John Mecom Mansion At 2945 Lazy Ln.

[digitalcobra]

I'm new to the forum but a long time real estate nut. Please let me know if this needs to be posted elsewhere more relevant on the site.

This news is far from current, but I haven't been able to find a lot of information about it. Most of the relevant info can be found in this article from 2017. TL;DR - billionaire energy trader demolishes historic Houston home across the street from his billionaire brother who also demolished a historic Houston home.

My question - is there any information as to the builder / architect? I drove by it the other day and it currently has a massive steal frame with some bizarre concrete walls visible on google street view which is what caused me to come here for help because it looks absolutely wild.

Thanks y'all.

[Luminare]

2 minutes ago, digitalcobra said:

I'm new to the forum but a long time real estate nut. Please let me know if this needs to be posted elsewhere more relevant on the site.

This news is far from current, but I haven't been able to find a lot of information about it. Most of the relevant info can be found in this article from 2017. TL;DR - billionaire energy trader demolishes historic Houston home across the street from his billionaire brother who also demolished a historic Houston home.

My question - is there any information as to the builder / architect? I drove by it the other day and it currently has a massive steal frame with some bizarre concrete walls visible on google street view which is what caused me to come here for help because it looks absolutely wild.

Thanks y'all.

Hey welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

More than likely this will be moved to the Montrose sub-forum as that's where smaller projects in the area go or completed projects (We don't have a sub for River Oaks).

Its not common that residential is built with Light Gauge Aluminum studs, but that's what I see in that google street view. With this being Lazy Lane this is probably someone's new mansion. The large concrete walls aren't that out there to be honest. They look like concrete walls that are both for aesthetics and load bearing of the roof above. My guess is this will be a very contemporary looking mansion. Again, I'm not on the project, and this is just from one image. I'm merely speculating based on my own design experience in the industry, and experience in architecture in general. Hope that helps.

[digitalcobra]

Thanks @Luminare!

Yeah "redevelopment" was probably not the right way to title this post - really just curious if anybody would be able to dig up any design and/or build info on who is putting up the new house. His brother across the street used NYC architecture firm Alexander Gorlin for his historic teardown and rebuild across the street according to this old Swamplot article. Just the google satellite view of that house (2950 lazy lane) looks crazy. I'll be very interested to see what the completed 2945 looks like.

[Luminare]

5 minutes ago, digitalcobra said:

Thanks @Luminare!

Yeah "redevelopment" was probably not the right way to title this post - really just curious if anybody would be able to dig up any design and/or build info on who is putting up the new house. His brother across the street used NYC architecture firm Alexander Gorlin for his historic teardown and rebuild across the street according to this old Swamplot article. Just the google satellite view of that house (2950 lazy lane) looks crazy. I'll be very interested to see what the completed 2945 looks like.

I've worked for a boutique firm that did residences in River Oaks, and for single family detached housing of any size you will rarely find documentation about designs for private homes unless it had to be presented to the city planning commission. At some point when a project is completed sometimes owners are fine with the publication of their residences. Many of these people from middle class to upper class would rather not have that information publicized. If you can find something then awesome definitely would like to hear more, but more than likely you won't unless you know inside info from different firms or you know the client who is building the residence.

[digitalcobra]

5 minutes ago, Luminare said:

I've worked for a boutique firm that did residences in River Oaks, and for single family detached housing of any size you will rarely find documentation about designs for private homes unless it had to be presented to the city planning commission.

Yeah that's what I figured. Thank you so much for your insight. One of my best friends works for a boutique firm in Austin, and his response was "I bet that firm wants to stay as hidden as possible since the client had to bulldoze a historic and beautiful residence first". Makes sense.

[dbigtex56]

11 minutes ago, Luminare said:

I've worked for a boutique firm that did residences in River Oaks, and for single family detached housing of any size you will rarely find documentation about designs for private homes unless it had to be presented to the city planning commission. At some point when a project is completed sometimes owners are fine with the publication of their residences. Many of these people from middle class to upper class would rather not have that information publicized. If you can find something then awesome definitely would like to hear more, but more than likely you won't unless you know inside info from different firms or you know the client who is building the residence.

Did you click on the links @digitalcobraprovided? 

[Luminare]

2 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

Did you click on the links @digitalcobraprovided? 

ones a paper city article dated back to the day of the demolition. The former residence was a 1930's era mansion designed by John Staub for a John Mecom Sr. At this point I've heard this story in River Oaks to many times to count. Old wildcatter mansion designed by one of Houston's best Architects John Staub has been demolished. Heres the thing, yes are these mansions designed by John Staub amazing...yeah they are. He was a great architect. He also designed a lot of houses in that neighborhood in an era where most of housing, pre-densification, was all single family detached housing, and it was all for wildcatters, or industry giants of that era who had very electic european style tastes. The people moving in today just aren't those and so these old mansions, while very nice, just aren't going to appeal to the new money of today. Just how it is.

The other link was simply a google street view of what is being built there now.

So if this is asking whether any of the links show the design, none of them did, and unless these rich folk like putting their private light in the spotlight....most don't, then we won't know what it looks like till its done, which is typical.

[digitalcobra]

It looks like according to that old Swamplot article that the architect at least at some point had sketches of 2950 on his website, but the link is broken like so many on Swamplot now :( I might just have to drive by 2945 like a creep every once in awhile to watch the progress.