Renovations

Commercial Real Estate
03/25/10 4:34pm

Weingarten Realty: We Won’t Demolish the Interior of the Alabama Theater Until a Lease Is Signed

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Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Leasing, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
10 Comments

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:

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Openings and Closings
03/25/10 11:22am

What’s Been Cooking for So Long at Phil’s Texas Barbecue

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Renovations, Restaurants, Washington Corridor
12 Comments

Yes, that’s the former Southwest Muffler and Brake building at the corner of Heights Blvd. and Washington Ave., under new design management. At last, reports a reader, there’s a sign out front indicating the impending opening of Phil’s Texas Barbecue. And in such a tiny little 7,000-sq.-ft. building!

Our reader comments:

While I welcome the addition to the Washington corridor, this place violates Rule No. 1 of successful eatery: a restaurant that spends too much money on looks spends not enough on food. Consider me a hopeful skeptic.

And you haven’t even seen the landscaping yet! Construction has been ongoing since last September. When will those ribs be ready?

An earlier view of that front patio:

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Commercial Real Estate
03/24/10 3:56pm

Chasing Down Weingarten’s Mysterious “Alternatives” to Demolishing the Alabama Theater

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Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
13 Comments

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:

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Commercial Real Estate
03/23/10 3:16pm

Weingarten’s Alabama Theater Plan: Speculative Demolition for Fun and Profit

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Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
18 Comments

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?

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Glenbrook Valley
03/12/10 6:21pm

When Houston Mod Met Sims Bayou

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Homes for Sale, Renovations
36 Comments

What’s the difference between a swank terrazzo-floored Modern home from 1959 or 1960 on a large swath of land somewhere on the banks of Buffalo Bayou in Memorial . . . and one overlooking Sims Bayou in Glenbrook Valley?

Couple million, easy. But . . . Sims Bayou, really?

Okay, so the house at 7711 Lakewind St. doesn’t have quite the same design pedigree (or furniture) as the Frame House — nobody seems to know who designed or built this place. But what do you expect for $359,000?

Uh . . . how about something where the vinyl siding has already been removed? Can we get that?

Sure!

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Homes for Sale
03/11/10 10:05am

The Most Updated House in West U

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Real Estate Marketing, Renovations, West University
10 Comments

Must be tough out there for a little old 1940 cottage in a rough-and-tumble teardown town like West University Place. And so we have this elective-surgery survivor, which showed up on the MLS just yesterday. The listing mentions a 2002 Kitchen update, a roof dating from 2007, and new bathrooms in 2009. HCAD lists a renovation in 2001. Would never have guessed you had work done, really! You look fabulous!

Okay, we’ll show you a few pics of the inside. But really, you’ve already seen the best photo.

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Comments
03/05/10 3:45pm

Comment of the Day: What It Takes To Fix Up a Midcentury Mod

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Quicklink, Renovations
8 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT IT TAKES TO FIX UP A MIDCENTURY MOD “A house of this vintage and vernacular requires a fairly specific buyer possessing a working knowledge of the systemic underpinnings of a home. The first priority will be to upgrade electrical systems, HVAC and plumbing (below grade) – this assumes the aforementioned has not been upgraded within the past 10 years or so. . . . Equally important is the roof and with a flat roof, extra care has to be taken to ensure proper water shedding and flashing details. Next is insulation (particularly with respect to a flat [roof] as there is no plenum), this will involve removing all of the gyp. bd. at the ceiling in order to access the area in question. New electrical wiring can then be run as well as HVAC ducting, followed by high efficacy insulation. Of course, work on all of the above items will result in potential new discoveries such as dry rot, termite damage, non-compliant items per current codes, etc. Expect to reasonably expend $100K for the items noted. This is before you can consider updating the bathrooms, kitchen, new lighting, etc. As there is no garage (not a deal breaker but lack of covered parking could be), consideration should be towards erecting a architecturally harmonious structure on the driveway side of the home. Project is not for the faint of heart but in the end, well worth the effort and potential rewards. This house would likely qualify as a City of Houston Historic Landmark and if pursued, could potentially also include the related tax breaks.” [JAH, commenting on More Backstory on That 1960 Walnut Bend Mod: Nobody’s Screwed It Up Yet]

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Historic Preservation
03/04/10 2:08pm

More Backstory on That 1960 Walnut Bend Mod: Nobody’s Screwed It Up Yet

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Homes for Sale, Renovations, Walnut Bend
14 Comments

Thinking long and hard about that unloved $160K 1960 Mod on Olympia Dr. in Walnut Bend featured here earlier this week? Real estate agent (and Swamplot advertiser) Robert Searcy has a few thoughts:

Due to the presence of pets, unfinished projects and other work needing to be done, (plus the absence of the mod furniture you see in the pictures), it all combines to make the home show less than ideal. Architecturally, however, it is one of the more dramatic in that price range and someone could pull it together. Mod houses are almost ALWAYS a project. This one is no exception. Most either need to be brought up or if they have a higher level of maintenance then they typically require “undoing.” That means going in and taking out inappropriate alterations done in the name of updating and putting back in more architecturally compatible finishes. This is often times a more difficult and more costly process than a straight up restoration. Especially if the seller wants more for the house initially because of their “updates,” which in reality are nothing more than bad choices that architecturally “dumb down” the house to look like every tract home in Katy.

This house needs work, but doesn’t really need the “undoing” factor. It is priced well and the location is not bad.

