COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE HIGH COST OF BUILDING SMALL “As a homeowner in the Heights I agree that scale is a factor in new construction but I would like to point out one important financial reality. It is next to impossible to finance the new construction of a smaller home. Given that the average lot costs $250,000 and the average cost to build new is another $135 per square foot, a new 1200 sf “Bungalow†will set you back $412,000 plus. You are now sitting in a new bungalow with a total cost of $343 per square foot. The average appraised value of homes in the Heights is around $200 – $225 per square foot. Banks will not finance this project unless you make up the difference in cash, so your looking at bringing $162,000 to the closing table plus a 20% down payment. Hopefully the HAHC realizes this reality and continues to allow larger homes to be built. There has to be a happy medium square footage wise. It is also important to point out that it is not cheap to do a major renovation to an existing bungalow. If you want to redo the plumbing, electrical, insulation, sheet rock etc you soon find yourself spending more for the renovation than you would spend on a new home. Many of the “remodels†are simply saving the studs and the sub floor, I don’t see the value in such a “preservationâ€. And once again, the banks simply will not finance a project that is not in line with the local comps.” [chester, commenting on Big Changes for Houston’s Preservation Ordinance? Mayor Parker Wants a Temporary Ban on Those 90-Day Exemptions]
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Historic Preservation
Some major changes to the implementation of Houston’s long-ridiculed historic preservation ordinance may be coming very soon, if a proposal supported by Mayor Annise Parker passes a city council vote that could occur as early as next Wednesday, Swamplot has learned. Under the current ordinance (for all designated historic districts except for the Old Sixth Ward, now a designated “protected” historic district), owners of historic-district properties whose plans for demolition, new construction, or remodeling have been rejected by the city’s Archaeological and Historical Commission have been able to proceed with their plans anyway — simply by waiting 90 days.
But in an email to Swamplot, a spokesperson indicates the Mayor wants the commission to “temporarily discontinue” the issuing of such 90-day waivers for the remainder of this calendar year — or until amendments to the preservation ordinance are hashed out and approved by city council (whichever comes first). Under some revisions to the ordinance likely to be considered in that 7-month period, 90-day waivers could be eliminated entirely.
Swamplot was alerted to the potential changes by a builder, who became alarmed that “anyone, property owner or builder, who does not already have a Certificate of Appropriateness for demolition or new construction as of next Wednesday will not be able to get one until next year.” The changes the Mayor is proposing aren’t quite that drastic, however. Parker communications director Janice Evans indicates that the Houston Archeological and Historic Commission will still issue “certificates of appropriateness” while any moratorium on 90-day waivers is in place; anyone whose request for a certificate has been rejected will be able to appeal the decision to the Planning Commission.
What permanent changes to the preservation ordinance are being considered? A committee led by council member Sue Lovell — including fellow council member Ed Gonzalez as well as representatives of the historical and planning commissions — has been charged with reviewing it. All changes, notes Evans, “will be considered by the HAHC, the planning commission and City Council, providing numerous opportunities for dialogue and public input.” In the meantime, the mayor “supports the temporary discontinuance because it will allow for a pause in activity while discussions regarding increased protections occur with various stakeholders,” Evans tells Swamplot.
Want more details about the mayor’s proposal? Here’s the text of our Q-and-A with her communications director:
SHOWTIME IN HOUSTON: HOW CHERRY DEMOLITION SURE WOULD LIKE TO SMASH UP THE ASTRODOME The last year and a half has been “bleak” for the local demolition industry, says Cherry Demolition’s Mike Dokell. But he’s eager to get his hands on the big one: “Because the Rodeo/Texans can’t use it, and due to the building’s design and current condition, it would be nearly impossible to do anything with the structure. I say wreck it. And, yes, I would want to be involved in the project. Most probably, explosives would be involved in the demolition to some extent. But, there are many features of the structure that would have to be taken down conventionally. The eventual demolition of the Dome would be quite a show, and we at Cherry would love to be part of it.” [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot]
When last Swamplot visited the tiny Freeland Historic District at the foot of the Heights almost a year ago, Samantha Wood and her husband, architect Jack Preston Wood, had just given up on plans to purchase a little bungalow at 536 Granberry St., demolish it, and replace it with a new 1-1/2-story bungalow. The Woods’ earlier plans — to build two 4-story townhomes on the property — stirred up protests from neighbors and a rejection from the city historical commission.
