Upper Nonsense
Waiting out the partiers: Washington Avenue seeks to rebrand itself
Most home buyers and real estate investors claim they knew what was happening when they made their purchases along Houston's Washington Avenue corridor.The cardinal rule applied: Location, location, location.
Nestled between downtown and Memorial Park with convenient access to five major highways, what is known as West End and Rice Military was destined for gentrification. This history is fascinating. Previously owned by the Rice family and neighboring what was once Camp Logan, a World War I-era training camp, its name retains its roots.
The older existing homes were in no condition for renovation. Lacking that stylish je ne sais quoi — the area had a deficit of good looking Craftsman, Colonial and Victorian homes, the type of character typically associated with The Heights. Small tracts of land became available sporadically, slowly at first, as owners were selling their homes, some at lot value.
It was the perfect scenario for entrepreneurs and small companies to make a buck. Buy low, build and sell higher. While these pioneers faired extremely well during the heydays of looser loan underwriting criteria, some like Millennium Patio Homes (later Aziza) and Juliet disappeared due to economic difficulties or creative accounting practices.
Unlike larger real estate developments, the area has an upscale and eclectic feel, for new construction that is, as different builders took on smaller projects juxtaposing stucco Texas-style Mediterranean and Tuscan facades with traditional brick and even galvanized metal. Dominated by mostly zero-lot line homes and town homes, there is a handful of larger single-family homes with a sophisticated design appeal, a 1992 Natalye Appel tin home and even art worthy of conservation: The Beer Can House, located off Malone between Memorial and Washington.
And the building continues. Röhe & Wright Builders and Black Diamond forge ahead. Their high-end southern highland Spanish inspired gated community Cáceres with homes in the upper $600,000s to the millions, in what long ago used to be a type of artist commune, appeals to a narrow demographic. Production home giant David Weekley Homes recently entered the market by purchasing an underused HISD library off of Gibson near Reinerman, with plans to build a gated community of 18 homes with a common area and guest parking, starting from the $370,000s. They should break ground later this spring.
There is a calm and quiet feel to the area. That is, until the weekend hits.
But that action is just along Washington and nearby major thoroughfares. A few blocks south off any intersecting street, other than a random car here and there, the occasional urinating, inebriated stood-up jock and fornicating activity in a bopping car — even more amusing if it happens to be underneath one of the "Don't Blow" D.U.I billboards — you find yourself in another dimension: The party twilight zone.
There is an interesting duality to the neighborhood. Driving through the area during the day will give you very little indication that the residents are the ones enjoying the nightlife. While real estate savants describe the demographics as mainly young urbanites, there is also a large portion of empty nesters loving the convenience the location affords them.
The Nellie Keyes community garden on Lester is even part of the Urban Gardener Program, bringing neighbors together to grow their own fruits and vegetables.
Now that Washington is a quiet zone, the main areas of concern are parking and drainage. For those visiting the area, you may have to dish out a few dollars now that a permit is required for on-street parking.
The party crowd is also diverse. Establishments like Benjy's, Catalan, Max's Wine Dive, Branch Water Tavern, BRC and Soma cater to a different clientele (yes there is some overlap) than Ei8ght, Manor on Washington, Roosevelt (although the parking lot is always empty) and Rebels Honky Tonk.
Diners dine. Those who "lounge", drink and seek to get laid, generally speaking. In that spirit, the Girls Gone Wild bus spotted in front of Pandora recently appropriately chose a cold Houston night — cool weather is better for NERTS, aka nipple erection right through the shirt — for whatever activities were scheduled.
Partiers are transient and soon residents of these neighborhoods will reminisce of these amusing and mischievous days, that is unless their home backs up to one of these infamous establishments. In that case, the change cannot happen fast enough.
Where will the club crowd be off to next? EaDo? A return to SoMo?
In the meantime, there are talks, somewhat underground discussions, to lead an effort to rebrand part of the corridor as Upper Washington — the area closer to the Washington on Wescott roundabout which incidentally promised a "light garden and to date has failed to deliver — but due to its size, it will probably fail. And given the time it takes to rebrand anything, the perpetrators that plague the nightlife will have moved on to slutier pastures.
Of course, that leaves questions about the future of the locales. More overpriced nail salons? Dry cleaners? A return of strange warehouses?
A coffee shop west of Shepherd would be welcomed. Catalina is just too far.
