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Timbergrove Information & Developments


PureAuteur

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What's going on in Heights Annex, that area from 12th to 18th west of Durham but east of Old Timbergrove? It is excellent real estate, but the patches of gorgeous new homes are still surrounded by blight. There is an abandoned shopping center, plenty of homes that need to torn down immediately, and trashy yards.

I was driving through Heights Annex today, and right at the Diane curve that used to be closed to traffic but is re-opened now, a couple of people who looked like they were on crack or something walked slowly right toward my car without moving out of the way so I could get through the narrow street. They literally walked right up to my car and didn't move out of the way. How long will these types of people be around since the area is obviously in transition?

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Careful not to detract from the topic of the post, which is Heights Annex, not drug dealers (that was just a side note that related to the area).

The two pedestrians, if they even deserve to be called that, may not have been dealers, but could have been scum residents in the area walking around and thinking about how they somehow no longer fit in with the new construction.

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You either can wait till they are all gone and get a house there when it gets expensive, or go in there now with a new house at a much cheaper price an wait until they are all gone.

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I think the pedestrians you encountered were the exception rather than the rule.

Actually, Heights Annex goes from 13th to 16th from Lowell (now Shepherd) to the city limits at what is now Dian. This is according to a 1930 map.

Dan Rather was raised there on Prince between 14th and 15th. The last time I drove by his house, it was either fixed up or torn down. The fixed up house looked like his, but it was hard to tell from the improvements. The house to the north of that house had been razed. The empty lot is the first Heights Annex house I am aware of that is being replaced with a new structure. Maybe it is the start of a renovation of the neighborhood.

There are two sleeper areas I like there. One is 15th

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PureAuteur, this is the second time you have referred homes in Shady Acres and Heights Annex as blight. I would hardly call it that. No doubt it is an area in transition, but even at its worst Shady Acres wasn't the slums or murder alley. Unlike area such as the wards being redeveloped, Shady Acres dates to the 40's and 50's, and many of the homes are still owned by the first owners, most of which are people who don't have the money to keep their houses pretty and up-to-date.

I bought there a few years ago when people were just starting to get a whiff of the area's potential. I bought because the plats are huge when compared to most in the city. To me, it's a shame all the subdividing of lots going on, but I realize that's where the money is right now. I am hoping that more people like me enter the market who will restore the homes there. They may look like blight to you, but the homes are solidly built. My place looked like a dump as the previous owners literally didn't touch it for decades, but the only things I have had to do to it are cosmetic. The asbestos siding prevalant in the area has always been an amazing product, and with the exception of relacing rotting wood around windows and soffits, paint is all it takes to make these places shine.

I live, bike and drive the area constantly. The people you saw are most likely kids or workers walking home. Take a look at the crime stats for the area, there is very little crime.

Heights2Bastrop, speaking if 15th 1/2, have you noticed they bulldozed the large trailerpark? I think it's about 5 acres of land. Do you know who is going to develop it? (please don't say perry) You can see it here on google before the trailers were taken away:

Trailer Park on 15th 1/2, gone

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There seems to be a good deal of construction happening in Heights Annex. Below is just one of those developments. What makes this one special, however, is that this is the location of the house Dan Rather grew up in.

RathersGone.jpg

One of the workers at the site confirmed that as the location of the Rather house. He added that the house had been moved, but he did not know where.

HeightsGuy, it is hard to get a good sense of how large an area that trailer park took up, and just how much buildable area is there. This photo may give some idea, but then there is more area than what shows in the photo. Not only that, there is another large block of empty space just across the street from this lot.

OldTrailerPark.jpg

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Was the trailer park by Prince St also?

That is supposed to be a development by KHovanian.

KHovanian

Click on the location map to open a pdf fill.

The houses look a little ok. I don't much about them. I live close to the ones they are building in Cottage Grove.

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The trailer park in the photo above was on the west side of Beall at 15th. It is not actually in Heights Annex, but just west of it about a half mile.

The project on 13th and Prince used to be an iron works facility, but the eastern side of that area had been a trailer park.

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Midtown Coog:

I would hardly call Jersey Village heaven on earth. It has some nice houses, but the area is boring as can be. I like the older homes in Heights Annex. The blight I am referring to are the homes with faces that most homeowners would be ashamed of. Many of the homes are vacated and rotting. The abandoned retail space is also an eye sore.

It's all going to come around, obviously, I'm just being a bit impatient and too excited about new development. I still appreciate the old houses though.

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The retail space you mention on 14th and Prince is hardly abandoned, abandoned buildings have windows broken out and boarded up; abandoned buildings don't have "for lease" signs out front.

