Downtown Condominium Market

[tw2ntyse7en]

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[wherethewatermelonsgrow]

i went to look at 2016 last weekend. like people have said, some units have been renovated (one guy just bought one that was in foreclosure and the homeowner's board had remodeled it and made it look decent) and some have appliances from 20 years ago.

i was thinking of renting there but living above the pierce elevated is quite noisy. the other side's view isn't bad though. being 80% owner-occupied is also nice. so are the residents.

[tw2ntyse7en]

...

[Zapata]

Best Regards:

We (Me and my Wife) lived there from mid 2000 to Sept. 2002...We really like it but the rent was very expensive for what you get, We used to pay around $850 a month for one bedroom one bath, 640 Sq. Ft..

I used to work at Reliant Energy so I'll walk to the office and that was the best part of living there...!!!! Lots of hot chics and mostly a young crowd but also some old people living there for 10 or more years...!!!

From time to time glitches on the fire alarm system will keep alarms going on and off all night.... At the top of the parking garage was the pool and like once a year the admin. of the building will host a party. Not a bad at all. I can say it was a good experience living in a high rise.

[sevfiv]

i have heard that houston house has had some inspection/safety issues...

and, it was really easy to get to the roof and maintenance areas

[77017]

im livin in houston house right now. for the most part its alright. i mean as far as apartments, i wouldnt trade it for any other apartments in houston. the location is pimp and its pretty much a "luxury high rise as advertised. the pool is ok when its heated and the view from the pool when your swimmin at night is nice, although the pools been green and closed for a week now. peopleare makin signs and puttin them in the elevators and on the leasing office door sayin "fix our f*****g pool!!!!! enough is enough!!!!!!!!!". the a.c.'s been cooling the whole building with one chiller for the past 3 weeks! (which basically means we have no a.c.!) they claim the other chiller will be up and running in a couple days for the past 2 weeks. other than these temp issues its nice here. i got a convenience store in my building. and the view is better than my homeboys view at the rice lofts. he sees a brick wall, i see pretty much all of dt from the southeast. and the firework show from my balcony tomorrow will be pretty badass. oh yeah and it is very gay here. (not that theres anything wrong with that)

[sevfiv]

without stepping on any toes...what's the rent like?

im livin in houston house right now. for the most part its alright. i mean as far as apartments, i wouldnt trade it for any other apartments in houston. the location is pimp and its pretty much a "luxury high rise as advertised. the pool is ok when its heated and the view from the pool when your swimmin at night is nice, although the pools been green and closed for a week now. peopleare makin signs and puttin them in the elevators and on the leasing office door sayin "fix our f*****g pool!!!!! enough is enough!!!!!!!!!". the a.c.'s been cooling the whole building with one chiller for the past 3 weeks! (which basically means we have no a.c.!) they claim  the other chiller will be up and running in a couple days for the past 2 weeks. other than these temp issues its nice here. i got a convenience store in my building. and the view is better than my homeboys view at the rice lofts. he sees a brick wall, i see pretty much all of dt from the southeast. and the firework show from my balcony tomorrow will be pretty badass. oh yeah and it is very gay here. (not that theres anything wrong with that)

[77017]

without stepping on any toes...what's the rent like?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

$800-$1300

[sevfiv]

$800-$1300

ouch - i think i stepped on my own...heh

[infinite_jim]

A FRIEND OF MINE ALSO RENTS AT HOUSTON HOUSE APARTMENTS

FOR LESS THAN $800 FOR A SINGLE. THEY HAVE A DORMITORY FEEL TO THEM, BUT I'VE ALSO BEEN IN ONE OF THE PENTHOUSES; WHICH WAS RATHER NICE BUT SMALL.

[Kirzania]

i went to look at 2016 last weekend.  ....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My fiance and I lived in 2016 Main, on the 17th floor, for three months and all I have to say is: we would do anything to be back in that location again. Right on the lightrail or 10 minutes of walking to work, hundreds of places to eat (all within walking distance or along the LR)... We were on the 45-side and, even at 17 stories, it's noisy. You get really used to it, just like anything else and it is a perk/downside to living in downtown. After my second night, it was just like listening to the ocean and I had the BEST view of downtown. The opposite side of the building is dead quiet, so you do have a choice.

All the staff is extremely friendly, so are the residents.. Best of all, the only people you hear are the ones out in the hall. There's a 3-4ft crawlspace between every floor and the firewalls keep out most of the noise from the units next to you.

