i ntow n
january + february 2022
resilience
purposeful
community
hopeful
thoughtfulness
togetherness family
understanding
grief
respectfulness
a salute to the survivors
discernment faith unity mortality
awareness resilience
forgiveness equality
love
patience democracy
intown
/ January + February 2022
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ON THE COVER
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DISCOVERING ALBERT BICHOT
16 DR. PETER HOTEZ: INTOWN PERSON OF THE YEAR
18-19 20-21
THE GAME: INTERVIEW WITH MARIO ELIE THE BUZZ: A NIGHT WITH CYNDI LAUPER
PRODUCTION
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4 | Intown | January + February 2022
MORE COMMUNITIES. MORE CONNECTED CARE.
Publisher’s Letter Congratulations To The Survivors
I
t was not WWl or ll, The Great Depression, or more recently 9/11 survival, but it’s been a tough two years for many of us. If you are reading this you survived 2021. You experienced 100-year storms and a “freeze.” For many, it has left us confused, concerned and sad: some having lost loved ones. Survival can bring about renewed strength and hope for a better 2022. Let’s celebrate turning the page. We have watched in horror the inhumane treatment of other human beings. So many voices and opinions invade our homes from a little screen. Our anxiety climbed and we felt the weight and responsibility of it all. I felt the political and racial divides ravaging the country to the point I became overloaded. That is until I walk out my front door to visit a store, attend church, or take a quick trip to the gas station. There I would see strangers opening doors for others, helping an elderly person lift a heavy item into the car or other random acts of kindness. Let’s remember 2021 and make it the year of, not resorting to the little phone screen that constantly beeps with messages filled with hate and anger, but one of understanding and discernment. Where many businesses failed from Covid issues, there are many others that survived and are thriving. While I don’t enjoy Zoom or Facetime, it can be an efficient and effective way of communication with loved ones or a cost-efficient way of reaching more customers. Survival makes us stronger, and 2022 cannot come fast enough for most as we look to begin healing from the wounds of isolation and division even in our own families. It’s time to celebrate and learn from what we know now, having gone through a period in history that has changed the world and our lives forever.
6 | Intown | January + February 2022
Arts +
EVENTS
Intown’s Classical Music Critic, the Hon. Philip Berquist Honorary Consul of the Republic of Croatia for Texas
For more arts and events go to www.houstonintown.com
Classical Music Update Maestro Christoph Eschenbach
8 | Intown | January + February 2022
After a wretched 2021 in Houston Classical music scene, 2022 is not exactly flowing with promises of improvement, but one must remain hopeful. Houston Symphony Orchestra January 2022 • “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” This concert presents the magic of the sixth installment of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Portions of the film will be shown in HD in Jones Hall accompanied by the Houston Symphony. • Friday, 14 January, 7:30 pm • Saturday, 15 January, 7:30 pm • Sunday, 16 January, 2:30 pm • “Christoph Eschenbach Returns” The famed conductor returns to lead the orchestra with a program of the Ibert Flute Concerto, Beethoven Piano Concerto No.4, and the Brahms Symphony No. 1. Maestro Eschenbach will be accompanying Stathis Karapanos on flute and Jan Lisiecki on piano. • Friday, 21 January, 8:00 pm • Saturday, 22 January, 8:00 pm • Sunday, 23 January, 2:30 pm February 2022 • “Valentine’s Weekend: Romantic French Masterworks” Conductor Fabien Gabel leads a program of Stravinsky - Chant funébre (Funeral Song), Nadia Boulanger - Fantaisie variée for Piano and Orchestra, Franck - Variations symphoniques, Lily Boulanger - Scenes from Faust et Hélène. Soloists include Alexandra Dariescu, piano, Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano and Matthew White, tenor. • Friday, 11 February, 8:00pm • Saturday, 12 February, 8:00pm • “An Afternoon with Itzhak Perlman” From the HSO website - “Spend an unforgettable afternoon with the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman. Perlman will tell some fascinating stories from his life and career in this special multi-media program. He will also introduce footage from the Grammy-nominated Itzhak documentary and perform live on stage with his longtime friend and pianist, Rohan De Silva.” • Sunday, 13 February, 2:30 pm All of these HSO performances are at Jones Hall. Health and Safety Update: Face coverings required inside Jones Hall. Houston Grand Opera The winter repertory of HGO is exciting, with two productions scheduled. • “Dialogues of the Carmelites” by Poulenc Set during the French Revolution, this two-act work deals with the martyrdom of nuns of the Carmelite convent. Starring the arguably most celebrated dramatic soprano globally, Christine Georke, the tragedy is conducted by HGO Music Director Patrick Summers and is a production