Tag: Sponsored Posts

For today’s Sponsor of the Day post, the developer of the multi-tenant retail center coming to the southeast corner of Ella Blvd. and 34th St. has some brand-new renderings to show off. Thank you, 33 1/3 @ Thirtyfourth, for supporting this website (and for the pix, above)!

What will the place look like? Garden Oaks and Oak Forest, here’s your first peek!

Chris Hotze, best known to nearby residents as the developer and owner of The Shops at Oak Forest (up a few blocks, on the northwest corner of 43rd St. and Ella), says he wants 33 1/3 @ Thirtyfourth to reflect the quality of Oak Forest and Garden Oaks. His firm, Crescere Capital Management, hired architects Peter Merwin and Ted Rubenstein of the Houston office of Gensler to create a design for the 2.5-acre site that includes greenspace at the intersection, plus a high overall parking ratio and varied buildings with high ceilings — to help draw exciting concepts to this busy corner site. Current plans call for a total of 18,850 sq. ft. of retail and restaurant space.

Gensler’s rendering at top shows a freestanding restaurant building fronting 34th St., which includes plenty of room for patio seating beneath and around an extensive building canopy. The drawing below it shows the view from Ella Blvd., and the larger, more varied multi-tenant structure at the southern end of the site.

For more details and images of this center, stay tuned for future 33 1/3 @ Thirtyfourth Sponsor of the Day posts!

Sponsor of the Day posts are a great way to introduce readers to exciting developments in and around Houston. Find out more about the program here.

Today’s Swamplot sponsor is Houston’s own Central Bank. Thank you for the continued support of this site!

Central Bank has 4 (central) Houston branches available to meet your business or personal needs: in Midtown, the Heights, West Houston, and Post Oak Place.

Central Bank believes that change is essential to its success; the company actively pursues the latest in service, technology, and products. Central Bank aims to know its customers personally and to be their primary business and personal financial resource. The bank’s staff values relationships and strives to be available when you need them.

To learn more about how Central Bank can meet your banking needs, please call any of the following Senior Vice Presidents: Kenny Beard, at 832.485.2376;Bonnie Purvis, at 832.485.2354; Gary Noble, at 832.485.2366; or Ryan Tillman, at 832.485.2307. You can also find out more on the bank’s website.

Thinking hard about becoming a Swamplot sponsor? You’ll want to read this. 

Today’s Swamplot sponsor is the 3-bedroom, 3-bath home at 2822 Robinhood St. in West University. Thanks for the support!

This 2,619-sq.-ft. home began life in 1939 as a small West U cottage. A number of the updates added to it over the years — including a 2011 remodeling — are spelled out in the gallery of listing pix, including the transformation of the former front porch into a sunroom (pictured above), directly accessible from the master bedroom.

Also added: the den at the back of the house pictured in the top photo, onto which an opening from the kitchen (also redone, with white marble countertops, double ovens, and stainless steel appliances) peers. French doors from the den lead to the fenced back yard; above the den is a second-floor loft space (not included in the bedroom count), which has extra storage space and a full bath with a stacked washer-dryer set.

More pics of the home’s original portions and its improvements are available on the property website. 2822 Robinhood is listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers.

Got a remodeled gem to show off? Become a Swamplot sponsor and put it on display here.

Today’s Sponsor of the Day post comes from Boulevard Realty: It’s Bill Baldwin’s mid-2016 Real Estate Outlook. Thanks for supporting Swamplot!

If you’ve been wondering what the future holds for Houston’s housing market, or want to get a better sense of how oil prices and home prices go (or don’t go) together, you might find this presentation on the state of the local housing market helpful. Boulevard Realty’s Bill Baldwin typically provides a private presentation to his sales force every month. For June, for the first time ever, his talk at the company’s Heights Blvd. office was opened to outside visitors. And now the whole thing is available to watch online.

Among the topics he discusses:

• The forces behind the booming market of 2013-2014
• The real relationships among oil prices, the housing market, and headlines
• The new normal of supply and demand inside the Loop
• Workforce and affordable housing and where to be an urban pioneer in 2016-2017
• Best bets for investors, and trends for the rest of us

You can view a summary of Baldwin’s talk — with links so you can skip to relevant portions of the video — on this Boulevard Realty web page. (Go ahead and fast forward to 40:54 in if you’re hungry for one of those wowzers of a Houston real estate investment story.) Or take time to watch the entire presentation. Whether you’re a local, an out-of-state investor, or a wannabe, you’ll find in it a straightforward discussion of issues that affect Houston-area home prices.

Got something to present to Swamplot readers? Become a Swamplot sponsor so you can do it right.

Today this site is sponsored by the new townhomes at 938 W. 22nd St. in Shady Acres — namely Unit B, Unit C, and Unit D. Swamplot appreciates the support!

