The same architecture firm that transformed Wilshire Village into the H-E-B Montrose Market across town has been pegged to redo 1910 International Coffee Company Building (aka Sunset Coffee Building), resuscitating the derelict shell on Allen’s Landing into use as a Downtown tourist attraction and kayak rental shop. San Antonio firm Lake Flato submitted this drawing of the building at the coffee-with-cream-colored confluence of White Oak and Buffalo Bayou underneath Main and Fannin to Buffalo Bayou Partnership, which plans to begin the project in April.
- Houston building steeped in history to get facelift [abc13]
- Plan to renovate city’s ‘front door’ to begin in April [Houston Chronicle]
- International Coffee Building [Buffalo Bayou Partnership]
Rendering: Buffalo Bayou Partnership
I just don’t understand WHY this building can’t be turned into a Kroger or Wal-Mart with those tax dollars!!
AB – I agree!
If you google the Buffalo Bayou Master Plan they have quite the vision for what Buffalo Bayou can really be for Houston. It’ll be expensive, but it could really improve downtown’s walkability and draw more retail and residential so people stop perceiving downtown as a hobo-ridden, piss covered abomination. Maybe legalizing gambling would help with its development too.
Yes!
The building isn’t big enough for a Walmart. I’m sure though that the city approached Walmart to try.
The main St bridge for the hike and bike path to downtown is finally complete and open. When the boat house is complete, families can ride their bikes to downtown, kayak around for a bit, have lunch and bike home. This could be a big boost for downtown.
one of the best spots in town. used to love biking around this area with the long slope and stair gaps, but much better to see someone spending money to fix it up. even though i doubt i’ll ever go there, can’t imagine much better ways to spend money in this town though.
AB: Aw, c’mon. Everyone knows that city dwellers don’t eat food.
This is awesome!
Are you absolutely SURE that you don’t want to give $6m to Ainbinder to build a strip mall in the middle of downtown?
Isn’t this the Love Street Light Circus building?
This is a project that has been sitting on the drawing boards for several years and its great that they are finally going to finish it. Its a real boost for Allen’s Landing and downtown. There is nothing about this project that should bring out the immature statements that have been written.
Those that are truly interested in seeing Houston grow in a positive way should applaud their efforts to get it done.
The overall long range plans for the bayou are quite interesting and hopefully these will come to fruition.
I agree that this is a great project.
I don’t see anything wrong with pointing out the contrast of the City giving millions to Kroger and Walmart (Ainbinder) to build stores they were going to build anyway and, through Houston First, giving millions to a project like this.
Attempts at humor may seem immature, but the reality of the City giving millions to Walmart, Kroger and HEB is a real issue.
I Love Love Love this along with all the improvements they are doing along the bayou. I find myself spending more time in this area and to have a place to stop off and enjoy multiple facets of the park will only increase as the availability of activities and shops grow.
Jules, i think it has more to do with the fact that you guys are trying to point out how much money was given to a couple companies to build planned developments ONLY within the recently gentrified washington corridor as your entire basis for claiming bad public policy.
complaining about city policies by only focusing on how they impact your specific area while ignoring original intent of the policy, how they’ve been used in the past, how they’ve been used outside of your area in the same years and how they were used in the washington corridor prior to 2007 does not make for a good argument.
you point out two or three companies, what’s the full list of companies/developers as well as developments that have been reimbursed through the city in the same manner since this all started? i know someone’s going to come in and say these companies didn’t build the improvements as they were supposed to, but enforcement is a separate issue from the policy itself.
I don’t think the comments were against this development.
This has been in the pipeline for a really long time. Sometimes I wondered if it would be easier to bend a spoon mentally than for the powers involved to finally renovate this little building.
Great idea, now people have to get out of their apartments and actually use it!
Joel, as far as I know Kroger, Walmart (Ainbinder) and HEB are the only retailers of that type that got 380’s. They have done other 380’s, here’s the whole list:
http://www.houstontx.gov/ecodev/380.html
I agree on the improvements being less than advertised.
As far as the actual intent of these 380’s, I think Mayor Parker got exactly what she wanted, whatever that was.
The 380 agreement giveaways ,continued by Mayor Parker and her backers,at any cost ARE what drives Houston. Yet our infrastructure is literally crumbling:storm drains/gutters/sewers/roads/streets/bridges,etc., are in the worst shape in decades.We have all these shiny,new projects; yet the roads eat our vehicles,the flooding is getting worse and the Drainage Fee scheme will NOT do ANY repairs for NINE more years. WHERE is all that money going: to pay off some of the existing COH debt.We NEED our infrastructure REPAIRED ASAP. NOT 9 years in the future.Again, government promising projects it can’t / won’t deliver on!!!!
Won’t the bayou flood it with heavy rains?
“Look Mommy! A dead body!”