of the legendary Francesca Zambello. Sung in French with projected English translation. • Friday, 14 January, 7:30 pm • Sunday, 16 January, 2:00 pm • Wednesday, 19 January, 7:30 pm • Saturday, 22 January, 7:30 pm • “The Magic Flute” by Mozart This favorite returns with a new production that features the cast “interacting with silent film-style projections.” Conducted by Dame Jane Glover, making her HGO debut. • Friday, 4 February, 7:30 pm • Sunday, 6 February, 2:00 pm • Tuesday, 8 February, 7:30 pm • Thursday, 10 February, 7:30 pm • Saturday, 12 February, 7:30 pm • Sunday, 13 February, 2:00 pm All performances are at the Brown Theater at Wortham Center. That is it for now. Keep a close eye at www.houstonintown.com/arts+events for schedule changes. As always, thanks for the continued support and feedback at classicalmusicberquist@gmail.com.
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8 | Intown | September + October 2021
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Domaine du Pavillon Albert Bichot
Discovering “Albert Bichot Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes de Pinot Noir” from Burgundy at Spec’s Wines
O
By Virginia Billeaud Anderson
ver the years, I’ve had opportunities to toss back wine in other countries. It’s hard to imagine anything that’s more fun, and I’m looking forward to doing more of that. One day for instance, I want to travel in the Mendoza to taste Argentinian Malbecs. It’s also fun to experiment when I’m stuck in Houston. I select a wine-making region, then go shopping for a great-tasting but inexpensive bottle from that region. Part of the fun is to do a tiny bit of research into the wine’s origin, which I personally enjoy as much as knocking it back. For this reason, I strolled into Spec’s Wines in downtown Houston recently and told the sales assistant I wanted to see inexpensive reds from Burgundy.
Photos by Flore Deronzier 12 | Intown | January + February 2022
“What’s inexpensive?” Under $20 When the guy suggested a Burgundy Pinot Noir, I hesitated, because Pinot Noir sometimes lacks the full-bodied taste I enjoy. “Not this one,” he said, as he wrenched a bottle of “Albert Bichot Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes de Pinot Noir” from the shelf. The instant I tasted the Pinot, I knew I had scored. Full-bodied taste kicked my mouth, while the wine was smooth going down. I was drinking an elegant wine that was
surprisingly inexpensive. I began my research by checking out the words on the bottle’s label. “Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes de Pinot Noir” revealed a couple of things. “Bourgogne” means the grape vines are grown in Burgundy France. The label lacks a “village” name, which indicates the wine producer purchases grapes from multiple villages in Burgundy. Lacking the premier cru or grand cru or village designation, the label tells me the wine is “regional.” Two words on the label helped me know more. “Vieilles Vignes” translates
Domaine Long Depaquit Albert Bichot
to “old vines,” so I checked the wine producer Albert Bichot’s product description on its website to know the age and location of the old vines. The product description said my wine was made from Pinot Noir grapes on vines that are between 25 and 30 years old, located in the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits section of Burgundy. I knew enough about France to know that together the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits make-up Burgundy’s preeminent wine region, the Côte d’Or. The word “Bourgogne” is often interpreted to mean grapes from anywhere within Burgundy, but now I knew my Pinot Noir grapes were from Burgundy’s Côte d’Or. Regulated by the French system of Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC), Burgundy’s Côte d’Or produces some of the most expensive wines in the world. Experts can glean additional information about the wine. Such as “terroir,” which is essentially how soil, slope, exposure and weather affect taste. Understanding of how fossil-rich subsoils from past geologic eras add complexity of taste is an example of terroir. Predicting how an abundance of frost affects taste is an example of terroir. Terroir is a complicated subject, about which I’m ignorant, yet I find it fascinating. When wine snobs discuss terroir to impress other people, there’s a good chance they don’t understand this complicated topic. The winemaking process is similarly complex. It involves things like yeast and malo-lactic fermentation, and oak barrel storage. But all of that is over my head. I simply know that my Albert Bichot Bourgogne Vieilles Vignes de Pinot Noir wrenched from the shelf in the “Burgundy” section at Spec’s Wines downtown is not pricey and doesn’t taste like garbage, to the contrary it has a lovely taste. I researched the Pinot Noir’s producer. Domaines Albert Bichot is a family-owned wine making and wine selling business based in the town of Beaune. The Albert Bichot busi3939 San Felipe 713.528.2264 ness goes back six generations, dating to 1831. The company, Ouisiestable.com Domaine Clos Frantin Albert called a “négociant,” has 247 acres, divided among sixdu estates.
