Eastwood Civic Association

Articles on Eastwood
Houston Chronicle, "Housing buzz fuels move to East End"
Area attracts those priced out of other locations inside the Loop
Houston & Texas News (starting on front page), Jan. 21, 2008
by Nancy Sarnoff

More than five years ago, newlyweds Trace and Jessica Morrill moved into Eastwood — a scrappy neighborhood east of downtown where historic homes mingle with rundown fourplexes and the residents are used to the sounds of trains.

They paid $85,000 for the Tudor-style bungalow, which they sold last year to move into Glenbrook Valley — a community farther south near Hobby Airport.

The young couple, a lawyer and nurse practitioner, isn't near a Whole Foods, or a Signature Kroger, for that matter. One of the best restaurants around them is a taqueria.

But Trace Morrill isn't far from his office downtown, and Jessica Morrill — who's been staying home more with a new baby — doesn't mind driving a little longer for a specialty grocery item or a trip to the Galleria.

"It's not for everybody," said Trace Morrill. "Yet."

Others like the Morrills are discovering the East End and nearby areas, which some say are among the last close-in neighborhoods on the cusp of long-awaited revivals.

Last month, a 1914 Eastwood Arts and Crafts-style home with a pool that had been restored down to its door knobs sold in less than two months for $575,000, setting a new price record for the neighborhood, brokers said.

A couple of coffee shops have opened — the kind of grass-roots places more common in Montrose or the Heights.

And several commercial parcels of land are on the market, fueling neighborhood buzz about new retail coming.

"To me, Eastwood is a no-brainer," said Robert Searcy, a real estate agent who sells homes in the area. "This is just the beginning of its coming of age."

Some sacrifices
The greater East End, which stretches between downtown and the Port of Houston, has long been an ethnically diverse area most recently inhabited by working-class Hispanics.

But a new crop of upwardly mobile homebuyers are coming in from other close-in parts of town where property values have spiked.

"In the Heights and Montrose, if you don't have $300,000, you're not looking at much of anything," said Searcy, of Texas Real Estate & Co. "Eastwood has filled that niche for people seeking a house in town and want that urban experience."

But it's not for everyone.
Those who live there sacrifice upscale shopping and the guarantee that all of their neighbors will regularly mow their lawns in exchange for a home with architectural character that doesn't break the bank.

"We moved here because we couldn't afford Montrose," said Sid Olivarez, who, with her husband Lupe, owns Bohemeo's, an Eastwood coffeehouse.

Cheaper housing isn't the only draw.

In Eastwood, giant oaks canopy some of the streets. The neighborhood was originally developed in the early 1900s by William Wilson, who also built the Woodland Heights.

"I think it's the new Heights," said Julia Nichols, of John Daugherty Realtors, who sold the 1914 house with her husband, Travis Nichols.

And home prices are beginning to catch up to its more established counterparts.

Few bargains
The average sale price of a single-family home in Eastwood was $190,918 in 2007, up 31 percent from 2006 and 59 percent since 2002, said East End investor William McWhorter, citing data from the Houston Association of Realtors.

Bill England, a 24-year Eastwood resident who restores old homes in the neighborhood, said bargains are hard to find.

"It's virtually impossible to find a house for under $100,000, and if you do it needs everything in the world done to it," he said.

Prices in Idylwood, a more exclusive nearby community with gently sloping topography, are more stable, but a bit higher, averaging $204,118 in 2007.

"It's always had excellent curb appeal, forced deed restrictions and it's always been cocooned by institutions that surround it," Searcy said, referring to the Villa de Matel Convent and Gus Wortham Golf Course.

Glenbrook Valley, where the Morrills moved, is more of an East End suburb. Located outside the Loop across Interstate 45, many homes are from the mid-century architectural era.

As more properties have gone on the market, they've been quickly snapped up by professors, writers, architects and other professionals interested in the angular, 1950s ranch-style homes.

Even though it's a little farther than where they used to live in Eastwood, the Morrills are happy in Glenbrook Valley because it's quieter and better suited for young children.

That's not to say they don't have fond memories of their old environs.

"We found it was something of a phenomenon in Eastwood," Trace Morrill said. "It's a very large neighborhood, but a very tight-knit community."

