Tag: Neighborhood Disputes

03/24/14 11:00am

With Help from Hines, Family Living Next Door to Highrise Construction Site Exits to Pearland

Highrises, Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Vermont Commons

15 Comments

View of Home with Highrise Construction Crane Next Door, 2244 Welch St., Vermont Commons, Houston

The UH professor whose experiences living next door to the vacant-lot-turned-highrise-construction-site across the southern border of River Oaks made for a colorful teevee news report and an EPA complaintÂ has called an end to his protests of the rumbling, diesel fumes, and building and patio cracks caused by the giant craneÂ that showed up next door (pictured above). With an unspecified amount of financial assistance from Hines, the developers of the 17-story office tower going up at 2229 San Felipe, Richard Armstrong and his family will be moving from 2244 Welch St. to a new home in Pearland early next month.

His media appearances “got the attention of Hines and Gilbane Construction,” Armstrong reports in a letter posted to an online news group focusing on the tower’s construction. “Fundamentally, there isn’t much that can be done,” he writes, “given the pace and scale of this construction. . . . We have loved this house and the neighborhood — up until December. This is a wonderful pocket for people who want access to everything the inner loop has to offer. Unfortunately, other people are discovering our secret. So we’ll just have to roll with the changes.”

It appears that Armstrong’s “roll” will be bankrolled — at least in part — by Hines.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors — To Move Away

2229 San Felipe, 77019, Highrises, Montrose, Moving, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Vermont Commons

03/11/14 4:45pm

Neighbor Has a Few Problems with That 17-Story Office Building Going Up Over the Side Fence

Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes, Office Buildings, Vermont Commons

27 Comments

Details of 2244 Welch St., Next Door to Construction Crane for 2229 San Felipe Office Tower, Vermont Commons, Montrose, Houston

Details of 2244 Welch St., Next Door to Construction Crane for 2229 San Felipe Office Tower, Vermont Commons, Montrose, Houston What more quintessential closeup image of Houston is there — the kind you really aren’t likely to come across too many other places — than the one that shows a 17-story office tower under construction right next door to a single-family home? So when you hear of a Montrose resident complaining that the huge and noisy construction crane planted just a few feet beyond his fence to construct the “boutique” building at 2229 San Felipe is causing cracks in the concrete patio and the interior walls of his home, that the smell of diesel is overwhelming whether he’s in the back yard or inside on the ground floor, and that the fumes and noise from the regular Saturday concrete pours cause regular headaches for family members — well, it kinda does make you sit up and pay attention, if not simply to marvel at the unique properties of Houston development regulations and practices that allow such remarkable juxtapositions in our midst.

Still, the owner of the home at 2244 Welch St. might be forgiven if he doesn’t get so philosophical about the wondrous scene arrayed before him. “No representative of Hines has EVER come to us to express any concern about what they are doing,” he wrote over the weekend to an online newsgroup. “Even the construction workers admit they are not comfortable with the position of this crane. So everyone else got paid off, just not us I guess.”

This past Saturday, he filed a report about the situation with the EPA. What happened next?

Next Door to 2229 San Felipe

77019, Construction Safety, Hazards, Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Odors, Office Buildings, Sound, Vermont Commons

Neighborhood Disputes

02/28/14 1:30pm

Lawsuit Won’t Stop Construction of Hines’s San Felipe Tower — At this Time

Office Buildings, Quicklink, River Oaks, Vermont Commons

17 Comments

LAWSUIT WON’T STOP CONSTRUCTION OF HINES’S SAN FELIPE TOWER — AT THIS TIME Aerial View of Proposed 2229 San Felipe Office Tower, Vermont Commons, Houston Yesterday a Harris County judge issued an order denying the request of some neighbors of 2229 San Felipe across from River Oaks for a temporary restraining order halting construction of the 17-story Hines office tower going up on that site. The neighbors had filed suit last week, complaining that (among other things) the building would interfere with their privacy, cause unreasonable traffic delays, devalue theirÂ own nearby properties, and erode the character of the neighborhood. “Unfortunately, Harris County does not make transcripts of arguments at the hearing available online,” writes the tipster who sent Judge Michael Gomez’s order to Swamplot, “but this could be a sign that Judge Gomez may be less receptive to the Plaintiffs’ arguments than those that were heard in the Ashby highrise case.” Maybe. Twice on the signed order, after the word “denied,” the judge added in the phrase “at this time” by hand. [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot] Photo:Â Hines

77019, Lawsuits, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Office Buildings, River Oaks, Vermont Commons

