A website entry noted by eagle-eyed HAIF commenter Urbannizer indicates that Starwood Hotels and Resorts plans to convert the Stowers Building on the corner of Fannin and Walker downtown (pictured above) into an Aloft Hotel. Aloft Houston Downtown will open at 820 Fannin St. in June 2016, according to the company’s listing of upcoming Starwood properties. The 10-story former headquarters of the G.A. Stowers Furniture Company was built in 1913 and renovated for office condos in 2005 by Spire Realty. It’s the only building left on the block now dominated by the BG Group Place tower fronting Main St.— the previously neighboring buildings were torn down in 2008.
- Starwood Hotel Directory: New Hotels [Starwood]
- Stowers Building [Arch-ive.org]
- Stowers Building to Become an Aloft Hotel [HAIF]
Photo: Mike Bloom Jr.
Starwood on Fannin
“What Hotel are we at”
“Aloft”
“Wow. You got us a loft for the three days?”
“No the hotel is called Aloft.”
“What? Are the rooms like lofts”.
And on it goes…
I am reminded again. Never, never, never, never buy an office condo.
I have no idea how Urbannizer finds everything so quickly; this is just one example among many. It’s a little freaky.
Judging by the pic, I expect this to be a nice-looking hotel. (In contrast with the parking-garage-dominated Aloft by the Galleria.) Another thing I like is that Hines and their architects designed the neighboring BG Place to include a section that abuts the Stowers Building at about the same height.
This will be great for that corner of Fannin and Walker. Maybe something will even change with the vacant lot across the street (Fannin) too! Now if something could be done about the corner store at Walker and Main…..
I’d say the vacant and deteriorating office building a half block to the east is a bigger problem to resolve than the food store on Main.