Urbannomad

Better Hurry!

From my email:

Dear St. Arnold's Army:

HAPPY PUB CRAWL DAY!

Today, Friday, February 1 is our 2nd Annual Winter Stout Pub Crawl in the Heights. At least some of the bars will have Winter Stout. Spring Bock will also be making an appearance. No, there won't be any Summer Pils.

You must start between 6 PM and 7 PM, visit the first 4 stops before 9 PM and then congregate at the final stop after 9.

The first four stops:

Three will be located at the intersection of White Oak and Studewood. The stops will be on the Northwest, Southwest and Southeast corners. We love orienteering!

One will be at the corner of White Oak and Threlkeld, one block to the west of Studewood.

The final stop:

At 9:00 we'll head west about 0.2 miles down White Oak for the final stop.

Remember that cash is helpful, be kind to your waitstaff, and always, always appear in public enjoying a Saint Arnold. We hold those that arrange for transportation to and from or use designated drivers in the highest regard!

SAINT ARNOLD MAKES THE SUPER BOWL MORE SUPER!

That pretty much says it all. Enjoy the game!

BAYOU CLEANUP ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16

Help clean and play at our adopted spot on Buffalo Bayou.

Date: Saturday, February 16

Time & Location: At 9:30 AM, meet at the Buffalo Bayou Partnership office on 723 N. Drennen, Houston, TX 77003. We'll caravan over to the sight from there.

Bring: Picnic lunch, footballs, Frisbees or other recreational activities, chairs if you want.

We provide: water, root beer and other tasty beverages we make.

RSVP: If planning to attend, please email Lennie at lennie@saintarnold.com.

AHA MEMBERSHIP RALLY ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17

Our annual chance to join the American Homebrew Association and enjoy tasty refreshments. More info to come!

Thanks for your support!

Cheers!

The Brew Crew

Allen, Ann, Bev, Bobby, Brock, Chris, Frank, James, John, Juan, Justin, Kathy, Kendra, Lennie, Michael, Mike, Pedro, Phil, Sam, Samuel and Vince

--

Saint Arnold Brewing Company

2522 Fairway Park Drive

Houston, TX 77092

713-686-9494

http://www.saintarnold.com

Tours Every Saturday at 1:00 pm

Depending on quality, even a reproduction can be pretty expensive, especially if it's a limited reproduction. It's not uncommon for a good reproduction to go for between $100 - $300 from what I've seen... for course that's for a quality reproduction and not just a "poster." What kinD of map work do you tanith27, I work in GIS for a local government which explains my obsession with maps.

Antiquarium is a great place! My wife gave me an antique map of Houston, Downtown circa mid-late 1800s not the Heights, from there for christmas and they were very helpful. Also last time I was in Dramatika, the framing shop on 19th, they had a great historical map of the Heights framed and for sale. Apparently there used to be a really nice park just north of 19th street, near where krogers is today if I remember the map correctly. This is the only historical map of the heights I've seen personally.

So you may want to check out Dramatika as well, but you'll have to beat me to it! That is if I can convince my wife that maps on all our walls WOULD indeed look nice!

Is this the place that a bunch of SA residents tried to stop? I believe in the end they couldn't stop it, but were able to prevent them from getting a liquo license. I wonder if this is the same deal???

That happened before I moved to the neighborhood, but my realtor mentioned it when we were looking at the area and I was under the impression that it was something different; however I could be wrong. She made it sound like it was more of a bar than restaurant/bar but I didn't ask too many questions at the time.

I emailed the owners and they only additional thing they told me was that it would have a salsa theme... interpret that however you will. Not too long ago that trailer park was listed for sale, not sure if it still is or not but it's a pretty large chuck of land.

I agree. I am missing your point entirely. I have friends in that area who shop at those stores. The fact that they sell drugs and groceries matters more than how the structures fit into the fabric of the neighborhood. I doubt the fabric fitting aspect of those structures matters to anyone in any meaningful way.

