The west wall has been breached at 3615 Montrose Blvd., where Riverway had previously planned to break ground on a Philip Johnson/Alan Ritchie Glass House-themed condo midrise this spring. The 130-ft. sign (per a city inspector’s disapproving measurement) advertising the most recent condominium project planned for the corner at Marshall St. has been blacked out for about a month, according to a reader surveying the empty corner lot from above.
The comparatively tiny sales center sign is missing altogether; the same round of March inspection ticketing asked for it to be removed from the property. Also gone: HAR’s sales listings for the building’s individual units, which the site indicates were also removed around the end of April and the beginning of May.
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Riverway’s Michael Carroll told Erin Mulvaney early last year that the project probably wouldn’t move forward unless at least 17 of the building’s 34 $1-to-3 million units were sold, citing the possibility of an oil-related downturn; the project bumped up both planned size and prestige of architectural firm during the previous fall. The same corner was previously marked for a condo project called the Riparian (perhaps nodding to the site’s previous history as the River Cafe).
- Previously on Swamplot:Â Bigger Condo Building Now Planned for River Cafe Spot on Montrose Blvd. Has Bigger Site, Bigger Name Architecture Firm;Â Developer Says Proposed Garage Wall Streetfront for 3615 Montrose Condo Tower Will Be Green or Arty, Not Blank;Â Latest Condo Building Planned for Former River Cafe Spot Offers Montrose Blvd. a Garage Wall Streetfront;Â Daily Demolition Report: Swept Away
Photos: Swamplot inbox
This lot is starting to sound cursed.
That’s hilarious – I had never heard of the “The Riparian” project. You can’t just take an adjective and make it a noun. Proves that you don’t know the meaning of big words, and no – using them does not make you sound smarter.
Naugles is making a comeback (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/ziebarth-674484-naugles-hours.html), and that corner lot would be perfect for a franchise.
Another one bites the dust.
When I drove by there I always wondered if someone forgot to tell them that Philip Johnson was dead. Not exactly a brilliant marketing idea to say that the building is being designed by a dead architect?
@Joel, my thoughts exactly. A friend of mine has a condo in Park IV that overlooks this property, and he’s been watching what’s been going on there for years. He and I both remember not only the old River Cafe, but the planned Riparian project that never got off the ground. Nothing has sprouted there since the cafe closed more than 10 years ago. My friend always breathes a sigh of relief when the projects fail, since they would have blocked his magnificent view of downtown. (Although he would have had plenty to look at if the Glass House was built). ;)
@scottD: It’s a successor firm run by some of Johnson’s former associates, but using the name of the founder. Kind of like Chanel, Ferrari, Baker & Botts, Vinson & Elkins, etc.