The only downsides I ever saw were: No grilling on your balcony (any neighbor who even thinks they smell smoke will report you to the HOA, who will fine and/or lecture you). Smoking's up to the owner of the unit, so if your neighbor smokes, you'll most likely be smoking too.

/Rant Sorry, but I felt like 2016 Main's name needed some good sides to it in this thread. My fiance and I are considering purchasing a unit here (or 1700 Main), we love it so much.

[kjb434]

yes, everytime i visited the 2016 Main building it was pleasant. It is true the owner of the unit makes a difference. Some units look brand new and some don't.

I do remember one of the elevators has a small opening on the top which look kind of creepy as I going up. I came down on another one which was a beautiful elevator inside.

[Ashikaga]

When I moved to Houston 20-some years ago, there was practically no residential units Downtown. The only major apartment buildings were Houston House and 2016 Main (if that's considered to be downtown).

So which of the new developments offer the best in downtown living? Consider accesss to transportation, parking, noise, quality of workmanship and materials, and "bang for the buck".

The thought of living in an apartment on about the 20th floor of a well-maintained building downtown doesn't sound too bad to me. Are there any?

[KinkaidAlum]

Besides the two bigtex wrote about (Houston House and 2016 Main) there are the following

OWN

Four Seasons Condos on the top 5 floors of the hotel

Commerce Towers (actually two bldgs, one 24 floors and one 12 floors)

RENTAL

Post Rice Lofts

Humble Tower Apartments in the tallest portion of the old bldg

Apartments at the Club Quarters hotel

There are many places that are in the 10 stories or under category like Hogg Palace Lofts (rent), Bayou Lofts (own), Capitol Lofts (own), Keystone Lofts (own), St Germain (changing from rental to ownership), Hermann Lofts (own), the Rise (changing from rental to own), Franklin Lofts (own), Beaconsfield (own)...

[Ashikaga]

Besides the two bigtex wrote about (Houston House and 2016 Main) there are the following

OWN

Four Seasons Condos on the top 5 floors of the hotel

Commerce Towers (actually two bldgs, one 24 floors and one 12 floors)

RENTAL

Post Rice Lofts

Humble Tower Apartments in the tallest portion of the old bldg

Apartments at the Club Quarters hotel

There are many places that are in the 10 stories or under category like Hogg Palace Lofts (rent), Bayou Lofts (own), Capitol Lofts (own), Keystone Lofts (own), St Germain (changing from rental to ownership), Hermann Lofts (own), the Rise (changing from rental to own), Franklin Lofts (own), Beaconsfield (own)...

Everything is life has a positive and a negative aspect. If you live in an apartment, you have no lawn to mow. And if something goes wrong with the plumbing, electricity, air conditioning, etc., you simply pick up the phone and call Maintenance.

[ssullivan]

Everything is life has a positive and a negative aspect. If you live in an apartment, you have no lawn to mow. And if something goes wrong with the plumbing, electricity, air conditioning, etc., you simply pick up the phone and call Maintenance.

And those are both reasons I don't know that I'll ever feel the urge to buy a house!

[Daniepwils]

Humble Tower Apartments are really nice and most of all secure. I have been there about 1.5 years. If you want to rent downtown go for it. Now is the time; night life is pretty fun here. They are a bit on the $$$ side, but they are worth it. Nice lofts and apartments, actually has a pool (mostly for sunbathers), not a diving pool. But they are one of the few buildings that have one.

Anywhere you are going to live downtown is going to be noisy. You will get used to it fast. I have been born and raised in the suburbs, but always slept with my tv on, since I have lived downtown I don't have to, LOL.

[RustyB]

Humble Tower Apartments are really nice and most of all secure. I have been there about 1.5 years. If you want to rent downtown go for it. Now is the time; night life is pretty fun here. They are a bit on the $$$ side, but they are worth it. Nice lofts and apartments, actually has a pool (mostly for sunbathers), not a diving pool. But they are one of the few buildings that have one.

Anywhere you are going to live downtown is going to be noisy. You will get used to it fast. I have been born and raised in the suburbs, but always slept with my tv on, since I have lived downtown I don't have to, LOL.

I regret that I didn't give the Humble Tower a shot when I moved downtown. I was trying to save a few bucks, so it was #2 on my list. Moved to the Houston House instead. The rent is super low, and I have a great view of dowtown, but would rather be living there than just looking at it through the window. Houston House is in the middle of nowhere. It's for sale, so I guess I'll be looking for a new place soon...hopefully Humble Tower will have something I can afford!

