astrohip

Cleaning out some old files (really old files), and I found the General Warranty Deed for the purchase of this site, dated March 8, 1977.  Seller was Robert Dunson (Federal Whse Company), who bought it from the original owner, Houston Sash & Door. The deed includes his payoff of the loan ($370K), before he could sell it to us.

This has nothing to do with anything, but I found it interesting.

813 McKee.pdf

19 hours ago, CREguy13 said:

Totally get that, and understand that high dollar range was specifically for the penthouses (probably should have been more clear).  I'm more broadly stating I love that the condo market is picking up and a growing demand of buyers are interested in more expensive, lock-and-leave homes as opposed to wanting a yard.  In simple terms, a more urban Inner Loop lifestyle is continuing to take shape.

I absolutely agree.

20 hours ago, CREguy13 said:

$4.85m-5m+?  Really interested to see how quickly these units sell here, London House, The Lexington and others.  Could be an exciting time watching the high-end condo market take off, would love 20 more of these mid-rises scattered around the Inner Loop.

There's a very limited market for high-end condos. The number of potential buyers for multi-million dollar units is very finite. The River Oaks Condos took about four years to sell all 70 units. And we've already seen several "announced" that never came to fruition. It's tough to presale enough to get financing commitment.

Having said that, the resale market is still firm, especially for the smaller, less-expensive high-end units. One & two bedroom units in TRO, going for $2 million and less, get snapped up immediately. The larger and more expensive units take a few months.

Also note that $5 million tag is for the penthouses. The other units are less.

I drive this almost daily. What they've done is eliminate the center turn lane for the stretch from the Apple store (Drexel St) to the RR tracks. It now has a curbed median, and based on the extensive infrastructure they're putting in the medians, will probably have lighting and landscaping (ie, not just grass).

They've added dedicated left turn lanes in a few spots, to replace the loss of the center turn lane, for drivers on Westheimer. But there are no new traffic lights, which means trying to turn left onto Westheimer (from side streets & store parking lots) will be harder than ever. Before you could cross the near lanes, and enter the center turn lane, and sit there and wait for an opening. Now they've eliminated that possibility, and it's already causing problems for people trying to enter and go left on Westheimer from cross streets and parking lots. They would've been better off just not allowing that, and force people to use the traffic lights to cross.

And the abandoned store construction (Lululemon?) still sits... forsaken and deserted.

Yeah, this one is moving fast. Hopefully Westheimer doesn't get blocked too often.

12 hours ago, samagon said:

why that is significant is because at Hazard, Bissonnet is the same width as it is at Ashby, yet they have included a left turn lane. so it would be easy to assume that this might be included here at Ashby street.

There's a light at that intersection. And a turn lane in both directions. It's much safer to do that where you have a light. Traffic engineers don't like putting left turn lanes by themselves on a two-lane road, where there is no light, and no turn lane in the other direction. They have to restripe the other direction, to force it over and make room for a turn lane. It can be done, but it carries a risk of its own.

If they want a turn lane there, they should put a light (which I predict will be there someday).

9 hours ago, Sylvie said:

I am looking for a condo to live in part of the year. I am intrigued by the pet facilities on the terraces. My RE agent went in and they said December 2023 completion. That could not be right. And given at least three of the most expensive units 2-over $5 mil and 1- over $4 mil (according to HAR) what kind of financing could they ever get and I am afraid it will never be built or built shabbily. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions for me. 2-3 bedrooms, pet space no more than 20 minutes from the daughter /grandchildren in Bellaire. My price range has a big bandwidth. up to $2.5 million. And thank you everyone who has contributed to this blog. 

I'm in The River Oaks, it's about 5 minutes from there (Westheimer & Buffalo Spdwy). We have a dog park on the 2nd floor, pretty nice size. Not a run, a real dog park. We also have balconies, I know people with smaller dogs that set up a doggie station on their balconies.

There are a handful of units for sale, but not many. Fits your price range--most units, depending on the floor, go for $700-$900/sqft.

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

17 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Bissonnet, in addition to not being "really narrow," is categorized as a "Major Collector" street.  Across the street from the site are:  a massage studio, a law firm, a special events/catering business, Houston Hillel, and other commercial properties.  No single-family residential on the entire block.  The whole stretch of Bissonnet from Kirby to the Museum District is a mix of residential and commercial.  It's quite an understatement to claim there are only a few small businesses here and there.  And another reminder:  this property has been multifamily residential for decades. 

Some counterpoints:

Bissonnet is a two lane street in that area. Two lanes. I call that narrow. If someone is making a left turn, you pray they pull far left (almost over the center line) so traffic doesn't backup behind them. Which it does anyway.

While much of the street is commercial, most of it is in former houses, repurposed to be a small business. It turned commercial because no one wants to live on a street like that, but at the same time, there has been almost no new construction of commercial properties, because it doesn't lend itself to it (small street, very tough to ingress/egress when there's traffic). So let's not act like it's Kirby Dr. with all its new const commercial properties.

And finally... Yes, it was multi-family. It was a typical old-style apartment complex. Two (maybe three?) stories. I believe most people here are astute enough to know multi-family comes in a lot of different flavors.

I'm actually not opposed to the project. I don't think it's the right spot for it, but it won't be as bad as the neighbors think (IMHO). But I don't think the points made in your post are accurate reasons for allowing it.

PS: I predict there will be a traffic light at Ashby & Bissonnet before this is over.

I drive by it several times a week. Cobwebs at this point...

1 hour ago, Houston19514 said:

On the day of the Art Car Parade?  That seems like it would be monumentally bad planning.  Hopefully he meant next Saturday, not today.

The one single day that Allen Parkway has more people & traffic than any other day of the year. And they pick that day.

