As Houston’s high rise living boom continues, the latest addition to the skyline has truly set itself apart. Nestled between the historic Boulevard Oaks and Southampton neighborhoods, The Langley, along with its stately design, proves that luxury living still exists on a plane other than that of the garish plate glass and steel designs of its contemporaries.
Developers StreetLights Residential and Hunt Real Estate have established The Langley as a boutique apartment building that blends seamlessly with the classic architectural styles of its neighbors. The 20-story, 134-residence property sits on a modest footprint, assisted by Renaissance-inspired landscaping and surrounding live oak trees to provide a perfect blink-and-you’ll-miss-it level of privacy.
Vince Hunter and Isabelle Callaghan of StreetLights Creative Studio handled both the architecture and interior design. The building incorporates brick, limestone, custom metalwork, and detailed architectural elements inspired by Rice University.
“We were looking at it stylistically from the outside — how to take a 20-story building and put it in such a beautiful neighborhood,” explains Chief Design Officer Vince Hunter. “We took a lot of inspiration from Rice University. Herzstein Hall and all the beautiful brickwork — it’s the nicest brick architectural campus I’ve ever seen — we took a lot of cues from Rice, definitely at the pedestrian level. The neighborhood is mostly historic, so the building is a real, ordered building. It’s a symmetrical building on two axes; it has a lot of order and regulating lines that hopefully will make it a landmark and fit into the Houston skyline at some point.”
The tower's composition follows a classical architectural framework, articulated through a defined base, middle, and top. Cornices, pilasters, transoms, and carefully-proportioned vertical window openings establish rhythm, symmetry, and order throughout the façade. At street level, crafted cast stone detailing, ornamental metalwork, copper gas lanterns, and landscaped gardens create a pedestrian-scaled experience that reinforces the building's residential character.
“It’s helped by all the incredible oaks that frame out the street, so it’s hard to really look up and see, but we really tried to make sure that on the bottom scale we have a bit of a setback requirement where we put kind of a renaissance garden, which is this heavily-layered landscaping along the street so that the building is not sitting front-and-center, it’s set back. There are some really nice garden spaces,” says Hunter.
Once inside, residents and their guests are met with intimate interior spaces that juxtapose neoclassical elements with contemporary sensibilities. Delicately illuminated by fixtures from Visual Comfort and Ralph Lauren, bespoke upholstery fitted in a plethora of rich textiles live among carefully-curated antiques sourced from around the Houston and Dallas areas, together anchoring rich millwork, wallcoverings by Phillip Jeffries, and elegant stone selections oftentimes inlaid with brass. Extensive artwork curated by SLR Interiors has been custom framed in-house and features works from Los Angeles-based Saatchi.
“We try to make our residences more like boutique hotels; that’s kind of an overused word, but we really do. All of our projects, especially our five star, really elevated buildings like The Langley, we do go on hunts. We’ll go out to different antique marts and markets to look for real, authentic antiques,” says Hunter. “For a project of this caliber, it’s absolutely worth it to buy the real thing and to go out and shop these marketplaces to find interesting found objects like poker tables and things. The people who are moving into this building — they’ve lived a life well-traveled — they are used to seeing authentic things that have been handed down. It helps the common spaces to bring those types of memories back and to use authentic, real pieces.”
Intimate gathering spaces have been harmoniously spaced throughout the property, allowing for both moments of solitude or refined merriment. Light-filled work spaces with garden views have been peppered about, and a conference room has been made available for larger groups.
At the canopy level an amenities floor offers a dining room, catering kitchen, fireplace-focused library, lounge spaces, a gym, and a pool deck outfitted with cabanas, televisions, dining and lounge spaces, and an imported pizza oven that takes center stage. Back inside, elevated finishes include gorgeous tempest blue quartzite and elaborate ornamentations by Rocky Mountain Hardware.
Residential floors keep privacy in mind, with only eight residences per level and two separate elevator banks, which allow for just two units per elevator. Lush, deep pile carpeting throughout the hallways softens any noise, and pet relief areas make late night potty jaunts a breeze — on that note, dedicated washing and grooming stations for four-legged friends are available as well.
