COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE ASTRODOME MOTHBALL SAVINGS PLAN “There was a Chronicle article a while back that estimated the cost of demolition at $30 million, as compared to something like $600,000 per year just to keep it in mothballs. I ran it through an NPV analysis, and it actually was not cost effective to tear it down. It’s better fiscal policy to keep it, even if we never use it for any purpose ever again. I’m not much of a sentimentalist, but this is the kind of historical preservation I can get behind. Anything to save a buck.” [TheNiche, commenting on County Judge Foresees New Use for Astrodome: Giant Enclosed Space, Shielded from Weather]
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Historic Preservation
COMMENT OF THE DAY: GRAND UNIFIED WILSHIRE VILLAGE CONSPIRACY THEORY An “anonymous news reporter/non-resident” explains all the wacky goings-on at Wilshire Village — complete with a detailed timeline. Here’s an excerpt, but if you love real-estate soap operas, settle in with a snack and read the whole finger-pointing thing: “. . . The original owner, Jay H. Cohen, inherited the apartments and property from his parents, who had the apartments built in 1940. In November 2005, Matthew Dilick partnered with Cohen under a partnership called Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd., taking out a loan to pay for taxes. Through this partnership, Dilick was able to obtain general partnership status to make management decisions, and his widely published plan all along has been to demolish the buildings and sell the land. Before the apartments could be demolished, they would have to be vacated. But the original owner Jay H. Cohen maintained majority ownership and wished to keep the buildings standing. Toward that goal, Cohen obtained two repair permits in January and February 2009 and set electricians to consistently making electrical repairs over the course of the next couple of months. . . . Questions: If the buildings were demolished and new condos were built, would the City of Houston stand to profit by the increased value of the land and therefore increased taxes? Was the City of Houston working in coordination with Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd to cause the buildings to be vacated? Why were Cohen’s repair efforts disregarded by Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd. and the City of Houston? Has everything been legit? . . .” [dredger, commenting on Wilshire Village Is Ready for Its Closeup]
Note: Story updated below.
Over at Wilshire Village, all appears on track for one of those classic salvage-free start-over-the-weekend demos — the kind this town is famous for! A pre-demo sewer-disconnect permit for the apartments was pulled yesterday. And a Swamplot reader has sent in a photo report:
I saw that one of your commenters had noticed the Komatsu in the parking lot of Wilshire Village. It’s from Ambush Demolition, so that’s not a particularly good sign. There are numbers spray-painted on the sides of at least some of the buildings there and orange cable (and gas line?) markings on the sidewalks . . .
Will Wilshire Village’s actual demo permit be purchased sometime today? You’ll get a definitive answer . . . in next Monday’s Daily Demolition Report, right here on Swamplot!
Now, about that closeup:
The reader who provided this “tip” wouldn’t or couldn’t tell us where the information came from, so there’s no particular reason to take it seriously. But it raises a few interesting questions about the future of the 8-acre property at W. Alabama and Dunlavy that’s apparently soon to be the former site of the Wilshire Village apartments.
. . . So here it is:
The buzz in the air over the demolition of Wilshire Village is Mr. Dilick plans to try to sell the property soon after the demolition, word is he hasn’t the funding to develop this tract.
- Wilshire Village coverage [Swamplot]
Photo: Swamplot inbox
COMMENT OF THE DAY: HEIGHTS HOME REPLACEMENT PROGRAM “Demo permits sold in the greater Heights last year – approx 220. (zips 007,008, 009) The Chron’s real estate report showed that 25% of 2008 home sales in the Heights were new construction. And how many were built in the last 10 years? Don’t know, but for anyone who thinks The Heights has NOT been decimated, go to HAR.com to see how nearly all listings were built since 1999 or are lot value only. Heard a story on the radio not long ago about how people stood in line for hours to see the Bill of Rights, but when an exact replica went on display, nobody bothered. What does that tell us?” [Sheila, commenting on Jack Preston Wood: Making an Impression in the Freeland Historic District]
House designer Jack Preston Wood has apparently had second thoughts about his plan to build two 4-story townhomes where this bungalow now sits in the Freeland Historic District. The city historic commission turned down both his new-construction and demolition plans last month, and neighbors have been writing him letters and protesting every weekend since.
