Swamplot Archives by Tag: Montrose

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Montrose Giant Mushrooms: Still Adjusting to the Local Climate

November 18, 2009 – 6:29 pm

Sprouted in the patio behind the Art League Houston building at 1953 Montrose, home of the Inversion Coffee House: 3 giant mushrooms, built out of rebar, soil, and moss by artists Nicola Parente and Divya Murthy.

And how are they doing? Not so well, reports the Chronicle’s Molly Glentzer:

One is planted with herbs; one is planted with Texas natives; and the third is planted with non-native ornamentals. They’ve pretty much been left to survive or thrive on their own through next year, and the artists are perhaps expecting that only the native-planted mushroom will survive.

Just one catch. When we looked on Saturday, they all needed water.

Nothing lives in a black plastic pot for long without a little help from the gardener. And biodegradable brown pots would’ve been more environmentally friendly — not to mention better-looking.

Inside the Art League building: the second part of the installation, which Parente and Murthy put together from debris they collected from the surrounding eight-block area.

Photos: Nicola Parente (top); Aaron Courtland (bottom)

6:29 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Art, Gardening, Landscape, Neighborhoods: Montrose
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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Openings and Closings: That Flood of New Establishments

November 11, 2009 – 6:50 pm

So much new stuff going on it’s impossible to keep track of it all!

  • Opening Soon? A new “Houston Ave. Bar” at the site of the former Farmers Coffee Shop on the corner of Houston Ave. and White Oak. Here’s the evidence: A permit for a “2 story addition” to the property was approved by the city last month. The corner is already a popular gathering place for floodwaters — several commenters on HAIF have posted photos of the intersection after Hurricane Ike (see above) and Tropical Storm Allison.
  • Moved: The Central City Co-op Wednesday market, from that Ecclesia space next to the Taft St. Coffee House to new digs at the Grace Lutheran Church at 2515 Waugh, just north of Missouri St. Sunday markets are still at Discovery Green. Next up for the co-op crew: Selling enough veggies to pay off those loans used for the church buildout.
  • Opening Softly, Later This Month: A place called Canopy, from the folks who brought you that place called Shade. Claire Smith and Russell Murrell’s new restaurant will go in the spot where Tony Ruppe’s was, in the double-decked strip center at 3939 Montrose, reports Cleverley Stone. Three meals a day, 7 days a week, plus 3 seating areas:

    a bright and refreshing dining room, festive bar and side street patio. We will eventually offer curbside “to go” service.

  • Opening Early Next Month: The brand-new Dessert Shoppe, in the strip center portion of 19th Streete in the Heights. Fred Eats Houston writes that sisters Sara and RaeMarie Villar will be serving up “whole cakes and pies to individual desserts, along with assorted breakfast pastries, cookies, quiches, cupcakes, and some breads.”
  • Reopened, for the First Time Since Ike: The Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Galveston. The combined boards of the International Shriners and Shriners Hospitals for Children had originally decided to close the hospital for good, after 30 inches of water wandered through the building’s first floor during the Hurricane. Shriners voting at this summer’s convention in San Antonio reversed that decision. The new hospital will have a smaller staff and budget. The Chronicle’s Todd Ackerman reports that the hospital should already be open for reconstructive surgery cases; burn victims will have to wait until December for treatment.

And yet even more new stuff:

Continue Reading This Story >

6:50 pm | 2 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Baytown, Galveston, Neighborhoods: Downtown, Neighborhoods: East Montrose, Neighborhoods: Houston Heights, Neighborhoods: Hyde Park, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Neighborhoods: Spring Branch, Neighborhoods: Upper Kirby, Neighborhoods: Washington Corridor, Neighborhoods: West End, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers
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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Comment of the Day: The Neighborhood of the Traveling Pants

