North Montrose

77019, Condos, Highrises, Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Regent Square

04/09/09 10:36am

Letting the TIRZs Flow

Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Taxes

3 Comments

LETTING THE TIRZS FLOW Work on public improvements connected to the 4-million-sq.-ft. Regent Square project in North Montrose will begin by October, and work on the actual development will begin by a year later, according to an agreement approved by city council yesterday. GID Urban Development Group, the project’s developers, will be reimbursed for $10 million of its work on public streets and sidewalks through the Memorial Heights TIRZ. What’s next? “[Mayor] White said he generally has shied away from such public-private development efforts, but would continue to review opportunities on a case-by-case basis for distressed properties, such as Sharpstown Mall, and for other major projects already in the works that have been delayed or canceled amid the national economic crisis. . . . The mayor made note of a number of properties to which he hopes to attract developers, including in the Leland Woods TIRZ near Homestead Road and East Little York, the Near Northside TIRZ immediately north of downtown Houston, and in the Fifth Ward TIRZ. Other potential incentive packages may not be administered through a TIRZ, he added.” [Houston Chronicle; previously in Swamplot]

77019, City Council, Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Property Taxes, Proposed Developments, Regent Square, TIRZs

04/01/09 11:31am

Time for TIRZ: Regent Square’s Tax Break from the Future

Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Taxes

20 Comments

What’s inside that special $10 million life-support package for the Regent Square development City Council is considering?

The reimbursements proposed for Regent Square would be administered through the expansion of the Memorial Heights Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. Under a TIRZ, property tax revenues generated within the boundaries are frozen at a specified level. As development occurs and property values rise, tax revenue above that level, known as the increment, is funneled back into the zone to pay for infrastructure and capital improvements to help attract further development.

Under the plan before council today, part of the increment will be given back to the specific developer rather than the redevelopment authority that operates the TIRZ.

77019, City Council, Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Property Taxes, Proposed Developments, Regent Square, TIRZs

Art

12/23/08 9:58am

The Savaging of Allen Parkway

Montrose, North Montrose

5 Comments

The cars, the people: The big city can be an intimidating place. How about these guys take on the Galleria next?

Post Apocalyptic Cavemen In Houston [YouTube]

77019, Art, Montrose, North Montrose, Performances

Montrose

12/04/08 1:52pm

New Buffalo Bayou Bridge Will Encourage Tolerance of Houston

North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Public Art

23 Comments

The newly revealed design for that $7 million pedestrian bridge over Buffalo Bayou near Montrose makes a brilliant metaphor for the appeal of this city, no? From a distance, it doesn’t seem like Houston is really . . . “passable,” either! But once you’re looking at it up close . . . sure, it’s all right: You can make it through. An excellent message to send prospective Houston tourists! Plus: Wasn’t that how the Houston Ship Channel got started too?

Official name of this Memorial Heights TIRZ project: The Tolerance Bridge. Perfect!

77019, Bridges, Buffalo Bayou, Montrose, North Montrose, Pedestrians, Proposed Developments, Public Art, Tourism

Montrose

10/27/08 1:16pm

The Golden Room’s New Colors

New Construction, North Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

5 Comments

A reader sends along this photo of the very brightly painted new structure now up at the corner of Montrose and W. Clay, where the much-tamer red-and-yellow Golden Room Thai restaurant used to be.

According to the Golden Room website, when the restaurant reopens it will have the same ownership and food but a new name: Khun Kay Thai-American CafÃ©.

77019, Montrose, New Construction, North Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

Disaster Aftermath

09/26/08 6:23pm

Seen on the Street: Convoy

Meyerland, Montrose, North Montrose

No Comments

Tree Truck Convoy, Houston, after Hurricane Ike

Fun pix from around town: Part of a convoy of about 40 tree trucks headed down the Eastex Freeway last weekend, looking for a little bit of work.

