The Heights Information & Developments

[KinkaidAlum]

Wow. I guess in the grand scheme of things they could be worse (like front facing garages...) but those are pretty bad.

Since when did the Heights become Brooklyn? Brownstones? Seriously, did the developer look around the Heights at all before he came in and graced the residents with "history?"

[tanith27]

Harry James has made some amazing period homes in the area. I was blown away when I saw these brownstones were done by their group. They certainly know better. It is true they look better in person, but I am very disappointed in their choice of style.

[heights_yankee]

Harry James has made some amazing period homes in the area. I was blown away when I saw these brownstones were done by their group. They certainly know better. It is true they look better in person, but I am very disappointed in their choice of style.

well, people thought they certainly knew better than to tear down two historic homes on the Blvd, but it still happened.

[SaintCyr]

Where did the thread for 11th and Yale building go? I havent been able to find it?

[west20th]

well, people thought they certainly knew better than to tear down two historic homes on the Blvd, but it still happened.

Wonder if that will affect their sales? That whole deal with tearing that house down on 10th just seemed to be bad buisness. They should have walked away from that one.

[Dan the Man]

Those are some ugly townhomes. They look like a poorly executed group false-fronted buildings from an 'Old West' Main Street.

[SaintCyr]

I heard rumors that Yale is supposed to get a face lift, something similar to what Studewood/Studemont looks like. Anyone have any info on this? Is there anything else thats happening along Yale?

Thanks,

D

[CDeb]

I know that Yale is going to be widened to a 4-lane boulevard in the vicinity of Parker and IH 45. I don't know how far south that will extend.

[RedScare]

I doubt there is any way to extend the ROW enough on Yale to squeeze in 4 lanes. However, a Studewood style redo would still do wonders for Yale. It is currently the worst street in the Heights.

[SaintCyr]

I doubt there is any way to extend the ROW enough on Yale to squeeze in 4 lanes.

It is 4 laned from 610 to Washington, right?... I was hoping they change it to the 3 laned style like on Studewood. I dont see the necessity in 4 lanes other than creating a lane for the crazies to pass at high rates of speed and rub the curb at the same time. I dont know how many times my trashcan has been clipped on trash day, makes it of a game trying to retrieve it during "rush hour." I remember reading something about it on here but can't seem to find the thread at the moment. At the time of reading it sounded as if it was scheduled to begin in the next few years?

[RedScare]

It is 4 laned from 610 to Washington, right?... I was hoping they change it to the 3 laned style like on Studewood. I dont see the necessity in 4 lanes other than creating a lane for the crazies to pass at high rates of speed and rub the curb at the same time. I dont know how many times my trashcan has been clipped on trash day, makes it of a game trying to retrieve it during "rush hour." I remember reading something about it on here but can't seem to find the thread at the moment. At the time of reading it sounded as if it was scheduled to begin in the next few years?

You are right. I am an idiot. I was just driving on that street yesterday, too. Lucky I didn't hit someone if I can't even tell how many lanes there are.

[Tiko]

It is 4 laned from 610 to Washington, right?... I was hoping they change it to the 3 laned style like on Studewood. I dont see the necessity in 4 lanes other than creating a lane for the crazies to pass at high rates of speed and rub the curb at the same time. I dont know how many times my trashcan has been clipped on trash day, makes it of a game trying to retrieve it during "rush hour." I remember reading something about it on here but can't seem to find the thread at the moment. At the time of reading it sounded as if it was scheduled to begin in the next few years?

I think you're referring to post #46 in this thread: Link

[heights]

Does anyone know what is planned for the area bounded by 13th Street, Heights Blvd, Yale, and the funeral home? It was recently cleared and I haven't seen anything on this forum about it (or did I just miss it?). I'll try to attach a picture.

[tmariar]

Welcome to HAIF! I noticed it was cleared, too. From HCAD, it looks like the owner is Alamo Row LLC c/o Richard Holt.

The owner's mailing address is very close to that of Mesa Southwest Construction, which won a GHPA award for restoration of the Heights Fire Museum - maybe there's a connection.