Freeland Historic District is a collection of 35 bungalows, marked down from the original 37, on two blocks south of White Oak Blvd. at the damp end of the Heights. There’s been no new construction in the district — which was designated just last fall — and residents have been working hard to keep it that way.
Wood tells Chronicle reporter Robin Foster that neither the Realtor nor the owner of the house told him that the house at 536 Granberry was in an historic district before he signed a contract to buy it:
THE ASTRODOME AND THE COLOSSEUM Ken Hoffman returns from Italy with a little perspective: “The Colosseum was originally called Amphitheatrum Flavium, and it was built by the powerful emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. The Astrodome was originally called the Harris County Domed Stadium, and it was governed by former Houston Mayor and Harris County Judge Roy Hofheinz. He just thought he was an emperor. The Colosseum, after several expansions (mostly to honor a new emperor), had a seating capacity of about 65,000. It had 80 entrances and could completely fill and empty in less than five minutes. The Astrodome, after several expansions (mostly to stop Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams’ whining), had a seating capacity of 62,000 for football. It would take an hour to get out of the parking lot because of a lack of exits. Parking was cheaper in ancient times, too.” [Houston Chronicle; previously in Swamplot]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: BUILDING GREEN SPACE “I think the State and Henderson historic properties are adjacent and both owned by Fenchurch Properties. Certificate of Appropriateness information at http://tinyurl.com/bhfzsj and http://tinyurl.com/al479p – in both applications, Fenchurch claimed it wants to turn the properties into green space. The Chairman of Fenchurch Properties is Thomas A. Reiser. Tom Reiser spent $1.2 million of his own money in a 2002 Texas House race against Chris Bell, and lost.” [ArlingtonSt, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Making Demolition History]
Still waiting in the wings, the long-promoted but as-yet-unmade proposal to turn the long-vacant Astrodome into a giant indoor movie lot is almost ready for its closeup, says Christine Hall in the Houston Business Journal. Astrodome Studios co-executive directors Elise Hendrix and Cynthia Neely
along with a laundry list of supporters, including “Dazed and Confused†director/writer Richard Linklater, are one month away from presenting a proposal to Harris County that would put a major soundstage and movie production studio into the proclaimed “Eighth Wonder of the World.â€
“We would have absolutely everything a creative agency would need to film a movie,†Hendrix says. “With 140,000 square feet, you wouldn’t have any problem building a city in there if you needed to.â€
But what would an Astrodome movie studio look like, really? To help unimaginative county officials picture the transformation, Astrodome Studios has prepared the dramatic photo-illustration above, along with a series of similarly rich diagrams:
The last remaining building associated with Houston’s 1950s-era glam-magnet Shamrock Hotel is slated to be torn down, reports Cynthia Lescalleet in the West U. Examiner. The Shamrock’s former ballroom facility at 2151 W. Holcombe became the Edwin Hornberger Conference Center in 1996, nine years after the Shamrock itself was famously axed.
The Texas Medical Center has more building plans for the site:
TMC will build 250,000 square feet of office space in three floors to be added atop the Bell building, which also houses the existing parking garage, said TMC’s John Kajander. The added space is to support TMC institutions, he said.
The building housing the Hornberger’s foyer and ballroom “is nearing the end of its useful life,†he said, and will be taken down.
A little Hornberger history:
One more reason to get excited about the possibility of another Depression: It could save the Jim West Mansion in Clear Lake!
Two years ago, a real-estate company controlled by former Houston Rocket Hakeem Olajuwon bought the mansion with plans to subdivide its 41 acres for sale to developers. At one point, the mansion seemed about to be razed. At another, it seemed likely to become the centerpiece of a luxury complex for retirees.
