Sources have indicated to Swamplot that all 102 separately owned units of a townhome development behind the Park Towers office complex on the West Loop have been sold. The 5.3969-acre site currently occupied by the Post Oak Park Townhomes (shown in the photo above) had been marketed for sale by CBRE. One source tells Swamplot the buyer of the condo development is a “foreign investor,” and that unspecified highrise buildings are reportedly planned for the property.
The Winhall Townhomes complex at 1525 Garrettson Ln. — tucked behind Willie G’s on Post Oak Blvd. — appears to be vacant, notes a reader who snapped the above photo of an empty (and chained shut) parking garage on one side of the Galleria-area residence. That’s notable because — unlike various other complexes around town that have been given the all clear in recent months — the Winhall consists of more than 30 independently owned condos. But sure enough, a for-sale listing has been posted online for the almost-2-acre site, which includes 285 ft. of frontage on Garrettson.
Here’s a rendering of the 7-story (2 of them parking) condo building Sims Luxury Builders is planning for the spot at 3331 D’Amico St. — just east of Dunlavy St. and south of Allen Pkwy. currently occupied by a dentist’s office and bridal shop structure where a sign went up late last month. Dubbed Riva at the Park, the building will contain 22 units (marked down from 24), on 3 floors of 4 units each and 2 floors of 5. A marketing rep tells Swamplot the building’s developers are aiming to have “larger units than Highland Tower or the Royalton,” but “superior finish allowances and very low maintenance fees but not as industrial as the loft buildings.” They condos are expected to start in the high $700s. The building will sit on the northern edge of the former Rincon Apartments, now called the Villas at River Oaks.
Rendering: Sims Luxury Builders
Riverway Properties’ latest plan for a condo building at the corner of Montrose Blvd. and Marshall St. almost triples the number of units planned for the former site of the River Cafe — from 12 in a proposal aired only a few months ago to 34. But the building’s still set at 7 stories. The embiggening was made possible by expanding the building’s footprint onto a neighboring property (the brick house-turned office to the north) — and switching to an entirely different scheme, from a big-name architecture firm. Philip Johnson, who designed the original campus and many of the buildings for the University of St. Thomas a few blocks away, is not coming back from the dead for this project, but Philip Johnson/Alan Ritchie Architects, the New York firm that still bears his name, has replaced Element Architects as the building’s designers.
Investor Steve Moore, who’s made a name for himself by buying up, moving into, establishing unusual rules in, cleaning up, and lowering crime rates at some of the roughest apartment complexes in Houston neighborhoods such as Greenspoint and Westwood, has a new investment (and new address) — in Sharpstown. Working with an investment group, the owner of more than 5,000 apartment units has purchased a majority interest in the Gardens at Bissonnet condos at 7400 Bissonnet St., the 200-unit complex near Fondren Rd. known as the Le Promenade condos when it was home to the La Primera gang. Moore was sought out for the purchase by the Greater Sharpstown Management District after the condo complex was put into receivership last year; a series of security measures, which included changing the property’s name, were instituted as part of a legal settlement between the county and the property’s previous owners.
The mysterious promoter of a proposed trio of condo towers planned for undisclosed Houston locations has posted a second video talking up the vague project — and dissing other condo developers almost every step of the way. But unlike the original video, which aims to get prospective buyers to sign up for a mailing list by flashing images of condos in other cities and counting off extensive amenities like “a fleet of cars” and an indoor pet park, this new marketing effort is aimed at Realtors.
But did someone complain that promising to be able to build a 36-story highrise condo tower (or 3) in just 12 months sounds kinda unrealistic? Because the new video (embedded above)Â doubles down on that original claim, taking up a good quarter of the almost-5-minute monologue to explain how it’s totally doable (the “William’s Tower” and some unidentified building in China are offered as examples) — while pointing out how other Houston developers are taking so much longer with their projects. Students of marketing psychology (or of the psychology of marketers) will clearly want to preserve these videos — and the entire sales-before-construction effort — for future study.
Video: Elevated Living
The former single-story office building at 4820 Caroline St. where the coworking space called the Caroline Collective set up shop and operated for 5 years until last August was demolished earlier this year. And the companies redeveloping the property are sharing details of the 5-story condo building they plan to build in its place. A giant oak tree in the back was taken down with the demo, but Urban Flats Builder (formerly known as Infinity Texas Development) is still planning to call its building the Oaks on Caroline. The remaining oak, in front of the property, is featured in the rendering shown above.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE INSIDE STORY OF 4004 MONTROSE BLVD. 
“I worked on this project. The architect was Compendium (long defunct) and Jay Baker was the lead designer. There are indeed at least 20 different floor plans, from flats to three story units with roof decks. The ‘roof decks’ came about because some of the units exit up and across the roof to shared fire exit stair towers. All the original kitchen/bath cabinets were by italian cabinetmaker Boffi. It’s very dense, with some very unusual spaces, both in unit interiors and the three exterior plazas; the raised south pool plaza (with glass blocks in the pool looking to the street) is a great space. I agree it needs some cleaning! Before anyone asks, I don’t know why there was no ground floor retail.” [Phil, commenting on More Ups and Downs in a Court at Museums Gate Condo in Montrose]
A reader who was sent a link to an earlier version of this long promotional video earlier today is eager to learn whether the Skye, Rise, and Edge — the 3 condo towers promised in it — are “real or vaporware.” And continues: “The promise of a 12 month delivery was what immediately stood out for me. Anyone in commercial construction will tell you that it is next to impossible unless it’s a vanity project in Dubai with no budget limitations.” Otherwise, the reader notes, “It felt like an SNL skit.”
Video: Elevated Living
In the up-and-down maze of the 1985 postmodern Court at Museums Gate complex in Montrose, one of the 3-story units has been on and off the market at a variety of price points since last summer. Yesterday, the plaza-entry condo popped up again in a re-listing (with sharper photos) by a new agency. The asking price, $370,000, is where things stood earlier this month when an April 2014 re-listing terminated, having reduced its $385K price tag for 2 days. Back in July 2013, the unit debuted at $276,000, then tracked its price upward with the market through the end of the year. The property last sold in 2011, for $168,517.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: SO CONDOS ARE FOREVER? 
“My condo complex sits on about 6 acres of land on the western edge of River Oaks. We’ve been approached a few times by developers, but our bylaws require 100% owner approval to terminate the condo regime. There was a reported offer of $39M, which comes to about $270,800/unit (not accounting for differences in common ownership). That wouldn’t buy squat inside the loop today, so we will probably never get every owner to sell. Fine by me!” [roadchick, commenting on Randall Davis Trying To Buy an Entire Westhaven Estates Townhome Complex, in One Fell Swoop] Illustration: Lulu
Do people in buildings Downtown spy on the Gargoyle-capped midrise on West Gray St. — or vice versa? This furnished, second-floor, 2-story condo in Randall Davis’ 1997-built Metropolis Lofts building is available for lease, asking $5,500 per month.
