Townhomes East Of Highway 59 At Highway 288

[Guest danax]

Has anyone noticed the new construction going on as you're driving on 59 south of Downtown? I went over and checked it out and it going to be a townhome complex called Zomper Outlook at 3408 St. Emanuel st. alongside the freeway. Here's the link to the website but you'll have to do a search to see it. Interesting that they're marketing it as Midtown.

It was inevitable that someone made the first move. There are a lot of decaying buildings in that immediate area east of Dowling and, if they sell quickly and with the nice view, it could trigger a dozer frenzy.

[houstonsemipro]

Any pictures?

[The Great Hizzy!]

Yeah, I've seen these in particular. It's like I said, I think the older, dilapidated stretches of Third Ward are where the majority of the new townhomes--be they Perry or whoever--are going up. And it's a good thing, IMO, as the majority of those older homes north of Elgin and east of 59/288 are empty, falling apart or infested by drug dealers. The older residents who keep their homes up just want some kind of positive change, and newer townhomes, despite raising property values in the area, will at least do two things: 1) weed out the element that's contributing to the demise, and 2) increase the property tax and tax revenue for that area, which will give it more power in gaining a larger percentage of city services.

I can't vouch for the architecture, though.

In any case, with Midtown proper filling up, increased townhome and apartment/loft construction in the warehouse district and near Chinatown and this gradual expansion into Old Third Ward, in time, that would leave only the near Northside that needs a major revitalization. It's gonna take patience but it should be quite a transformation in a decade or so.

::crosses fingers::

[kjb434]

Great news for the area. I think townhome construction will spread mostly outside of the typical Midtown area and move across to south and east of US 59. The empy lots in Midtown proper will be left available for superblock and high-rise developments since their costs will prohibit typical townhome construction.

[The Great Hizzy!]

I tend to agree with you on the super blocks in Midtown. I also think some (not all) of those strip centers that used to house professionals (lawyers/doctors) will be replaced, too.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

I hope townhomes don't spread too far in 3rd Ward. There are too many beautiful homes out there, especially in the blocks between Alabama, Elgin, Blodgett, Southmore, MacGregor...

This is what's typical in that area, which is what I think of when I think of 3rd Ward:

I love the old brick homes in 3rd Ward, they're some of the most beautiful in the city if you ask me. Unfortunately, they've already started putting up those ugly-a$$ tin-shack townhomes on Calumet, in the middle of the Riverside Terrace neighborhood. I don't mind the tin-shacks so much, but it kills me every time I see them in Riverside Terrace....they're just completely out of place with the beautiful old mansions in the neighborhood.

This...

...doesn't belong in the middle of this...

or this...

[houston-development]

im only familiar with zomper's deal over by mcgregor and almeda on camden. decent looking product but i recall them being quite pricey.

Edited to add, yes they are on the high end; started at $489,000.

[houston-development]

its located on the east side of 288 and appears to have frontage on the feeder.

[The Great Hizzy!]

I hope townhomes don't spread too far in 3rd Ward.  There are too many beautiful homes out there, especially in the blocks between Alabama, Elgin, Blodgett, Southmore, MacGregor...

This is what's typical in that area, which is what I think of when I think of 3rd Ward:

I love the old brick homes in 3rd Ward, they're some of the most beautiful in the city if you ask me.  Unfortunately, they've already started putting up those ugly-a$$ tin-shack townhomes on Calumet, in the middle of the Riverside Terrace neighborhood.  I don't mind the tin-shacks so much, but it kills me every time I see them in Riverside Terrace....they're just completely out of place with the beautiful old mansions in the neighborhood.

This...

...doesn't belong in the middle of this...

or this...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't think you have to worry. There are only a handful of townhomes built in these areas. The residents in these neighborhoods have high enough incomes and put enough love/care/money into their homes that they probably won't be going anywhere for a while. You might see the sproadic TH that goes up on an empty lot but that's about it.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

Yeah, I guess seeing photos of the site helps picture where the development is. A townhome development along the freeway there doesn't destroy the integrity of the neighborhood, but as I said, the tin-roof townhomes on Calumet really burn my butt. THAT'S what I don't want to see.