November 10, 2009 – 2:57 pm
   

“My friend lives in a small Montrose (Audobon Place) apartment complex. He had a pair of pants and a sweatshirt stolen out of the dryer. He called the police AND THEY CAME OUT! For a pair of pants! I didn’t think they came out anymore even for a car break-in. Even more unbelievable is the police actually caught a homeless guy wearing my friends clothes about 20 minutes later and brought him back and made him take the clothes off and give them back.” [Tangyjoe, commenting on The Front Porch Gang]

2:57 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Comments, Crime, Neighborhoods: Audubon Place, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Quicklink
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Monday, November 9, 2009

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Last Resort in Montrose

November 9, 2009 – 12:47 pm

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 1206 Hyde Park Blvd., Hyde Park, Montrose
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths; 3,680 sq. ft. on a 10,100-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $1,199,999 [corrected from before]
History: On the market for 7 weeks

All the fine furnishings in this 1920 Montrose mansion didn’t sway the Swamplot reader who nominated the property:

“River Oaks living in Montrose”? Certainly River Oaks pricing in Montrose!

Given the location, the neighborhood, and the house itself the HCAD appraisal of almost $700k seems excessive. . . .

This house was sold in 2004 per HCAD, and the 2005 valuation was $563k - my guess is that is very close to the sale price.

The 2009 valuation of the house is about $700k. All the neighboring houses are about $300k in value. The neighborhood average is well under $200/sq ft (a beautiful house, fully restored . . . on Harold recently sold for about $200/ft on a similar sized lot)

And a better price for this property would be . . . ?

Continue Reading This Story >

12:47 pm | 31 Comments | Read more about Home Prices, Homes for Sale, Neighborhoods: Hyde Park, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Price Adjuster
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Monday, October 12, 2009

The View from AIG: This Time We’re Sure Houston’s Never Gonna Flood Again

October 12, 2009 – 10:40 pm

From his perch high in the (formerly AIG) America Tower on Allen Parkway, Swamplot reader Stephen Cullar-Ledford forwards this latest dramatic scene, which aches for suitably metaphorical captioning.

A few months ago it was fog, this afternoon it’s a rainbow over downtown . . .

Photo: Stephen Cullar-Ledford

10:40 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Economic Conditions, Flooding, Highrises, Neighborhoods: Downtown, Neighborhoods: North Montrose, Office Buildings, Weather
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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Comment of the Day: Apartment Model Showings

September 23, 2009 – 6:45 pm
   

“If ‘Nudist sundeck + 1 hired model –> 100% occupancy’ was the case, then the Core (on Washington Ave) and Bel Air (on Allen Parkway) and many others in the similiar ’scene’ and price range would be at 100% occupancy too. But they are not. BTW, the Bel Air pool is really really nice!” [irfan, commenting on Taking More Than Half Off at Those Apartments with the French Quarter Look]

6:45 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Apartments, Comments, Leasing, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Neighborhoods: Washington Corridor, Quicklink, Real Estate Marketing
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Monday, September 21, 2009

Swamplot Price Adjuster: Your Cherryhurst Neighbors

September 21, 2009 – 12:33 pm

The Swamplot Price Adjuster needs your nominations! Found a property you think is poorly priced? Send an email to Swamplot, and be sure to include a link to the listing or photos. Tell us about the property, and explain why you think it deserves a price adjustment. Then tell us what you think a better price would be. Unless requested otherwise, all submissions to the Swamplot Price Adjuster will be kept anonymous.

Location: 1617 Fairview St., Cherryhurst
Details: 3-4 bedrooms, 2 baths; 1,810 sq. ft. on a 5,000-sq.-ft. lot
Price: $475,000
History: On the market for almost a month and a half.

Note: We now have a response from the seller! See updates below.

The reader who nominated this expanded bungalow on Fairview likes the place, but . . .

What’s not evident from the photos are the basic problems with this house at this asking price:

[First, it's ] across the street from Wilson Elementary. Not such a bad thing if you have kids who might attend Wilson, but otherwise a drag. School buses have a tendency to idle in front of the property. Noise and trash coming from, well, kids. Every Saturday and Sunday morning, year in and year out, a litany of soccer matches, volleyball tournaments, Frisbee “flag football”, etc. emit a constant din. You know, just what you want when you’d like to sleep in a bit.