But there's concern the neighborhood will change as gentrification continues, builders move in and property taxes rise.

"People will be forced out that have lived here all their lives," said Lupe Olivarez.

So far, the revitalization process has been slow. Some predict it may take five years or more for major retailers to notice the area.

Upcoming wave
Still, residents can find good restaurants and wine shops if they're willing to look.

Searcy said the Roma Liquor store on Telephone Road has a nice wine selection and the owner is willing to make special orders. And tucked in the back of the Tlaquepaque Market, there's a Thai restaurant called Kanomwan that some said is one of the best in town.

Outdated demographic data may be what's holding retailers back.

The 2000 census doesn't reflect recent changes, including the development of hundreds of townhomes east of downtown, said William McWhorter, an East End investor.

When the 2010 data is released, he said, it will launch a wave of neighborhood retail development that will support more residential demand.

"The moment Starbucks enters the neighborhood, I'll know it's all over," McWhorter said. "I'll have to pack up and move farther east."

nancy.sarnoff@chron.com



Houston House & Home, "R & R: (rescue and remodel) in Eastwood"
Once slated for demolition, this icon of Arts & Crafts style is now the pride of the east side
January 2007 Feature Article
by Linda Barth; Photography by Miro Dvorscak

How the mighty had almost fallen.

The 1912 Arts & Crafts-style home in Eastwood was just days away from the wrecking ball in 1977 when kindly neighbors down the street took pity on it. It had been a magnificent family home, but its elderly owner simply couldn’t keep up with the repairs needed. The roof leaked, the foundation had shifted, fireplaces and chimneys no longer worked, the porch had dangerous holes in the floor and the whole place needed new electricity and plumbing. The city had condemned it.

Back in the day, the home was an iconic example of the forward-thinking Arts & Crafts movement, which advocated clean-lined organic design in rebellion against the frills and fripperies of the Victorian era. The home, with its gracious porches and elegant woods, was one of the first three built in the up-and-coming new master-planned community of Eastwood. William Wilson, developer of Eastwood and the Houston Heights, used the showcase home in advertisements to attract other buyers to the neighborhood, which was a brief, easy carriage ride from downtown Houston.

The neighbors, a married couple with grown children, recognized the house was a historic treasure, so they bought it, moved in and restored it enough to prevent demolition. Then they waited for knights in shining armor who had the energy and vision needed to restore it to the top-notch condition it deserved. They carefully screened potential buyers. It took a while for those knights to ride in.

Knights to the Rescue
In 2004, Stephen Steiner and Keith Wallace, who were living in a house they’d custom-built in The Woodlands, decided they might want to restore a house in a historic neighborhood. A friend of theirs had bought in Eastwood, so they looked at a house two doors down from the 1912 Arts & Crafts house. They passed on the house they’d walked through with a realtor, but the storybook good looks of the 1912 Arts & Crafts number turned their heads. They asked to see inside it.

"When we walked in this front door," says Steiner, "I had an immediate visceral reaction to the house, almost like it claimed me. I don’t want this to sound weird, but I feel like the house chose us.”"

The owners knew Steiner and Wallace would do the house justice and immediately sold the place to them. The duo hired general contractor Connie Cooper of CC & Subs to restore and repair it and seven months later moved in. This year on Feb. 2, the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance will honor Steiner and Wallace with a Good Brick Award for their superb restoration of the house. (See Page 52 for more information and other winners.)

Honoring Old Woods
Steiner and Wallace wanted to preserve and enhance all historic and architectural features and make as few structural changes to the building as possible. They were lucky because much of the house was intact. It had not been dramatically altered, nor cut up into tiny apartments.

The floors needed refinishing, but the old wood was gorgeous. "The floors are silver pine,”" says Wallace. "You can hardly find that any more. Silver pine hasn’t been milled since the 1930s."

In the entry, living and dining rooms, the original oak beams, exquisite built-in bookshelves and dining room hutch are all characteristic of Arts & Crafts style. The flared oak pillars and arch over the entry to the living room are classic elements reminiscent of Charles Limbert’s Dutch Arts & Crafts designs for his early 20th-century furniture company in Grand Rapids, Mich. All decorative woods in the house were refinished to bring out their luster. The wooden front door was painstakingly restored and, wherever possible, Steiner and Wallace kept the original hardware, such as drawer pulls, doorknobs and hinges.