Did all that hullabaloo in the newly-minted historic district scare off potential buyers? A Freeland neighbor says no — and suspects most of the neighborhood’s new attention is coming from builders:
525 Granberry Street (now listed on the tax rolls and MLS as 525 E. 5th 1/2 Street) went on the market last week. So many offers have been received they ask that final bids go in tomorrow, April 16.
Why would builders be so interested in this property?
COMMENT OF THE DAY: CHIN UP, WEINGARTEN! “I don’t totally understand Weingarten’s defensiveness here. After all, they totally earned the wrath of people in the community who would like to see older, architecturally significant buildings preserved in some fashion when they tore down the north side of the shopping center at Shepherd and Gray. They made a calculation then that peoples’ upset feelings would not outweigh the financial benefit. Given this, why do they care what people think now? Did the negative publicity before actually hurt them in any material way? (I’ve made a point of not shopping at the new B&N even though I am a compulsive book-buyer, but I have no illusions that me and people like me have any impact on their bottom line.)” [RWB, commenting on Weingarten Exec Blames Those Alabama Theater Demolition Drawings on Staples]
Today’s Houston Business Journal features a rather surprising statement from a Weingarten Realty executive about the company’s recent plans for the vacant Alabama Theater. Late last month you’ll remember, Swamplot broke the story that a local construction company was obtaining bids from subcontractors for an extensive interior demolition of the vacant 1939 Art Deco movie theater at 2922 South Shepherd Dr. — using drawings prepared for Weingarten Realty by a local architecture firm.
Since that time, representatives of Weingarten, a publicly traded REIT, have been pushing back on the story to local reporters with a series of carefully worded statements. One such statement, delivered to both Swamplot and its readers the same day the story broke, by a spokesperson under contract to Weingarten, was typical: Weingarten, Swamplot was told, “can’t verify the authenticity of the drawings you posted on your blog one way or the other.”
Aw, shucks. And yet — if this statement in today’s HBJ is to be believed — it appears they certainly could have verified them:
Patti Bender, executive vice president with Weingarten, says the preliminary design that recently hit the streets was part of a site pricing analysis conducted by Staples.
Oh . . . does that mean Weingarten had no part in producing those drawings that showed exactly how the theater was to be gutted and its sloping floor encased in concrete? It was all Staples’s doing? Of course, those of you who have been following the story here on Swamplot realize there are just a couple problems with that statement:
In a letter published in today’s Chronicle, the PR director for Staples goes beyond her previous “we do not have a lease” statement and says the national office-supply chain is done with the idea of putting one of its stores in the vacant former Alabama Theater on South Shepherd at West Alabama — for now, at least:
. . . we are not currently considering a store at this site. We typically don’t comment about sites unless and until leases are signed, but we understand that this property represents a unique situation of local concern.
So what prompted theater owner Weingarten Realty to have a local architecture firm draw up plans for a complete interior scraping of the 1939 Art Deco theater — and arrange for at least one local construction firm solicit demolition bids based on it?
COMMENT OF THE DAY: STAPLES “NOT INVOLVED” IN THE ALABAMA THEATER “After writing to Staples PR this is their canned response: ‘While there has been speculation about Staples in connection with the historic Alabama Theater, we do not have a lease agreement at this location. Staples will continue to be a good neighbor that supports the communities where its customers and associates live and work as the company continues expanding in the Houston region. The rumors, however, have sparked a larger debate about the location. Therefore, we recommend that concerned citizens direct their letters and suggestions to Weingarten Realty as we are not involved in this development. Many thanks, Amy Shanler, PR Director'” [Andrea, commenting on Weingarten Realty: We Won’t Demolish the Interior of the Alabama Theater Until a Lease Is Signed]
The new owners of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchises in Katy and at the West Oaks Mall tell the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff they’ve begun new talks with Weingarten Realty about turning the former Alabama Theater into the first Inside-the-Loop location for the dinner-drinks-and-movie chain.
Triple Tap Ventures partner Neil Michaelsen tells Sarnoff his group had held discussions with Weingarten about the former Alabama Bookstop location at 2922 South Shepherd more than 6 months ago — but “couldn’t come to an agreement” about leasing the space. Triple Tap announced its purchase of the two Houston Alamo Drafthouse locations — and plans to construct new cinema locations in Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, the Midland-Odessa area, San Marcos, and Houston — just last October.
Sarnoff explains that the Alabama Theater building isn’t exactly Triple Tap’s ideal location:
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]
What’s the latest on those plans to demolish the interior of the Alabama Theater at West Alabama and Shepherd — you know, the plans already put out to bid to subcontractors but that owner Weingarten Realty can’t quite seem to verify are its own?
