Adaptive Reuse

Pearland, Proposed Developments, Restaurants

11/24/14 3:46pm

Ronnie Killen Putting New Burger Joint in Old Pearland Gas Station

by John Nova Lomax

8 Comments

killens-burgers-loopnet

Exxon marks the spot for Ronnie Killen’s latest foray into the Pearland meat market: A burger joint, going in aÂ derelict Exxon station at the corner of S. Main St. and Broadway St. and sharing a busy intersection with Whataburger and folksy Pearland institution the Busy Bee Cafe.

Killen had teased readers of his social media sites earlier this month with snapshots of the gas station, but on Friday, he at last confirmed it as the future home of Killen’s Burger on the Killen’s Barbecue Facebook page:

77581, Adaptive Reuse, Pearland, Proposed Developments, Restaurants

11/10/14 1:45pm

Brown Metal Office Warehouse on Rusk Intended as New Home for Green Bone Dog Bakery and Hangout

Critters, East Downtown, Retail

1 Comment

2901 Rusk St., East Downtown, Houston

The proprietor of The Green Bone is hoping to turn this former office warehouse at the far eastern edge of East Downtown into a new home for the doggie daycare, hemp-treat outlet, and espresso stop. The Green Bone currently operates in this still-for-sale building at 2104 Leeland St., 1 mile to the southwest. Its envisioned future home in the warehouse at the corner of Rusk and Paige, which The Green Bone purchased at the beginning of this year, would encompass 3,429 sq. ft. at the corner of Rusk and Paige.

77003, Adaptive Reuse, Buying and Selling, Critters, East Downtown, Retail, Variances

08/12/14 2:30pm

Kuhl-Linscomb Planning Large Add-On to Penguin Arms Apartment Building for New ‘Googie’ Showcase Showroom

Modern Design, Parking, Proposed Developments, Upper Kirby

Penguin Arms Apartments, Kuhl-Linscomb Campus, 2902 Revere St., Upper Kirby, Houston

The owners of the quirky Kuhl-Linscomb home-goods store, arrayed in 6 separate repurposed buildings just east of the Upper Kirby Whole Foods Market, have plans to attach a large addition behind and next to the Penguin Arms apartment building at 2902 Revere St. — and to turn the completed building into an additional showroom. The proposed addition to Arthur Moss’s distinctive 1950 structure (above), one of the best surviving examples of the Frank-Lloyd-Wright-meets-diner-mashup ‘Googie’ style, would almost quadruple the amount of space in the building, from the current 5,938 sq. ft. to 23,427 sq. ft. A proposed site plan submitted to the city shows how the addition would hang back and to the side of the structure, preserving views of 3 of the rock-and-glass building’s corners:

To Preserve and Expand

77098, Adaptive Reuse, Historic Properties, Modern Design, Parking, Proposed Developments, Upper Kirby, Variances

06/30/14 12:30pm

Looking Through the Complete Renovation of the Sunset Coffee Building at Allen’s Landing

Allen's Landing, Downtown, Historic Preservation, Renovations

Adaptive Reuse of Former Sunset Coffee, International Coffee Company Building, Commerce St. Between Main St. and Fannin, Allen's Landing, Downtown Houston

When Houston First and the Buffalo Bayou Partnership announced the complete redo of the former Sunset Coffee building (also known as the International Coffee Company building) at Allen’s Landing last year, they meant it: This pic posted to the Houston First Facebook page doesn’t make it look like there’s a whole lot left — beyond columns and floors — of the 1910 structure parked off Commerce St. between Main and Fannin, but it does allow better glimpses of the Harris County Jail across the bayou through the cleared-out floors.

Following a design from San Antonio architects Lake Flato, the $2.5 million renovation project is scheduled to be complete a year from now. The finished structure will include canoe and kayak rental space on the ground floor facing the bayou and office and event space above. Here’s a rendering of the same from-the-bayou view:

Seeing Through the Redo

77002, Adaptive Reuse, Allen's Landing, Downtown, Historic Preservation, Renovations

06/19/14 10:45am

Allen’s Landing Brewing in a Metal Building in Oak Forest

Industrial Properties, Oak Forest, Openings and Closings

6 Comments

Future Home of Allen's Landing Brewing Company, 3540 Oak Forest Dr., Oak Forest, Houston

Does beer taste better in glass or metal containers? The draught beers of a new craft brewery will soon be bubbling in yet another cleaned-up metal structure in Houston — this one the formerÂ Fredrick’s Auto Repair in the southern edge of Oak Forest. 3540 Oak Forest Dr. will soon be home to the brand-new Allen’s Landing Brewing Company, the company announced on its Facebook page.

