the market. The fresh listing last week, pitched as a duplex or single-family home, has an asking price of $415,000. The seller bought it in April for $334,901.

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More Pease, Please
09/27/13 1:30pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE LIMITS OF EASTWARD DEVELOPMENT “With every mile moving east, you are getting nearer to Houston’s gigantic petrochemical industrial complex, along with its unpredictable environmental and public health issues, which begin just about a mile east of Eastwood (for example, look at the location of identified Superfund Sites in Harris County, . . . which gives a clear picture). This is the main reason why people in Houston, and those who can afford it, stay as much west as possible. . . . ” [Larry, commenting on Comment of the Day: What’s the Scoop on Eastwood?] Illustration: Lulu

09/25/13 3:20pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT’S THE SCOOP ON EASTWOOD? “I’m new to the site and researching Eastwood. Considering buying a lot or tear down and building. Currently own/live in a wonderful townhouse in Montrose, but have a growing family and we’re outgrowing a townhouse and can’t afford to buy what we need in Montrose. So, we’re looking in Eastwood, Third Ward, and other close-in neighborhoods that are more affordable. Anyone have suggestions on the ‘best’ residential streets/blocks in Eastwood? We’ve driven around a lot but I haven’t committed the streets to memory — there are a few with a median that are gorgeous and walkable with a stroller. Any info will help! Oh, and what about Idylwood as a place to live with a young family?” [Htown Convert, commenting on A Bayou-View Property Rises in Idylwood] Illustration: Lulu

04/16/13 11:00am

LUNCH-ONLY TELEPHONE ROAD SMOKEHOUSE NOW OPEN FOR DINNER A Facebook post on Sunday from Oak Leaf Smokehouse says that the Eastwood restaurant — which opened serving lunch only in late February in the old Pete’s BBQ location just southeast of Tlaquepaque Market at 1000 Telephone Rd. — is now serving dinner, too, expanding its hours from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. [Oak Leaf Smokehouse via Facebook; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West

03/20/13 1:30pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT IS AND ISN’T NEAR EASTWOOD “Part of the problem with Eastwood’s location is the different yardstick people apply to what is considered close. The 2.5 miles or so to Washington Avenue is listed like a neighborhood amenity for the restaurants or clubs over there, but a more direct 2.5 miles over to Midtown from Eastwood is nowhere close.” [Winer, commenting on A New Blue ’Do in Brookesmith]

03/12/13 11:30am

Pumped up by new construction and extensive renovations, this expanded 1920 Eastwood home debuted on the market late last year. The red-crested property lingers still — as does the asking price of $449,990, which is quite a bit more than the $80,000 it went for in June 2012.

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02/19/13 12:30pm

Not quite 3 years after reopening as what owner Rodney Finger claimed to be the biggest furniture store in Texas, the 600,000-sq.-ft. I-45 Finger Furniture flagship — and the 16.5 acres near UH that it sits on — has come up for sale. Until the Finger family bought the property in the early ’60s, it was home to a minor-league baseball stadium for the Houston Buffs, a farm team for the Cardinals up in St. Louis. That history was given some floor space among the couches and mattresses indoors in the Houston Sports Museum — with a replica home plate in the showroom tile to approximate the original. And the asking price? $11 million.

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10/01/12 9:34am

Courtesy of a reader wielding a camera along Harrisburg Blvd., here’s a tour of a few standout elements you can expect to encounter in a stroll along the path of Houston’s new East End light-rail line, now that sidewalk coordination work between CenterPoint Energy, Metro, and the Greater East End Management District has been completed.

“Most of the poles,” the reader reports, “are now in the center of the sidewalk leaving 24 inches to squeeze by on either side.” Or maybe a bit more:

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