More photos:

77006, 77096, Disaster Aftermath, Freeways and Toll Roads, Hurricane Ike, Meyerland, Montrose, North Montrose

Hazards

08/28/08 5:49pm

Grave Concerns for Regent Square

Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment

1 Comment

GRAVE CONCERNS FOR REGENT SQUARE The College Memorial Park Cemetery once stretched across the entire block bounded by Dunlavy, W. Clay, Gross, and W. Dallas. Portions of the Allen House Apartments were built on former cemetery land that was sold in the 1960s . So what will the developers of Regent Square do? “In a statement, the company vice president said his group has created a site excavation action plan which includes continual archeological monitoring. So far, there is no documentation showing that the graves exist, but all parties agree that remains need to be preserved. The biggest goal is to restore the entire cemetery to what it use to be.” [11 News]

77019, Cemeteries, Hazards, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Regent Square, Streets

Galleria

08/08/08 12:13pm

Whole Foods Galleria and North Montrose: Still on Track

North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail

No Comments

View of Proposed New Galleria Whole Foods at Blvd Place

Whole Foods Markets’ recently announced plans to scale back some of its planned store openings will not disturb plans for new Houston stores on West Dallas at Waugh and in Boulevard Place — according to a report in the Houston Business Journal:

Scott Simon, executive marketing coordinator for Whole Foods, says this announcement will not impact any of the companyâ€™s plans in Houston.

The Austin-based health foods supermarket chain is planning to develop a 78,000-square-foot store at the southwest corner of Post Oak and San Felipe.

â€œOur Post Oak store would very likely not open until 2010 anyway, so this decision doesnâ€™t affect our Houston plans,â€ says Simon.

Whole Foods says Houston store still a go despite plans to cut back [Houston Business Journal]
Is The Reign Of Whole Foods Over? [Hair Balls]
The New Whole Foods at West Dallas and Waugh [Swamplot]
Uptown Whole Foods: Still on Track, Apparently [Swamplot]

Boulevard Place Whole Foods image: DMJM H&N

BLVD Place, Galleria, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail, Uptown, Whole Foods

Condos

07/15/08 11:06am

Regent Square Ghost Tower: I Come from the Future

Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments

1 Comment

View of Proposed Regent Square, North Montrose, Houston, Showing Ghost Tower in the Distance

This updated rendering of Regent Square’s central square, showing a ghost-like tower looming in the not-so-distant distance, has been posted to CBRE’s leasing page for the project, notes sharp-eyed HAIF user ChannelTwoNews. A reader sent it to us, too.

What is it?

Two condo towers are planned for the first phase of the project. In a rendering leaked to us back in May, the condo towers are are drawn as shadowy boxes. But this new ghost tower isn’t one of them.

After the jump: the ghost of Regent Square’s future!

77019, Condos, Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Regent Square

05/27/08 11:23am

The New Regent Square: Details and Drawings

Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments

7 Comments

Aerial View of New Regent Square Square, Houston

Thanks to two helpful readers, we have a solid update on Regent Square, now that the GID Urban Development Group has straightened out that kink in its plans. First comes word of updated drawings, panned in dizzying Ken Burns-worthy passes on the development’s website. And then: more of the scoop!

It’s all waiting for you, after the jump: a report on presentations at last week’s meeting of the North Montrose Civic Association, plus stationary images of the new Regent Square, lovingly stitched together for your at-a-glance perusal by another Swamplot correspondent.

77019, Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Regent Square

05/22/08 9:38am

Regent Square Developers: Parking Garages Scared Us Straight

Montrose, North Montrose, Parking, Proposed Developments, Streets

1 Comment

Axonometric of Proposed Regent Square Development, North Montrose, Houston

Those of you still wondering why Regent Square’s quaint crooked street was axed from the project’s most recent plan — along with a few lush-looking inner courtyards — will be interested to read this explanation unearthed from a variance request submitted to the Planning Commission for today’s hearing:

After careful value engineering, it was determined to eliminate the below grade parking and replace that parking in additional structured garage parking. In addition, the diagonal private street that bi-sected the site has been modified and now runs perpendicular to Dunlavy. This also provided for a more efficient design of the structured parking garages.

