SE Texas Real Estate Talk

Shangri La Honored As Top Green Projects

Shangri La Botanical Gardens & Nature Center in Orange, Texas  was recently named one of the top ten green projects in the world.  

Read the Full Story that was published in the San Antonio Express-News.  Shangri La was the first project in Texas to achieve this award.  

For those of you not from Southeast Texas, Shangri La was hit with the destructive force of Hurricane Ike last fall and had to close for repairs.  It recently reopened for visitors.  If you haven't made it out to see the beauty of Shangri La, it is something you should do next time you are in Southeast Texas.

Exciting Days Ahead: Plans for Beaumont Lake Park and Events Center Moving Ahead.

Have you heard about the new development plans for downtown Beaumont?

"Exciting" may be the best word to describe them.

The first phase is already in the budget and may be entering the construction phase within the next twelve months, according to Chris Boone with the City Development Office. 

Speaking at the quarterly REALTOR luncheon yesterday, Mr. Boone explained the multiple ways the city of Beaumont is preparing to take advantage of the ten to twenty billion dollars of investment that are coming to the Southeast Texas area. 

Revitalizing downtown is a top priority. 

The first phase of the plan is the creation of the new MLK Park  (On the map it is the area shaded in red and labeled with the letter N).  The new park will have a lake and new events center.  The events center will replace the old Harvest Club.  The city acquired about thirty parcels of property to create the new lake park. 

The City of Beaumont has several other projects in various stages of design and planning.  Rumors of a Dog Park are true.  It should be opening this fall.  More details to follow. 

Its an exciting time in Beaumont.  The lake park and events center are moving ahead.

Edible house in Beaumont

  There is an edible house in Beaumont but this is one house you can't buy.  The Elegante Hotel is the owner of one impressive gingerbread house.

The chefs at the Elegante created the culinary work of art.  It took 172 cook-hours to complete.

The list of ingredients:

1. 953 pieces of gingerbread
2. 100 lbs of powdered sugar
3. 20 lbs egg whites
4. 40 lbs of chocolate
5. 8 sq. ft. of gelatin sheets
6. 20 lbs of peanut brittle
7. 40 lollipops
8. 1632 oatmeal cookies
9. 5 lbs of Jolly Ranchers
10. 1008 Jelly Fruit Candies

The gingerbread house is on display in the lobby during this holiday season.  Free taste tests are available.  Want to make your own gingerbread house for the holiday but not one quite so large.  Texas Cooking.com has a more manageable size recipe.  Gingerbread houses have long been a holiday treat.  History traces the first gingerbread treats back to the medieval crusaders who brought home the ingredients from the middle east.   

To find the Elegante click the google map location.  The address is 2355 I-10 S.  Stop by and check out one really yummy house that can't be bought but can be eaten.

Young Beaumonters

Ever heard the saying "an active child is a healthy child"?  If that is true Beaumont should be home to a lot of healthy children.  Our Parks and Recreation Department has more than 30 parks and outdoor recreation facilities with sports programs for young Beaumonters.

Our warm weather keeps activities going year round.  Our local YMCA offers a wide range of activities.  Youth sports include swimming lessons, baseball, soccer, T-ball, Flag Football. 

Soccer is BIG in Beaumont.  The Beaumont Youth Soccer Club is already taking spring 2008 registrations.  Located off Major Drive and Dishman Road you will find a great soccer facility where the Beaumont Youth Soccer Club plays.  The club promotes good sportsmanship, good physical health, and teaches the fundamentals.

Over at Ford Park you will find the Texas American Fast-pitch Association Nationals.  Tournaments are held at the Ford Park Athletic Fields. 

For families with children the choices are endless.  Almost everywhere you look you'll find young Beaumonters enjoying the great outdoors.

Want to go to the Park?

We all enjoy a little outdoor recreation from time to time.  For those of us fortune enough to be living in the Golden Triangle, we have over 30 parks to choose from.  A complete list of all Parks can be a helpful resource when trying to plan an afternoon outing or a weekend picnic. 

For the boaters in the group Collier's Ferry Recreation Area & Natural Preserve has a boat launch and docking pier.  Boaters can enjoy the Neches River.  Do a little crabbing, water skiing, fishing, or choose your favorite water activity.

For the horse lovers in the group Tyrrell Park features equestrian trails and horses.  It is the largest and most extensive park in Beaumont.  The park is also home to the Beaumont Botanical Gardens, Tyrrell Park Stables, and the Henry Homberg Municipal Golf Course. 

Residents of the Golden Triangle enjoy average monthly temperatures ranging from a mean of 52 degrees in the winter months to a mean of 82 degrees in the summer.   The comfortable climate is another lifestyle factor that makes SE Texas a great place to call home.