Redevelopment

Comments
04/09/10 12:04pm

Comment of the Day: Chin Up, Weingarten!

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Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Development Strategies, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Quicklink, Redevelopment, River Oaks, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
18 Comments

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]

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Comments
03/04/10 2:39pm

Comment of the Day: The Wilshire Village Curse

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Development Strategies, Lancaster Place, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment
9 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE WILSHIRE VILLAGE CURSE “. . . I think we can officially call this site cursed as everyone who has anything to do with it seems to begin making insane decisions about what to do with it. A grocery store?? Really?!?” [mstark, commenting on H-E-B: Yes, We’re Buying the Wilshire Village Site]

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Comments
02/24/10 1:29pm

Comment of the Day: The “Trickle-Down” Theory of Houston Redevelopment

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Demolitions, Development Restrictions, Historic Districts, Quicklink, Redevelopment
1 Comment

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE “TRICKLE-DOWN” THEORY OF HOUSTON REDEVELOPMENT “. . . Historic Districts suck and deed restriction, too. They pit neighbor against neighbor, creating the distraction that will keep residents from organizing across the city and taking aim at the real predators. Meanwhile, the money behind the bulldozers is laughing till they pee their pants.” [finness, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Foundations of Wayne]

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Downtown
02/08/10 2:21pm

Slipping a Hotel Under the Slipcover: Plans from the New Owner of 806 Main

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Hotels, Houston Landmarks, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment
7 Comments

The Houston Business Journal‘s Jennifer Dawson is reporting that a hotel developer out of Fort Worth is purchasing the 22-story office building at 806 Main St. Downtown with plans to gut it, renovate it, and reopen it as a hotel. The building is approximately 100 years old, but its top 10 floors were added in the 1920s. The stone, terra cotta, and brick structure was dressed in a marble-and-glass slipcover about 60 years later. Directly across the street from the tower is the construction site of Hines’s MainPlace development.

The city has designated 806 Main as a landmark. It’s connected to the Downtown tunnel system, but has remained mostly empty in recent years. The last of 40 recent tenants is scheduled to move out this week. Building manager Betty Brown tells Dawson that only the Christian Science Reading Room and Domino’s Pizza on the ground floor will be left — their leases run out in 9 to 12 months.

With the exception of the Embassy Suites in downtown Fort Worth featured prominently on its website, Pearl Real Estate has built or redeveloped mostly suburban-style hotels. The 10-year-old company typically operates its own properties and serves as its own general contractor.

What kind of hotel is Pearl planning underneath this slipcover?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Buying and Selling
01/14/10 12:10pm

More of the Story of Those Disappearing Oak Forest Oaks

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Demolitions, Homebuilders, Landscape, Neighborhood Disputes, Oak Forest, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Trees
12 Comments

MORE OF THE STORY OF THOSE DISAPPEARING OAK FOREST OAKS “My neighbor lived in what you would consider a ‘tear down.’ For several years she struggled with selling and moving or rebuilding on the lot. A big factor in the decision was finding a builder that would keep the integrity of the lot and not cut down the gem – a 100 year old tree that is 4′ in diameter. She thought that she found the builder that respected the tree and had the same vision while simultaneous[ly] she found her dream home over in Garden Oaks. . . . Shortly after the transition, a family bought the lot and are ready to build . . . I have 2 neighbors including myself that would take this tree. I have till Friday to find an association that would underwrite this project and be interested in saving this tree.” [Kat Alan Madison + Austin; previously on Swamplot] Photo: HAR

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Openings and Closings
12/07/09 1:13pm

Closing the Borders at Westheimer and Gessner

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Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping Centers, Woodlake
10 Comments

When Borders announced back in November that it would be closing 200 Waldenbooks, Borders Outlet, and Borders Express bookstores nationwide, only 3 Houston stores were on that list: the Waldenbooks in Willowbrook Mall, Houston Center, and the Northwest Mall. Not included: the Borders Books & Music in the former Houston Jewelry building at 9633 Westheimer, at the corner of Gessner. But employees have apparently been telling customers for months that that store would be closing in January. And now a reader reports that “Store Closing” sale signs are up in the windows. The shopping center, says an employee, is being redeveloped. Last day of business: January 16th.