"Monumentally bad planning" may be an understatement.😁

Reminder... tomorrow (Saturday) is the annual Art Car Parade, right in front of this building. Starts at 2pm, and the cars will start lining up around 11am.

If any HAIF'ers are there, come visit me at the Hippo Car, #89.

10 hours ago, bobruss said:

In just my lifetime the neighborhood has been home to movie studios, the James Bute building housing tattoo parlors  artist studios, bail bondsmen, coffee importers, galleries, clubs, and coffee houses, and Mother Dog studios, and old narrow streets with old trees, bars, barbers, restaurants, more artist studios and Randal Davis first project.

And me! It was home to me for twenty years.

The story of the movie studio, with H. Milton Howe and Reggie Bowman, would make a great... wait for it... movie!

14 hours ago, toxtethogrady said:

They are such teases. What's it been - a decade or so?

Yep. 2007 (I lived in the neighborhood back then). Sixteen years if my math is correct.

I had some pics of the first protests, but can't find them. Need to keep hunting.

4 hours ago, 004n063 said:

When you say setbacks, you mean of upper levels from lower levels, right? And not the ground floor from street? 

I wish it was setback just a little more from the street. BS is a traffic-y, noisy street.

Was that the original design, a couple of three-story buildings? I thought all of them were high-rises, with GFR.

Nonetheless, this is a smart take. Especially not knowing how the market will react to more office space in that area. And there is an ongoing and growing demand, on the consumer level, for more retail & restaurant in this general area.

23 hours ago, Amlaham said:

Just to add on to everyone else, I think we're forgetting a certain demographic of people that would prefer to live in condos/ apartments vs a single family home in the suburbs; older people. I have a lot of patients that live in The River Oaks condos and most, if not all, have been very old. It makes sense when you think about it. They don't need a 3-4 bedroom house with a huge backyard and front yard. With these denser buildings, they can be closer to their family (if they live near the city), they have concierge/ assistance minutes away, the security is usually pretty good at these condos, its less isolating/ being closer to people (this is more important than we think). However, the main thing is, they don't have to do ANY maintenance work. It's a dream for a lot of older people. 

Hey, I resemble that remark! Although I did hear someone refer to our building as "the elderly and their parents".🤣

Your point is spot on. Every reason you gave is valid, some to some, and some to all. We never thought we'd give up SF living, but it turns out we love condo life.

The issue is not everyone can afford them, or perhaps they're not ready to fully commit. A high-end rental makes lots of sense. The location is perfect, too.

Is this a name change? Has it gone from "Residences on Westheimer", to "River Oaks on Westheimer"? At least they can keep all their "ROW" letterheads.🙃

I'm surprised the River Oaks Condos don't sue for name infringement (or whatever lawyers call that). 🤪

It's also directly behind The R.O. Here's a Google Street View, and a pic I took with my drone a couple weeks ago. I was looking at The RO at the time. I'll send it up again, and focus on this plot next time.

Interesting location. While that part of town has a lot going for it, that particular street is very sketchy. As I recall, it's a mix of mostly commercial businesses, one of those streets where there's no clear delineation between street and business. There's no real sidewalks, the streets just meld into the parking lots. And no one just strolls around, like those happy young people in the sketches above.

I'll walk over there next week when I'm back in town and check it out.

Great pics! Where are you launching from (if that's not classified info)?

12 hours ago, Highrise Tower said:

I'd hope once The RO kicks off, the others will follow.  However, The RO is a tricky one. There is always registered permits and certificates but we never see anything come from it. For instance, The RO is scheduled to have a tower crane, but nothing has happened. Testing the waters.

I watch it all the time (I live next door). Every once in a while, something will happen, I'll get excited, and then... *poof*. Nothing.

Example was last year when they cordoned off all the trees they wanted to save. Yay! Activity time. Nothing since...

I thought they were finally doing some survey work a few weeks ago, but it was the Alabama rebuild.

17 hours ago, hindesky said:

The guy that install the graphics on site said this almost didn't start and may be waiting for more sales of the condos before it moves forward. It seems like all work has stopped.

The last email I rec'd from them (last week) said they were at 40% sold, and construction had started (which of course, doesn't mean diddly squat). This would be a real blow to Randall Davis & Co, if he had to cancel this. Two in a row? High end buyers will steer clear.

I drove by this last week, I have a good friend in The Revere, who's been complaining about all the noise. It didn't seem that close to me, but maybe the noise carries. Or maybe she's delicate.

22 hours ago, hindesky said:

"For youth transitioning out of the foster care system, finding housing in Houston can be challenging.

This is a real problem for these young people, and I admire the City for taking steps.

I was very active (one of the founders, 10+ years as a Board member) in a non-profit that worked to create transitional housing for the homeless. Focusing on youth and women. Our focus was those who were homeless for reasons beyond their control, such as (for example) the youths left behind when parents were imprisoned, or women who left an abusive spouse and had no place to go (as versus the intentional homeless, often called "street people"). Transitional means a place to stay short-term, until they can get re-established.

We helped create thousands of "beds" (that's the metric that counts), often in partnership with better known groups, such as Covenant House, New Hope Housing, HAWC, Santa Maria, etc.

The reason I mention all this is the specific problem @hindesky quotes above. There's a decent system of care & housing for foster youths, but once they age out, they are much too often SOL. They may age out because their current place has an age limit (12 or 16 or whatever), or they hit 18, at which point foster care stops. Sadly, their homelessness, and lack of support, doesn't stop.

We worked, as an example, with Angel Reach up in Montgomery County, which specializes in helping these kids. Fantastic group, has some big bucks backers, does a great job. Often the difference between living on the streets and turning to drugs and prostitution, or making a go of your life, are these groups.

So... glad to see the city is working and funding this. End sermon.

View from above...