It was functioning just fine as a convenience til a couple of months ago. Obviously, the tenant couldn't keep up with the rent. The tagging you see on it only happened in the past few weeks. Whoever leases it out will no doubt clean up the grafitti.

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I see. So even the little retail strip centers have history behind them. I guess from living out along the Beltway 8 area so long, all that stuff seems the same to me. I have to adjust my thinking when I'm looking at one in the Heights.

I guess I assumed it had been abandoned for a long time. I make alot of assumptions. I am very intrigued by the potential of the Heights Annex area. I bet it can become as cool as Rice Military has become.

Why do people tag buildings and signs? What is the point, honestly? It isn't attractive or original. It's the same stuff all over the place. At least draw something cool looking.

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Well, one thing is for sure, you should root for the owner of the retail space and pray that he can fill it. The land values are skyrocketing in the area, but not enough yet for someone to pay the additional costs of developing that site due to the gas tank removal that would have to occur. If the owner can't lease the space, it will become the eyesore of the neighborhood.

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HeightsGuy, my uncle said today that he was trying to get a developer to come in and buy it. He said it's not working out so well at the moment. Do you know what the original owner wants to do? Does he have any plans to keep it? I see nothing wrong a nice neighorhood gas station.

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I have no idea what they plan to do, I just see the for lease sign. I am making the assumption that the tanks are bad based on the fact the last reincarnation of Snyderville grocery didn't even sell gas, and the pumps themselves are the old-style with spinning analog numbers. But, even if the tanks are sound, there is plenty of low hanging fruit in the immediate area for developers to snag before jumping into a site with old gas tanks. Even if there is no leakage, it still must cost 10's of thousands just to have a company dig them up and dispose of them.

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10s of thousands to dig up gas tanks?! How big are these things? I would think with the proper equipment, it should be a minor setback. I'd say within a week or less they could remove the tanks if they want to.

Or maybe! Wait until the Heights Annex becomes the new hottest locale in Houston, its name changes to The Houston Mid-Heights, and the existing shell can be transformed into a locally owned and architecturally fashionable gas station. It

will have a 1950s look mixed with a futuristic design.

If you want me to render a model, too bad, I have no idea how to do those things. B)

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Yep, 10's of thousands at least. You have to pull special permits and the people doing the work must be bonded (do you want some shmoo using a backhoe around gas vapors)? Also, these things are kinda big you know and are considered hazardous material, you can't just set them out at the curb for the garbage man to pick up. They have to be hauled off and disposed of properly. After or during the removal, you have to have tests done of the soil surrounding the tank to check for leaks. If you find a leak, that's where the big money comes into play like KJB said. Then your talking a full-blown environmental cleanup.

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Wether the tanks are good are bad it is expensive. The permit process as mentioned and TIME is a critical component. I have seen several gas stations back in my home town that have either been updated or were torn down and the land used as something else. The process takes well over a year.

The site could be cheap, but the other cost make it not a good buy. It'll probably be one the last places to see development unless it becomes part of a larger development.

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  • 6 months later...

Update - the tanks are coming out. Drove by this morning on the way to work and there is a digger on the property and two tanks are out of the ground waiting to be hauled off. I guess the prices have gone up enough to justify the costs. And by gone up I mean ridiculously so:

Right around the corner on Nashua between 14th and 15th on a subdivided lot:

$384,900

Around the other corner across from Park on Prince development on a subdivided lot:

$349,500

Down the street on 14th between Dian and Beall street on a subdivided lot:

$459,000

And finally on the corner of 14th and Beall, corner lot being sold as "land value" (ha!):

$295,000

That's just a sampling. Do an har search on 77008 with the subdivisions of either heights annex or clark pines and you will see the crazy prices. And it looks like they are selling, so who am I to judge.

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LMAO at $459K!

That's crack-tastic!

The price does seem paint-sniffish but the exterior and some of the interior look decent. The 384K one is butt-ugly, some kind of faux-craftsman, country style that just doesn't make it. At least the next one down is just pure 21st century.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 5 months later...

I wanted to bump this thread, because after driving around yesterday, it looks like Heights Annex is really blowing up. What was once a few new houses on the street is now entire streets lined with new houses. Some of the homes look like townhomes or apartments, but are actually single family units, just packed really tight together. There's one spot in particular, can't remember which street, but there are 6 units that share the same driveway. There is only room for your own car, and it would have to be parked in the garage, or else you'd be blocking your neighbors from their garages.

So the gas tanks have been removed. It was only a matter of time. Money talks, and it seems to be the only incentive for people these days to get anything done.

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