Photo: Hennie Schaper

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Bellaire
11/06/09 1:44pm

First They’ll Need To Clear Out All That Vegetation That’s in the Way

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Houston History, Land Sales, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment
12 Comments

FIRST THEY’LL NEED TO CLEAR OUT ALL THAT VEGETATION THAT’S IN THE WAY Nancy Sarnoff hears word that the owners of the 100-year-old Teas Nursery at 4400 Bellaire Blvd. near Newcastle are hoping to sell off the property for single-family homes: “The Bellaire business will be relocated, sold or liquidated, according to Tom Teas, president and manager of the landscaping division. Plans are for the nursery company to redevelop the five acres of land itself and then sell lots to builders. The project will start in January.” [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]

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Apartments
11/05/09 1:26pm

Replacing Richmont Square: The Low Cost, Bohemian Option

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Menil, Redevelopment, Renting
22 Comments

Communications director Vance Muse tells the River Oaks Examiner‘s Michael Reed that the foundation’s board won’t replace the bargain-rent Richmont Square Apartments in a way that’ll change the character of the Menil campus:

“It’s on our mind that we could, in a low-key Menil way, build a (residential) property along Richmond Avenue,” he said.

Apartments at Richmont Square range from $650 for one-bedroom, one-bath units of 575 square feet to $955 for two-bedroom, two-bath units of 1,064 square feet. Deposits are between $250 and $300.

Asked about the possibility of the Menil plan including dwellings that are priced similarly to what would be replaced, Muse said specifics have not been discussed yet.

“We’d like to keep it bohemian, if at all possible,” he said. “There has always been a commitment (by Menil) to offering a break.”

Photo of Richmont Square parking lot, 1400 Richmond Ave.: River Oaks Examiner

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Galleria
11/04/09 2:54pm

Mixed Use for the New Uptown Corridor: A Better Perennial Portrait

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Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Transportation
14 Comments

Here they are: More renderings of the Perennial, the mixed-use development the Redstone Companies is hoping to fit onto a block at 2200 Post Oak Blvd. just north of the Galleria — on the former site of the Compass Bank building, which was imploded in a small ceremony earlier this year. Does this thing look familiar? An earlier drawing of the project appeared on the SkyscraperPage forum and was featured on Swamplot in May. Now HAIF poster Urbannizer digs up a leasing brochure for the property from the development’s otherwise password-protected website.

What’s for lease? Two separate buildings: a 20-story office tower incorporating an 8-level parking garage as well as lots of retail space at the base; and a separate hotel tower to the north — combining just under 300 guest rooms and 100 residences. In all, the developers are counting just under 74,000 sq. ft. of retail space, including 3 levels meant to face the action on Post Oak.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Comments
10/30/09 1:51pm

Comment of the Day: Memorial Real Estate Imperatives

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Demolitions, Development Strategies, New Construction: Residential, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Sherwood Forest
No Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: MEMORIAL REAL ESTATE IMPERATIVES “The house is old. The house must be torn down. The house will be replaced by one with separate rooms for every task imaginable. The house will have a six car garage – the new four car garage. A realtor will advertise the property with ‘old growth trees’. This must be done.” [tcpIV, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Taking from Friar Tuck and Little John]

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Demolitions
10/29/09 3:23pm

East End Dreams: Living Hope in Action at the Corner of 75th and Lawndale

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Development Strategies, Land for Sale, Mason Park, Redevelopment
4 Comments

East End blogger Dana Jennings was eager to see what the owners of what was once the Avalon Theater at the corner of Lawndale and 75th St. — just east of the Forest Park Cemetery — had in mind for the property. From last month:

It’s most recent use was as a church. Usually alot of traffic, both foot and vehicular, was seen on Sundays. They’ve moved to a more hopeful location about 2 years ago.

