Public Buildings

Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Public Buildings, Quicklink, Reliant Center

5 Comments

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. Itâ€™s better fiscal policy to keep it, even if we never use it for any purpose ever again. Iâ€™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]

77054, Astrodome, Comments, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Public Buildings

04/23/09 1:39pm

County Judge Foresees New Use for Astrodome: Giant Enclosed Space, Shielded from Weather

Public Buildings, Reliant Park

23 Comments

Noting that negotiations intended to turn the Harris County Domed Stadium into a convention-center hotel have “not progressed in recent months,” County Judge Ed Emmett suggests an entirely new idea for reusing the shuttered structure: How about turning the Astrodome into . . . a giant indoor, air-conditioned space where people could hold . . . events?

Emmett writes in a Chronicle blog:

. . . as we saw only too clearly last weekend, we in Harris County are extremely vulnerable to the vagaries of our weather. The International Festival suffered a pretty serious setback with the torrential rainfall we had Saturday. Having the Dome available for such eventualities seems to me a potential solution worth investigating.

Some of the major festival organizers have responded eagerly to the idea in informal discussions, so I’m now soliciting input from other organizers, civic groups, preservationists and the public at large.

At the same time, other groups are discussing museums, planetariums, studios and all sorts of public venues, but having the Dome as a multipurpose facility for everyone to enjoy would be tremendous. Of course, I imagine the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo would find it a useful venue too.

Judge Ed Emmett: Reserve the Astrodome for public use [The List, via HAIF]
Astrodome coverage [Swamplot]

Photo: Jeff Balke

77054, Astrodome, Attractions, Public Buildings

Construction Materials

04/07/09 2:21pm

Not Preston Hard Enough: A Shade Loose Downtown

Downtown, Hazards, Public Buildings

6 Comments

The brise-soleil modern Harris County Administration Building at 1001 Preston Downtown — across from a Metro Rail stop on Main St. — has been having a little problem holding it all together, reports the Chronicle‘s Liz Peterson. And it’ll take a little fixing:

Employees noticed the first bits of fallen concrete in February 2008, prompting the county to hire Walter P. Moore and Associates to evaluate the extent of the problem, said Mike Swain, the county’s deputy director of architecture.

The firm’s workers spent the next several months removing the most dangerous loose concrete and studying the rest of the 31-year-old building’s faÃ§ade, he said.

Their report urges the county to install protective scaffolding around the building’s perimeter as soon as possible. Doing that and removing the rest of the loose concrete is expected to cost about $175,000.

Repairing the concrete faÃ§ade is expected to cost at least $4.5 million, while waterproofing all the windows will eat up another $460,000.

Look out below… [Houston Politics]

Photo: Harris County Purchasing Agent

77002, Construction Materials, Downtown, Hazards, Public Buildings, Public Safety

03/19/09 5:02pm

The Astrodome and the Colosseum

Historic Preservation, Houston History, Public Buildings, Quicklink, Reliant Park

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 Adamsâ€™ 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]

77054, Astrodome, Attractions, Historic Preservation, Houston History, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

Comments

03/11/09 4:54pm

Comment of the Day: Modern Library Edition

Oak Forest, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Quicklink

COMMENT OF THE DAY: MODERN LIBRARY EDITION “The mid-century Oak Forest Library IS NOT being demolished. Houston Public Library is working very diligently to save, restore, renovate and add-on to the existing building. The rendering that you show is of the addition to the west side of the original building facing the newish elementary school across the street. When the work is complete, the â€œnewâ€ Oak Forest will have dedicated areas for Children, Teens, and Adults, a new Meeting Room, Conference Room, and expanded services. It will be fully ADA compliant and should also acquire L.E.E.D certification.” [John, commenting on The New Oak Forest Neighborhood Library]

77018, Comments, Libraries, Modern Design, Oak-Forest, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings

Oak Forest

03/10/09 2:51pm

The New Oak Forest Neighborhood Library

Proposed Developments, Public Buildings

9 Comments

Thanks to the reader who sent Swamplot this image, showing what the new west wing of the Oak Forest Neighborhood Library is supposed to look like when construction is complete. The addition provides an updated reading of the library’s current Mod entrance, which sits quietly at the back of the shopping center on 43rd St., a block west of Ella:

77018, Libraries, Modern Design, Oak-Forest, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings

Buildings for Sale

02/25/09 3:52pm

For Sale: Downtown Post Office Box

Downtown, Houston Architects, Land for Sale, Public Buildings

3 Comments

Nancy Sarnoff reports that the U.S. Postal Service is putting its entire 16-acre downtown facility on the market, including the classic modern main building. The building was designed by Houston’s own pseudo-brutalists Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson in 1962, when precast concrete fins were all the rage.

