The Leader • Saturday, May 26, 2018 • Page 1B
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the We have an extensive variety of organic products. By Cynthia Lescalleet For The Leader As he looks at Heights-area commercial properties as yet restored or renovated (or rescued), real estate developer Gerald Bodzy believes “It may take creative solutions to get things done.” An example is the recently transformed side-by-side century-old buildings on West 12th at Yale Street, across from the re-purposed Houston Heights Fire Station. As designed by Gary R. Chandler Architecture & Interiors, the full-scale restoration of the contiguous buildings recently earned a 2017 Community Improvement Award for commercial renovation from Houston Heights Association. The project also involved Brad Dougherty of Insight Structures and builder Blake Kahanek of Kahanek Construction Co. The third-acre site, located on the border of Houston Heights Historic District East, had been owned by Bodzy’s extended family since the ‘50s. In 2013, he gained control of the property, comprised of a pair of two-story brick buildings sharing an interior wall; the un-dated wooden four-plex next door; and an adjacent, interior lot. A fire in the ‘90s had left the buildings unused – except by vagrants and graffiti artists, Bodzy says. “They were such a mess. It’s great to be able to take something boarded up and an eyesore and give it value and new use – while preserving the history of the
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(Submitted photos courtesy of Gary R. Chandler, Architecture and Interiors.) Restoration of the century-old commercial buildings on West 12th Street at Yale, required not just renovating but re-engineering the interior structural system. The project earned a Community Improvement Award from Houston Heights Association.
building inside and out.” He believes doing so is “the essence of development.” Plus, the restoration was a solid business opportunity, he says, one that would bring a viable product to the Heights as well as new businesses and jobs. Restore Meant Re-engineer In planning the project, architect Chandler and Bodzy, who also owns Showcase Windows, considered a series of potential iterations -- from townhomes or apartments to restaurant and retail use - that met the vision, market conditions, city parking regulations and historic district guidelines. The outcome was office space over retail, using the back lot for parking and access to a new exterior stair-
case. It serves the second floor, now occupied by healthcare professionals. Street level space has a plumbing and hardware showroom. Each level has about 5,000 square feet of space. Though updated, the property’s original cantilevered signage remains, facing Yale Street. Interiors retained most of their original clay tile walls. And an exposed painted message lingers from previous use by a dry cleaners: “We Will Dye for You.” Efforts to re-use the wooden four-plex, however, were for naught, Bodzy says. It was deemed structurally unsound and demolished in 2017 – after restoration efforts and an estimated $100,000 in related expenses. Meanwhile, in the brick 1916 and 1921 buildings, the original interiors’ integrity
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Diminished home sales, rising prices mark April Houston real estate market rebounded in April with a nearly seven percent spike in home sales accompanying the highest average and median prices of all time. Meanwhile, northwest side markets saw sales downturns alongside mixed pricing trends last month. According to the latest report from the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), home sales in local markets showcased mainly a drop across the board – ranging from about 3 percent to around 24 percent – while only a couple experienced spikes of at least 5 percent. Most median and average prices, meanwhile, either rose or remained stagnant on nearly all fronts. “April proved to be a strong month for the Houston housing market on both the purchase and rental sides, and mind you that is compared to a record year in 2017,” said HAR Chair Kenya Burrell-VanWormer with JPMorgan Chase. “As long as inventory levels can keep up with the increased buyer demand, we would expect sales volume to remain strong in the months ahead.” Nearly all local upswings far outpaced the greater Houston region’s trends, while the valleys were also much lower.
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had been seriously affected by disuse, fire damage, and in one, an ill-fitting replacement roof. Gutting the interiors meant removing everything, including the crumbling foundation. For a time during the project,
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Photo from Houston Association of Realtors NW side home sales are down, but prices are up in the spring of 2018.
In the areas immediately surrounding The Leader offices, this neighborhood was one of just two in our area to experience a YOY increase in homes sold, with 203 sales closed in April 2018 – a nearly five percent jump from the 194 sold during the same period in 2017. The neighborhood’s 9.5 percent spike in median home prices – to $438,000, which was nearly twice the greater Houston region’s figure – represented the second largest jump among our local bubble. Meanwhile, average prices in the area jumped to $517,901 – the second-highest area figure, and nearly 1.5 times the figure for the Greater Houston region. Its 14.5 percent spike represented the strongest local jump The western edge of the coverage area (77092) was among the few neighborhoods
that showed little dramatic movement on either end of the spectrum. Home sales showed very little movement YOY on the western end of Garden Oaks/Oak Forest, with 70 closures during April, compared to 73 the previous April. Buyers in this section of the neighborhood saw a slight 2.8 percent dip last month, paying $257,246 on average, in contrast to the $263,443 paid last April. Median prices experienced a more upward trend, rising 3.2 percent YOY, coming in at $251,750 at month’s end. Greater Heights (77008) For the largest swath of the neighborhood, significant trends on both ends of the spectrum were the name of the game last month. Just 278 homes came off the market in
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