Open Daily January + February 2022
| Intown |13
Domaine du Clos Frantin Albert Bichot
Vendanges Albert Bichot
It employs 172 people and makes 137 different wines. Last year “Le Monde” called the company’s leader Albéric Bichot, “one of the four largest traditional wine merchants in Burgundy.” As always, the history dazzled me. The ancient Romans cultivated the Pinot Noir vine on steep hillsides in Burgundy, which means that while he was walloping the Gauls, Julius Caesar drank the wine. Some viticulturists and archaeolo-
gists believe the grape predated the Romans as well as the Greeks and was native to Bourgogne, although this is uncertain. What is certain is Pinot Noir is one of France’s oldest grapes. Medieval monastic communities such as the Abbey of Cluny made innovations to wine making and production in Burgundy soon after antiquity, and Pinot Noir was historically recorded in France in 1375. Later in the Middle Ages, the Dukes of Burgundy
introduced this wine to other European royalty, its popularity spread. One of my favorite things about researching a wine is seeing images of the vineyards and châteaux and other architecture, usually quite historical. How I adore this. These images from Domaines Albert Bichot’s website are by Flore Deronzier. www.specsonline.com www.albert-bichot.com
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14 | Intown | January + February 2022
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InTown’s Man of the Year for 2021
Dr. Peter Hotez
H
by Marene Gustin
ouston’s own Dr. Peter J. Hotez is for many the face of the pandemic, the man who’s been on every newscast and quoted in every paper and periodical. Truly the most recognized local authority on COVID-19. He’s gone from being a rock star in just the medical community to a household name. The 63-year-old scientist and pediatrician has a resume that could fill pages, but the highlights are Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine where he is also the Co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) and Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics. He is also a University Professor at Baylor University, Fellow in Disease and Poverty at the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University, Faculty Fellow with the Hagler Institute for Advanced Studies at Texas A&M University, and Health Policy Scholar in the Baylor Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy. Pretty impressive credentials. He’s also spent a good portion of time lately on social media debunking myths and rumors surrounding the current pandemic, so we asked him a few questions about what scientific information can predict for the New Year. And the resounding theme is vaccination, vaccination, vaccination. And he’s doing his best to make that happen. Current data indicates the Omicron variant might pass pretty quickly. What does that mean for the public? I think that assessment may be premature, yes, the numbers in the UK and South Africa are starting to come down not long after they went up, but we’ve seen other peaks start to come down and then plateau for a period of weeks. It may happen, and that would be great, but I don’t think we can count on it. But there will likely be new variants in 2022. Will that require new vaccines or more boosters? As long as we fail to vaccinate the Southern Hemisphere, we risk generating new variants, that’s how we got Delta from India and Omicron from Southern Africa. So, vaccinating the world is a priority. What’s the importance of Corbevax, or BioE COVID-19 that you helped develop at the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development? Corbevax is the vaccine from Biological E in India, co-developed with our technology. The center is co-headed by myself and Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi. We’re hoping this 16 | Intown | January + February 2022
will be released soon for Emergency Use (EUA) in India, followed by authorization in additional countries where we also transferred the technology. Will the world go from a pandemic to an endemic situation and how will the public deal with that? It’s not predestined if we can vaccinate the world. There are lots of different possible situations. What needs to happen on the world stage to prevent situations like this in the future, or can we? We must build vaccine development capacity locally across the world’s low- and middle-income countries (LMICs are defined as countries with $1,006 to $3,955 Gross National Income per capita). The current model is way too dependent on the Big Pharmas and we’ve seen in this pandemic what happens when we do that — the Northern Hemisphere gets vaccinated, leading the Southern Hemisphere vulnerable. At Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, we’re working hard to fix that situation by partnering with vaccine producers in LMICs. Keep informed about COVID-19 and Dr. Hotez’s efforts on peterhotez.org or follow him on Twitter @peterhotez. You can donate to the vaccine efforts here: waystogive.texaschildrens.org/reasons-to-give/vaccine-development-covid.html.
