This Year's Hot Headlines

Hot neighborhoods and house porn top 10 most popular real estate stories of 2014

Editor’s note: Another year has come and gone, so we are looking back on the most-read CultureMap stories of 2014. From the best neighborhoods to buy to the latest developments in high-rise living in Dallas, these are the real estate stories that had people talking:

1. Five best Dallas neighborhoods to buy a house right now. This was such a hot story that it made our overall list of most popular stories from 2014 too. To determine the next hot neighborhoods, we asked local real estate experts where homebuyers should invest their hard-earned money. These five kept coming up.

2. The most expensive homes for sale in Dallas right now. In June, when news broke that attorney Lisa Blue Baron’s palatial Preston Hollow estate was on the market for $37 million and some change, real estate contributor Candy Evans was inspired to find the most expensive houses for sale in Dallas at that time. Here is what she uncovered.

3. West Village completes Uptown Dallas domination with unveiling of 3700M. West Village officially secured its position as the epicenter of Uptown with the opening of 3700M. The fourth phase of the residential-retail wonderland includes a 21-story tower, two five-story buildings, 380 apartment units and approximately 37,000 square feet of retail space.

4. Most recognizable house on Inwood Road commands castle-worthy price. Anyone who has driven past the intersection of Inwood Road and Royal Lane in Dallas knows this house. It sits proudly on the corner, the imposing castle-like façade fully exposed, without a stone wall, tree or even a shrub to hide behind. And 10770 Inwood Rd. can still be yours for $6.399 million, down from $7.7 million.

5. $215 million resort will bring world’s longest indoor ski run to North Texas. If all goes according to plan, the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie will have a grand addition in 2018. Dubbed The Grand Alps, the $215 million development is an indoor ski resort and hotel that will sit on a massive, 350,000-square-foot property off Interstate 30 and Belt Line Road. The City of Grand Prairie announced the news in October.

6. Old Lake Highlands ranch with HGTV cred can be yours for less than $300,000. Ashley and Steven Walton found the home at 881 Berkinshire Dr. with the help of HGTV’s House Hunters. The couple says they were looking for a project when they moved out of their Uptown apartment in 2010, and they found it in this 1954 ranch near Hexter Elementary, which they put back on the market in July.

7. Uptown Dallas’ next haute high-rise promises to be a mind-blower. Back in July, real estate VIPs and select members of the media got a sneak peek at Bleu Ciel, the Harwood District’s next luxury high-rise. In addition to two- and three-bedroom units, Bleu Ciel will have a gourmet grocery market, restaurant, juice bar, bike shop, onsite dog run, two junior Olympic-size pools with cascading water features, and residents-only spa.

8. Jonas Brothers leave Westlake with $3.2 million parting gift in Vaquero. The Disney stars-turned-heartthrobs put their 7,360-square-foot Vaquero manse at 1724 Wisteria Way on the market. Besides the thrill of telling house guests who once owned the joint, the new owner gets six bedrooms and six-and-a-half baths; music, media and game rooms; and outdoor oasis replete with view of the Tom Fazio-designed golf course within this gated community.

9. Ballyhooed Preston Hollow Village reveals first round of restaurants and shops. In November, Preston Hollow Village, the much chattered-about, mixed-use development at the northwest corner of Walnut Hill and Central Expressway, officially released a list of phase 1 restaurants and retail stores that will open in early 2015, including Trader Joe's and Orangetheory Fitness.

10. Inside the Philip Johnson-designed stunner just listed in Dallas for $27.5 million. In September, the Dallas real estate world was buzzing with the news that the renovated Philip Johnson home at 10210 Strait Ln. had hit the market for $27.5 million. The New York Times called the home “almost campy” and said it was the “the most strangely fascinating thing” Johnson ever created.

West Village completed its Uptown domination with the opening of 3700M.

Photo courtesy of West Village

West Village completed its Uptown domination with the opening of 3700M.

unspecified

Royal Flip

Chip and Joanna Gaines find buyer for $2.7M Fixer Upper castle in Waco

Photo courtesy of Magnolia

undefined

Texas' king and queen of home renovations, Chip and Joanna Gaines, are done lording over their 136-year-old castle in Waco. The stars of TV’s Fixer Upper have found a buyer for Cottonland Castle, Mansion Global reported. The sale is pending.

The Gaineses listed the 6,176-square-foot castle, in Waco's historic and affluent Castle Heights neighborhood, at nearly $2.7 million. They bought the property in 2019, when it carried a $425,000 price tag.

The castle, with a sandstone and limestone facade, is modeled after a German castle along the Rhine River.

Chip and Joanna Gaines, Fixer Upper Chip and Joanna Gaines are preparing to hand over the keys to their castle. Facebook Magnolia Network

The duo spent several years restoring the castle to revive its original character. That work became the foundation for their six-part 2022 series Fixer Upper: Welcome Home – The Castle. They opened it to the public for guided tours and introduced Magnolia brand tie-ins, like a “Colors of the Castle” paint collection.

“People love things that are nostalgic. They love things that are antique-looking, and I want this place to feel like it did in 1915,” Joanna said during an episode of Fixer Upper. “Whether you walked into the space in 1915 or today, it has that same feeling of history and love and beauty and castle-ship.”

A year after the series aired, the castle failed to sell at auction, according to Mansion Global. It went on the market in June. Amanda Nesbitt of Magnolia Realty, the real estate brokerage founded by the Gaineses, has the listing.

The three-story castle offers “a seamless blend of historic grandeur and modern functionality,” according to the listing.

That grandeur includes millwork, antique tile floors, diamond-paned windows and seven ornate fireplaces. The four-bedroom property features three-and-a-half bathrooms, a formal dining room, a great room, a card room, a library and a conservatory.

All furnishings, accessories and decor “have been thoughtfully curated to complement the home’s design,” the listing says, and are included in the sale.

The castle has a rocky modern history.

Jack Schwan bought the property in 1969 for $50,000, according to the Waco Welcome Center.

Over the years, the Schwan family made many repairs and renovations. The family tried to sell the castle in 1982; they thought it was worth close to $1.25 million following the overhaul. In 1991, the property sold only after a drastic price cut.

“Over the next two decades, the home passed through various owners’ hands and fell into disrepair. Many owners found the castle too large and in need of too much maintenance to be a financially feasible home,” according to the Waco Welcome Center.

The castle sold again in 2014, and a group led by Oxford scholar Dirk Obbink tackled renovation work. The Gaineses bought it five years later, after it had been neglected and abandoned.

castle celebrities chip and joanna fixer upper gaines home for sale waco luxury