Edit: Spoke too soon - it looks like the exact mailing address as Harry James Builders, which built the "brownstones" on Heights, as well as some Victorian-style houses in the neighborhood.

See related info on the company and 945 Heights. The Houston Heights Association has stated that "Mr. James' business practices conflict with HHA's mission, which includes historic preservation of the community."

This property on 13th at Heights and Yale includes the lot where the Heights Boulevard Florist shop previously stood.

Edited January 29, 2008 by tmariar

[Zippy]

ugh.. can we expect more ungainly townhomes for this spot?

Maybe he'll be able to change heights blvd into harry james blvd.. hrmgn

[heights]

Thanks for the update. I guess "Alamo Row, LLC" may be short for "Alamo Row-Houses, LLC"! Although I have to admit that the "Brownstones" at 14th and Heights, while not necessarily in keeping with the neighborhood, are better than the eyesore that was there before.

[Krol]

Yep, more townhomes. The property was replatted last fall for eight townhomes facing 13th with a shared driveway running behind.

[aggie92]

On the way home today, saw all the bars on White Oak with parking lots roped off and signs about a Pub Crawl. Anybody have a link or know what is going on?

[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

[tmariar]

St. Arnold's pub crawl. Looks like a band at Fitzgerald's, and Onion Creek has their parking lot roped off.

Edited February 2, 2008 by tmariar

[musicman]

go yups!

[heightsfan]

Good Afternoon,

hope your day goes well!

Question, with the election of our neighborhood constable

whom is running for re-election Jack Abercia do you think

we all might be able to convince him for constable support

among the Heights area ?

If not are there any other candidates that are also running

against him ?

Thank You

[heightsfan]

Good Afternoon All,

Hope your day is going well!

What is your comment, experience, ideas, or feedback from our neighborhood concerning the new development?

Many people I have spoken to oppose the new development, bigger houses, tear down of the bungalows and many of the original and historic homes. I believe Harvard street and Columbia street recently had some nice historic homes torn down. These people also feel that the Heights is moving further away from becoming a Historical neighborhood and soon become an environment with no existence of the past.

While others claim to state it is too expensive to buy an older and historic home and make the home loveable ! Also many of these people claim to want bigger ,newer, and more closet space . . . .They also feel that while having the Historic designation would be nice but probably not feasible nor would attract new home buyers. Some have even mentioned about revitalizing 19th street or in other words bringing in some chain establishments to help increase revenue and possibly cater to the new town homes next to Long John Silvers.

Your thoughts

[Urbannomad]

I think that change is constant and of course some will be against any change at all and others more reasonable but it will continue regardless. The new development is fine so long as it stays away from the plain white stucco boxes, which seems to be the new trend as land value increases. I definitely see the value in preservation, but to say "the Heights" should be preserved needs further clarification in my opinion. Are we talking everything inside the loop west of I-45 & north of I-10 as is commonly referred to as "The Heights?" Because I think that is very unrealistic and somewhat elitist in that it will drive the property values of an extremely large land area in the core of the city artificially high so that only those with the most money can afford to buy and pay taxes on those properties in the future. Not that the new stuff is cheap but imagine if nothing new (more dense) could be built, over time as demand increases the prices would be insane. It's already hard to get a 2/1 in Woodland Heights for under 300K. But as the market cools I think the Heights will be left with lots of new homes and that will help keep the neighborhood reasonably priced, at least when compared to other nice inner loop neighborhoods.

I do think preserving certain areas would be great, such as Heights Blvd and Woodland Heights for example. Maybe some other places too, but the reality is that this is a huge chunk of land in the core of the 4th largest city in the US so of course it's going to continue to change and become more dense. The key I believe is, except in a few cases (like I mentioned before with preserving certain smaller specific ares), to accept the changing environment and then try and influence the look and style of it so that the Heights will continue to have a character unique to the rest of Houston. After all, when the bungalows were built in the early 1900s they were a new, generic style (hence the reason they can be given the generic classification of bungalow) and had no unique character to speak of until decades pasted and time did it's thing. The same is true with what is being built today if it's done right... eventually it will be old too and can represent a specific time in the Height's history. Bottom line I think is balance. Seems like people either want to A) Tear everything down and build new or Preserve absolutely everything, neither of which is very realistic in my opinion. I'm sure there will be plenty of people who disagree with me, but I truly think there is a balance somewhere out there but both sides will need to compromise for it to be reached. Otherwise the big money (developers) will just buy anything they can, tear it down and build new homes and we'll be left with no history.

