Shopping Centers

Commercial Real Estate
04/07/10 9:53am

Staples to Weingarten Realty: Don’t Gut the Alabama Theater for Us, Thanks

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Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
11 Comments

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?

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Commercial Real Estate
04/05/10 11:17am

H-E-B Announces That the Buffalo Grille Is Moving — Somewhere

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Leasing, Openings and Closings, Parking, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, West University
21 Comments

A spokesperson for Buffalo Grille parking-lot tenant H-E-B confirms that the popular West U brunch-and-lunch spot will be moving from its current location on Bissonnet at Buffalo Speedway after its lease expires next year, “to a new location yet to be determined.” But one possible new location for the Buffalo Grille — a portion of the former JMH Market on Rice Blvd. — was just snapped up by the owners of Thompson + Hansen Nursery and Tiny Boxwood’s. The Buffalo Grille’s John McAleer tells the West University Examiner

“Right now…pickings are very slim. Any vacant space in the West U area, or the closest you can get to it, we’re looking at it. We have a year left, and we’re looking at that perfect location to find.”

How awkward: McAleer’s parents, Mac and Betty McAleer, “are part of the management team that owns the land on which the Buffalo Grille and H-E-B are situated,” the Examiner‘s Charlotte Aguilar and Steve Mark explain. And Molina’s Restaurant — displaced from the shopping center a few years ago when H-E-B redeveloped it — is still looking for its own replacement West U location.

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Comments
04/02/10 2:30pm

Comment of the Day: Staples “Not Involved” in the Alabama Theater

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Commercial Real Estate, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Quicklink, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
1 Comment

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]

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Comments
03/31/10 5:14pm

Comment of the Day: Heights Walgreens Strip Center Shuffle

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Houston Heights, Quicklink, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers
4 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HEIGHTS WALGREENS STRIP CENTER SHUFFLE “Woah is right. So how does this bode for the existing strip center across 20th where the old Walgreens is along with Kroger, etc.? Would love to know what the plans are for that whole strip now [that] that new Kroger is done and Walgreens seems to be going across the street. Anyone know?” [Mary, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Happy Hide a Way]

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Commercial Real Estate
03/31/10 4:19pm

Alamo Drafthouse to Weingarten: Why Gut the Alabama Theater When We Can Just Chop It in Half?

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Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
16 Comments

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:

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Adaptive Reuse
03/26/10 2:03pm

Comment of the Day: What Makes the Alabama Theater So Easy To Lease

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Comments, Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Quicklink, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
8 Comments

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]

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Buying and Selling
03/26/10 1:22pm

Memorial Drive Scrape: The End of Otto’s and Bibas Greek Pizza

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Cancellations and Delays, Commercial Real Estate, Memorial, New Construction, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail, Rice Military, Shopping Centers
3 Comments

How cheaply did the Ponderosa Land Development Co. pick up the 1.3 acres of land under Otto’s Bar B Que on Memorial Dr.?

“I won’t be able to ride off into the sunset with what I’m getting,” Otto’s co-owner June Sofka tells Jennifer Dawson of the Houston Business Journal. And that’s our only clue. Well, that and the fact that the shopping-center developers still had enough money left over to buy the property next door.

A new 2-story building on the 1.8-acre site between Asbury and Reinicke, on the southern border of Rice Military, is being designed by Kirksey.

The portion with Memorial frontage that will also be torn down to make way for the new project is owned by two sisters, one of whom is Wanda Greb. Their property contains Bibas Greek Pizza, M-T Nails, Memorial Barber Shop, Rich Cleaners and the hamburger restaurant segment of Otto’s, which is leased by the Sofkas.

Ponderosa intends to scrape the entire site and develop a 22,000-square-foot center with retail, restaurant and possibly some boutique office space. The project is expected to cost $6 million to $8 million, not including the land cost.

But wait, maybe not all of those businesses are disappearing from that location!

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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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Comments
03/25/10 3:00pm

Comment of the Day: We Are All Weingarten Leasing Agents Now

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Commercial Real Estate, Financing, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Quicklink, Real Estate Investing, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
1 Comment

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?]

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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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Commercial Real Estate
03/23/10 8:15am

Weingarten Plans an Alabama Theater Demolition. Is Staples Moving In?

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Historic Preservation, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
78 Comments

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:

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Galleria
03/01/10 10:06am

Post Oak Strip Centers Versus the Uptown Light Rail Plan: The Gathering Storm

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Proposed Developments, Public Transportation, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Traffic
70 Comments

At a meeting last week at Kenny & Ziggy’s Deli organized by Jim “Mattress Mack” MacIngvale, owners of businesses located along Post Oak Blvd.’s vast double phalanx of front-loading strip centers — and representatives of a few of their landlords — groused about Metro’s design for the new Uptown Line and prepared for possible battle. The Examiner Newspapers’ Michael Reed first brought attention to a few quirks of the latest design for the Post Oak stretch of the light-rail line late last year: It features 7 stations, 5 gated crossings, and in all close to 2 dozen traffic signals along the 1.7-mile path from Richmond Ave. to the 610 West Loop. It also blocks all instances of that staple of sprawl-style shopping-center development: the non-intersection left turn.

Had Metro been communicating its plans to the property owners? Had the property owners been relaying any information they received from the transit agency to their tenants?

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Commercial Real Estate
02/24/10 9:14am

The Coming Migration of the Buffalo Grille?

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Leasing, Parking, Quicklink, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, West University
No Comments

THE COMING MIGRATION OF THE BUFFALO GRILLE? Is the Buffalo Grille, left as the lone strip-center survivor at the corner of Bissonnet and Buffalo Speedway after the recent invasion of the new H-E-B Buffalo Market, looking to shuffle off to a new location? An H-E-B representative did tell the West U city council the restaurant would stay where it’s been for the last 26 years — but that was last May. More recently, restaurant co-owner John McAleer says H-E-B managers have “expressed concerns” about there not being enough parking for the grocery store. So he’s looking into a possible new location for the West U breakfast joint — namely, a portion of the former JMH Market less than a mile to the southwest, at the corner of Edloe and Rice Blvd. “McAleer said the restaurant has not received official word from the grocery store about what will happen in April 2011 when its lease expires. There’s still the chance that The Buffalo Grille will stay put, but the family is exploring all its options . . . ‘They’re worried some of our customers are taking their spots, and their customers are going over to Kroger, which is obviously their biggest competitor,’ he said.” [Instant News West U; previously on Swamplot]

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Malls
02/19/10 3:53pm

The Best Buy in Meyerland

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Meyerland Plaza, Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Retail, Shopping Centers
7 Comments

THE BEST BUY IN MEYERLAND No, that isn’t another gun store with shooting range moving into the empty Circuit City space at the Meyerland Plaza shopping center. Reports a reader: “There has been some activity in the empty space lately, and today I asked a worker who was out in the parking lot what store was going in, and he said Best Buy.” [Swamplot inbox]

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