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The
GAME
Interview with the Rockets’
Mario elie
M
ario Elie won two NBA championships with the Rockets, one in 1994 and again in 1995, a third in 1999 helping the San Antonio Spurs win their first NBA title. Elie was dubbed the “Junkyard Dog” by his teammates. he had a reputation as a a tough defender, a fierce competitor, and an accurate and clutch outside shooter. Currently, Ellie is an analyst on the Houston Rockets broadcast team. Elie is married to Gina Gaston, a journalist, and anchorwoman for Houston’s Channel ABC13. Elie and Gaston have triplets. ESPN 97.5/ESPN 92.5. hosts Jeremy Branham and Joel Blank caught up with Ellie to talk Rockets basketball and reminisce about those Rockets glory days in the ‘90s. Jeremy Branham: Mario Elie is is very explosive. When the ball moves with us. Thanks for coming in! What do side to side and guys are attacking. I’m sure we will talk more about Garrison you make of these Rockets? Mario Elie: Crazy, JB, but very Mathews, who’s just added a nice edge excited. I’ve been going to a lot of the to the team. I love his story and love the games covering them. I just got to give toughness he brings to the squad. Jeremy Branham: Shockingly, credit to Coach Silas; after losing 15 games, you can usually lose a young you like the toughness, considering that team. But his voice was consistent, and was kind of what you used to do for the he’s been waiting 20 years for this op- Rockets when they were winning titles, portunity to coach, so he wants to do with you as the Junkyard Dog. Mario Elie: I think those guys are it his way. So now I think the guys are buying into what he’s selling, and it’s pieces. We still need our stars to be stars. You know, we picked Jalen Green seclooking good. Joel Blank: But ‘Rio, all your years ond, we got Kevin Porter. You know, and you’ve been in multiple different Christian Wood is playing some really positions. But as a longtime coach, you good ball. But I’m just liking what I’m know the best success comes when they seeing right now. Now guys are taking charges. That’s an underrated stat. play as a team. Jeremy Branham: Mario Elie is Mario Elie: Yes, and I think Jalen joining us in the studio at ESPN 97.5/ needs a little help. He’s a two-guard and 18 | Intown | January + February 2022
ESPN 92.5. Whenever you hear that name, you think Kiss of Death. Houston Rockets beating the Suns trailing in the Series three to one at the time, the first team ever to be down three one with only one home game to win the series. What do you remember about that play? And how often do people come up to you and talk about that? Mario Elie: All the time. Great play. I remember just a group of guys I was in the bunker with being down three one, us laughing down three one flying down to Phoenix, not seeing panic in that group. That was a fantastic group of men that fought with us, and we’re confident that we would come back. It was just something about that group. But, you know, we were blowing kisses and started Game five and Joe Klein blowing kisses. He’ll make a bucket, blow a kiss, and it was all in fun. So I felt once we won that game five in overtime, I knew we were going to kill him at home. We did that, and then I thought it in Game seven. I got Hakeem Olajuwon on the road in a game seven at the time, the best player in the league. You know so that I would take my chances, and it’s because of him that I could get that three. Once I let it go and went in, that first guy I looked at was Joe Klein. And you know what happened next? I
blew him the kiss of death, and he was turning red as an apple. Joel Blank: But even in the moment, Rio, the thing is, is that you don’t fathom it was a big shot for your team at that moment because I was there every step of the way. I sat behind Rudy for that game because there wasn’t TV, and I knew Rudy was like, Run the clock, run the clock, right? And he saw you. And he was like, No, no, no. And then everybody went nuts. But you don’t think about the long-term ramifications at the time. It just had the vote the other night on AT & T Sportsnet, and they said the most, the most monumental play in Rockets history, you would think, Dream with that on David Robinson, and here comes the kiss of death because that is the Houston Rockets during that run. Mario Elie: Absolutely. I mean, like you said, being down three one, having the hardest road, I know they polled, and the toughest championship road was in 95 No home court. US winning nine road games against Shaq, Barkley, Robin-
Mario Elie, with Tamara Washington, Gina Gaston, Laura Ward at the 24th Annual Houston’s Children’s Charity Gala.
