Adaptive Reuse

Adaptive Reuse
04/29/10 2:40pm

The DeLuxe Theater’s Next Act: Fifth Ward Zydeco Library

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Fifth Ward, Proposed Developments, Renovations
8 Comments

The long-discussed renovation of the Fifth Ward’s long-vacant DeLuxe Theatre on Lyons Ave. is a little closer to actually happening since yesterday’s city council approval of a contract with Smith & Company Architects for its part of the $6.8 million project.

Drawings have not been released, but the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation’s website for the theater says that the building’s south facade will be restored to its original appearance. The movie theater was built in 1941, but reopened in 1971 as an art gallery. The 15,000-sq.-ft. shell has been empty for more than 30 years. And now the innards will be reimagined:

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Adaptive Reuse
04/02/10 11:36am

The Sign of BRC Rises on Shepherd

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Brunner, Openings and Closings, Restaurants
14 Comments

“Robots need not apply” reads the recent ad for staff positions at the new BRC Gastropub at the corner of North Shepherd and Blossom. Hey, didn’t that building use to be a funeral monument and gravestone sales center? Reader photos show it ready to come to life — almost directly across the street from that former pool hall refashioned into Branch Water Tavern.

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03/31/10 11:01am

The Tiny Boxwood’s Hybrid Headed for West University

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Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail, West University
No Comments

The West University Examiner‘s Steve Mark reports that the owners of the Thompson + Hanson Nursery and the adjacent Tiny Boxwood’s cafe on West Alabama are expected to buy the former JMH Market building at the corner of Rice Blvd. and Edloe. The company’s new West U retail location might include a café and nursery:

Gregg Thompson of Thompson + Hanson, says upon completion of financial arrangements, he hopes to open doors at the JMH location within six months. Thompson is mulling over varied plans for the available 7,000 available square feet of the property. Texas Citizens Bank occupies a portion and has use of parking. . . .

Thompson is inclined to open a variation of his Tiny Boxwood’s theme. The current structure on Edloe would remain the same, he said.

Photo of former JMH Market, 3636 Rice Blvd.: West University Examiner

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Adaptive Reuse
03/26/10 2:03pm

Comment of the Day: What Makes the Alabama Theater So Easy To Lease

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Comments, Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Quicklink, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
8 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT MAKES THE ALABAMA THEATER SO EASY TO LEASE “Sigh. I’ve been told in the past that Weingarten would like to have a restaurant in this location, but with a rent that is probably in the low-mid 30’s/sf, that puts the monthly rent at around $35,000 a month, which is out of the price range of many retailers and restaurateurs. Also, 14,000 sf would be a huge restaurant. One of the other little discussed obstacles in this building is the balcony, and the low headroom that it provides at the lobby entrance. Most of the building is concrete but I’ve been told that the balcony is in fact a steel structure. I would not be surprised if the balcony does not survive. Regarding the sloped floor, it is extremely difficult to rent sloping space like that in the age of ADA. Bookstop was constructed prior (1984) to the implementation of ADA. . . .” [mt, commenting on Weingarten Realty: We Won’t Demolish the Interior of the Alabama Theater Until a Lease Is Signed]

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Adaptive Reuse
02/04/10 1:45pm

Houstonians Now Eat Their Vegetables in the Strangest Places

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Houston Heights, Midtown, Old Sixth Ward, Quicklink, Restaurants, Washington Corridor
5 Comments

HOUSTONIANS NOW EAT THEIR VEGETABLES IN THE STRANGEST PLACES Food and travel writer Salma Abdelnour, who grew up here, takes New York Times travel section readers on a tour of 5 Houston restaurants carved out of former something-or-others: the car dealership that became Reef, the ice house that became Beaver’s, the burlap factory that became Textile, the appliance warehouse that became Block 7 Wine Company. Somehow the spaghetti-western-themed strip center that ultimately became Stella Sola gets mixed up in this crowd (Abdelnour calls the building a “town house”). She adds: “In the film ‘Urban Cowboy,’ based in Houston and nearby Pasadena, the mother of the John Travolta character told him, ‘You just can’t get good vegetables in Houston.’ You certainly can now.” [New York Times] Photo of Stella Sola: 2Scale Architects

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Adaptive Reuse
10/30/09 12:21pm

