The familiar contours of a vast supermarket parking lot are already beginning to take shape on the 7.68-acre grounds of the former Wilshire Village Apartments at the southwest corner of Dunlavy and West Alabama. You’ll see the trees that have already disappeared from this site — or more likely, a few of their younger relatives — appearing at various sites around the neighborhood, promises a sign announcing the coming Montrose H-E-B market:
***
- Wilshire Village coverage [Swamplot]
Photos: Candace Garcia
Sigh.
A parking lot of this size in Montrose?
Oh well. I’m still interested in seeing hoiw effective the interaction with Alabama will be. A nice wide pedestrian promenade to an outdoor patio with stunning views of an ENORMOUS SUBURBAN PARKING LOT ARGHHHH!!!
Ahem. Got off track for a moment.
From the angle, that’s probably where the building is actually going – the parking lot is mixed in with the trees on the right of the picture.
I just couldn’t be more unhappy this is happening in my neighborhood. I genuinely do not believe W. Alabama or Dulavy can handle the traffic load this is going to bring in.
I do love HEB – not having one in the Heights sucks – but I am worried about the traffic load on ‘Bama and Dunlavy. Not sure they can handle too much more than they already do.
And they most definitely did not keep any meaningful number of the trees :(
I am pretty sure that is the foundation for the store in the picture. . The store is going to sit on the south side of Alabama. The parking lot is on the south side of the lot, insterspersed amongst a few trees that will be saved.
It is too bad that the offer to dedicate part of the parcel to a public park never found the funding. Could have been a great project with a park at one end and a store at the other with underground parking. We can always dream.
to those concerned about traffic, aren’t you much more concerned about the metro rail redirecting all the richmond traffic to alabama? Based on the cities push of rail into this area i highly doubt they take traffic as a major concern since this is one of the parts of town where traffic is expected to be the norm.
Too bad the new HEB isn’t going to be a highrise. We’d have had angry yellow posters all over the neighborhood, but instead of costuming the proposed building with those menacing eyebrows and a hooked nose, they could have played off the fact that Wilshire Village always looked like it should have been haunted. I’m imagining zombie suburban HEB, arms out, shambling across a huge parking lot and moaning, “Treeeeees!”
No im not Joel.
The turning lane/speeding lane in the center of West Alabama will be a total clusterfudge at this intersection. The city is going to have to put in a protected left at Dunlavy or at the very least return West Alabama to the way it was before the Spur changed it into a suburban westpark tollway. Such a shame to see a beautiful lot full of mature oaks and magnolias turned into what most of the Katy Prairie now looks like; generic shopping plazas. Always two steps forward fourteen giant leaps back in this city.
Carpetbaggers.
Admittedly off topic, but Richmond is well below capacity most of the time anyway.
Is there a single change you people can be happy with?
Seriously, it’s a grocery store. It will have a parking lot.
Montrose is one of the most walkable neighborhoods in Houston, so a large parking lot is always disappointing, particularly when they dangled the promise of something better in front of us.
I hope they demolish any sidewalks around the store and setup bear traps to prevent “walking” customers. I don’t want to smell cheese (from the walkers) before I get to the cheese department.
Texasota, it may be a “walkable neighborhood” but if I’m buying groceries for two weeks it’s not very practical for me to walk a block when there’s more than I can hold.
This is why I have a bike with panniers.
More to the point:
I’m not arguing against parking availability; I’m arguing against a large open lot. I almost wish HEB hadn’t raised the possibility of the more urban-appropriate design.
Makes sense considering that allegedly everyone will be walking to and from the Heights Wal-Mart. Can’t walk in two places at the same time.
They have started rebuilding Dunlavy between Alabama and Richmond that was partially paid for by HEB from what I gathered at the Winlow meeting.
Lake Flato has done several HEB’s. They do a nice job. Anything that replaces the former Wilshire Village is an iimprovement to the neighborhood.
Sorry, de, the new HEB is not really an improvement over the old Wilshire Village…
From Dom:
“They have started rebuilding Dunlavy between Alabama and Richmond…”
Boo. I had been counting on that big drainage ditch having more blue hairs stuck in it than a revolving door at a bingo parlor.
Lake Flato has done one other HEB in town. I can’t say that they did a nice job. The parking is terrible. The entire wall of glass faces South and West. The store is at best claustrophobic and warm. I don’t understand how a firm that touts themselves as being so “green” can support the removal of so many trees and the chaotic siting of buildings which defy the basic logic of passive/solar design. I will continue to walk to Whole Foods.
Can’t wait, Montrose traffic I am not too concerned with as the area is easy to just walk or bike and at the rate gas prices are heading I am sure others will begin to follow this trend.
Can anyone explain the logic of putting this right opposite a Fiesta? Or was it just because the land was available….
In Your face! HEWB went way beyond the call and built an epically beautiful store. It’s awesome!