I am simply making a observation to the future of the neighborhood and it's accessibility to those both with and without cars. There are plenty of low rent structures that cater to a lower income population that have a good urban design, in fact most well designed (or I should say well preserved) urban areas in Houston are in lower income areas because they haven't been destroyed by wealthier strip mall developers trying to attracted the masses of people who can afford to drive everywhere to get what the want. I like your populist message but you clearly are just trolling for an argument and don't have anything meaningful to say or add to the discussion without attacking me. Perhaps I should have phrased my first comment like "*if* they are going to tear down and rebuild here this is what I would like to see..." I'm not saying they should tear it down but a little upkeep would be nice because even those with little money take pride in the things they own and realistically I don't think Weingarten is struggling with the day to day. But that's beside the point because like it or not the neighborhood is changing and nothing is going to stop that. Most likely this will turn into a more upscale strip mall just like what they did on 19th street and then we both lose.

That said I'll leave this topic alone, bc like most on this board a civil exchange always spirals down negatively very quickly.

So it's OK if they replace that grocery store with another, more attractive grocery store? It doesn't matter what they sell, just how it looks?

Easy there memebag, I think you are missing my point entirely. I am referring to urban design characteristics, what they sell or how the structures "looks" (in the sense you are talking about) isn't important to my point. How the structure itself fits into the fabric of the neighborhood is what I'm talking about even if it's the same exact tenants selling the same things.

What's wrong with groceries?

Nothing is wrong with groceries, I was referring to the style and look of the center itself not the tenants.

I saw some Guardian Angels walking around 19th st in the Heights a couple of weeks ago with their red berets on. Of course they didn't exactly look like the toughest or sanest people themselves so it didn't' make me feel any safer, but it did give me a laugh to see how seriously they were taking themselves. Seems likes those kinds of groups always attracted the most "interesting" characters.

I just hope they do *something* better with that place. I'm not a big fan of Houston's obsession with suburban style strip malls in the city anyway... it's so sad the two strip malls we have on 19th street next to a great historic, walkable storefront "downtown". If they do tear down and rebuild commercial there I hope they put the parking in the rear instead of in front. There is a neighborhood in Salt Lake City called Sugarhouse which is very similar in age and character to the Heights and they have an ordinance requiring all parking to be in the rear of buildings and it's made a huge difference (improvement) in the feel of the neighborhood. They still have all of the large stores along with boutiques but they come to the sidewalk and keep the area very historic feeling and walkable but convenient for the automobile at the same time... not that the our city ever would/could have the foresight or long-range planning to put a plan like this in place but it would be very nice for the look and feel of our neighborhood. Sorry got a little off topic there, thanks for letting me vent.

Weingarten's site doesn't give any clues as to what is available or planned for the center?

I sat in as a guest vocalist with my friend Steve Candelari's band (Von Hindenburg) last saturday on 19th street. It was a fun evening to say the least, but what really caught my attention was 19th street around Yale and all of it's goings on. First of all it's a very charming 2 or 3 blocks of old up to the street retail, with vintage clothing shops, very interesting antique stores, and a wonderful theater, although it (the theater) seemed to be vacant. There were bands playing in the street, and people were packing the sidewalks while drinking (yes I said drinking), and shopping. And all of this was happening at night.. There were also rickshaw taxis all over the place.

This area is brand new to me so I was taken by surprise, and was hoping to get some comments on how long the area has been this way. Is it a new thing?

The area you are talking about is very nice; however, you were there on 1st Saturday which explains the music and drinking it is normally not that active at night... though there are some cool shops and galleries. Every 1st Saturday is different, some bigger than others, but sounds like this one was pretty good. I couldn't make it because I was out of town but sounds like it was similar to white linen night. Here's a site for first saturday, but basically just the first saturday of every month there is a party in the heights.

http://www.heightsfirstsaturday.com/

Where are these places?

I also recommend trying www.ziprealty.com. I'm always pimping that site out but it really is awesome. They give you access to the full public mls and have a cool map search feature so you don't have to mess with key maps, zip codes, etc just zoom into the general area and homes pop-up on the map (so long as the agent listed the address correctly). You can also save homes to see what the trends are and it will show you price increases/decreases for each listing. You do have to create an account, but it's free with no spam and that allows you to save homes you are interested in.

