07/27/16 4:30pm

Market Square Tower construction, 777 Preston St., Downtown, Houston, 77002Market Square Tower construction, 777 Preston St., Downtown, Houston, 77002

The spindly yellow crane that has been dangling over the top of Woodbranch Investment’s Market Square Tower is coming down in pieces this afternoon, notes a downtown reader. The shot above shows the scene from the corner of Prairie and Travis streets, with the top edge of the still-standing-by-court-order former Houston Chronicle building sticking in from the left.

The 463-unit tower has been leasing spaces since April, with plans to open this fall. There’s still work to do on the building before then, though the support for the glass-bottom cantilevered rooftop pool that will hang some 500 feet above Preston looks to be in place. Here’s Jackson & Ryan’s rendering of what the space will look like once the water has been added:

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Coming Down Downtown
05/12/16 4:45pm

3430 S Parkwood Dr., Riverside Terrace, Houston, 77021

The Parkwood Park-side home owned by former Varnett School administrators Marian Cluff and Alsie Cluff, Sr., hit the market early this week. The couple was indicted 10 months ago on federal charges including tax evasion, conspiracy, and embezzlement of more than $2 million in funds meant for students of the charter school’s 3 outside-the-Loop campuses. Incidentally, the current $3.5 million asking price for the house is more than $2 million above what the pair originally paid for the place (the 1941 mansion was sold to the Cluffs in 2011 for $1.3 million), but about 1,200 sq. ft. of space was added to the house during renovations in 2013, according to county records.

And now, your chance to investigate the 2-acre, 6-bedroom property a little further:

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Scrutiny in MacGregor
03/31/16 10:30am

1721 River Oaks Blvd, Houston, 77019

This 3-story Georgian  rolls out the red carpet at the corner of River Oaks Blvd. and Del Monte Dr.  Its 16,931 sq. ft. include a flexible 6-to-9 bedrooms, 10 full baths, and 5 half baths.  Built in 1939 on a 1.02 acre lot, this house premiered on the market in mid-October of 2015 at the price of $16.95 million.

Ready for a close-up?

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For Your Consideration
03/24/16 4:00pm

Rendering of Buffalo Bayou Cistern Converted to Bathhouse
Rendering of Buffalo Bayou Cistern Converted to BathhouseAs Buffalo Bayou Partnership continues to seek out tour guides for the cavernous 1927 city water reservoir and maybe-future-art-space buried in Buffalo Bayou Park, University of Houston architecture grad Sheridan Staats sends over her design for turning the structure into a split-level public bath house, complete with pools, saunas, gardens, a bike trail connection, and a cafe. Renderings and schematics are showcased in Staats’s undergraduate thesis, which also dives into global bath house and infrastructure history and the case for reusing the site in a way that nods to its utilitarian aquatic past.

The kelley green box on the map above shows the cistern’s buried footprint on the north shore of Buffalo Bayou (in blue), just west of Sabine St. and south of Memorial Dr.; the darker green line passing through the southwest edge of the cistern shows a plan to run the bayou’s bike trail into the cistern and onto a suspended causeway:

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Underwater Underground
03/07/16 3:30pm

3022 Triway, Spring Shadows, Houston,77043

Nothing will slip by in the shadows of this 3-bedroom, 2-bath single family home at 3022 Triway Ln.  The 1976 Spring Shadows residence has been stripped to the studs and remodeled; the 2,313-sq. ft. home is now filled with recessed lighting and fixtures. The price dropped from $499,700 to $449,700 after its first day on the market last October.

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Market Spotlight
03/03/16 10:15am

2115 River Oaks Blvd, Houston, 77019

A natatorium nestles in the center of this $17.9 million home, once owned by Italian-born Cullen oil-heir Baron di Portanova. The 1968 house was expanded to more than double its size in the 1970s to enclose the backyard after the baron was unable to buy a famous Manhattan club for his wife as a birthday present.  The 21,500 sq. ft. mansion has also reportedly hosted an extensive cast of characters, including a helicopter drop-in by James Bond (as played by Sir Roger Moore). The home contains 8 bedrooms, 9 full baths, and 3 half baths, and was listed on HAR in 2014 for 4 days; it was relisted in May of 2015 with a $1 million price drop.

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Pool Party Pad
02/23/16 3:45pm

2411 River Oaks Blvd, Houston, 77019

Set your sights on this River Oaks mansion previously owned by late Texas governor John Connally (in office when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and wounded in the same car). The 1958 house’s minimalist-inspired exterior at the corner of River Oaks Blvd. and Locke Ln. belies a suite of neoclassically appointed formal rooms inside.   The 8,426-sq.-ft. home also contains 5 bedrooms (of which 3 are masters), 8 full baths, 2 half baths, and a pool. and is currently on the market for $4.9 million.

A state historical marker at the corner gate notes the house’s significance as John Connally’s former dwelling:

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What’s in the Box
02/17/16 4:30pm

18 Maymont Way, Carlton Way, Woodlands, 77382

Don’t forget your towel or your clubs when visiting this Carlton Woods Estates home, priced at $3.188 million (brought down last week from the $3.388 million August asking price). This 5-bedroom, 5-full-bath, 3-half-bath villa wraps around a central courtyard and pool, and is itself nestled between fairways of the Jack Niklaus Signature Golf Course. The 2-story dwelling clocks in at 9,476 sq ft. and provides plenty of opportunities to get away from it all from the comfort of home.

No Reservations