As for 19th street, I'd love to see it's continued rediscovery. However, I could do without the chains and their generic buildings and sea of parking lots. I'd like to see that area continue to develop in a similar walkable style and reject the suburban strip mall style. 19th street to me is also an area that should be preserved and it's growth planned to retain it's unique-to-the-Heights character. I'd like for it to remain a hub for the neighborhood to do some basic shopping and just get out and mingle with one another without it becoming a real commercial hub for the entire Houston region and get stuck fighting with people from Katy and Sugarland just to get a cup of coffee on Saturday morning. But that's a tough balancing act I know.

Well there's my opinion in a perfect world.

Edited February 16, 2008 by Urbannomad

[Dan the Man]

I think the Heights will end up being a mix, about 80% new construction and 20% historic homes. The only historic homes that will survive will be the ones that have enough space to accomodate the contemporary American lifestyle.

[sunsets]

Sadly, in the Heights proper, I think that might be the case. There was a recent teardown on Arlington that was a 1997 Home Tour house. But it was a huge corner lot, and the house was pretty small, by modern standards.

On the other hand, Woodland Heights and Norhill homes are built on much smaller lots, so you really can't fit an enormous house on there and have a yard too (though there are some horrifying examples of yardless huge houses in WH). Currently, the smaller well kept up houses appeal to DINKs (yes, I count myself in that group) and younger couples. I don't know if that will continue to hold true, I guess it's going to depend on whether prices keep going up. My own strictly amatuer assesment is that the lower-priced little houses are getting snapped up, and the big >600K houses are sitting for months.

An encouraging trend is the remodeling of bungalows to combine them with the garage and apartment also on the property (see Bayland and Watson and Euclid and Watson for lovely examples). This produces a large house, but at least it looks like it belongs in the neighborhood.

Edited February 16, 2008 by sunsets

[Markus]

I hate the teardown of the homes that can be resurrected...but what bothers me worse is the freaking Megggga-cottage's that are popping up here and there. ...On lots where a 1200-1800sq ft cottage once stood.

For example, one that I pass often (woodland hts) is on the NW corner of Micheaux and 7th?(7 1/2?)..the thing is enormous.

Half of the monster's I see end up towering over their neighbors standard sized (two bdr, one bath) homes. No yard, nothing just "let's build as big as we can on this lot...oh wait, let's acquire the one next to us and build it even bigger...just like our other home in Sugarland/katy/woodlands", etc.

I think the charm of living in an area like the Heights is learning to live within normal means (some say smaller, home size), where everyone in the neighborhood is fairly equal in those terms. Cottage living.

Edited February 20, 2008 by Markus

[TheNiche]

I think the charm of living in an area like the Heights is learning to live within normal means (some say smaller, home size), where everyone in the neighborhood is fairly equal in those terms. Cottage living.

If 'charming' is a neighborhood where everyone lives in similar homes, then such people as desire a 'charming' neighborhood ought to look at Katy and Pearland. Lots of 'charm' out there.

[Markus]

If 'charming' is a neighborhood where everyone lives in similar homes, then such people as desire a 'charming' neighborhood ought to look at Katy and Pearland. Lots of 'charm' out there.

Point being, The Heights have a certain charm...something that attracts residents.

When some new residents move in, then try and transform the area to something more to their liking they are deteriorating the sole thing that attracted them in the first place.

[infinite_jim]

IMO the Heights is losing it's "porch culture."

To reiterate previous statements, the platting just isn't large enough to preserve many of these older bungalows. The same forces are at play in the Hyde Park/Montrose neighborhood.