Some opinions about the home’s other immediate neighbors, too:

The townhomes aren’t that big of deal other than the residents can peer into your backyard and house. But, the house to the east is a nightmare. . . . Overgrown yard, house falling in on itself. Great for Boo Radley’s house. I can imagine prospective buyers looking at the thing next door and immediately saying, “Nope.”

So . . . what might be a better price?

Continue Reading This Story >

12:33 pm | 85 Comments | Read more about Home Prices, Neighborhoods: Cherryhurst, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Price Adjuster
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

In and Around the New North Montrose Whole Foods

September 15, 2009 – 10:11 am

A few details on that new Whole Foods Market planned for the corner of West Dallas and Waugh, just south of the now AIG-sign-free America Tower: Finger Companies, the owners of the land, says the new store will be 40,000 sq. ft. — slightly smaller than reported when the company first announced the project more than a year ago. Also: The store will have “a variety of eco-conscious elements and tons of inviting space for neighbors to congregate.”

The Finger Companies says the Whole Foods will be built “in conjunction with the developer’s proposed new luxury apartment project.” That project, also announced in the spring of 2008, was slated for the eastern portion of the site, closer to Montrose Blvd.

Image: The Finger Companies

10:11 am | 28 Comments | Read more about Apartments, Commercial Real Estate, Land Development, Leasing, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Neighborhoods: North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail
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Monday, September 14, 2009

Sweet and Fruity Afterlife of the Montrose Taco Cabana

September 14, 2009 – 12:10 pm

A reader snaps this photo of the former pink Taco Cabana drive-thru at the corner of Montrose and Westheimer, “now painted white w red stripes at the bottom” — and asks if we know what’s going in there. Fortunately, another reader has the answer:

Continue Reading This Story >

12:10 pm | 13 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: Lower Westheimer, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Do Not Resuscitate; Move to Harwin

September 8, 2009 – 9:22 am
   

A reader who’s been intermittently monitoring the vital signs of the DNR European Cafe and Deli in Chelsea Market on Montrose reports that the restaurant has closed: “There is a sign out front announcing the impending opening of a new restaurant called ‘Chelsea Grill.’” Meanwhile, a notice on DNR’s listing at restaurant website B4-u-eat notes that DNR will be opening “soon” at 10400 Harwin Dr. [Swamplot inbox]

9:22 am | 7 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: Harwin, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Restaurants
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Monday, August 31, 2009

Brushed Away: Lower Westheimer Lot Clearance

August 31, 2009 – 2:18 pm

“Looks like someone’s getting ready to build,” reports a Swamplot reader about this lot on the corner of Westheimer and Helena, at the very lowest end of Lower Westheimer:

All of the brown earth you see in the photo was formerly a tree or bush of some type. See the steel gate I’m taking the picture through? Just on the other side of it (about 3 yards from the steel gate), there was a chain link fence that provided shade, shelter and ‘hideability’ to local bums. If I had taken that photo the day before, you would have seen a lot of brush, bums and beer cans.

Even the bushes in the ’sidewalk’ area (the sidewalk stops at this lot) were removed.

It could just be a beautification or bum-preventative project, but due to the midtown/downtown/Montrose location, I’m guessing that someone plans to construct a business there.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

2:18 pm | 5 Comments | Read more about Landscape, Neighborhoods: Avondale, Neighborhoods: Lower Westheimer, Neighborhoods: Montrose
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Friday, August 28, 2009

Wood and Fruit in Place, the Tree House Is Ready for Its Photo Shoot

August 28, 2009 – 3:23 pm

Note: Story updated below.

Developer (and Swamplot advertiser) Carol Isaak Barden says to give her latest project another week or 10 days before it’s ready — the paint isn’t quite dry yet. But all the peppers, candles, and watermelons are certainly in place for these fancy photos she sent us.