But as of yet, no deal has solidified. And that’s where [Clear Lake schoolteacher Linda] Sansing finds a strange upside to talk of a new Depression: With credit tight, it seems unlikely that a for-profit developer will swoop in.
Great! But . . . will that make raising money for preservationists to buy the property any easier?
Linda Sansing’s nonprofit group, Preserved in Time, aims to raise $100,000 in earnest money, so it can make an offer on the mansion and some of its grounds. She figures that, ultimately, the group will need $11 million to buy the mansion and some of its land. Some of that money could come from opening the mansion to the pubic for rentals and tours. Some could come from grants. But she knows she has a long way to go.
- Preservationists hope to rescue West mansion [Houston Chronicle]
- How the West won [Houston Chronicle]
- Saving the Jim West Mansion [Houston Public Radio]
- Jim West Mansion Photo Story [Preserved in Time]
Video: Preserved in Time
A reader notes that a sign offering “13,000 sq feet of restaurant/retail for lease” is up at the Alabama Bookstop, and asks if plans for the location have been announced. Bookstop owner Barnes & Noble is building a new store on West Gray, on the former site of the River Oaks Shopping Center’s north curve.
That 13,000 sq. ft. figure makes it clear the sign isn’t referring to a different space in the Alabama Theater Shopping Center. According to leasing info on the Weingarten website, that’s the approximate size of the Bookstop’s space.
- Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center [Weingarten]
- B. Dalton Booksellers – Bookstop/Alabama Theatre [Barnes & Noble]
Photo of Bookstop at Alabama Theater Shopping Center: Debra Jane Seltzer
TSU LOSES A LIGHT RAIL STATION Under pressure from Third Ward residents and elected officials who didn’t want rail on Wheeler, Metro has officially rerouted an eastern section of the University Line further north. From Main, the line had been planned to travel east on Wheeler, north on Ennis, then east on Alabama to Scott at U of H. The new route snakes north sooner: north on Hutchins from Wheeler, east on Cleburne, north on Dowling, then east on Alabama to Scott. [Houston Chronicle]
ALEXAN LOFTS ON THE MARKET Trammell Crow Residential and Morgan Stanley are ready to sell the 224-unit Alexan Lofts, the Second Ward apartments just northeast of Downtown on the site of the failed El Mercado del Sol. Multi-year historic tax credits on the property expire in September. [Globe St.]
The 10-story brick YMCA on Louisiana St., which has been taking up valuable space Downtown for more than 65 years, will at last be torn down, reports Nancy Sarnoff in today’s Chronicle. The Y will move to a new glass-and-brick building now being designed by Kirksey — apparently intended for the nearby block bounded by Travis, Milam, Pease, and Jefferson.
The best part of the story? The Y is being very polite about the whole thing. Having determined that its own building is not worth the $25 million a report determined would be necessary for repairs, the organization will go out of its way to demolish the structure itself, so no future buyer will have to be burdened with similar defensive and wasteful studies — or cleanup. And that future buyer has already been determined: Chevron, which already owns the former Enron building next door, says it has no current plans for the new 85,000-sq.-ft. vacant lot it is purchasing.
At 100,000 square feet, the new YMCA building will be less than half the size of the current facility, but will come with 250 parking spaces. And it will be rated LEED-Silver, which means its construction and operation will conserve energy and resources, unlike the wasteful current building, which was designed by architect Kenneth Franzheim in 1941.
In addition to continuing its mentoring, educational and other life-skill programs, the new facility will include a teen center, child watch area and women’s wellness center, as well as racquetball courts, a basketball gym, swimming pool, state-of-the-art fitness equipment, a chapel, meeting space and a food vendor.
Not included in the new structure: replacements for the 132 “short-term” residential units in the current building.
Below: A photo that illustrates the story!