New developments in 3rd Ward are a welcome addition, as long as they keep with the integrity of the neighborhood. Of course, there are plenty of areas where you see dilapidated homes, but most of the 3rd Ward is full of nice homes that just need some polish (not to be confused with Polish...we don't need no stinking Polish ).

3rd Ward is a historically self-sufficient community (race segregation forced it to be self-sufficient). There are still remnants of the once-thriving commercial zones along major streets like Almeda, Dowling, Blodgett, Southmore, Elgin...I'd hate to see those disappear in favor of big strip centers and Targets and Wal-Marts.

[Guest danax]

I don't think you have to worry. There are only a handful of townhomes built in these areas. The residents in these neighborhoods have high enough incomes and put enough love/care/money into their homes that they probably won't be going anywhere for a while. You might see the sproadic TH that goes up on an empty lot but that's about it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I didn't know that the shed style had already intruded into that area. I agree that those beautiful old 1920s mini-mansions (they were at the time, anyway) are just big and classy enough to accomodate modern lifestyles so they will likely survive to a large degree, unlike the 1300 sq footers in West U. However, hopefully Timmy has some compadres there to protect them and protest any attempts at replats and teardowns, cause you can't put it past anyone to try once the area picks up steam.Those homes and that neighborhood have the potential to resurrect in a big way in the next 10 years and Houston will be the better for it, as we have so little in the way of elegant old homes. It will likely, as Hizzy says, be our typical mixture of old and new, like so much of the Westend.

Midtown and Museum District are obviously going to spread east so the time is now to circle the preservation wagons. Almeda is a cool street with some nice old Moderne buildings.

I'm optimistic in general about how 3rd Ward et al will turn out. The old timers have made a stand about what happened in 4th Ward so there will be more sensitivity in development hopefully.

[Houston1stWordOnTheMoon]

Yeah, I've seen these in particular. It's like I said, I think the older, dilapidated stretches of Third Ward are where the majority of the new townhomes--be they Perry or whoever--are going up. And it's a good thing, IMO, as the majority of those older homes north of Elgin and east of 59/288 are empty, falling apart or infested by drug dealers. The older residents who keep their homes up just want some kind of positive change, and newer townhomes, despite raising property values in the area, will at least do two things: 1) weed out the element that's contributing to the demise, and 2) increase the property tax and tax revenue for that area, which will give it more power in gaining a larger percentage of city services.

I can't vouch for the architecture, though.

In any case, with Midtown proper filling up, increased townhome and apartment/loft construction in the warehouse district and near Chinatown and this gradual expansion into Old Third Ward, in time, that would leave only the near Northside that needs a major revitalization. It's gonna take patience but it should be quite a transformation in a decade or so.

::crosses fingers::

My grandparents have an old home about 3 blocks from this development. They have kept the house in great shape all through the years. The house was built in 1920. I have heard the stories of grandma growing up in that old house as a child, perhaps thats one reason they have put so much time into it and have taken such good care of it over the yrs.I AM NO FAN OF OLD BUILDINGS AS I HAVE STATED BEFORE, BUT I HAVE TO GIVE IT TO THE OLD BIRDS, THEY HAVE MANAGED TO KEEP THE HOUSE AND YARD IN great SHAPE AND THEY ARE IN THIER LATE 70'S AND EARLY 80'S. The new development is welcomed by them if it is concentrated on the lots where the homes have fallen into disrepair. The other older homes in the area that have also been well maintained, shouldnt be touched.

[MiDTOWNeR]

Has anyone noticed the new construction going on as you're driving on 59 south of Downtown? I went over and checked it out and it going to be a townhome complex called Zomper Outlook at 3408 St. Emanuel st. alongside the freeway. Here's the link to the website but you'll have to do a search to see it. Interesting that they're marketing it as Midtown.

It was inevitable that someone made the first move. There are a lot of decaying buildings in that immediate area east of Dowling and, if they sell quickly and with the nice view, it could trigger a dozer frenzy.

They look very 80s