Secrets of the New Saint Arnold Brewery

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Attractions, Fifth Ward, Industrial Properties, Quicklink
1 Comment

SECRETS OF THE NEW SAINT ARNOLD BREWERY Brittanie Shey reports on the grand opening of the local brewery’s new home at 2000 Lyons Ave. in the Fifth Ward: “We got to see the top secret investor’s bar, a swanky-looking room in the back with a lovely carved wooden bar-top. We also heard the story of how the building, which was once an HISD food distribution facility (a.k.a. a giant freezer and refrigerator) had to be literally thawed out — there were icicles hanging from the ceiling — before it could be inspected. . . . The newery has four floors, but most of the action is in the middle two. The first floor is where the brewing takes place. The second floor, with huge windows looking down to the first floor, is where the tastings are and where parties will take place for those who have rented out the brewery. The company is thinking of using the basement for aging beers, and the third floor, right now it’s just filled with storage.” [Houstonist; previously on Swamplot]

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10/08/09 5:42pm

Comment of the Day: Before Richmond Hall Went Light and Quiet

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Art, Comments, Houston History, Menil, Nightlife, Quicklink
2 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: BEFORE RICHMOND HALL WENT LIGHT AND QUIET “. . . The building was the original Weingartens grocery store. Then in the 1960’s /1970’s it was the Texas Opry House. Then in the early 1980’s it was the Parade Disco (yes,the Parade Disco of New Orleans Bourbon Street, fame or infamy, depending on how one looks at it). The place rocked . . . Monday nights was punk rock night and it was real punk, not the poseur “punk”. But Friday & Saturday nights was gay disco. Some of the best music ever. Then the Menil converted it into [Richmond Hall] . . . it houses Dan Flavins awesome light sculpture.“ [Tim, commenting on Chipperfield Sculpts the New Menil: Goodbye, Richmont Square]

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Adaptive Reuse
10/01/09 9:36pm

Just About Time in Eastwood: Great Moments in Houston Clock Rescue and Storage

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Art, Eastwood, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Neighborhood Disputes, Parks, Public Art
7 Comments

Eastwood clock-watcher Spencer Howard documents the end of the line for the 1935 Sterling Laundry & Cleaning Company building on Harrisburg. Metro doesn’t have any use for the bulk of the Streamline Moderne building in the way of the new light-rail East End Line. But how about grabbing that right-twice-a-day timepiece the building is wearing? The bulky fashion accessory might go with any of several new get-ups envisioned for Eastwood Park across the street.

METRO began the disassembly of the building last week. After several days of careful planning, joints were sawed into the steel frame, stucco clad facade. By the end of the week, a large crane was delivered to the site to assist with the removal of the facade.

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Adaptive Reuse
09/17/09 11:00am

This Week in Old Movie Theater Rehab

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Houston Heights, Openings and Closings
16 Comments

Yes, the Alabama Bookstop carved out of the former Alabama Theater on South Shepherd closed down for good earlier this week. But a few miles to the north, another new business has opened in a reformed movie house. Tonight’s open house at the Heights Theater celebrates its latest incarnation: as a 7,000-sq.-ft. event space.

A quick tour of how the interior looked a year ago, before the latest round of renovations:

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09/02/09 2:48pm

Saving Time on the East End Line: Sterling Laundry and Long-Term Storage

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Eastwood, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Neighborhood Disputes, Parks, Public Art, Transportation
18 Comments

All that uproar over the impending demolition of a favorite Streamline Moderne structure in Eastwood seems to have had an effect: Houston architect Sol R. Slaughter’s 1935 Sterling Laundry & Cleaning Company building at 4819 Harrisburg will be preserved!

Sort of. Metro has committed to saving the façade.

Well . . . maybe at least the center part of it.

Okay really, just the top part, above the door. The part with the clock.

Hey, at least it’s not going to go away!

. . . ?

Uh, well . . . architectural antique fan Spencer Howard, who helped sound the alarm about Metro’s demolition plans for the building a few weeks ago, writes in with the latest:

Deconstruction will begin in two weeks, at which point the façade will be placed in storage (yet to be located) until the permanent home is designed (yet to be funded).