02/21/14 11:02am

Urban Living’s Newly Vacant Lots in the First Ward Don’t Like Historic Districts

First Ward, Historic Districts, Neighborhood Disputes, Redevelopment

34 Comments

Stop Historic Districts Sign at Urban Living Property, First Ward, Houston

A few Swamplot readers have been sending in pics of the “Stop Historic Districts” yard signs that have been up in the First Ward for the last few weeks, the vast majority of which — at our readers’ report — have shown a remarkable affinity for lots owned by real-estate firm Urban Living or its affiliates. The signs (including the one on Crockett St. between White and Silver shown above)Â have given voice to the otherwise silent former sites of older First Ward building stock, as they jettison their former inhabitants to make room for larger, glitzier, and generally taller new construction.

Yard Sign Drama in the High First

77007, First Ward, Historic Districts, Neighborhood Disputes, Redevelopment

01/21/14 6:00pm

Katy Fwy. Building Slated for Breastaurant Conversion Undergoing Hump Reduction Surgery

Renovations, Restaurants, Wilchester

6 Comments

Future Twin Peaks Restaurant, 11335 Katy Fwy., Wilchester, Houston

Former DiMassi's Restaurant, 11335 Katy Fwy., Wilchester, Houston The Alamo-style flattened humps shown at left that once marked the entrances of the now-shuttered DiMassi’s Restaurant on the south side of I-10 just west of Yorkchester appear to have been removed in the course of ongoing renovations to the 8,000-sq.-ft. property. The latest view of the property is shown above. What’s prompting the lumpectomy? The space’s conversion into a new Twin Peaks “mountain lodge”-themed sports bar. But the tasteful removal of the high-mounted flashy rounded appendages appears not to have assuaged a group of nearby residents who have complained to the city about the arrival in their neighborhood of the Dallas-based chain that features breasted waitresses inside: “We feel very strongly that anybody exercising common sense will see that a Twin Peaks in this location so close to so many children, smack in the residential area doesn’t speak to any of his values, it just doesn’t make sense,” a mother who lives in the adjacent neighborhood tells KTRK reporter Miya Shay. The 80,000-sq.-ft. feeder road lot backs up to Britoak Ln. and sits directly across the street from Wilchester Elementary School.

Photos: abc13 (construction); LoopNet (DiMassi’s)

Strange but True

77079, Neighborhood Disputes, Renovations, Restaurants, Wilchester

01/17/14 12:15pm

The Scene on San Felipe: Hines’s Friendly Neighborhood Skyscraper Is Going Up Now

New Construction, Office Buildings, Vermont Commons

10 Comments

Construction of 2229 San Felipe Tower, Vermont Commons, Houston

Aerial View of Proposed 2229 San Felipe Office Tower, Vermont Commons, Houston “They are definitely moving forward” on construction of the office tower at the corner of Spann St. and San Felipe between Kirby and Shepherd, a Swamplot reader reports from the scene across the street from River Oaks. Neighborhood complaints or no, Hines is ready to roll on its 17-story 2229 San Felipe development (portrayed in an aerial view among its low-rise neighbors at right).Â “They have scraped the land, built a cover over the neighbors garage, and fenced this property,” our correspondent reports. And oh, yeah: A crane has arrived.

Previously on Swamplot: Dear Hines: We’d Settle for a Residential Midrise, Please,Â Hines Not Stopping San Felipe Skyscraper,Â Hines Develops Website To Explain 17-Story San Felipe Development,Â â€œStopâ€ Signs Oppose 17-Story Hines Office Building on San Felipe,Â A Look Around San Felipe at the Randall Davis Condos and Planned Hines Office Building Site,Â Hines Plans a Shiny New 18-Story Office Building Across San Felipe from River Oaks

Photo: Loves Swamplot. Aerial View of 2229 San Felipe: Hines

Sticking Up, for River Oaks

77019, Neighborhood Disputes, New Construction, Office Buildings, Vermont Commons

01/08/14 5:15pm

Sharp New Barbed Wire Fencing Should Keep Troublesome Post Oak Manor Residents from Messing with That New Willow Waterhole Prairie Conservation Area

Hazards, Neighborhood Disputes, Post Oak Manor

13 Comments

Barbed Wire Fencing Surrounding Willow Waterhole Stormwater Detention Basin Prairie Conservation Area, Southwest Houston

Having succeeded in somewhat reducing the planned amount of tree carnage at the southern end of their neighborhood bounding a portion of the Willow Waterhole Stormwater Detention Basin, residents of Post Oak Manor now have another curious byproduct of those flood-reduction efforts to contend with. Contractors working on the Harris County Flood Control District project are now lining a section of the new detention basin with actual barbed-wire fencing. “This is public paid-for lands,” complains neighborhood resident Valerie Runge. “I can’t help but feel this is retaliation for the trouble we caused trying to keep a few of the trees.”