Floral-themed floor plans — Gardenia, Camellia, and Azalea — all offer a generous formal foyer, powder bath, and coat closet upon entry. Wide-plank oak flooring, 10-foot coffered ceilings, cove lighting, and motorized window coverings provide a backdrop to two separate color stories: crisp white or warm grey with hints of soft green. Each residence offers smart Nest thermostats and smart lighting, secured keyless entry, and an integrated Sonos sound system.
Regardless of the floor plan, the kitchen is the showstopper. StreetLights Residential’s in-house cabinet company, Dovetail, designed bespoke raised-panel cabinetry to be paired with the panel-front GE Monogram appliance suites for a truly seamless integration. Brass cabinetry hardware compliments brass accents on the Wolf gas cooktops, and waterfall-edge islands run from 11 to 12.5-feet in length, complete with undermount sinks and Kohler faucets. Additionally, each unit includes a separate service kitchen and related accoutrements, complete with private service entry.
Dovetail also customized the cabinetry in each bathroom, continuing the raised-panel design and quartzite countertops. Soaking tubs are topped with seamless stone slab surrounds and multi-function rainhead shower fixtures take pride-of-place in the spacious glass-enclosed showers. Custom sconces and decorative framed vanity mirrors add to the ambiance.
Unlike commodity apartment living, residences at The Langley have given thought to storage needs, closets in particular. Vastly-oversized and customizable closet spaces are sure to accommodate nearly every sartorialist’s needs, especially with dedicated coat and linen closets in each unit. Should this ample space still not suffice, there are auxiliary storage spaces available on-property.
The Langley is managed by FirstService Residential, responsible for day-to-day operations including 24-hour valet service, on-site maintenance, and concierge support. Leasing is exclusively represented by Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty agents Corey Lipscomb and Ann Singleton.
“I think it’s been incredibly well received and everyone has been very complimentary,” says Lipscomb. “There truly isn’t anything else that compares to it. Most people come in and they have to remind themselves that it’s not a condominium product and that everything here is for lease. It’s very thoughtfully designed and curated for a boutique scale. It’s quiet and feels calming and sophisticated.”
Houstonians who have been around for more than one rodeo may remember a time when the idea of a residential tower in the neighborhood sent folks into what can really only be described as a frenzy. For over a decade everything from protests and demonstrations to actual litigation threatened a mixed-use development project known as the Ashby high-rise. With tempers cooled and the Ashby a mere speck in the rear view mirror, how is the neighborhood reacting to The Langley?
“We’ve had the exact opposite. We’ve had people come in — people not even interested in the building — neighbors out walking their dogs and are just curious,” shares Lipscomb. “We’ve had people come in who just want to compliment us on how beautiful everything turned out, compliment on the landscape and curb appeal. Also, people have expressed their appreciation for how seamless the construction has been, how never one time was the street ever blocked off or that they were never inconvenienced.”
To that end, many of the first residents are from the neighborhood. Whether downsizing, or simply moving from other rental properties, it hasn’t taken long for anyone to embrace their new neighbors and move right in. The Langley is the perfect situation for both full-time Houstonians and those who are more interested in a pied-à-terre.
“For the most part people have come completely full circle and they are now in an empty nest season of life that they have a home in Colorado or Florida and they want to stay in their neighborhood, but they want to downsize and still have a footprint and presence in the neighborhood that they’re familiar with,” says Lipscomb. “They can lock-and-leave and be in Colorado for months at a time. A lot of them will jokingly say ‘hey, don’t tell anybody you saw me over here,’ and I’ll say ‘yeah, you and all your other neighbors, too!’”
The Langley is located at 1717 Bissonnet Street. 2-bedroom, 2.5 bath 2,200-square-foot residences begin at $9,800. To learn more or schedule a private appointment, visit thelangleyhouston.com or contact Corey Lipscomb or Ann Singleton at 832-785-7409.
Courtesy of The Langley
The Langley’s architectural elements were inspired by Rice University’s Herzstein Hall.