Upstairs in the master bedroom and sleeping porch, which has been converted to a master bath, the wooden floor had been damaged by roof leaks. Steiner and Wallace visited Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse and found beautiful salvaged oak floor planks from a 1920s River Oaks house. "We saved money by going to Historic Houston," Wallace says, "and we got flooring that’s appropriate to the period of our house."


Greater Houston Weekly , "Communities experience revitalization"
January 12, 2005: News Around Town
"In 1913, the Eastwood subdivision, one of the city's first master-planned communities, was home to well-known Houstonians such as Howard Hughes who lived there as a child. Many German, Italian and Latino families settled near the busy port, making the area a rich cultural melting pot. By the roaring 20s, 138,000 Houstonians wer paving the way toward prosperity."

"Today the 16-square-mile East End area, bordering downtown and Minute Maid Park, consists of 2500 businesses and more than 85,000 residents. Where there was once crumbling, grafitti-scrawled infrastructure, there is now new development, affordable housing, lush green hike and bike trails along Buffalo Bayou and a five-year strategic vision for the future."

Houston Chronicle, "Eastwood takes step back in time / Arts &Crafts, Craftsman and Prairie-style houses featured"
October 14, 2004: Star
"There's been a recent wave of new people moving into Eastwood , including professional singles, couples and young families who have been priced out of Montrose and the Heights and want to live in an intact historical neighborhood . . . "
"We're also getting our share of empty nesters who want to be close to the sports venues and dynamic nightlife that symbolize downtown Houston."

KUHF Houston Public Radio, "Houston's Historic East End Gets New Life"
September 16, 2004: Local News
"Over the past ten years however, it's been coming back, with new businesses, new people, new houses and apartments,. . .it's fast becoming Houston's next great place to live, work, and do business."
"To help this renaissance along, the East End Management District will spend $3.2 million enhancing and beautifying some specific sites between downtown and the Port of Houston."

Outsmart, "East Side Story: A couple revives a 91-year-old house in a near-downtown neighborhood."
August, 2004: Cover Story
“In 1913,…Oscar Weyrich, president of Houston Bank and Trust, built his family residence in Eastwood. With a deep, shady veranda and a screened second-floor sleeping porch across the width of the façade, it was the very first house on the street.”

“Bill England and Sonny Garza purchased the old Weyrich home 10 years ago…With the rejuvenation of downtown, many Houston residents have rediscovered the oak-lined streets and stately Craftsman-style homes of Eastwood. “We just love it here,”

Houston Chronicle, "Finding happiness as an Inner Looper"
July 10, 2004: Inside the Loop
"We got more bang for our buck by holding out and finding a home in Eastwood"
"pleased with . . . the quietness of his neighborhood, east of downtown"

Houston Business Journal, "Beginning at the End: Perry Homes heads East"
May 21, 2004
"This area is now becoming the place to be," . . . "Its close proximity to downtown and all of the nearby employers make it a convenient place to work and live."
"We're expecting this community to generate more residential and retail development in adjacent neighborhoods."

Houston Chronicle, "Couple's dream alive in restored 1913 home"
SUN 01/11/04: Texas Magazine - Home Design
"For both of us, it was our dream house . . . a fine example of Craftsman and Prairie architecture with an echo of Victorian"
"In 2001, the home appeared on the Eastwood Historical Home Tour as a "work in progress." Two years later it appeared on the tour in all of its restored glory, a new diamond in an old neighborhood."

Houston Chronicle, "Rebounding Eastwood is resident-friendly neighborhood"
SUN 09/30/03: Neighborhoods
“Something I'd never experienced anywhere else in Houston. it was like a sense of family. We walk our dogs and people invite us into their homes.”

Houston House and Home, "Reclaiming Eastwood"
"Eastwood is coming up, not coming back. It never really went away,"

Houston House and Home, "I Had No Idea"
“People always express surprise at finding this intact neighborhood of gracious older homes on the city’s near east side.”