After the jump: The new plan. When . . . and what?

77019, Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Parking-Garages, Proposed Developments, Regent Square, Streets, Variances

05/14/08 12:17pm

The Kink Is Gone: Those Revised Plans for Regent Square

Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Streets

No Comments

Master Plan, Regent Square, North Montrose, Houston, March 26, 2008

A helpful reader who lives across the street from “what will hopefully become Regent Square and not self-storage” sends us a link to this revised master-plan drawing for the proposed North Montrose multi-block monster. The new plan matches the new drawing we posted yesterday.

After the jump: some closeups, plus another look at the old version for comparison.

77019, Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Regent Square, Streets

Apartments

05/14/08 9:18am

The New Whole Foods at West Dallas and Waugh

Commercial Real Estate, Land Development, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail

8 Comments

Northwest Corner of West Dallas and Montrose, Houston

Whole Foods Market has just signed a 25-year lease with the Finger Companies for land at the northeast corner of West Dallas and Waugh in North Montrose. The company plans to build a new 50,000-sq.-ft. store there, reports the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff. That’s the same size as the new Whole Foods that recently opened in Sugar Land, but the new Uptown store the company is planning as part of Boulevard Place will be 50 percent larger.

The North Montrose location is only a few blocks east of the site planned for Regent Square. And Finger has more ideas for the full 11 acres fronting West Dallas it bought from Knickerbocker Corp. earlier this year:

Plans for the site also call for 60,000 square feet of additional retail space and hundreds of apartments. The Finger Cos. will build a six-story, 445-unit multifamily complex on the property. Construction will start early next year.

A ring road will be created in the center of the development to tie into the AIG complex, located to the north of the site.

A future phase includes a high-rise apartment tower for the land closer to Montrose. Developer Marvy Finger said the building could be similar to his company’s 20-story Museum Tower on Montrose near the Museum District.

Whole Foods to build store between Montrose and Waugh [Houston Chronicle]
Whole Foods to anchor new Montrose-area complex [Houston Chronicle]
Real Estate [Houston Chronicle]
Whole Foods Market Reports Second Quarter Results [NPI Center]
Marvy’s New Acquisition [HAIF]
Sugar Land Whole Foods: Water on the Roof, Sweet Peas Inside [Swamplot]
Uptown Whole Foods: Still on Track, Apparently [Swamplot]
Supermod Boulevard Place: Replacements First [Swamplot]
Going Straight: Regent Square Follows a New Path [Swamplot]

Photo of the corner of West Dallas and Montrose, proposed site of Finger highrise: Charles Kuffner

77019, Apartments, Commercial Real Estate, Highrises, Land Development, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail, Whole Foods

Commercial Real Estate

05/13/08 7:58am

Going Straight: Regent Square Follows a New Path

Mixed Use, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Streets

3 Comments

Axonometric of Proposed Regent Square Development, North Montrose, Houston

This new drawing provides a sneak peek of the latest plans for Regent Square in North Montrose. And it shows a few changes from earlier views of GID Urban Development Group’s new 24-acre mixed-use project.

Earlier drawings showed several new streets cutting diagonally through the site of the recently demolished Allen House Apartments. But this latest leaked drawing of the complex’s first phase shows a straightened north-south axis coming off Allen Parkway, resulting in buildings with fewer odd angles.

This new drawing dates from late April. Our tipster reports:

. . . they will have some pretty cool apartments there in addition to condos and retail. This pic shows allen pkwy on the far right. The 2 shadows are the condo towers. The apartments will be 5 and 8 stories in multiple buildings and will have some awesome amenities including the rooftop pool you can see there.

After the jump: Closeups of the new drawing, plus a longing last look at those kinky old plans!