COMMENT OF THE DAY: WE ARE ALL WEINGARTEN LEASING AGENTS NOW “. . . I’m not [against] historic preservation, but I find [it] silly and immature for people to attack Weingarten. If anybody could approach them with an idea or a plan to keep the theatre and turn it into a money making investment for any kind of use, I’m sure they’ll listen. If Weingarten could get a tenant without any changes to the space, wouldn’t you think they’ll go for that[?] They save a lot of money in that situation. They most likely looked into the gutting of the place since there isn’t much option for them. Saving a place purely on moral grounds that it is the right thing to do isn’t enough. It’s a place to start, but it’s a lot more that has to happen after that. In the end, a philanthropist or investor or a group of a combination of the two is needed. This group can either buy it out or develop a plan that Weingarten could get their rent and the place be saved. . . .” [kjb434, commenting on Weingarten Plans an Alabama Theater Demolition. Is Staples Moving In?]
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Is it sweeps week already? Or did the La Maison at River Oaks just step up its marketing game? 11 News reporter Courtney Zubowski corrals the KHOU newschopper to provide some “over the top” coverage of that clothing-optional sundeck on the roof of the French Quarter-themed apartment complex at 2727 Revere St., south of Westheimer. Alas, no one is taking advantage of the facility when she shows up, and judging from the aerial shots used in the report, neither camera operator nor editor seem to know exactly where the thing is.
A Swamplot reader throws out some more theories:
Last night, a spokesperson under contract to Weingarten Realty writing on behalf of the company reported to Swamplot and its readers that the shopping-center owner “can’t verify the authenticity of the drawings” we reported on yesterday.
The drawings referred to are bid documents that Heights Venture Architects prepared for Weingarten detailing an extensive interior demolition of the 70-year-old Art Deco Alabama Theater at South Shepherd and West Alabama — more commonly known until its closing last September as the Alabama Bookstop bookstore.
Well, gee. Today, “an official” of Weingarten’s architecture firm isn’t having such a hard time with the verification process:
An official at Heights Venture Architects told CultureMap this morning that the company did submit plans detailing a near total interior demolition of the Alabama at the specific request of Weingarten (the company that owns the vacant building).
The official at Heights asked not to be named and said he had no speaking authority, but confirmed that the company had been asked to submit the plans, which Swamplot first published.
What a fun game! Now that this round is over, let’s jump to the next one: Okay, so maybe Weingarten did ask its architects to prepare demolition drawings. Maybe Weingarten is exploring all its options! Just pricing a complete demo for . . . say, comparison.
Here’s the same Weingarten spokesperson feeding this ruse:
Weingarten Realty’s director of investor relations Kristin Gandy tells the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff that the owners of the vacant Alabama Theater building in the Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center at the corner of South Shepherd and West Alabama do not have a deal for the space with any new tenant, including Staples. Swamplot reported earlier this morning that a local construction firm is soliciting bids from subcontractors for an extensive interior demolition of the 1939 Art Deco theater, which from the early eighties until late last year was the home of the Alabama Bookstop bookstore. Drawings detailing the demolition were prepared for Weingarten by Heights Venture Architects, and the bid documents included floor plans for a prototype Staples office-supply store.
Gandy tells Sarnoff
Weingarten has not signed a lease nor has any lease under (letter of intent) with any particular tenant at this time. We have several tenants that are reviewing, but we don’t have a definitive agreement in place.
Weingarten may not have an agreement in place, but the publicly traded company certainly has demolition plans in place, already labeled as issued for permitting. Which means either
- Weingarten is conducting extensive pricing research for a number of options for the space in a rather peculiar manner (the ready-for-permit bid documents do not ask bidders to price any alternative to demolition); or
- (far more likely) Weingarten is gambling that demolishing the interior of Alabama Theater will help it to attract a very particular type of tenant to the unique Inner Loop property.
How much does Weingarten want to demo?
It looks like the former Alabama Theater — known since the early eighties as the Alabama Bookstop, and since last fall as that big vacant space for lease in Weingarten Realty’s Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center — is about to be gutted. A local construction company is currently taking bids from subcontractors for a rather complete interior demolition. The plans, prepared by Heights Venture Architects, show major alterations to the floor, walls, and ceilings.
The theater’s original sloped floor will be buried under a new concrete slab; wood floors inserted during the 1983 bookstore conversion will be removed. For now, the balcony will remain.
Here’s a little before and after to demonstrate:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: INNER LOOP REUNION OF THE EX-PRESIDENTS’ HEADS “I wish someone would get all of the presidents back together! They are very sad now. A kind donor, say perhaps the magnanimous Landed Gent who always boasts of his splendor here on Swamplot, should cut a deal for the Wilshire Village property and foster the development of a Presidential Park. I’m sure it’s like a buy 20 get one free sort of deal, so maybe we could get that nifty telephone too.” [Bobby Hadley, commenting on Pearland Heads Cut Off: The WaterLight District’s Giant Presidential Bust]
About 100 people showed up to that Saturday protest on the former site of the Wilshire Village Apartments, organized by a group calling itself the Montrose Land Defense Coalition. Organizers had originally expressed a desire to have the 7.68-acre site at the southwest corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy be turned into a park. Protesters told reporters they wanted the property’s trees preserved. But the organization’s website now features this clarification:
The aim of our campaign is not to alienate or place our Coalition in direct opposition to any one entity seeking to develop the land. We are concerned with the degree to which communities have a say in the development of land directly adjacent to their places of residence.
Specifically, organizer Maria-Elisa Heg tells Swamplot,
We are still fighting for a green space, a public commons, and we need to show HEB that they need to be mindful of smart urban planning.
And . . . uh, they have some plans for the site to present — shown to them by an unnamed “group of architects”:
If our math holds, 10 or 11 condos have sold or otherwise gained occupants over the last 5 months at 2727 Kirby. Last October, the developers of the new 30-story highrise near Westheimer reported that 20 units in the tower were occupied.
Now the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff reports that the building’s owners have turned over management of the building to a separate agency:
The group has hired Houston-based Association Management to take over now that the building has more residents, said Sherri Atlas, who owns the unsold units in the high-rise with another investor. Fortress is the lender on the project.
Atlas said occupancy is at about 40 percent in the building, which has 77 high-end units.
- Hiring out the managing [Houston Chronicle]
- 2727 Kirby coverage [Swamplot]
Photo: Ziegler Cooper Architects
HOW CERTAIN IS THAT MONTROSE H-E-B? “H-E-B’s plans [to build a new store on the former site of the Wilshire Village apartments] may not be as sure as some think. Cyndy Garza Roberts, the chain’s public-affairs director, tells Hair Balls that plans ‘are still in the very, very early stages.’ That includes not just rudimentary things like due diligence on title and legalities, but even a feasibility study to determine whether a store at the location would be economically viable.” [Hair Balls; previously on Swamplot]
Just around the corner from all those Colquitt galleries behind Kirby, the art traffic gets a little heavy:
Over the weekend, Dimitri and I were driving home on Ferndale as we passed by two guys walking across the street with a very familiar piece of art. I said “Wait a minute, back up- I know this work!†So Dimitri backed up for me to ask “Hey is that a “Floyd Newsum?†They happily confirmed yes- this was sure enough a Floyd Newsum piece of art. It was such a coincidence because I have been working on some promotional photos/collages of Floyd and there he is again right in front of me on my very own street.
- Floyd Newsum Spotting on Ferndale [Slips Photo Blog]
Photo: Sarah Lipscomb
LOOKS LIKE THAT PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN FOR THE NEW MONTROSE H-E-B HAS ALREADY BEGUN If H-E-B can figure out a way to keep this sort of thing going even after the new store is built, that Fiesta won’t have a chance: “The Montrose Land Defense Coalition will hold a rally this weekend at Menil Park to raise awareness of H-E-B’s plans to build a new store on the site of the long-gone Wilshire Village apartment complex. The group will walk from the park to the property at the southwest corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy on Saturday around 1:30 p.m. Last week, H-E-B confirmed that it’s under contract to buy the nearly eight-acre site across from a strip center anchored by a Fiesta. Resident Maria-Elisa Heg recently formed the Montrose Land Defense Coalition to call attention to the property and attract investors who might be interested in buying it with the city of Houston for use as a public space.” [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
No, H-E-B isn’t just buying the former site of the Wilshire Village Apartments at the corner of Alabama and Dunlavy as a real estate investment. H-E-B Houston president Scott McClelland tells the Houston Business Journal‘s Allison Wollam that the company expects to open its Montrose store on that site next year:
We . . . have a site tied up at Alabama and Dunlavy in the Montrose area that we’re finalizing. I think that it’s far enough from our recently opened Bissonnet and Buffalo Speedway store and it will be a good new market for us.
Okay, while we’re at it . . . what are H-E-B’s plans for the Heights?
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE WILSHIRE VILLAGE CURSE “. . . I think we can officially call this site cursed as everyone who has anything to do with it seems to begin making insane decisions about what to do with it. A grocery store?? Really?!?” [mstark, commenting on H-E-B: Yes, We’re Buying the Wilshire Village Site]
A representative of H-E-B confirms to the River Oaks Examiner‘s Mike Reed that the grocery company is buying the 7.68-acre site on West Alabama in Montrose — across Dunlavy from Fiesta — where the Wilshire Village Apartments once stood:
H-E-B spokeswoman Cyndy Garza-Roberts said she could not disclose a proposed purchase price.
“Right now, we are doing our due diligence,†she said. “We are in the very early stages.â€
One part of Swamplot’s due diligence, of course, might be figuring out who H-E-B is actually buying the property from. Some sort of transaction related to the property appears to have already taken place. We’ll have more details on that later.
Update: A few details from the Chronicle.
- H-E-B confirms effort to buy Wilshire Village property [River Oaks Examiner]
- Wilshire Village coverage [Swamplot]
Photo of Wilshire Village Site from Dunlavy St., South of West Alabama: Carl Guderian [license]
The demolished Wilshire Village Apartments appear to have been rescued from threatened foreclosure. A source tells Swamplot that the $13 million the owners owed to Wedge Real Estate Finance has been paid off in full — within days of a scheduled trustee sale. Where’d all that money come from?
If this Wilshire Village rescued owner-in-distress situation sounds familiar to you, you aren’t alone. Jay Cohen, the longtime sole owner of the apartments that stood at the corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy until last summer, faced foreclosure on the property back in 2002, according to a Houston Business Journal article written at the time by Nancy Sarnoff. Details of what happened next have never been published, but within a few years the 7.68-acre property had a new ownership structure, and apartment developer and former director of real estate for Landry’s Restaurants Matthew Dilick was its general partner. (Jay Cohen is likely a limited partner.)
So . . . who’s Dilicking Dilick, now that his own rescue efforts have flopped? Does the Wilshire Village site have a new owner?
