Crews are already at work (above) removing asbestos from the vacant shopping center at 9714 Buffalo Spdwy., one block up on S. Main St. from the South Loop and a mile and a half west of the Astrodome. Plans have already been made for the 1.26-acre property, as well as for the former America’s Best Value Inn immediately south of it at 9604 S. Main St. An entity controlled by developer Frank Liu bought the motel and its 3.13-acre lot in January, and pre-demolition activities are going on there now too.
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A source tells Swamplot a townhome complex is headed for both sites — possibly in a configuration similar to the 5-or-so-year-old Pemberton Crescent across Buffalo Spdwy. The Starbucks directly on the corner of S. Main and Buffalo Spdwy. is not part of the redevelopment.
Photos of 9714 Buffalo Spdwy.: Swamplot inbox
3.13 acres +1.26 acres will result in about how many townhouses? Are they being put in at about 10/acre nowadays?
Wasn’t this the site of the famous Dome Shadows Club?
And directly across from there is a 12-acre lot with frontage on both Buffalo Speedway and So. Main, which the sellers say can be used for anything. Curious to see what happens.
I live in the area and I’m sorry that they couldn’t buy up (and shutter) that Starbucks. Super busy location with inadequate space for their drive-through: the traffic backs up onto South Main and blocks the right-hand lane, which is the one you want to be in to turn onto the South Loop.
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That being said, I don’t object at all to the demolition of the America’s Best Value Inn for some upscale townhomes. The other strip center had been dormant for many years so townhomes will be an improvement. I like the Pemberton Crescent development so that would be a good template to mimic.
I worked as a busboy in a coffee shop adjacent to that motel in the 70s. At the time, it was a pretty nice motel. The coffee shop had incredible food. Although I’m nostalgic about the location, I’m glad to see that something more upscale will replace it.
Dome Shadows was further north on Buffalo Speedway just north of the convenience store at Durhill. DS was a very popular music venue back in its heyday. Where the Done Shadows strip center sat, it eventually became The Ranch and a deli was on the eastern end. A fire destroyed part of the center. It was torn down and is now a gated community.
You might be thinking of Sonny Looks, which was in that block by the hotel — at 9810 South Main — for several decades. http://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Sonny-Look.pdf
Do we know what’s happening here? The lot has been vacant a long time now