I always thought this would be remodeled into apartment homes. It’s right across the street from La Michocana Meat Market and Grocery, the 99 Cent store, CVS pharmacy, fast food and the Washateria. The bus line runs along Lawndale. It’s a lively corner, active, but again, and I know I’m repeating myself, it’s not threatening. In other obvious words, it would make a great place for new apartments.

The building, still labeled “Living Hope Church,” was demolished September 4th. So what’s the latest on the property?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Houston Heights
10/28/09 1:00pm

Expanded Heights Kroger: Now Wider Than Wide Angle

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Redevelopment, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers
11 Comments

How big is the newly expanded mega-Kroger on 11th and Shepherd? So big that a Swamplot reader standing in the parking lot couldn’t fit the entire store in one photo. The best attempt, above, shows the place is “too big to do that now.” At 96,000 sq. ft., the Merchants Park Shopping Center Kroger at 1035 N. Shepherd is now apparently the largest grocery store inside Houston city limits.

The new section of the store opened last Friday, reports our reader,

to much rejoicing in the Heights. Both the new and the old section of the store is in use. I assume now that the new part is open they will begin renovations on the old part of the store.

The new part of the store has a Starbucks, large produce section & bakery, Mediterranean bar, hot food bar, and prepared foods section.

More reader-submitted pics from inside and out:

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Houston Architects
10/26/09 4:01pm

The Westchase Spec Office Building That Ate Tinseltown

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New Construction, Office Buildings, Redevelopment, Westchase
15 Comments

Not a fan of the “ugly uninspired office parks” that line Beltway 8 on the west side of town, radio geek and computer answer guy Jay Lee finds he has a few nice things to say — and photograph — about the recently completed first phase of Westchase Park, a Simmons Vedder office development that’s replaced the Cinemark Tinseltown Westchase just north of Westpark:

There’s a water feature in the front of the building that sports a metallic sculpture which sort of reminds me of the contraption from the movie “Contact.” It’s by far the most interesting piece of architecture I have seen out here on the west beltway.

The building itself is glass and chrome and glints in the daylight. I was kind of hoping the sculpture was a corporate logo of some kind and that this was going to be to world headquarters of some up and coming conglomerate or something. Alas, it is simply a business park and will soon be selling office space to those looking to setup shop in the Westchase District.

On the plus side, it looks pretty cool at night:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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Development Strategies
10/26/09 1:42pm

Dilick: How About We Throw Up Some Townhomes Where Wilshire Village Was?

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Lancaster Place, Neighborhood Disputes, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Townhomes
3 Comments

The purported owner of the Wilshire Village complex at the corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy, who managed to stay out of the media spotlight while the 69-year-old 8-acre complex was emptied and then torn down after a sequence of peculiar events earlier this year, appears at the end of Nancy Sarnoff’s phone line to make a few pronouncements about the property.

First, that big Commerce Equities sign on the property that says “Available”? Well, here’s what it really means:

“We would consider an outright sale if the appropriate user was identified,” owner Matt Dilick of Commerce Equities said.

That’s right: Dilick might wanna do a little creatin’ there himself!

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Apartments
10/02/09 5:08pm

Chipperfield Sculpts the New Menil: Goodbye, Richmont Square

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Art, Institutional Buildings, Menil Collection, Museums, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment
13 Comments

The Richmont Square apartments on Richmond Ave. get knocked down in the new master plan for the Menil Collection campus. Speaking at a public forum last night, British architect David Chipperfield referred to the Menil’s big multifamily property as “this thing getting in our way.”

Cite magazine’s Raj Mankad describes more details of the Chipperfield plan:

The car park along Alabama would be strengthened with the new bookshop, cafe, and auditorium nearby. The key change would be to connect West Main across the site [to Yupon] through the area occupied by the northern end of Richmont Square. The complete street grid would surround a new green space that would also be made possible by the clearing of the north side of the apartments. It would connect, slightly off axis, with the current Menil park between the main building and the Rothko. The Drawing Institute and Study Center and Single Artist Studios would be sited around the new green space. And along Richmond itself, the plan calls for dense residential and commercial development.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

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