As a side note, you can also get good appreciation in new homes, just be careful with townhomes. I moved into my house in May and the same developer is building similar houses, but patio style, behind us and they are listed for 50K more than we paid and one has already pre-sold. There are good deals in all homes, old and new, if you are willing to search for them so get something you will be happy with bottom line. We plan to be in our house for at least 5 years and maybe longer so rapid appreciation isn't that important to us in the short term, but long term we would like to make a profit (if only one's tax liability didn't go up with value until you wanted to sell).

Just some food for thought (that not everyone will agree with)...A vintage home in the Heights (I am including Norhill, Woodland Heights, Sunset Heights, etc.) in good condition will likely appreciate more in value than a cookie cutter new construction townhome. There are lots of very recent townhomes for sale, as well as hundreds more going up so value will be static at best until the area is "built out." Very similar for older single family homes in the suburbs where new subdivisions still multiply like rabbits. You will likely get less square footage for your dollar in a vintage home, but will likely get something with more character and charm. I live in North Norhill, which is relatively protected as an Historic District, and has deed restrictions. You can still get in the neighborhood for around $200K, would find lots of interesting homes for less than $300K.

Depending on style and "cookie-cutterness" of the town home I definitely agree that if you are looking for rapid price appreciation stay away from the generic town homes because they are being rapidly over-built and prices are already being pushed downward.

I would agree with the vintage character aspect of older homes; however, I think that you must be able to get a reasonable amount of square footage and more than 1 bath in the older homes to expect decent appreciation. While some people don't mind smaller homes and one bath, for the best resell I think you really need something >1000 sqft (not huge but reasonable) with more than one bath... or at least the space and configuration to let you easily add-on. From what I've seen on the MLS it's the smaller homes with 1 bath that sit for a long time with price reduction before selling (along with townhomes). It's this fact that sent us to new construction because finding an older home with a second bath in a decent area of the heights drastically increases the price. This is of course largely just my opinion and depending on what level of "transition" you are comfortable with in your neighborhood this could be an somewhat easy or difficult process. Ideally I'd like an old bungalow in Woodland Heights ~ 1400 sqft, 2 bath but while they exist they are unfortunately well out of my price range. For now we're happy with our new, faux-torian home with it's faux-vintage details.

Something else, I don't see much of a price difference in the Heights and Shady Acres? Starting in the low $200s? Has it changed that much since June?

I found Shady Acres to be much cheaper than the Heights "proper" with newer construction that is. Some of the areas east of the actual heights might be more comparable than the actual Heights. I think the biggest difference is that in Shady Acres you can find a decent sized house (between 1200 - 2000sqft) with detached garage, facing the street, and a small yard for under 300K; where as in the heights there really isn't much at that price range and size. From what I've seen in the Heights proper everything tends to be older, smaller homes or new much larger (2000 - 3000 sq ft), upscale and expensive homes. They don't seem to build houses catering to the mid-range buyer except to some degree on the fringes and in more tightly packed patio homes. Not to say there aren't some deals out there that don't fit this generalization. And Scott is right, there are virtually no existing homes for sale (built pre-2000) that are not tear downs. In Shady Acres that is.

They have a giant cell phone tower in the backyard.

At least you wouldn't have to worry about your cell reception. You'd literally be a verizon commercial with your network in your back yard.

Personally I prefer ziprealty.com. Zip gives you access to the complete public MLS database but is easier to use and has more options (since after all they are hoping you will use them) than HAR and most other sites. The best feature is the map and aerial overlay for listings which makes looking in specific area very easy if you have certain neighborhoods in mind.

If you're looking around Ella then your right, C&D shouldn't be an issue. I live more in the south end of the neighborhood so I spend most of my time below 20th, but I know there is definitely a lot of nice, new stuff up there. Good luck!

My wife and I live on Beall St in Shady Acres and we love it. The location is great and we got a decent sized house with detached garage for a bargain compared to the prices in the Heights just across Shepard for the same type house. We're getting a new restaurant, Cedar Creek, same as Onion/Dry Creek on Beall and 20th so the retail may be catching up with the residential growth. Petty theft is a minor problem, but not worse than any inner loop neighborhood and once all the construction is finished and people move into the new homes that should really help. Overall our neighbors are great and there are plenty of young families so we are really happy with the area.