son, MVP, Karl Malone, Stockton... Joel Blank: I’m not happy that you’re not coaching, and you know that, and I thought you got a raw deal when you were one of the hottest commodities going a few years ago. You’ve made the transition to broadcast. I don’t know how you got to start, who gave you a look, but how do you like the broadcast side of things? Mario Elie: Enjoying it, getting to enjoy time with my wife. You know, I’ve
been on the road a lot, raising triplets. Yeah, Everybody’s out of the house now. So life is really good right now. We sold our home, so we downsized. And the wife & I enjoy living in the city, life in Houston, and working with Murph and Kevin, and Cayleigh, just a great group of people. We’re having a blast. Jeremy Branham: Rocket legend Mario Elie stopping by. Thanks for joining us, Mario.
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Edna Meyer-Nelson, Laura Ward
Beth Young, Dr. Bob Wilkins, Dr. Mary Ann Reynolds Wilkins
Robert and Candice Horry, Rachel and Jeff Bagwell
Cyndi Lauper headlines the 24th Annual Houston’s Children’s, Charity Gala
Shafik Rifaat and Shelby Hodge Cyndi Lauper
Time after time, for 25 years Houston Children’s Charity has been at the forefront of providing beds, vans, school supplies, clothing, toys, and more for Houston’s children. 80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper headlined the 24th Annual Houston’s Children’s, Charity Gala. Held at The Post Oak Hotel, Gala Chairs Frances and Tony Buzbee spearheaded the effort that raised a record-breaking $2.8 million for Greater Houston’s underprivileged, abused, and disabled children. Emcee KTRK-TV ABC 13’s Gina Gaston welcomed guests and Houston Children’s Charity President and CEO Laura Ward, recognized 2020 Gala Chair Hallie Vanderhider who assisted in raising funds in a year where there was no gala.
Frank Spagnoletti, Tony Buzbee Cal and Hannah McNair
Morris and Toni Smith
Mario Elie, Tamara Washington, Gina Gaston, Laura Ward
Russell and Monica Ybarra
Kevin Black, Tony Bradfield, Joanna and Brad Marks
Martin Cominsky and Christina Jones
Rev. Dr. Tamla Wilson
Brigitte and Bashar Kalai Gala Co-Chairs with Honoree Paula Sutton
TAPESTRY GALA RAISES OVER $600,000 FOR INTERFAITH MINISTRIES Karen and Jay Harberg Paula Sutton and Bill Gross
Over 530 community leaders gathered in their masked and vaxxed best to celebrate the work of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston at the organization’s 2021 Tapestry Gala held at the Hilton Americas-Houston. The Tapestry Gala is known for attracting a diverse crowd, mirroring Houston’s diverse and robust culture. The event raised much-needed funds for the services of Interfaith Ministries including: Meals on Wheels/Animeals, Refugee Services, Interfaith Relations and Community Partnerships, Volunteer Houston and Serve Houston. This year’s event honored three long-time Interfaith Ministries supporters: Tapestry Award honoree Paula S. Sutton, Spirit of Respect honoree Rev. Dr. Jim Bankston, and Corporate Champion honoree Sysco. The presenting sponsor was Shell.
