Ritz Camera, which filed for bankruptcy protection in February, will be closing more than 300 of its Ritz, Wolf Camera, and Kits Camera stores nationwide, the company announced late last week. Not surprisingly, the Wolf Camera in Sage Plaza at 5161 San Felipe — less than a quarter-mile from the Wolf Camera on S. Post Oak in the Galleria — is one of the victims. Also closing: Ritz Camera stores in the Katy Mills Mall, at 5706 Highway 6 in Missouri City, and in the Royal Oaks Shopping Center at 11691 Westheimer.
Ritz is also shutting down its entire 130-store Boater’s World chain, including the 6,000-foot location in Webster. Its Galveston store never reopened after Hurricane Ike.
Photo of Wolf Camera in Baybrook Square, Webster (where the lights are staying on): David Stall
Read more about: Bankruptcies, Disaster Aftermath, Hurricane Ike, Openings and Closings, Retail
Newmark Homes, a local brand of failed Florida homebuilder TOUSA, will be laying off 156 Houston employees beginning in May, according to a filing with the Texas Workforce Commission. Another 63 employees in Austin will lose their jobs. The company, which filed for bankruptcy back in January 2008, had been trying to sell Newmark and its other local brand, Trophy Homes. “The company said in a recent statement that it would stop building new homes and focus on selling its remaining inventory of speculative homes and its land holdings.” [Houston Business Journal]
Read more about: Bankruptcies, Homebuilders
February 26, 2009 – 11:30 am
No word yet from Ritz Camera on whether any of the company’s 14 Houston-area Wolf Camera locations will be closed. The company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday. It owes more than $40 million to Nikon and Canon alone. Ritz is the nation’s largest camera chain, with more than 1000 stores. It also owns Boater’s World, which has a store in Webster. [Washington Post]
Read more about: Bankruptcies, Openings and Closings, Retail
February 10, 2009 – 9:50 am
What’s really going on at Wilshire Village? Are tenants of the aging garden apartments at the corner of W. Alabama and Dunlavy actually being evicted?
Houston City Council Member Sue Lovell — and separately, at least one attorney — has reportedly told tenants of the complex that the eviction letter they received is not legally binding, since it was not signed by all owners of the property. Here’s the original report Swamplot received about the eviction notices last week:
We received information from two tenants at the site. Each received letters and/or cards from Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd., 11144 Fuqua St., Suite 200, Houston, TX 77089 . The letters told them to vacate by the end of the month and that the electricty will be shut off on that date. The cards were signed by Matthew Dillick [sic], and the letters were cc’d to Mr. Jay Cohen, Mr. Clifton Hebert, and Mr. Howard Hebert (we don’t know who the Heberts are).
Matthew Dillick [sic] has had some interest in the property for several years. We had always been led to believe that Mr. Cohen continued to own the majority of the property, but when the tenant talked to Doug Anders in the Public Works Department, he implied that perhaps Mr. Cohen no longer maintained the majority interest in the property and that the majority has made other plans for the site.
So . . . who owns Wilshire Village?
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Read more about: 77098, Apartments, Bankruptcies, Evictions, Lancaster Place, Neighborhood Disputes, Redevelopment, Wilshire Village
February 4, 2009 – 6:17 pm
At least 2 tenants of the Wilshire Village garden apartments have received eviction notices from the owner, demanding that they vacate the property by the end of February, a source tells Swamplot. The notices, which were signed by Commerce Equities president Matthew Dilick, say that electricity at the property will be turned off after that date. Swamplot’s source also says that the city’s Public Works department is aware of plans for the site.
Wilshire Village is the classically modern but now classically decrepit yellow-brick complex at the southwest corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy, across from Fiesta. The 17 buildings were designed by local architect Eugene Werlin and completed in 1940. Wilshire Village hit a downward spiral in more recent years under the peculiar supervision of its previous owner, who reportedly fought off throngs of eager potential tenants in order to keep the 144-unit complex largely vacant — then declared bankruptcy in 2002 when he was unable to pay the taxes on the property.
Although reports that the 8-acre complex would be demolished have circulated for years, the timing of these eviction notices is a bit of a surprise, given problems other developers are currently having securing construction loans. Equally surprising to many others who have driven past the run-down apartments recently is news that actual tenants are still living there.
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Read more about: 77098, Apartments, Bankruptcies, Demolitions, Houston Architects, Lancaster Place, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Wilshire Village
January 9, 2009 – 4:59 pm
The developer of the Mosaic highrise overlooking Hermann Park — a limited partnership between Phillips Development & Realty and publicity-shy Florida Capital Real Estate Group — declared bankruptcy earlier this week to avoid foreclosure on a $71 million loan from Chicago lender Corus Bankshares. Florida Capital, originally the equity partner, will be taking over as the general partner.
The bankruptcy covers just the first Mosaic tower. The second tower, rebranded the Montage, has not yet defaulted on its separate $71 million Corus loan.
So how have sales been going at the Mosaic? It depends, the Houston Business Journal’s Jennifer Dawson learns, who you ask:
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Read more about: 77004, Apartments, Bankruptcies, Condos, Condos for Sale, Financing, Foreclosures, Hermann Park, Highrises, Homeowners' Associations, Mosaic and Montage, New Construction: Residential
December 4, 2008 – 10:25 am
Kimball Homes, based in suburban Chicago, is shutting down. The company has built homes in markets all over the country, including in 4 Texas cities: “A spokeswoman said more than half of the company’s workers were laid off Tuesday, including an undisclosed number in the Houston area, where the company was active in 11 communities in the western and northwestern suburbs, Spring, the Humble area and Friendswood. Kimball Hill had 704 closings in the Houston area in 2007, down from 903 closings in 2006, according to Metrostudy.” The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April. (The Chicago Tribune reports Kimball Hill had 1,100 employees as recently as last year.) [Houston Chronicle, via Swamplot inbox]
Read more about: Bankruptcies, Homebuilders, Openings and Closings
November 11, 2008 – 9:03 am
The Sugar Land location of bankrupted Bill Heard Chevrolet has a new owner. And the new place is gonna be . . . a car dealership! “[Jean] Durdin, who owns Parkway Chevrolet in northwest metro Houston, outbid fellow Houston dealer Mac Haik for the Heard store in southwest Houston. Durdin added more than $7.7 million to Haik’s original bid to buy the store for $20 million, not including vehicle and parts inventory. Durdin also outbid two other competitors, but [turnaround consultant Fred] Caruso declined to name them.” [Automotive News, via Swamplot inbox; previously]
Read more about: 77037, Bankruptcies, Buying and Selling, Retail, Sugar-Land
In one fell soup, Bennigan’s has apparently shuttered all of its U.S. locations. And the store is taking its sister restaurant, the ailing Steak & Ale, along with it. The chains’ are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Both are subsidiaries of Metromedia Restaurant Group, based in Plano.
Over at Houstonist, Katherine Shilcutt Gleave surveys the confusion resulting from the unannounced overnight shutdowns:
Houston is home to at least 20 Bennigan’s restaurants in the city and surrounding metropolitan areas. Calls placed this morning by Houstonist to the locations netted the same result each time: a phone ringing off the hook and no answering service. Only one location answered the phone when we called: the Bennigan’s in Greenspoint off Beltway 8. The befuddled-sounding manager at that location politely told us that they were, in fact, closed. He further confirmed that all other Bennigan’s in Houston were closed as well.
Steak & Ale had 6 Houston-area locations.
Photo: Flickr user alex_user
Read more about: Bankruptcies, Franchises and Chain Stores, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Retail