Cows, Too

77035, Fencing, Hazards, Landscape, Neighborhood Disputes, Post Oak Manor, Southwest-Houston, Water Detention, Willow Waterhole

12/17/13 4:45pm

Jury Tells Ashby Highrise Developers To Pay Neighbors $1,661,993.62

Highrises, Lawsuits, Neighborhood Disputes, Southampton

68 Comments

Rendering of Street in Front of Proposed Ashby Highrise, 1717 Bissonnet St., Southampton, Houston After more than 6 hours of deliberation over 2 days, the jury in the Ashby Highrise trial came back with a verdict this afternoon, awarding damage claims to a subset of the neighbors who filed suit against the developers of the highrise apartment tower planned for 1717 Bissonnet, claiming that the development would cause harm to their property. Jurors who spoke afterward to Chronicle reporter Erin Mulvaney said they believed the development was “out of place” for the Southampton neighborhood it abuts. Expert witnesses for the plaintiffs in the month-long trial presented evidence that the 21-story tower would cause lower property values, structural problems, and increased traffic for its immediate neighbors. Total bill, ordered for 20 of the 30 neighborhood households that entered into the lawsuit: $1,661,993.62. Next up: a hearing before Judge Randy Wilson over whether the project should be allowed to go forward.

Jury sides with residents in Ashby case [Prime Property]
Ashby Highrise coverageÂ [Swamplot]

Rendering: Buckhead Investment Partners

Surprise!?

77005, Apartments, Ashby Highrise, Highrises, Lawsuits, Neighborhood Disputes, Southampton

Lawsuits

12/12/13 10:00am

In Ashby Highrise Trial, Engineers Get Testy Over Settlement

Neighborhood Disputes, Quicklink, Southampton

17 Comments

IN ASHBY HIGHRISE TRIAL, ENGINEERS GET TESTY OVER SETTLEMENT Site and Neighbors of Proposed Ashby Highrise, 1717 Bissonnet St. at Ashby, Southampton, Houston Engineers for both sides may be spending much of the coming weekend testing the Southampton soil surrounding the site of the Ashby Highrise. Erin Mulvaney reports that the judge in the civil trial has postponed additional testimony from Paradigm Consultants president Woody Vogt until next Monday, after the attorney for the group of neighbors suing Buckhead Investment Partners complained Vogt was attempting to present new evidence their own expert hadn’t had time to analyze and pick apart. Vogt, who was hired by the defendants, told the jury last week that construction of the proposed 21-story highrise tower at 1717 Bissonnet St. would have no adverse affects on the foundations of nearby homes, and produce only one inch of settlement in the soil. But he also admitted he had used separate sets of calculations for each of those 2 predictions, and that the expert witness for the group of neighbors suing the developers had performed a more thorough analysis of the construction’s potential effects. Writes Mulvaney: “Rick Ellman of New York-based Muesler Rutledge Consulting Engineers testified earlier for the resident group that 10 existing homes near the site could suffer moderate to severe damage, including cracked foundations, buckled walls and busted water pipes. Ellman predicted the ground would ‘settle’ four inches.” [Houston Chronicle ($); previously on Swamplot] Photo of site: Swamplot inbox

77005, Ashby Highrise, Foundations, Highrises, Lawsuits, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Southampton

Comments

12/06/13 1:30pm

Comment of the Day: The Annual Battle of the Neighborhoods

Neighborhood Disputes, Quicklink

8 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE ANNUAL BATTLE OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS “I love the Swampies, but this category is played out. It is the same thing every year. Everyone knows that the best neighborhoods in town are places like Montrose, Heights, GOOF, and Rice/West U, but wonâ€™t admit it because these neighborhoods are just too expensive for the average resident to be able to afford. Then comes the parade of ‘no really, my neighborhood is nice’Â nominees by people who have put their bet on the up and coming areas, but are not willing to admit that their neighborhood is just not there yet. Eastwood/Eado always chime in, even though much of the area is still pretty run down and industrial despite some very strong redevelopment activity. The tail coat neighborhoods like Westbury, Brooke Smith, and the few sprigs of Spring Branch where lot value hasnâ€™t hit $400k trumpet how they are a great deal with all the benefits of their big brother neighborhoods without conceding things like lousy 50s housing stock, proximity to ever expanding highways and huge clusters of old garden style apartment complexes teaming with humanity just down the street. And the winner is always the odd little neighborhood in the city with the most followers on its HOA facebook page who flood the resultsÂ . . .” [Old School, commenting onÂ Nominations Are Now Open for the 2013 Neighborhood of the Year]

Comments, Neighborhood Disputes

Apartments

11/27/13 11:30am

New Owner of The Place Apartments in Castle Court Plans ‘Lease Down’; All Tenants Out by End of April?

