Why is it so cold in the hallway?

The Museum Tower seems to have a problem controlling the temperature in our hallway. It is currently 64 degrees which coincidentally is almost exactly what the outside temperature is--but without the sunshine to warm you up.

Rape victim wins $20M verdict against apartments

A Harris County jury awarded $20 million in damages Wednesday to a rape victim who sued her apartment complex for failing to notify residents about previous sexual attacks on the property.

The woman lived at The Promenade Cullen Park when a masked man who resided in the west Houston complex raped and sodomized her for more than 10 hours in February 2009. 

According to the lawsuit, apartment officials knew about a break-in next door to the woman's unit a few weeks before her ordeal in which a man tried to rape that resident and failed to notify other tenants about a sexual predator.

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Finger Apartments May Replace Fiesta

Neartown-area residents are still waiting to hear more details about the apartment complex development expected to replace the Fiesta Mart in their community.

Residents learned about a month ago that The Finger Companies, known for developing such luxury apartments as The Museum Tower, One Park Place by Discovery Green and Jackson Hill near Memorial Park, plans to buy the four-acre Fiesta property at 3803 Dunlavy.

Marvy Finger, firm president, has announced plans to construct a high-end apartment complex there. The project will comprise as many as 390 multifamily units with a Mediterranean-style design.

The Fiesta store has been operating on the Dunlavy site since 1994. Originally, the property was home to a Weingarten store.

It's ironic that the new H-E-B grocery store across the street at 1701 W. Alabama replaced the 1940s-era Wilshire Village apartment complex last fall, Neartown Association president David Robinson said.

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Museum Tower Developer Buys Fiesta--Will Turn into Apartments

The Houston Chronicle reports...


Real estate developer Marvy Finger, who was rumored to be buying the Fiesta shopping center in Montrose for a new apartment complex, said he will close on the property next month.

The timing for the new development is still being determined, but Finger has plans to build 390 multifamily units in as many as 8 stories at the site. The nearly 4-acre property is located at the southeast corner of Dunlavy and West Alabama, across from a new H-E-B.

The complex, Finger said, will have a Mediterranean design. Wallace Garcia Wilson is designing it.
“We’re going to try to create something really beautiful,” he said.

Time to Remember the Staff

With the Winter Solstice/Christmas/Hanukkah/New years arriving and the season for giving upon us, it is time to remember the staff and all they do for us. By staff, I don't just mean the concierge and valets, but also the building staff who keep things clean and maintained. They work hard all year to make our lives easier and it is at this time of year (at least) that we remember and thank them for their service.

The Smell of Varnish in the Morning

Yesterday (Sunday) while relaxing in my apartment I was suddenly engulfed in varnish fumes. The whole inside of my apartment smelled. After some quick conversation with the refinishers down the hall and building management the problem was fixed. But it got me thinking. Why did this have to happen at all.

First the refinishers were working over the weekend because this was more convenient for them--not for the residents. And it appears they may have been doing it without management's knowledge. But they did get in the building without anyone stopping them.

The next problem was that, again to make thing better for them, they opened the patio door in the unit where they were working. Given the high winds we had yesterday, this just pushed all the fumes into the hallway and into my unit. And that points to yet another problem. You see we have these big gaps under our doors that are supposedly there to keep odors in, but as with most things in the building they didn't work as designed.

The gaps under the doors were some architects idea of a way to keep cooking odors in the apartments and not in the hallway. The problem is, for this to work the AC pressure in the hall needs to be high enough to force air into the units under the door. Well it may be strong enough IF no one opens a patio door anywhere in the building. You see since the elevators connect all the floors, it only takes one person to open their patio door to thwart the architect's grand plans. In fact it may not even take that. All it may take is someone getting on the elevator from a parking floor to connect the resident floors to the outside.That means that we have the door gaps for no benefits to us. Though they do make it much easier to get smells into the apartment.

Lastly, I know that there are paints that don't smell, surely there is floor varnish that doesn't smell. But oh wait, it probably costs more so that would preclude us using it in the building. And if they are going to continue to use the smelly stuff, surely by now they would have developed a way to vent the apartment they are working on without pumping the fumes into the hallway. But that kind of thinking would show some consideration for the residents by the refinishers and I am sure they were the low bidders on the work so have no money left for ventilation equipment or consideration.

Update: Dustin and Water

Dustin's Been Transferred
While you probably haven't noticed, our Assistant Manager, Dustin has left. The reason you haven't noticed is that it happened suddenly with no warning--no announcement and little ability to say goodbye. Dustin was the first assistant manager in my seven years in the building who could do more than unlock the front door and turn on the lights. In fact he was a true assistant who could fill in for Glenda when she was away. This was not the case in the past. Past assistants were assistants in name only. One quickly learned to wait until the manager returned if you wanted substantive help or a good answer to your question. He will be missed and what has also been missed was an opportunity for us all to say goodbye. But then again it would have cost money to put on a little event in the party room

Electricity and Water out Again
Last weekend a transformer down the street succumbed to the heat and with its demise went our electricity AND water. Once again nothing has been done to put the water pumps on the standby generator so that in addition to elevators, we have the ability to flush. Fortunately it happened during the day and lasted only a few hours. But what happens next time? What if it is out for longer than a few hours? When a hurricane is coming we have the chance to prepare and stockpile water or get out of town. When transformers or the like fail suddenly, we are stuck with no water pressure for even basic functions. But then again a solution would cost money. And though the building is nearly full and likely raking in record revenue, the owners won't find the money to keep the water on.

Pool in Sad Shape
The pool is in sad shape. While reportedly safe, it looks very ill. Not only was the surface of the pool mottled in color, but the water had an almost iridescent green hue to it the other day when I visited. The hard core swimmers are reportedly still using it, while we wait on cooler weather for repairs. Yes, there are plans for repairs. The money was found somewhere. Maybe it was those prospective tenants who on their tour saw the pool and decided to keep looking for an apartment. If only prospective tenants knew that every time the electricity goes out (which is almost monthly) so does the water, maybe that would get fixed too.