Barden calls the home, which is available for sale in a non-MLS kinda way, the “Tree House.” The architects are Erick Ragni and Scott Strasser. The 4,150-sq.-ft. home (3,500 if you don’t count the oversized garage) is on a 50×100-ft. lot at 1608 Indiana, across the street from HISD’s Wilson Montessori School.

What’s so tree-ish about it?

Continue Reading This Story >

3:23 pm | 30 Comments | Read more about Homes for Sale, Houston Architects, Neighborhoods: Hyde Park, Neighborhoods: Montrose, New Construction: Residential
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Friday, August 21, 2009

Pieces of Old Fort Bend County, at Rest in Montrose: A Peek Inside the Architect’s House

August 21, 2009 – 12:17 pm

Antiques fan Spencer Howard takes readers on a tour of a Hyde Park house full of them: the home of his former boss, architect John Zemanek.

The home’s design “falls somewhere between a Texas farm house and Japanese Tea House,” writes Howard:

However, the landscape, structure and furniture are accented with mysterious objects. Some are recognizable and easily comprehended, but most are not – engaging the viewer to imagine the story behind the piece.

What mysterious objects? A few choice rusting relics of Zemanek’s Fort Bend County childhood: a hunk of the engine from the family’s 1923 Buick; parts of old farming implements; the family typewriter, on a pedestal by the front door.

Wanna quick tour of the place?

Continue Reading This Story >

12:17 pm | 9 Comments | Read more about Furniture, Home Decor, Home Design, Houston Architects, Interiors, Neighborhoods: Hyde Park, Neighborhoods: Montrose
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Thursday, August 13, 2009

When Westheimer Was for Cruising

August 13, 2009 – 3:41 pm
   

John Nova Lomax reminisces: “This was Oil Bust Houston, and it looked then like Montrose might become a full-on slum. There were no condos along ‘Theimer (as it was often called by the mullet set) and few fancy restaurants. From Montrose Boulevard all the way to what is now called Midtown, Westheimer was lined with little more than one “modeling studio” after another, and it seems like there were even more tattoo shops than there are now. The denizens and visitors to these businesses (not to mention the street hustlers, drag queens, punks and Guardian Angels that still lurk in the area) provided plenty for the hordes of suburbanites – getting their first taste of freedom and big city life – to gawk at from the safety of their Blazers and Cutlasses. . . . on weekend nights, Westheimer would be bumper-to-bumper from Bagby to well past Buffalo Speedway, and sometimes all the way out to the Galleria, a phantasmagoria of teenage hormones and sound-collisions: car-horns, engines revving, and squealing girls, the hiss-and-almost-subsonic bass rumble of ‘Paul Revere’ booming from a Jeep Cherokee interlocking with a Honda CRX chirping out that inane ‘Two of Hearts’ pop ditty or the root canal Teutonic skronk of that ‘Warm Leatherette’ monstrosity.” [Hair Balls]

3:41 pm | 4 Comments | Read more about Houston History, Neighborhoods: Lower Westheimer, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Quicklink, Streetscapes
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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Small, Stylish, and Already Sold: Design-y Inner Loop Home Bargains You Missed

August 11, 2009 – 9:01 pm

“I do always seem to be showing you houses that few of us can really afford,” Houston interior-design blogger Joni Webb admits to her readers:

But the secret truth is, nothing gets me more excited than seeing a house which is NOT expensive yet looks like it was designed by a professional! Nothing is better because it affirms what I fully believe, style is not about money.

So Webb sets out to find a few inside-the-Loop homes dressed to meet her style standards — and priced between $300K and $500K. How long does it take her? Two days, poring through “hundreds, if not thousands” of HAR listings.

What does she find?

Continue Reading This Story >

9:01 pm | 21 Comments | Read more about Home Decor, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Neighborhoods: Galleria, Neighborhoods: Greenbriar, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Neighborhoods: Southampton, Neighborhoods: Upper Kirby, Neighborhoods: West University, Staging
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