Let’s see . . . there was today’s planned foreclosure auction for Wilshire Village. What else does Matt Dilick of Commerce Equities have going on?
Swamplot’s neighborhood correspondent for Bellaire reports on Commerce Equities’ proposed development on one portion of a couple of long-vacant tracts at the northeast corner of Bissonnet and Newcastle:
The plots of land at 4400 and 4500 Bissonnet, between Newcastle and the Centerpoint service center, are being cut up and sold. . . .
Evidence of surveying and subdivision in recent weeks has recently given way to signboards indicating that the north third of the open land at 4500 Bissonnet will be cut up into six residential lots while the two-thirds fronting Bissonnet is reserved for commercial. The next block over, across Howard Street, commercial space is being developed to open before April of 2010. According to flyers on broker David Nettles’s website, approximately 62% of the 20,000-some-odd square feet of office space is still available.
But the two parcels — totaling almost 4 acres — have more of a connection to Wilshire Village than just the involvement of Dilick.
***
The properties, which our correspondent calls “the last patch of undeveloped grass holding out in Bellaire,” were also owned for many years by longtime Wilshire Village owner Jay H. Cohen. HCAD reports the 4400 Bissonnet parcel’s most recent owning entity, a partnership called East Bissonnet Ltd., took control in May of this year.
The parking lot of the 2-story strip center planned for that site, designed by Identity Architects, would face Bissonnet. Our correspondent notes that a version of the rendering in the LoopNet listing features the Texas Children’s Hospital logo (presumably for a new cerebral palsy respite center) on the single-story portion of the structure.
- 4400 Bissonnet (PDF) and 4500 Bissonnet (PDF) [David Nettles]
- 4400 Bissonnet [LoopNet]
- Surprise! Wilshire Village Facing Foreclosure [Swamplot]
- Comment of the Day: Wilshire Village Payment Due [Swamplot]
- Comment of the Day: Grand Unified Wilshire Village Conspiracy Theory [Swamplot]
Photos: Swamplot inbox; renderings and images: David Nettles
Lord have mercy….there’s a musical in all of this somewhere. What are Michael Palin and Eric Idle doing these days?
This is a flimsy attempt to use the Wilshire Village name to grab web traffic. How utterly transparent. What is next? Naming the blog WilshireLot? Shame on you Gus!!
Thanks! Was wondering what the sign said but too lazy to go look.
I work at the nonprofit agency that owns the building right next door, which is actually 4500 Bissonnet, so don’t know why they say they’re building at 4500….
I’m a bit upset because we have had serious parking issues and I heard rumors we’ve tried desperately to purchase the land for more parking and the guy that owned it wouldn’t sell.
Guess if we had the $$ of a developer it would have been a different story.
Now we’re just going to hope new hires start riding their bikes to work….
This area has had a rocky history – elder Cohen tried to develop it back in the mid forties (right after Wilshire Village) but was apparently unsuccessful. He developed the homes to the north of Bissonnet but according to a newspaper article,
“The community center, which would cost in excess of $250,000, is contingent upon the approval of the citizens of Bellaire, who exercise control over the municipality’s zoning measures. Proponents of the project are hopeful of approval of the center, they say, because there is no other shopping center within a mile and a quarter.”
The shopping/community center, to be named Mulberry Manor, was never built, but it was “designed as a Western modern type, and the over-all design resembles an airplane with one wing clipped off..”
more here:
http://arch-ive.org/archive/mulberry-manor/
This was the letter that I sent to Gringo’s. It would be the best thing that happened to Bellaire since the Trolley cameif they would put one on this property.
To Whom It May Concern;
Have or would you consider opening a restaurant in Bellaire, Texas? I have wanted to build a Gringo’s in Bellaire or somewhere near the area for over 7 years. There is a restaurant that I’m sure you might have heard of called Jax’s grill. It does unbelievable business in Bellaire. Bellaireians eat this place up. The food is good but nothing in comparison to Gringo’s. There really are no mexican food restaurants besides Los Tios and Escalantes in Meyerland. Los Tios restaurant is always packed but the quality of the food has gone down the drain since Skeeters bought them out. I would like to hear your side to this matter and hear some suggestions.
I wish I could help to finance this dream of mine.