What makes these modern townhomes built by Uptown Houston Development different from others in Shady Acres? You can see it in the top photo above: a second-floor atrium-style indoor-outdoor living space with large windows facing into the entry landing and an entrance through 10-ft.-tall 3-panel sliding glass doors into the main (indoor) living area. It’s the focus of the entire mid-level floor plan. The top floor includes the master suite and a second bedroom; a third is just off the entry on the first floor.

This part of Shady Acres is convenient to the 610 Loop and I-10. Wright-Bembry Park is on the same block; Crisp is a block away and Cedar Creek 2 blocks. But the burgeoning restaurant scene along Shepherd Dr. has made the neighborhood much more walkable. The sweet shopping center containing Fat Cat Creamery and Hugs & Donuts is 3 blocks away; newcomers such as Hunky Dory and Southern Goods are another block to the south; travel a few more blocks to the east and you’ll be in the thick of the Houston Heights’ 19th St. shopping district. The 365 Whole Foods Market planned for Yale St. at 610 will be a mile and a half away.

Find out more about these homes’ finishes and energy-efficient features on the separate property websites for each: Unit B, Unit C, and Unit D. To learn about the buyer incentive currently being offered, contact the listing agent with Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Anderson Properties, Lauren Friese. And if you’d like to take a tour in person, stop by 938 W. 22nd St. between 1 and 4 pm on Saturday, June 25th, for an open house.

Would you or a townhome you know like to become a Swamplot sponsor? Contact us here.

Thanks today go to the 2,608-sq.-ft., 3-bedroom home at 2415 Avalon Pl., checking in as Swamplot’s Sponsor of the Day!

If you dream about the back of your house opening up to a backyard pool-and-spa combo, you’ll want to check out this place. By removing the walls surrounding what was once a separate study adjacent to the living room, the owners of this brick midcentury home have created a full-width interior space that lines and laps the pool. An array of 10 full-height expanses of glass (including 2 sets of French doors) covers the home’s back wall. The photos above show a portion of this arrangement, but you’ll want to click through the slideshow on the property website to appreciate the extent of this poolside hangout.

How about adding to that vision with a ground-floor master bedroom opening onto that space? The other 2 bedrooms are upstairs (one with a built-in office alcove; the other with windows on 3 sides). Because it’s in Avalon Place, Chuy’s and West Ave (to the southeast), River Oaks Elementary (to the west), and the River Oaks Theater (to the northeast) are all within walking distance.

Do look through all the pics on the 2415 Avalon Pl. website, where you can also find additional details. It’s listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers.

Everybody into the Sponsor of the Day pool! Line up for the diving board here.

Today’s sponsor is a 100-plus-year-old home in Montrose’s Avondale neighborhood that’s been converted for use as a photography studio. 405 Avondale St., Swamplot appreciates your support!

Would you keep this 1915-vintage property in the Avondale West Historic District as a commercial space — or convert it back to a home? Either way could work, or maybe even a little of both — if you turn the main house back to a house but decide to use the separate 2-level studio building in back as a workshop, gallery, or office space. The studio building has its own full bathroom; the entire lot measures 9,800 sq. ft.

Inside the 2-story original house at the front of the lot you’ll find original wood floors, dark-stained ceiling beams in the main living spaces, 3 bedrooms, and 4 fireplaces. A small courtyard sits between the 2 buildings; in front are parking spaces for visitors. With the Avondale address come dozens of fine restaurants, coffee shops, and other Montrose attractions only a couple of blocks’ walk away.

Head on over to the property website to see just how close to the heart of Montrose 405 Avondale is; you’ll find more details about the property there, along with great photos of its many interesting spaces.

Let Swamplot readers in on your real estate secrets. Here’s how to get on board as a Swamplot Sponsor.

Today’s edition of Swamplot is brought to you by the 4-bedroom, 3-1/2-bath home at 2115 Gostick St. in the Heights subdivision known as Gostic. Thanks for the support!

Okay, Heightsers (or would-be Heightsers): Which shopping district? Old standby 19th St. (Vietnam Restaurant, Cutthroat) or up-and-coming E. 20th (Nam Eatery, Birds Barbershop)? Heights & Yale or N. Main & Studewood? No need to stick to one or the other — if you’re living in this American Foursquare built in 2007 by Modern Bungalow on Gostick St. between E. 21st and E. 22nd. Because it’s convenient to both. Plus: porches. A nice welcoming one streetside, as well as the screened-in one in back pictured above for mosquito-free outdoor hobnobbing.

You’ll find a familiar rooms-to-the-corners layout inside (that’s why it’s called a Foursquare). A 2015 renovation added the fourth bedroom and full bath on the third floor (teen suite, office, studio, or playroom). The 2-car garage has its entrance off the alley, leaving room for an actual back yard.