The only thing to pay attention to (ok not the only, but a big thing in our neighborhood), especially on Bevis or west of that, is the flood plain you are in. If the house in the floodway don't even bother, the 100yr floodplain or better and you're ok so long as the house is elevated to code. You can find more info and look up potential houses at http://www.tsarp.org/. All I know about the area up around 25th is that you might want to check it out on a Saturday afternoon because C&D is up there and there can be lots of truck/crackhead traffic trying to make a quick buck. Not sure which street exactly but I was up there one day and it was horrible trying to get through.

Hope that helps.

Unless you have a firm understanding of the entire process I would recommend going with a GOOD agent. A GOOD agent will know how to bargain on your behalf and will often get you their commission and then some knocked off the price or equivalent perks thrown in. Granted this may not be true for all agents, but I strongly believe the good ones can be a better impartial negotiator than most lay people can regardless of how prepared you may think you are. With my house I did all the leg work myself as far as searching the mls and finding the home, but I wouldn't have traded the knowledge base and negotiation skills my agent offered for anything. Bottom line though if you are experienced in real estate, law, financials, etc than you might be able to pull it off but if not go with an good agent and you will have a much smoother, happier transaction.

Good buffet... that's an oxymoron if I've ever heard one! Seriously though, I don't know of any buffets in the Heights other than Golden Island. Maybe someone else will know of a place I don't.

"In most cases, you have until May 31 or 30 days from the date the appraisal district notice is delivered - whichever date is later." If 30 days is up then you are out of luck.

Taken from:

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/protests.html

I understand the logic behind not allowing new construction in the floodway and I'm ok with that, but I don't agree with not allowing people to make repairs/renovations to existing structures so long as they do not increase the footprint of the structure. That seems like a logical comprise to me... I'm not an expert on the ordinance but it seems very unfair to existing homeowners/businesses already established in the neighborhood. One lot will have a brand new, expensive home on it but the adjacent lot sits vacant because the lot with the home was constructed just before this ordinance was enacted. And now the people who shelled out over 300K for it are sitting in a worthless house. Doesn't seem right to me.

My biggest concern though is what is going to happen to all of this "undesirable" land and the decaying buildings? Take for example the old drug store on TC Jester and 18th, it's currently used as a dumping ground and graffiti wall right now and no one is going to clean it up since the property is worthless as a result of this ordinance... is the city going to do something with all this land and these structures that the "market" will obviously not maintain since no one will buy them or can sell them? I'm worried that this could have a very negative impact on the whole neighborhood since we are still in a transitional phase and this area simply cannot be cleaned up. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm thankful that my home isn't in the floodway.

Below is a link to the story about my friend in SLC. It was originally run by the Salt Lake Weekly (their Houston Press) and apparently later a follow up was done by the Tribune (their Chron). I've searched but site but a was a couple of years ago and looks like it's no longer available online, at least from my 60 seconds of searching. Any way, here are a couple of pieces from the story:

http://robm.me.uk/2005/08/29/woman-sues-po...fication-demand

Not that it will necessarily help, but here you can download a copy of the "photograhers rights" to carry with you:

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm

Interesting Info:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/and...hy-rights_x.htm

I can understand the mall since you are on/in private property, but so long as you are on a public easement there is nothing they can do... Well nothing legally, though cops will try since it's a "new world" we live in. A friend of mine was "detained" in South Salt Lake City for this (and arguing with the cops that she could indeed take photos), they later give her a small settlement and apology for her trouble. It's amazing how many cops and security guards believe it's illegal to take photographs of something in plain site from a public easement. What's even better is how they INSIST this is true despite the fact that it isn't. I mean if you truly don't know the law take their info back to your car and call in to someone who actually knows the law before making a fool out of yourself. Save some face.

I wish they would move all the parking to the rear and leave the front just sidewalk and outdoor seating... more like 19th street.