Hand Made Craft Beer [Allen’s Landing Brewing Co.]

Photo: Allen’s Landing Brewing Co.

Opens in Front

77018, Adaptive Reuse, Breweries, Oak-Forest, Openings and Closings

04/21/14 10:00am

The Studewood Cantina Where the Gas Station Canopy Will Become Part of the Building

Restaurants, Woodland Heights

Construction of The El Cantina Superior, 602 Studewood St., Houston Heights

This photo, looking ~~northwest~~ northeast from BB’s Cafe catty corner at the intersection of White Oak and Studewood on the western border of the Woodland Heights, shows construction on the former gas station where serial Heights-area restaurant opener Ken Bridge plans to piece together his latest spot, The El Cantina Superior. Bridge, the initiating force behind Lola, the Shepherd Park Draught House, Witchcraft Tavern & Provisions (and Dragon Bowl before that), and the growing Pink’s Pizza chain, hasn’t bothered to get rid of all of the Conoco fixin’s onsite — there’s the canopy angled slightly toward the streetcorner, which is being incorporated into the new building under construction around and under it. And the sign for The El, which has been up on the site well in advance of construction, hoods the gas station logo but still shows the per-gallon pricing slots of the predecessor’s liquid offerings.

An Update on Upcoming Tex-Mex Restaurants [Eater Houston]
The El Cantina Superior [Facebook]

Photo: Swamplot inbox

Fill â€™Er Up!

77009, Adaptive Reuse, Gas Stations, Restaurants, Woodland Heights

04/07/14 11:00am

‘Renovation’ of Menil Bungalow into Menil CafÃ© Will Be More Extensive Than Originally Planned

Demolitions, Houston Architects, Menil Collection, Montrose, Museums, Renovations, Restaurants

5 Comments

Construction of Bistro Menil, 1512 Sul Ross St., Montrose, Houston

Construction of Bistro Menil, 1512 Sul Ross St., Montrose, Houston Whatever the original plans were for the partial demolition of the gray-painted 1940 bungalow that sat across the street from the Menil Collection and across the footpath to the West Alabama St. parking lot from the Menil Bookstore, they appear to have been exceeded. A reader sends in these photos of the construction site at 1512 Sul Ross St.; they show that the woodframe structure intended for “adaptive reuse” into a new Bistro Menil according to a design by Stern and Bucek Architects has been removed entirely.

The Menil had announced plans for the bungalow-to-bistro conversion at that spot last October, in concert with an upgrade of the parking-lot path into a “new campus gateway” designed by landscape firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. “In keeping with the emphasis on sustainability that is a keynote of the landscape design,” read a Menil press release, “the Menilâ€™s cafÃ© is designed by Stern and Bucek through the adaptive reuse of one of the bungalows that define the character of the Menilâ€™s campus.” The press release also noted that the Menil’s architect, Renzo Piano, had originally proposed putting a cafÃ© in this exact location. Since named (via a contest) Bistro Menil, the arts institution’s first eating spot is set to be run by CafÃ© Annie, Taco Milagro, and CafÃ© Express alum Greg Martin.

Leaving Only Footprints

77006, Adaptive Reuse, Bungalows, Demolitions, Houston Architects, Menil Collection, Montrose, Renovations, Restaurants

03/31/14 12:30pm

Aloft Hotel Will Alight in Stowers Building Downtown

Downtown, Hotels, Renovations

6 Comments

Stowers Building, 820 Fannin St., Downtown Houston

A website entry noted by eagle-eyed HAIF commenter Urbannizer indicates that Starwood HotelsÂ 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

77002, Adaptive Reuse, Downtown, Hotels, Renovations

11/21/13 1:00pm

Katy Contemporary Arts Museum Creating Its Own ‘Museum District’