If this perch and its porches is of interest to you, check out the property website for 2115 Gostick St., where you’ll find more details and photos.

Got the perfect home in the perfect spot looking for the perfect buyer? A stint as Swamplot Sponsor of the Day might be just the thing.

Swamplot’s sponsor today is Houston’s own Realty News Report, an online publication covering commercial and residential real estate markets in Texas. Thanks for the support!

If you’re hungry for Houston real estate news — and gee, if you’re reading Swamplot, it’s likely you are — you should be reading Realty News Report. But . . . who are we to judge?

Realty News Report’s editor, Ralph Bivins, came back from New Orleans earlier this month loaded down with an unprecedented 5 awards — 2 golds, a silver, and 2 bronzes in various categories — in the National Association of Real Estate Editors’ 66th annual Journalism Awards. What for?

“This writer covers Houston real estate like a glove,” the panel of expert judges from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism wrote of Bivins’s work. “Whether he is writing about new building construction methods, the future of the Astrodome, or the acquisition of the land and the building of a new campus of ExxonMobil, he gives readers new insights into area real estate. He is a must read.”

Bivins’s competitors for the NAREE awards were journalists from the Wall St. Journal, Bloomberg, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other well-known publications. Before founding Realty News Report, he covered real estate for the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News for decades.

To keep up with the Texas real estate scene, you’ll want to check out the Realty News Report website — regularly. For a free trial subscription to Realty News Report’s weekly newsletter, send an email to RealtyNewsReport@gmail.com.

Swamplot readers sure do appreciate Swamplot sponsors! Get in on the action by becoming a Sponsor of the Day.

Today’s sponsor of this site is Houston’s own Central Bank. Swamplot appreciates the continued support!

Central Bank has 4 (central) Houston branches available to meet your business or personal needs: in Midtown, the Heights, West Houston, and Post Oak Place.

Central Bank believes that change is essential to its success; the company actively pursues the latest in service, technology, and products. Central Bank aims toknow its customers personally and to be their primary business and personal financial resource. The bank’s staff values relationships and strives to be available when you need them.

To learn more about how Central Bank can meet your banking needs, please call any of the following Senior Vice Presidents: Kenny Beard, at 832.485.2376;Bonnie Purvis, at 832.485.2354; Gary Noble, at 832.485.2366; or Ryan Tillman, at 832.485.2307. You can also find out more on the bank’s website.

Thinking about become a Swamplot sponsor? Here’s some basic information about the program. 

Today Swamplot comes to you with the support of our latest sponsor: the home at 5043 Lymbar Dr. in Meyerland. We sure appreciate it!

Walls have been removed to open up the interior (see top photo) of this 3-bedroom, 2-bath corner home on a 9,442-sq.-ft. lot in Meyerland. Also added during renovations: new bamboo flooring, new windows, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and a pergola on the back patio (above). French doors from the master bedroom open onto that now-shaded space, which now sports a slate-tile floor. Picture windows in the family room and breakfast room also look onto it and the back yard beyond, which incorporates a playset and a vegetable garden.

Another change is more recent: last week’s price reduction. The seller reports that this home has never flooded. The property is zoned to Kolter Elementary, Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School (formerly Johnston Middle School), and Bellaire High School.

5043 Lymbar Dr. is listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers. You can see more photos and get more details about this home on the property website.

Swamplot Sponsor of the Day spots are a great way to feature standout properties. Read this page to learn how to get a home featured here.

Swamplot comes to you today fortified by the sponsorship of 4 newly built homes in a row on E. 27th St. in Sunset Heights, otherwise known as 506 E. 27th St., 508 E. 27th St., 510 E. 27th St., and 512 E. 27th St. Thanks for supporting this site!

The development is called Oxford Heights (Oxford and Columbia are the nearest cross streets). All 4 properties were developed and built by Smith Family Homes. Most have 5 bedrooms and 5 baths; all weigh in at approximately 3,250 sq. ft. — including finished third floors (a game room, or that fifth bedroom and bath) of about 460 sq. ft. Downstairs, the floor plans are similar, with some variation. (The dining room is more defined in 506; in 512, you’ll find a bedroom with an en suite bathroom on the first floor.)  All have 2-story porches facing the street, as well as attached 2-car garages facing the alley in back. Inside, you’ll find hardwood floors, extensive closets, and open main living spaces that flow from front to back (as seen in the above interior view of 512 E. 27th).

This part of 27th St. is a mere 7 blocks away from the site designated for a 365 by Whole Foods Market at Yale and the 610 Loop. Come by 506 E. 27th St., 508 E. 27th St., 510 E. 27th St., and 512 E. 27th St. this Saturday, June 18th, from 12 to 2 pm, for an open house where you’ll be able to tour the properties and sample New Orleans-style snoballs (here spiked if you like, we’re told) from another neighbor, Mam’s House of Ice on Cavalcade St.

