BW Heights

The physical neighborhood is not the essential component of any neighborhood. What about the people that live there? Why worry about what their house looks like? Closed minded people who want NO change are not what the Heights is known for. If they had their way there would be no diversity in homes or to gake it logically to the ultimate, no diversity to the residents that live there at all. Hey! How about everyone be the same? We can all live in our 100 year old bungalow's, be white, and middle class. How perfect....

Old houses are nice, and restored old houses are key to the Heights. OTOH to deny any new homes to be built is stupid, opressive, and boring.

Let the free market decide. Get a life, and quit being a busybody.

Outfield, if the physical nature of the neighborhood isn't essential, then why do developers try to emulate it, mostly to poor effect?

I'm not against new construction. I'm thankful my neighbor across the way built a new house where 2 falling-in bungalows once leaned.

I'm against mindlessly destroying housing stock and then turning around and marketing the replacement as "located in the heart of the historic Houston Heights." It sounds good, but it's meaningless because often the replacement is built without any investment in quality.

I was interested in this house because it's on my street, and I'm looking for a new rehab project. I'd call that free market with a life.

Oh, and my bungalow's only 70 as of next year. It's just a young'un. I'll cop to the white part though. And TMariar and Heights_Yankee - thanks!

Well this will teach me that I should monitor HAIF more regularly. The discussion has been rather, er, lively.

Red Scare wrote:

[i responded to another poster who suggested that developers were riding the backs of the bungalow owners. While gentrification through remodeling and preservation causes property values to rise on their own, new construction ALSO raises surrounding property values. Gentrification includes remodels, preservation, AND new construction. ALL of these forms of construction improve the housing stock and the livability of the neighborhood. Clearly, some residents prefer remodels and preservation over new construction, and many residents prefer that new construction not be out of scale with the existing housing stock. However, for those residents to suggest that the large new McVics cause property values to decline is simply incorrect....I was merely correcting that incorrect assumption. ]

Red, I did not suggest in my post that McVics cause property values to decline. My post simply stated that I don't want to see another one go up. My reasoning, which I did not include in the original post, is that they often use up the entire lot, causing drainage, access, and parking problems for their neighbors. That and they're generally poorly tricked out with faux-Victorian trim. Yuck.

Having renovated 3 houses in the Heights during my 20 years in the neighborhood, I have a strong preference, as you do, for preserving the existing stock of homes. I am realistic that it can take a lot of cash to retrieve homes from the brink. However, when someone buys an old house, creates a mountain of trash from it, then builds a shoddily constructed monstrosity to cash in on the "historic" nature of the neighborhood, I think we are a lot closer to that wealthy enclave that you foresee. I agree that we need different kinds of homes. It just seems that most of the new ones are bigger and uglier than what they replaced.

Or, to steal a friend's favorite phrase, I think we are in violent agreement. And I'd like to hear your reasoning on why the lot line ordinance is having the unintended effect of causing more teardowns and McMansions.

At least its being honest and natural.... with the carpet matching the drapes.

WOW... Look at the price! Has someone lost their mind?!

Well, it's Allen Edwards Builders listed as the current owner on HCAD. Valuation was 231,000, and hubby found the recent sale price range on HAR as $250 - 300,000.

So another builder looking to make a fast buck on the back of Heights residents who have kept their homes' historic nature.

Looking at the inside photos, lots of work to undo the "remuddling". But still not worth more than $275k.

Like we need another McMansion in the Heights.

Try Saturday morning, around 6:30/7:00, whilst driving small people to Shipley's. Ain't a soul nearby.

Yeah, Tampico and a couple of other places are on my list of Heights-area places selling raspas. For those down south (of 11th), there's the colorful Mango Beach near Stude Park - and El Gallo on White Oak (backs up to the new bike trail) supposedly has raspas, too.

I still haven't gotten to try MAM's, but the New Orleans-style snow cones sound like they're their own thing. Wonder what kind the place by Hello Lucky will have, if it opens.

Edit: Tampico does seem to have a continuous line - I gave up trying to get a photo of it without one.

It's MAM's Snoballs - New Orleans style. I haven't been, but I can't wait to try it.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/MA...58659770?ref=mf