Art, Katy, Museums, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments

4 Comments

Katy Contemporary Arts Museum, 805 Ave. B at First St., Katy, Texas

Where is the new Katy Contemporary Arts Museum? “In the heart of Katy’s Museum District,” boasts the brand-new institution’s website. That appears to be shorthand for “right across from the Katy Railroad Park and Tourist Center“; the Katy Heritage Museum and Park and “G.I. Joe” Museum are a half-mile northeast. The white concrete-and-brick building at 805 Ave. B, at the corner of First St., was originally built in 1953 for the Katy Lumber Company. The museum chose the structure for its easy access to I-10, among other features. Like its more sophisticated metal-clad sorta-namesake in Houston, admission is free; but art blogger Robert Boyd notes there are plans to expand the 5,000-sq.-ft. facility to house an actual permanent collection:

Trains, Guns, and Art

77493, Adaptive Reuse, Art, Katy, Museums, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments

11/21/13 10:30am

Village Restaurateur’s New Wine Bar Coming to Old Cat House Next to Doomed Recycling Center

Bars and Clubs, Renovations, West University

No Comments

5010 Dincans St., West University, Houston

Sign, 5010 Dincans St., West University, Houston A city permit was approved last week to convert a portion of the building that once housed the A&M Pet Clinic at 5010 Dincans St. into a wine bar. The 2-story building is across the street from the new apartment block Hanover is completing between Bissonnet and North Blvd. just west of Kirby Dr. The Swamplot reader who visited the closing-after-New-Year’s West U recycling center just to the north of the property finds the posted TABC notice, which identifies the applicant as Catering Plus. Ray Memari, co-owner of the Antica Osteria Italian Restaurant on Bissonnet just west of Greenbriar, purchased the building last year.

Bottle District?

77005, Adaptive Reuse, Bars and Clubs, Renovations, West University

10/28/13 3:30pm

Checking Up on a Dental Office Residence in Montrose

by CALwords

Homes for Sale, Interiors, Montrose

5 Comments

Handling cavity searches since 1976, a 1940 home-turned-dental-office sits on a well-brushed corner lot in Montrose within spitting distance of a private school campus. The property appeared on the market earlier this month with a sparkly asking price of $499,900.

77006, Adaptive Reuse, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Montrose, WAMM

Bayous and Waterways, Development Strategies, Old Sixth Ward, Online Resources, Parks

09/24/13 12:05pm

Buffalo Bayou’s Abandoned Basement Now Ready To Be the Subject of Your Experiments

by Allyn West

Now have at it: SmartGeometrics has made available for free on a website launched yesterday the data from 3D scans of the allegedly leaky, 87,500-sq.-ft.Â 1927 underground water reservoir near Sabine St. along Buffalo Bayou. Though the Buffalo Bayou Partnership would like to do something cool with the “accidental cathedral,” as Houston Chronicle columnist and cistern sympathizer Lisa Gray has called it, there’s no more funding available. Thus, the partnership is hoping some smart cookie who knows her way around AutoCAD (and programs like it) will use this free data to come up with an idea that woos someone or something else — like, say, Bud Light — to pay to make it happen.

Image: Buffalo Bayou Park

77007, Adaptive Reuse, Buffalo Bayou, Buffalo Bayou Park, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Old-Sixth-Ward, Online Resources, Parks

09/09/13 2:00pm

Comment of the Day: How To Light Up the Astrodome

by Allyn West

Comments, Quicklink

12 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TO LIGHT UP THE ASTRODOME “It just occurred to me that the best use would be to turn the Astrodome into a giant Concentrating Solar Power plant — you know, the kind with all the mirrors pointed at a tower. Simply chop off the top, install the tower, and replace the seats with mirrors, and youâ€™re done. A rough, napkin calculation says we should get over 2M W, enough to power almost 1,000 homes. Wikipedia says CSP costs $4/W, so about $9.5 mil for the project. This would make the Astrodome a true symbol of the future while keeping the history mostly intact. Reliant Energy could then promote next door Reliant Stadium as being 100% renewable powered all year. There was talk of turning it into a conference center with photovoltaic solar panels on the top, but converting it to CSP means much more power per square foot generated, especially if you use the stadiumâ€™s natural bowl shape (25% efficiency for dish-shaped CSP vs. 15% for regular solar panels). [Derek, commenting on Anyone Got a Better Idea for the Astrodome?] Illustration: Lulu

Adaptive Reuse, Astrodome, Comments