A spokesperson under contract to Weingarten tells Swamplot that the company won’t act on them before a lease agreement with a new tenant is signed:
I now have the okay to post based on your last blog entry to reassure your readers that WRI has no intention undertaking any pre-buildout of the interior prior to any lease agreement. And, there is no agreement currently and no buildout plan.
“Buildout,” of course, is the correct term for the interior demolition here. Because the demolition plans out to bid show that Weingarten intends to permanently encase the theater’s extensive sloped floor in concrete, like this:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WE ARE ALL WEINGARTEN LEASING AGENTS NOW “. . . I’m not [against] historic preservation, but I find [it] silly and immature for people to attack Weingarten. If anybody could approach them with an idea or a plan to keep the theatre and turn it into a money making investment for any kind of use, I’m sure they’ll listen. If Weingarten could get a tenant without any changes to the space, wouldn’t you think they’ll go for that[?] They save a lot of money in that situation. They most likely looked into the gutting of the place since there isn’t much option for them. Saving a place purely on moral grounds that it is the right thing to do isn’t enough. It’s a place to start, but it’s a lot more that has to happen after that. In the end, a philanthropist or investor or a group of a combination of the two is needed. This group can either buy it out or develop a plan that Weingarten could get their rent and the place be saved. . . .” [kjb434, commenting on Weingarten Plans an Alabama Theater Demolition. Is Staples Moving In?]
Last night, a spokesperson under contract to Weingarten Realty writing on behalf of the company reported to Swamplot and its readers that the shopping-center owner “can’t verify the authenticity of the drawings” we reported on yesterday.
The drawings referred to are bid documents that Heights Venture Architects prepared for Weingarten detailing an extensive interior demolition of the 70-year-old Art Deco Alabama Theater at South Shepherd and West Alabama — more commonly known until its closing last September as the Alabama Bookstop bookstore.
Well, gee. Today, “an official” of Weingarten’s architecture firm isn’t having such a hard time with the verification process:
An official at Heights Venture Architects told CultureMap this morning that the company did submit plans detailing a near total interior demolition of the Alabama at the specific request of Weingarten (the company that owns the vacant building).
The official at Heights asked not to be named and said he had no speaking authority, but confirmed that the company had been asked to submit the plans, which Swamplot first published.
What a fun game! Now that this round is over, let’s jump to the next one: Okay, so maybe Weingarten did ask its architects to prepare demolition drawings. Maybe Weingarten is exploring all its options! Just pricing a complete demo for . . . say, comparison.
Here’s the same Weingarten spokesperson feeding this ruse:
Weingarten Realty’s director of investor relations Kristin Gandy tells the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff that the owners of the vacant Alabama Theater building in the Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center at the corner of South Shepherd and West Alabama do not have a deal for the space with any new tenant, including Staples. Swamplot reported earlier this morning that a local construction firm is soliciting bids from subcontractors for an extensive interior demolition of the 1939 Art Deco theater, which from the early eighties until late last year was the home of the Alabama Bookstop bookstore. Drawings detailing the demolition were prepared for Weingarten by Heights Venture Architects, and the bid documents included floor plans for a prototype Staples office-supply store.
Gandy tells Sarnoff
Weingarten has not signed a lease nor has any lease under (letter of intent) with any particular tenant at this time. We have several tenants that are reviewing, but we don’t have a definitive agreement in place.
Weingarten may not have an agreement in place, but the publicly traded company certainly has demolition plans in place, already labeled as issued for permitting. Which means either
- Weingarten is conducting extensive pricing research for a number of options for the space in a rather peculiar manner (the ready-for-permit bid documents do not ask bidders to price any alternative to demolition); or
- (far more likely) Weingarten is gambling that demolishing the interior of Alabama Theater will help it to attract a very particular type of tenant to the unique Inner Loop property.
How much does Weingarten want to demo?
It looks like the former Alabama Theater — known since the early eighties as the Alabama Bookstop, and since last fall as that big vacant space for lease in Weingarten Realty’s Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center — is about to be gutted. A local construction company is currently taking bids from subcontractors for a rather complete interior demolition. The plans, prepared by Heights Venture Architects, show major alterations to the floor, walls, and ceilings.
The theater’s original sloped floor will be buried under a new concrete slab; wood floors inserted during the 1983 bookstore conversion will be removed. For now, the balcony will remain.
Here’s a little before and after to demonstrate:
