Hunting down information about the abandoned Modern Fire Station at the corner of Fannin and South Braeswood just south of the Med Center, Houston building arch-ivist Lauren Meyers stumbles upon dangling plans for a new development on the huge vacant lot behind it, which was once home to an apartment complex.
The city sold the [fire station] to an entity named Texas SFI Partnership 33 in February of 2007. Texas SFI Partnership 24 owns the Lanesborough Apartments that are to the west of the fire station at 1819 S. Braeswood Blvd. Lanesborough’s parent company is The Richdale Group, and Richdale is a part of Slosburg Co. A representative of Lanesborough via Slosburg informed us that the property, including the large tract of land to the south, is slated to become a large mixed-use development with a medical emphasis.
There is no timeline for the project and it is still in the design phase. An existing sign on the large empty tract advertises a “Better Lifestyle” with Lanesborough apartments and richdale.com, but there is no other information about the future development on it.
What about that cool 1950 fire station?
***
Meyers notes that the now-more-than-3-year-old violation notice stapled to the side of Fire Station 33 appears to be in better condition than the building itself. The station, which was decommissioned in 2004,
was originally a volunteer station that also served as the city hall for unincorporated Braeswood, which was eventually annexed by Houston in 1950. For the past few years the station has been a small homeless camp and a major target for graffiti, and the owner claims to be unaware of that.
- What’s going on at old Fire Station 33? [Houstonist]
- Fire Station 33 [arch-ive]
- Old Fire Station 33 [HAIF]
Photos and map: Lauren Meyers
That part of the Med Center area is such a wasteland and is in dire need of some retail development which hopefully this will be. Doubtless it will be of the suburban-vast-parking-lot-out-front-beige-stucco-facade-strip variety but it’s better than a wasteground. Marginally.
With all of the apt. dwellings in the area, an icehouse would make a killing.
That’s a good point – is that area zoned dry or something weird like that? I can’t think of a single bar in the med center or the whole are bounded by Main, OST, Holcombe and Almeda. It’s just one apartment complex, vacant lot or stripmall after another. As George Costanza said, When you’re bleak, you’re bleak”.
I agree with rsb320. Great location for icehouse/sportsbar. Definitly a huge market there. Dont know of a single bar in the area that is worth going to.
Great idea! And call it the Emergency Room.
OK, great comment MBS. I laughed out loud.
That old firehouse is a dump but, restored, it really could be a cool bar/club. And right on the light rail line, too, for easy staggering access to public transportation.
Back in the day we’d sometimes stop in there and deliver homemade cookies to the firemen, on our way to HSPVA in the mornings.
> … call it the Emergency Room.
ROFLMAO!!!!
I think it would make a real cool video poker casino. I don’t care that that’s illegal here, as that’s something that should be changed.