Buying and Selling, Castle Court, Leasing, Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes

10 Comments

The Place Apartments, 1341 Castle Ct., Castle Court, Montrose, Houston

Responding to the unidentified pamphleteer who went door to door over the weekend distributing warnings of an impending demolition for The Place Apartments at 1341 Castle Ct., the 90-unit complex’s new management responded early this week with its own tenant missive. The politely worded note from property manager Lori Lindley of newly hired Greystar responds point-by-point to the issues raised in the original flyer, namely that 1) tenants will get a “document stating the amount due,” not an eviction notice, if they’re a few days late with rent payments; 2) the management office is now closed on weekends; 3) online and drop-box payment options offered by the previous management company are no longer available; 4) a recent utility bill was distributed late to tenants only because of the recent change in ownership; and 5) the biggie: “The property was purchased with the intent to do a lease down. However, it is not our goal to evict any resident . . . We are currently renewing leases through 4/30/2014; should this change we will notify all residents accordingly.”

A Word from Management

77006, Apartments, Buying and Selling, Castle Court, Leasing, Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes

Lawsuits

11/11/13 11:30am

The Woodlands’ No-Fault Defense

Neighborhood Disputes, Quicklink, The Woodlands

11 Comments

THE WOODLANDS’ NO-FAULT DEFENSE The Woodlands Development Company is trying to hold the line in its legal battle against a growing number of homeowners claiming that repeated damage to their homes is the result of movement along 3 separate geological faults running through the community. According to reporter Cindy Horswell, the company is going further than simply claiming that the building and ground cracks and resulting new alignments in the properties must have been the result of something other than surface fault lines. A statement penned by developer spokesperson Susan Vreeland-Wendt appears to claim the fault lines do not exist: “We have done actual testing, and none of the testing that we’ve done to date has found any evidence of an active fault line in proximity to any Woodlands residence.” That contradicts the claims of the now 2-dozen families from the Carlton Woods, Alden Bridge, Cochran’s Crossing, and Sterling Ridge neighborhoodsÂ involved in or about to join the lawsuit, which was originally filed in March of this year, who say a 1993 letter proves the developer knew about the problem. “The plaintiffs’ attorneys say five different geologists have verified the existence of at least three fault lines — Big Barn, the longest and most active line that runs about 33 miles underground from a salt dome near Hockley to the flank of a salt formation near Conroe, as well as two smaller faults, Jones and Panther Branch. The San Jacinto River Authority’s geological report also recently pinpointed these same surface faults when working on plans to install a new 52-inch pipe to bring water into The Woodlands. To protect from the shifting soils, a special flexible pipe will be used wherever the pipe crosses a fault zone. ‘They do exist, and they are active,’ said Mark Smith, division manager over the water authority’s water project.” [Houston Chronicle ($)] Fault-line map: KHOU

77380, 77381, 77389, Faults, Lawsuits, Neighborhood Disputes, The Woodlands

Flooding

11/06/13 10:00am

The Latest Tree-Clearing Scheduled for Willow Waterhole

Landscape, Neighborhood Disputes, Post Oak Manor, Proposed Developments, Trees, Willowbend

11 Comments

That vague line of pink barely visible low in the forested area just beyond the backyard of this house on Warm Springs Dr. in Post Oak Manor marks a few of the hundreds of trees the Harris County Flood Control District plans to knock down as part of a second phase of work on the easternmost portion of the Willow Waterhole Stormwater Detention Basin complex. Most of the trees slated for removal are in a 5-acre zone to the southeast of Post Oak Manor (outlined at the bottom right of the aerial map below), just north of South Main St. and directly to the southwest of Beren Academy. But the pink line is part of a separate 2-acre strip that’s slated for thinning just south of Post Oak Manor. And that’s got some residents there — and in adjacent ‘W’ neighborhoods Willowbend, Willow Meadows, Willowbrook, and Westbury — upset.