[Ashikaga]

Humble Tower Apartments are really nice and most of all secure. I have been there about 1.5 years. If you want to rent downtown go for it. Now is the time; night life is pretty fun here. They are a bit on the $$$ side, but they are worth it. Nice lofts and apartments, actually has a pool (mostly for sunbathers), not a diving pool. But they are one of the few buildings that have one.

Anywhere you are going to live downtown is going to be noisy. You will get used to it fast. I have been born and raised in the suburbs, but always slept with my tv on, since I have lived downtown I don't have to, LOL.

It has taken me a long time to learn that rural life simply isn't for me. Now I wish that we had stayed in Houston instead of moving back in 1964. I would have liked going to and being around 5A high schools, and anytime needing something just drive to a store. But it still surprises me that Houston is bigger than Dallas. I thought that Big D would have surpassed The Bayou City long ago.

This may sound like a stupid question, but is Houston growing? If it is, about what rate?

[Mr. Smarts]

It has taken me a long time to learn that rural life simply isn't for me. Now I wish that we had stayed in Houston instead of moving back in 1964. I would have liked going to and being around 5A high schools, and anytime needing something just drive to a store. But it still surprises me that Houston is bigger than Dallas. I thought that Big D would have surpassed The Bayou City long ago.

This may sound like a stupid question, but is Houston growing? If it is, about what rate?

Houston is very much growing. There are certain inner loop areas that are bustling with new residential developments. And lets not even talk about the houston suburbs! They are growing like weeds. Albeit, they have slowed down a notch in the last year. But they have been growing immensly in the past 10 years.

[DragonPhish]

" This may sound like a stupid question, but is Houston growing? If it is, about what rate?"

-----------------------------------

We added 150,000 last September.

[Ashikaga]

" This may sound like a stupid question, but is Houston growing? If it is, about what rate?"

-----------------------------------

We added 150,000 last September.

Is that in the city of Houston itself, or does that figure include suburbs?

[cwrm4]

Is that in the city of Houston itself, or does that figure include suburbs?

...or the Harris County jail?

[ToolMan]

Those were Katrina evacuees

[Ashikaga]

Those were Katrina evacuees

Well, do you now think that Houston will become a Chocolate, Jazz, & R&B city?

[Daniepwils]

I doubt that included the evacuees. Even if it did, we don't have 100000 of them.

As far as Houston becoming a "chocolate city". Houston has alot of African Americans, Hispanic's and of course Caucasians, so it already is a "chocolate city". I think Houston has the largested amount of college educated African Americans' in an big city in the US, ( I know I have seen some study before that reported that, probably msnbc or something).

Edited June 21, 2006 by Daniepwils

[VicMan]

Schoolwise, I actually made a table of Downtown properties and what schools they were zoned to. Yes, I know that not a whole lot of people intend to raise families in Downtown Houston lofts, but this information may be useful to some people.

Almost every loft property is zoned to E.O. Smith Education Center (for grades 6 through 8 only) and Davis High School. Some lofts are zoned to Gregory-Lincoln Smith Education Center (for grades K through 5 only), some to Bruce, and some to Crockett. I don't think any of these schools are considered to be the best HISD has to offer, so one could take a look at the Houston ISD magnet programs throughout the city.

To see where a property in Downtown is zoned to, type its address in at http://dept.houstonisd.org/ab/abcx_tool/search.asp .

Edited August 13, 2006 by VicMan

[lockmat]

Are there affordable dwellings, condos/apartments, for someone who is lower to middle class economically?

I don't know of everything available, but it seems like all the places to live are for people with a good deal of money.

[sevfiv]

i seem to remember that you could get a tiny apartment for around 700 at houston house (around 500 sq ft. maybe? maybe less?)

humble towers seemed to be in the 1,000/month range for something a little bit larger, and here's info for the rice hotel units:

http://units.realtydatatrust.com/unittype/...mp;propid=16590

of course, what is affordable (and lower to middle class) is relative

Edited December 21, 2006 by sevfiv

[Jersey01]

I lived downtown on Texas at Main for 4 years and loved it. There were really good deals for a while, but now about $1000/mo gets you 550 square feet as far as rental is concerned. This is of course, just an average. If someone were interested in purchasing, anything under $190K is going to be under 1,000 square feet on average. I think right now the place to really buy is just east of downtown where deals are to be found. I think these places will be worth a great deal more in the near future.