It started with the demolition of the American Rice silos on Studemont at Washington a decade ago, which gave rise to the construction of townhomes, apartments, and some retail space on the southernmost strip of Studemont, between Allen Parkway and Washington Avenue. Now, with the demolition of the old Ed Sacks Waste Paper Company at 440 Studemont and the inevitable construction of more townhomes, the transformation of this city block from empty/industrial to densely-packed high-end residential is almost complete. The Sacks site, which had looked abandoned to me since I first laid eyes on it in 1989 or so, apparently closed its doors in mid-2004. I was driving by earlier this week when I noticed the big empty space, and figured I ought to take a few pictures before the building starts. They're kinda big, so I'll just link to them:

The entrance gate to the now-empty lot. There's some brochures available for pickup to the left, but I didn't bother getting one.

A closer look at the lot. The construction you see in the background on the left is on the south side of Allen Parkway, just east of the old brick warehouse that fronts onto Montrose. I can't help but think that that's not long for this world. Which is a good thing, considering what an eyesore it is. The housing you see stretches all the way to West Dallas Avenue, and appears to be the last phase of that project, modulo whatever happens to the warehouse.

The agent of change for the waste paper company. The housing behind it is part of Memorial Heights.

Should be interesting to see what winds up there. I'll try to remember to take more pictures as it progresses.