A few readers have requested a final tour of the former Sherwood Forest home of Greenway Plaza developer Kenneth Schnitzer. The home at 314 E. Friar Tuck Ln. showed up in yesterday’s Daily Demolition Report. It was built in 1970 from a design by Houston architects Neuhaus & Taylor.
Have a look around:
No takers for that free house in the Old Sixth Ward. Plus assorted other demos:
East End blogger Dana Jennings was eager to see what the owners of what was once the Avalon Theater at the corner of Lawndale and 75th St. — just east of the Forest Park Cemetery — had in mind for the property. From last month:
It’s most recent use was as a church. Usually alot of traffic, both foot and vehicular, was seen on Sundays. They’ve moved to a more hopeful location about 2 years ago.
I always thought this would be remodeled into apartment homes. It’s right across the street from La Michocana Meat Market and Grocery, the 99 Cent store, CVS pharmacy, fast food and the Washateria. The bus line runs along Lawndale. It’s a lively corner, active, but again, and I know I’m repeating myself, it’s not threatening. In other obvious words, it would make a great place for new apartments.
The building, still labeled “Living Hope Church,” was demolished September 4th. So what’s the latest on the property?
The Wilshire Village soap opera continues: A source sends Swamplot two trustee’s sale notices for the now-demolished 7.68-acre apartment complex at the corner of W. Alabama and Dunlavy.
How deep into it is the owner? There’s a first lien of $10,742,000 to Amegy Bank, now “wholly due and payable”! That lien dates from January 31, 2006 — the same date, according to HCAD, that the owner, a limited partnership named Alabama & Dunlavy Ltd., took over the property.
The second notice documents problems with Alabama & Dunlavy Ltd.’s separate mezzanine financing with Wedge Real Estate, in the amount of $3 million. That separate promissory note appears to date from May 30th of 2008. Both trustee’s sale notices are dated earlier this month.
Our source comments:
It is rather interesting that Wedge Holdings is the mezz lender, with Wedge being Mayor Bill White’s former company. I feel certain that Matt [Dilick] will avert foreclosure by filing bankruptcy, if he has not already done so.
Oh but if if if foreclosure somehow isn’t averted, where and when might eager Swamplotters be able to snap up this fine scraped property?
More buildings by the bayou go bye-bye, plus other assorted demolitional delights — in today’s edition of the knock-’em-down report:
What do you feel like knocking around today? How about these buildings:
Swamplot’s Daily Demolition Report lists buildings that received City of Houston demolition permits the previous weekday.
A Burger King Memorial. That crush and more in our daily list:
Back in the bat-like swing of things, ready to smash some places up! How about these:
Last week east ender Dana Jennings took photos of a small 1920 brick bungalow on Harrisburg near Caylor — next to a pipe yard, railroad tracks, a boarding house . . . and on its west side, the El Torito Lounge:
Some would say good riddance to El Torito. But I liked the painted sign out front with the flagrantly sexual old Bull leering and leaning on his pool cue. I’m going to miss him. He was a waymarker, a placeholder, a sign that oriented me in my travels. “Oh, there’s the bull on the purple bar….I’m on Harrisburg near the tracks, almost home.” That sort of thing. But the streetscape needs the light rail, so this loss is semi rather than bitter sweet.
Losing the bungalow to the backhoe’s claw is more painful.
Just a bunch of old houses today. Keep checking with us if you’re wanting to see the bigger stuff.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THERE’S BLACK GOLD IN THEM THAR CHURCH! “I was involved 7 years ago to save the old church but it was a battle then. The people of Immanuel don’t know what they have. They want to demo the church so they can move on to phase three . . . of their master plan. Problem is they don’t have enough money to finish phase two much less start phase three. One of the reasons, I was told by a trustee, that they are demoing the bldg. now is that a couple of their old members died and left them some money . . . He went on to say that one of the [deceased] left them some oil well money not much he said but just enough to maybe pay the light bill each month. They have an oil well over there right now and don’t even know it. Yea it will take money and effort but I guarentee every girl in the Heights would love to get married in that old beautiful church. . . . The church is not rotten as some say. that thing is solid, some remodel work and that Bldg. could be a gold mine for the church. If they do tear it down it will be a shame.” [Mike Batterson, commenting on Can This Lutheran Church Be Saved?]
Smash those buildings, smash them good! Turn them into landfill food!
COMMENT OF THE DAY: OFFERINGS FOR IMMANUEL LUTHERAN CHURCH “$600,000 to renovate? I’d like to see that breakdown. I’ll offer a donation of my labor, and I’m sure many more would [too] if the church would make a plea for it (plus, maybe the members would too??)…” [Lauren, commenting on Can This Lutheran Church Be Saved?]
A light day in the Houston demo world. What a great opportunity to come by and visit these sites!