There are a few stipulations to the sale:

Whoever buys the property at 401 Franklin must build a replacement processing facility for the postal service, as well as provide a retail location near the existing site where consumers can mail packages and buy stamps.

Downtown Houston post office up for sale [Houston Chronicle]

Photo: Danilo Caranza Carino Pacquing Ronquillo

77002, Buildings for Sale, Downtown, Houston Architects, Land for Sale, Public Buildings

New Construction

02/18/09 1:32pm

That New Park, Trailhead, Library, and Basketball Court on Eldridge

Parks, Public Buildings, Thornwood

7 Comments

The new Belle Sherman Kendall Library in West Houston will have a little something extra inside: a half-court basketball gym. The ceremonial groundbreaking took place Monday on the site near Buffalo Bayou:

Besides housing a library and a community center, the building will be the first three-story building in the Houston system, and the first to have a drive-up window.

The site at 609 N. Eldridge will also serve as a city park and a trailhead to Terry Hershey Park. . . . At Kendallâ€™s drive-up window, users will be able to return books, pick-up books theyâ€™ve reserved, and pay fines.

New Kendall will be library, community center [Memorial Examiner]

Image: English + Associates Architects

77079, Buffalo Bayou, Libraries, New Construction, Parks, Public Buildings, Thornwood

Historic Preservation

02/13/09 12:36pm

Clear on the Concept: The Astrodome as Movie Studio

Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

10 Comments

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 â€œDazed and Confusedâ€ 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 â€œEighth Wonder of the World.â€

â€œWe would have absolutely everything a creative agency would need to film a movie,â€ Hendrix says. â€œWith 140,000 square feet, you wouldnâ€™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:

77054, Astrodome, Attractions, Historic Preservation, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

Montrose

08/12/08 3:24pm

Wharton Elementary Land Rush: Not Yet

Public Buildings, Quicklink

1 Comment

WHARTON ELEMENTARY LAND RUSH: NOT YET The school will be removed from the latest list of HISD school closures. “The charming 85-year-old school sits — unfortunately for its future — near the corner of West Gray and Waugh, a commercially valuable site in Montrose. Think cookie-cutter townhome/condos with some yuppified street-level retail, which is precisely what that area of town needs, if you think that area of town should continue its rapid descent into hellish mediocrity. HISD superintendent Abe Saavedra has been dickering back and forth on the school’s future, part of a larger plan to consolidate schools with low enrollments.” [Hair Balls]

77006, Montrose, Public Buildings, Schools

Buying and Selling

03/14/08 8:44am

More Surface Deals Surface

Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, Public Buildings, Real Estate Investing

From Abc13’s Wayne Dolcefino:

To get the winning hand, it helps to have the luck of the draw. Maybe that’s what Michael Surface has.

In January of 2005, one of his corporations buys an old H-E-B store on Antoine. The appraised value — $1. 2 million.

Two months later, Harris County announces it’s looking for a big building to replace Commissioner Lee’s Annex A in the same neighborhood that Michael Surface now owned his old H-E-B.

Maybe it was just a lucky hand for Mr. Surface. But years earlier, he was the guy in charge of Harris County’s building department.

(Hey, isn’t this the same guy who brought in the proposal to redevelop the Astrodome into a hotel? Good thing he’s outta there, so that deal can go forward!)

. . . tax records show [Surface] sold the [H-E-B] building and land to a corporation called HC5815 for $2.2 million. That corporation, in turn, got the winning hand months later. The head of that corporation was David Blumhardt from Dallas, who we’ve learned got the winning hand in at least nine Harris County real estate deals. His local representative on the Antoine project was the guy whose name we found on a worn out real estate sign — Jason G. Hall, Weston Partners, Ltd.

Where have I heard that name before?

Jason Hall used to work for Michael Surface at Harris County. Now, his real estate operation is located in Michael Surface’s offices.

When Jason Hall worked for the county, one of the projects he evaluated was 2525 Murworth. It’s now the home of Children’s Protective Services, part of a $35 million county real estate deal developed by Michael Surface just months after he left county government.

After the jump: a longer view!

77091, Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, Harris County Government, Public Buildings, Real Estate Investing

Crime

01/28/08 12:37pm

Astrodome Future: Whole Lot Brighter Once You Scratch Surface

Development Strategy, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

If you were wondering why the four-year effort to redevelop the Astrodome seemed like it was being run by the Keystone Kops, here’s a small piece of information that might start to explain a few things: Michael Surface, who up until a few weeks ago was chairman of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corp., has been indicted on corruption charges:

In order to secure business from the city of Houston, prosecutors allege, Schatte and Surface bribed Monique McGilbra, the city’s director of building services under then-Mayor Lee Brown, and hired her boyfriend, Garland Hardeman, as a consultant.