But the face-saving fun doesn’t stop there. After a short but brilliant week of investigations, brainstorming, and Photoshop work, Metro has produced a series of proposals for the rescued stretch of stucco that’s likely to be studied and appreciated by historic preservation experts, redevelopment advocates, and postmodern philosophers for some time to come.

Monday’s presentation at the offices of the Greater East End Management District was simply titled “4819 Harrisburg,” but that’s just Metro being modest. Maybe when this thing is resurrected for academic conferences it can be called something like “Representations of Time: Practical Opportunities in Deconstruction and Preservation.”

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Adaptive Reuse
09/01/09 10:44am

What About the Cushions?

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Brunner, Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Restaurants
5 Comments

WHAT ABOUT THE CUSHIONS? “At 510 Shepherd, the old Cue and Cushion Pool Hall has been sold and is seeing some major changes. The billiards tables are gone and a dining room is under construction. The new place will be Cue Restaurant. Though unconfirmed, the on-site rumor is that it will be a New York style deli – something like Katz’s or Kenny and Ziggy’s, I am told.” Also, photos of the future locations of BRC Gastro Pub across the street and Burgerzilla in the Heights. [Fred Eats Houston; previously on Swamplot]

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Adaptive Reuse
08/27/09 10:47am

What’s Brewing at the New Fifth Ward Saint Arnold HQ

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Attractions, Fifth Ward, Industrial Properties
8 Comments

Fifth Ward correspondents Vaughn and Terri Mueller drive by the building at 2000 Lyons St., across the railroad tracks from Hennessey Park — the future location for the Saint Arnold Brewery. And they notice the gate and a wide strip of the building open to view:

There aren’t any signs around the old HISD food service building exclaiming that Saint Arnold’s is moving in, but take a quick drive around the block and and it sure looks like a brewery inside. The expansion is still under construction but there is a large door (or unfinished wall) that is open to one of the side streets. . . . You can see some of the fermentation tanks in the corner. One of the only signs at the construction site is for the construction company “Clifford Jackson Contractors.”

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Adaptive Reuse
08/26/09 12:06pm

More Signs of That Shepherd Restaurant Scene Coming to Life

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Brunner, Houston Heights, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Restaurants
7 Comments

MORE SIGNS OF THAT SHEPHERD RESTAURANT SCENE COMING TO LIFE Rising soon from the former home of a tombstone business on Shepherd, across Blossom St. from the Kicks indoor-soccer facility: BRC Gastro Pub. Watch out also for Burgerzilla, reported to be working its way to the corner of 11th and Studewood, in the Heights. [Cleverley’s Blog]

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Adaptive Reuse
08/20/09 10:46am

Art Deco Slaughter on Harrisburg: Is Metro Taking To the Cleaners?

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Art, Eastwood, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Public Art, Transportation
11 Comments

This timely building at 4819 Harrisburg in Eastwood, built in 1935 for the Sterling Laundry & Cleaning Co., showed up in yesterday’s Daily Demolition Report. The architect was Sol R. Slaughter, who also designed a home on the bayou in Idylwood the same year.

The building faces Metro’s new East End Corridor light-rail line. Rice University project manager Spencer Howard writes in with a few details, but isn’t exactly sure what’s going on:

The building was renovated as an artist live/work/gallery just a few years ago.

METRO pledged to save the facade of the building with the clock on it, across from Eastwood Park. They preferred to have someone else buy it and move it, but if that didn’t happen, they were going to move it back on the property and reattach it behind the new setback. Yesterday they sent out the demolition list for next Monday and it was on it. The neighborhood has alerted their gov’t reps.

Another view:

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Adaptive Reuse
08/13/09 1:51pm

Satellite Dish: Museum of Natural Science Leaves Mall, Takes Prison

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Historic Preservation, Institutional Buildings, Malls, Sugar Land, Telfair, The Woodlands
4 Comments

Opening October 3rd in Sugar Land: A branch of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, smack dab in the center of the former prison farm now known as Telfair. The museum is a rehab of the old Central State Farm Prison building, but it has a better-sounding new address: 13019 University Blvd., at the corner of New Territory Blvd.

Meanwhile, far to the north, HMNS’s Woodlands Xploration Station in the Woodlands Mall is shutting down on September 7th. The Woodlands Children’s Museum next door to it will close a little less than a month later. Going into those vacated spaces: Forever 21.

Photo of new Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land: HMNS

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