Swamplot readers pay attention to our Sponsors of the Day. If you’re interested in showing up in this space, follow the directions here.

Swamplot is brought to you today by the new townhomes at 938 W. 22nd St. in Shady Acres, namely Unit B, Unit C, and Unit D. (Sorry, Unit A is under contract.) We sure appreciate the support!

What makes these modern townhomes built by Uptown Houston Development different from others in Shady Acres? You can see it in the top photo above: a second-floor atrium-style indoor-outdoor living space with large windows facing into the entry landing and an entrance through 10-ft.-tall 3-panel sliding glass doors into the main (indoor) living area. It’s the focus of the entire mid-level floor plan. The top floor includes the master suite and a second bedroom; a third is just off the entry on the first floor.

This part of Shady Acres is convenient to the 610 Loop and I-10. Wright-Bembry Park is on the same block; Crisp is a block away and Cedar Creek 2 blocks. But the burgeoning restaurant scene along Shepherd Dr. has made the neighborhood much more walkable. The sweet shopping center containing Fat Cat Creamery and Hugs & Donuts is 3 blocks away; newcomers such as Hunky Dory and Southern Goods are another block to the south; travel a few more blocks to the east and you’ll be in the thick of the Houston Heights’ 19th St. shopping district. The 365 Whole Foods Market planned for Yale St. at 610 will be a mile and a half away.

Find out more about these homes’ finishes and energy-efficient features on the separate property websites for each: Unit B, Unit C, and Unit D. To learn about the buyer incentive currently being offered, contact the listing agent with Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Anderson Properties, Lauren Friese. And if you’d like to take a tour in person, stop by 938 W. 22nd St. between 1 and 4 pm on either Saturday or Sunday, this coming weekend or the next, for an open house. 

Sponsors help keep Swamplot’s pixels burning bright. If you’d like to become one, please lookie here.

Today’s sponsor of Swamplot is the 4-5-bedroom, 4-bath single-family home at 1704 Kipling St. in Winlow Place. Thank you for supporting this site!

The duplex that originally stood on the northwest corner of Kipling and Dunlavy was built in 1930, but it had been vacant for 20 years before Houston architect Donna Kacmar renovated and converted it, in 2007, to this single residence. Kacmar recycled some of the materials from the house for its own rejuvenation: Termite-ridden oak planks on the first floor were replaced by shiplap — removed from the interior walls, milled, and turned into wide-plank flooring. New cabinet pieces were fabricated from the home’s longleaf pine door jambs. Interior doors are refinished originals, but all windows and exterior doors were replaced, soapstone countertops inserted, and a new garage constructed.

The renovation efforts resulted in a Good Brick Award from the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (now known as Preservation Houston) in 2008. But the home has more to offer than its rehab pedigree: There’s also the central Montrose location. Coffee, croissants, and company are just a short walk away. The 3,552-sq.-ft. home is just a couple blocks south of the storied corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy.

1704 Kipling St. is listed for sale by New Leaf Real Estate, which offers unique savings programs for both sellers and buyers. You can see more photos of the renovated home — including the back porch and brick exterior — and get more info about it on the property website.

Take Swamplot readers on a tour through your carefully crafted rehab — with a Swamplot sponsorship.

Today Swamplot is brought to you by 2 adjacent properties designed (and inhabited) by Intexure Architects: The 3-story home at 1819 Southmore Blvd., and the company’s Live Work Studio at 1815 Southmore Blvd. Thanks for the support!

Intexure’s cofounders, architects Russell and Rame Hruska, have created a unique modern development in the neighborhood between Downtown and the Texas Medical Center now known as Museum Park. It’s anchored by their personal home on Southmore between Chenevert and Almeda and their architecture studio next door — 2 buildings that back up to a midblock greenspace — which together constitute their vision of an ideal live-work environment.

The 5-bedroom residence (pictured above), which they’ve named the Tripartite House, won an AIA Houston Design Award for its interiors, has been featured on AIA home tours, and has appeared in both Architect and Architectural Record magazines. It’s expected to receive a LEED Platinum rating for its environmental and energy-minded features — including a rainwater-harvesting setup and a whole-house water-filtration system. Inside you’ll find Poggenpohl millwork, top-of-the-line Thermador appliances, a separate catering kitchen, and a rooftop terrace overlooking both Downtown and the Med Center.

For a future project, the design-build firm is planning to work with advanced digital fabrication techniques and prefab technologies; both Intexure’s Tripartite House and its Live Work Studio are now on the market in order to allow that to happen. The properties are being offered for sale by Boulevard Realty agent Star Massing.

Swamplot readers love Swamplot sponsors! Here’s how to become one.