McGilbra pleaded guilty in 2005 to accepting bribes and has cooperated with prosecutors on the indictment.

According to the indictment, Schatte, 59, and Surface, 47, gave McGilbra free use of Schatte’s California condo, tickets to professional football games and a box containing champagne and $1,000 in cash. They also paid Hardeman more than $40,000 in consulting fees â€” $7,800 of which he funneled to McGilbra.

This is, of course, the same Michael Surface who decided to run a “competition” for the right to redevelop the Astrodome more than four years ago with this screwy premise: Ideas would only be considered if they were proposed by developers who had experience with projects of a similar size; but developers with experience on projects of a similar size would not be considered unless their ideas were considered acceptable. And yes, he’s the same Michael Surface who kept pushing the “winner” of the competition — Astrodome Redevelopment Corp. — to change its proposal from a space-themed amusement park to a convention hotel. And who gave them, during all that time, exclusive rights to negotiate a deal.

It’s not so surprising that new proposals for the Dome have begun to leak out in the few short weeks since Surface abruptly resigned his HCSCC post.

Champagne, gifts offered for city contracts, feds say, Surface’s work covers a variety of projects, Two Houston developers indicted as part of corruption probe [Houston Chronicle]
Developers arrested on corruption charges [abc13]
The Astrodome Loses Its Surface [Swamplot]
Dome Redo: Doomed from the Opening Pitch [Swamplot]
At Last! A Stable Future for the Astrodome [Swamplot]
The Astrodome Loses Its Surface [Swamplot]

77054, Astrodome, Crime, Development Strategy, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

01/24/08 7:39pm

At Last! A Stable Future for the Astrodome

Development Strategy, Historic Preservation, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

Stalls at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

For four years, the fate of the Astrodome has been chained to the proposals of a single company. Those proposals at first went in all sorts of different directions but lately have seemed to be going nowhere. And now, finally, the stewards of the Astrodome’s future have declared that Astrodome Redevelopment’s exclusive right to redevelop the Houston landmark will be coming to an end.

That’s great news, because all that exclusivity and secrecy and incompetence has overshadowed one of the best ideas ever suggested for reusing the Dome — which today can finally be revealed: Let’s turn the Astrodome into . . . horse stables!

Astroturf and tiered stadium seats would give way to more than 1,000 horse stalls and an arena with a capacity of at least 6,000. The vast open area where former Astros stars Jimmy Wynn and Jeff Bagwell hit towering drives would be turned into a three-story exhibition and stalling space, Shafer said.

Isn’t doing time as a livestock storage center the hallmark of a historically significant building? And it will make the next renovation so much more dramatic: “Can you believe it? Before they restored it, they used this thing for horse stables!”

After the jump, some reasons why this plan might have legs.

77054, Astrodome, Attractions, Development Strategy, Historic Preservation, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

11/14/07 10:15am

The Secret Plan To Redevelop the Astrodome

Development Strategy, Historic Preservation, Hotels, Proposed Developments, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

Paczki, A Polish Jelly Donut

By now everybody knows the full story about the latest proposal to turn the Reliant Astrodome into a wacky, gondola-and-balloon-filled convention-hotel donut, right? Sure, it took the Astrodome Redevelopment Corporation four years to work out the plan — and okay, the would-be redevelopers might be a little stingy about actually showing anybody what the thing is supposed to look like. But the proposal’s clear enough that when the Rodeo and the Texans say they don’t like the project we know enough about the plan to understand what they’re objecting to. Right?

Well, maybe not.

In the latest installment of the Chronicle‘s “Oh, by the way, we failed to mention” series on the latest Dome redo efforts, reporter Bill Murphy drops this little nugget about twenty-three paragraphs in:

The rodeo’s [Chief Operating Officer Leroy] Shafer said he understands that officials in his organization might be viewed as “obstructionists” because of their opposition to the plan. But the public, he said, would understand the rodeo’s stance if officials of the group could speak freely about what they see as the project’s problems. Rodeo officials had to sign confidentiality agreements before they were allowed to review details of the plan.

Hey, Harris County residents should feel lucky: we got to see a drawing of the project without all of us having to sign non-disclosure agreements! If we all promise to sign and keep our mouths shut, can we find out about the project secrets too?

But there’s more: