The team at Braun Enterprises has bought up a series of properties wedged between the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center on West Gray St. and the electrical substation at the corner of Peden St. and Dunlavy, including the 2 retail buildings pictured above. Braun bought up a total of 5 separate parcels in 4 transactions this year, including the offices of Miner-Dederick Construction at 1532 Peden, and retail spaces at 1515, 1705, and 1707 West Gray. That’s a bit shy of an acre in total. Real Estate Bisnow’s Catie Dixon reports Braun is considering selling, leasing, redeveloping, or building something for a future tenant on the property. Here’s a rendering from Braun showing what a renovation of might look like:
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The rendering appears to be centered on what’s now the parking lot between 1705 West Gray (on the right) and the International Hair Salon and Nail Spa, shown here in a new pizza-joint incarnation.
Braun previously turned the former Harold’s in the Heights clothing store on 19th St. into a complex that includes Torchy’s Tacos and the Heights General Store; it’s also the landlord of the just-closed Lucky Burger.
- Buy Five, Redevelop Five, Sell One Million [Real Estate Bisnow]
- Partnership Led By Braun Enterprises Closed On Four Separate Parcels From January 2014—May 2014 [RED News]
Rendering: Braun Enterprises, via Real Estate Bisnow. Photo: LoopNet
Awesome! Love all the development going on in my hood.
Meh. Just doesn’t pop without some barrel architecture.
Looks like a strip center version of West Ave.
Braun is really butchering the old Bobbit Glass/Southwestern Paint Co. building Montrose @ W Gray.
Gone are the transom windows, much of the brick detailing. It’ll be just one more strip full of
franchises. But Mr. Braun will tell you its so so cool.
@jaybird: Braun may be one of only a tiny handful of developers in Houston who has a clue about preserving street fronted retail and went through considerable expense to get W Gray permitted instead of demoing it and doing another strip mall. Also the main tenant is supposed to be the second location for Pizaro’s. Braun has done a pretty decent job of attracting tenants for its projects that are not just the cell phone store and nail salon. Yes, architecture could be better, but the fact that they are willing to do a lot of work to keep retail in front and parking in back is a big plus in my book.
Due to parking minimums, Braun had to eliminate a significant amount of square footage from the Bobbit Glass site. They got a variance on setback, so they could keep the building fronted on the sidewalk, but the city very rarely gives relief on parking minimums.