Terry & Martin B Cominksy
ABOUT INTERFAITH MINISTRIES FOR GREATER HOUSTON A United Way agency, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (Interfaith Ministries) brings people of diverse faith traditions together for dialogue, collaboration and service, as a demonstration of our shared beliefs. For more visit https://www. imgh.org/. Nihala and Shaukat Zakaria
Rev Dr Jim Bankston and his wife
Tehmina and Dr. Faisal Masud with daughter
Anuradha and Mani Subramanian
January + February 2022
| Intown |21
Houston’s Resilient Real Estate Market The final numbers have not been released yet, but 2021 should go down in the books as another record year for home sales in the Greater Houston Area. The market cooled slightly with the temperatures in September and October, but heated back up again in November and December. Lower inventory levels caused some buyers with no immediate pressing need to purchase a new home to take a break. Multiple offers on attractive properties and even on flawed properties have caused frustration for many buyers, that don’t want to overpay and don’t want to give up all of their contingencies (option period, financing approval, appraisal, etc) in order to win the deal over other buyers, many of which are investors from outside the area. But it is still a strong seller’s market with strong buyer demand and not enough inventory for the demand. Homes Sold 2020 2021
by David M. Young Broker Associate | Compass Realty
This market still has plenty of wind to fill the sails in 2022 - strong local “move up” demand, domestic and international relocation to Texas, and low interest rates, aided by the need for larger homes by people that now work from home and may educate children at home. 2022 should bring a very strong residential real estate market. It’s a good time to be a seller, especially if you are positioned properly to attract multiple offers. A few tips: Price it right – No one wants to leave money on the table by underpricing, but overpricing can lead to low showing traffic and additional time on market, reducing the seller’s negotiation power. Price the property at the top of the range of fair market value, but not over that range. Put your best face forward – Com-
Lowest Price
Highest Price
plete minor repairs and freshen up the home so that it is move in ready. A complete renovation is not necessary, but fresh paint and carpet, updated light fixtures and ceiling fans in the main living areas, a fully operational kitchen and an attractive master bathroom will go a long way in attracting the most buyers and the highest offers. Improve critical systems – Buyers’ biggest concerns regarding value is the status of critical systems – HVAC, water heater, roof, plumbing and electrical. Providing current age and service records for these critical home systems showing that they have been well maintained will encourage the strongest offers. If these systems are in need of repair or replacement, these dollars will be well spent and will be recouped in the sale price. Here are some year end stats for home sales in some of Houston’s leading submarkets:
Average Price
Average $/SF
Avg Days on Market
2020
2021
2020
2021
2020
2021
2020
2021
2020
2021
River Oaks
73
111
$950,000
$619,000
$8,062,000
$9,500,000
$3,263,107
$3,332,519
$561/SF
$569/SF
263
263
Memorial Villages
175
218
$585,000
$610,000
$6,300,000
$9,720,000
$1,970,464
$2,206,506
$365/SF
$398/SF
170
170
Tanglewood
54
73
$802,000
$731,000
$5,500,000
$6,250,000
$1,996,639
$2,079,131
$358/SF
$363/SF
185
185
Briargrove
58
75
$545,000
$500,000
$2,310,000
$2,250,000
$1,012,202
$1,096,774
$314/SF
$340/SF
126
126
West University Place
146
204
$420,000
$549,000
$4,525,000
$4,540,000
$1,545,187
$1,482,667
$404/SF
$415/SF
110
110
Bellaire
258
333
$225,000
$270,000
$2,475,000
$3,250,000
$955,918
$976,463
$256/SF
$263/SF
174
174
22 | Intown | January + February 2022
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1511 Ruth St
$1,495,000 ML #: 83962829 Year Built: 2014 Bed/Bath: 4-6 / 4.5 SqFt: 4,582 Lot Size: 8,192 SF Gated Driveway / Guest Quarters
$894,000 ML #: 88264164 Bed/Bath: 3-4 / 4.5 Year Built: 2014 Lot Size: 2,500 SF SqFt: 4,092 Two Rooftop Decks
Briarcroft
Museum District
David M Young Broker Associate 713-320-6453
David.Young@Compass.com www.youngrealtyhouston.com
Proven Performance Year After Year Providing expert residential real estate services in the Greater Houston Area since 2002. January + February 2022
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