And he sends in part of the program for the 1960 Parade of Homes:

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Avondale
02/18/10 1:28pm

Dressing Up Those Little Montrose Drive-Ups

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Commercial Real Estate, East Montrose, Leasing, Montrose, Renovations, Retail
7 Comments

Vespa-riding Montrosian Brittanie Holland is curious about two retail buildings in her ’hood recently dressed up for lease:

We live in the northeast part of the Montrose. I was sad when the Hyde Park Supermarket shut down (across from Ziggy’s on Taft and Fairview) because they sold St. Arnold’s and Mexican Coke and were within walking distance. Plus the Pakistani (?) guys who worked there were so nice and knew me by name. Back when Ziggy’s was BYOB having the store there was, well, convenient.

The building has been vacant since summer but over the past few months workers have painstakingly removed all the original brick, refurbished the structure and the rebricked it with most of the original brick. It’s kind of an interesting mid-century building — it looks like it might once have been a garage, and there is a sign for business lease outside but I can’t believe the owners would do all that refurbishing without a [tenant] in mind. This is right down the street from Boheme and the new Deans, and has ample parking, so maybe they’re hoping to draw some similar high-brow ventures? Is Midtown continuing it’s fast encroachment on my filthy Montrose? (We’ll always have Lola’s. Hopefully.)

The other building probably needed a much more extensive cleaning:

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Commercial Real Estate
02/18/10 8:50am

Shooting in Circuit City

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League City, Quicklink, Renovations, Retail
3 Comments

SHOOTING IN CIRCUIT CITY This summer gun store the Arms Room will be moving into the former Circuit City store it just bought, off the northbound I-45 feeder just south of FM 646 in League City. The store specializes in military collectibles, concealed handguns, and tactical weapons. “At 20,000 square feet, the new store will sell firearms and have a 15-lane indoor shooting range rated for rifles and pistols. Sounds a little like a bowling alley. ‘It is very similar,’ said general manager Travis James. ‘You’re in a lane for an hour and you shoot to your heart’s content. You just dont have to change your shoes.’” [Prime Property]

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Commercial Real Estate
01/21/10 12:44pm

Yet Another Protest of Houston’s New Planned Parenthood Headquarters

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Construction Problems, Institutional Buildings, Medical Buildings, Neighborhood Disputes, Renovations, University of Houston
36 Comments

A reader writes in to complain about the not-quite-complete renovation of the former Sterling Bank building overlooking I-45 South at 4600 Gulf Fwy. The building was stripped down to its structure and is being reborn as the largest Planned Parenthood administrative headquarters and healthcare facility in the nation.

Is anyone else really bothered by the fact that on the stair-stepped portions of the curtain wall the spandrel glass doesn’t line up with the spandrels on the rest of the building? I mean if you’re going to design a facade that’s all about geometry, shouldn’t the geometry work? There had to be better ways to do this, really.

A close-up view:

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Buying and Selling
01/15/10 1:10pm

Comment of the Day: 77019 Fixer Uppers

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Comments, Demolitions, Home Prices, Land Sales, Quicklink, Renovations
2 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: 77019 FIXER UPPERS “I have a property in the 77019 area. I am undecided on what to do with it. I expect the property value is in the land rather then house in this instance above. $525K sounds about the going rate in that area for the house above. For the land alone my house sits on I could easily take half a million for it. It raises real questions, since anything I did to the property would not add to its value, if that makes sense. Just recently for instance I noticed that Croix are building on a lot which previously had a fabulous little bungalow on, which was in excellent condition and well restored, sadly Croix demolished it because the value was in the land itself. Sadly also the seller looks to have let it go for less than the land was worth. The house value becomes confusing in the whole value thing. I’ve noticed that builders even the ‘build on your own lot’ people are reluctant to help, give any advice, or take on the work – they want the land, it’s as simple as that. Rather than give it to those people I will probably end up restoring the property and living in it, but whatever is spent on it, it will not add anything to the value of the property which is a sad thing.” [David, commenting on Redo, Rinse, Repeat: Brun Bungalow, Makeover Magnet]

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Buying and Selling
01/14/10 11:11am

Under Construction: 946 Arlington’s Very Extensive Remodel

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Demolitions, Home Design, Houston Heights, Renovations
12 Comments

A Swamplot reader sends in photos from the construction site at the corner of Arlington and 10th St. in the Heights, where 7677 Homes has apparently been busy transforming a much-talked-about 1,048-sq.-ft. bungalow into a 3,128-sq.-ft. home for a new buyer. Reports our site snoop:

The back of the house came off several weeks ago, leaving between 600 – 700 SF of the original structure.

Now the forms for the new piers are in.

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Houston Architects
01/06/10 2:18pm

Island Living: Inside the West U Cottage That Didn’t Get Away

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Interiors, Renovations, West University
22 Comments

Among the just-announced winners of this year’s Good Brick Awards given out by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance is this not-so-recently renovated home on Nottingham St. in West University, which belongs to Carol Triebel and Rick Gist. And it does appear to have some good original bricks on the exterior. In a neighborhood where teardowns or the occasional awkward addition are the norm, Natalye Appel + Associates Architects designed an unusual renovation that kept the 1935 home’s outward cottage form, but twisted its innards around.

The design removed most of the home’s walls and doors, and smushed a core of closets, bath, and laundry into the center of the house along the driveway side. The new main living spaces are now arranged in a C shape around that core.

Then there’s the giant island, meant to do more than Kitchen duty:

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Commercial Real Estate
12/14/09 11:46am

New Life for Greenspoint Multiplex, After Conversion

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Greenspoint, Leasing, Renovations, Shopping Centers
2 Comments

“The former six-screen AMC movie theater at 1100 Greens Parkway” just north of Beltway 8 at Ella, reports Nancy Sarnoff, “is becoming convention space that will house the International Faith Based Business Expo and the Vision Changers Performing Arts Christian Center.”

Photo: LoopNet

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