Sad.
This October may be the last year the view south of I-10 across from the Heights is a giant orange pumpkin.
The property housing Party Boy at 1515 Studemont, where an inflatable pumpkin is displayed atop the building each Halloween, is up for sale.
The owner of the store, a go-to spot for spooky costumes and all manner of party supplies, is asking $10.5 million for the site, according to listing broker Jeff Trevino.
“It’s an icon and 300,000 cars drive past it every day,” said Trevino of Endurance Properties. “It has stayed high and dry through all of our high-water events.”
The store’s operations are housed in a two-story, 20,000-square-foot warehouse building and an adjacent 7,000-square-foot structure. The site is about 70,000 square feet — or 1.6 acres.
This area just west of downtown has been booming. Party Boy has become surrounded by new developments and construction.
“It is probably one of the last high-profile corners in that corridor that is open and ready to change hands,” Trevino said.
In addition to housing a haunted house that snarls up traffic on Studemont at I-10 every hear for about two months, they have a fantastic costume rental place in a separate building in the back end of the property. The story doesn’t say, but I sure hope that finds a new home.
A construction crew recently carved out what I assume is a couple of parking places in front of the lot. I don’t know if this is related to the forthcoming sale or not, but they’re there now. I’ve no doubt that the owners will make a ton on the sale, and I’m sure whatever rises in its ashes will be in high demand, but right now all I can think of is that once again the Heights is about to become a little less cool than it was before. Such is life.
One more thing:
If whoever develops this site doesn’t call whatever they build Party Heights, why are they even buying Heights-adjacent land to develop? #hounews
— Andrea (@nonsequiteuse) 9:56 PM – 15 August 2019
You’re welcome.
Clever Andrea. You definitely win the internet for that one today. I laughed so hard, I had to wipe coffee off my monitor this morning.
Arne’s can’t be far behind. This sort of infill development in Houston is inevitable. One could probably do an academic study on why this area of town didn’t transition 30 years ago. Or, you could attribute it to the creation of the continuous feeder roads along IH-10 and save yourself the trouble.
I have it on good authority that the costume shop will be moving to TechShop on Center.