That summer clearance sale that’s been going on at the Bookstop in the Alabama Theater Shopping Center on South Shepherd is uh, final. The store will be closing for good on September 15th. The new Barnes & Noble in the River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray will be opening the next day (a bit sooner than was announced earlier), but no unsold books from the Bookstop location will be making the trip north.
So what happens to the Alabama Theater after then?
“. . . Conservation Districts have existed in the city of Dallas since 1988. These districts exist primarily in East Dallas and Oak Cliff.(which are areas primarily developed before 1940) They concentrate on protecting such things as architecture styles, densities of the area, heights of structures, and setback guidelines. The process to become a conservation district typically takes 12 – 18 months from the initial authorizing of a study until the adoption by the city council. These districts are similar to and often compared with historic districts. While exhibiting comparable characteristics, the two are quite different. Historic Districts look to preserve the original structure exactly as when it was first built. They also attempt to preserve original materials, colors, styles, and other elements of the original structure. Conservation districts wish to maintain certain standards of an area. . . .” [JT, commenting on The Woods Back Off: Freeland Bungalow Free To Be Sold Again]
And it’s . . . off! The building designer who had planned to demolish a 1920 bungalow in the newly designated Freeland Historic District and build two 4-story townhomes in its place has now backed out of the deal completely. In a letter to neighborhood residents, Jack Preston Wood and his wife, Samantha Wood, say they’ve canceled their purchase contract for 536 Granberry, in the soppy southern reaches of the Heights.
What made them change their minds? Maybe . . . the gentle encouragement of their would-be neighbors?
We received mean spirited mail, emails, blogs, and visits to our business website all because we were planning on tearing down a house in very poor condition and replacing it with a new compatible home.
The Woods say that after the city historical commission rejected their demolition and construction plans in mid-March, they abandoned the double-townhouse idea and decided instead to replace the bungalow with a new 2800-sq.-ft. 1-1/2-story bungalow. But the neighbors kept at it:
Even though we had sent a response that we were not going to build our original plans and we were working on new plans the neighborhood still held a protest and plastered Freeland with signs. As we watched the news clip on the protest we began to realize that any new home, no matter how compatible, would not be accepted because the Freeland mantra was to remain an “intact” neighborhood. . . .
About three weeks into the six weeks, we realized that we had become the “Poster Child” to deter and slowdown development in the area.
Lots more fun in the full text of the Woods’ letter, reprinted — along with a neighbor’s response — below:
“. . . what a cool environmental study to see how long, and in what ways, nature completely takes the place over. I’d guess 25 years & it would be identifiable only to those who already know it - a full generation who would have never seen it in the first place. The roof would fall in and woody plants would find niches underneath it, long before the big doughnut of a parking lot would disappear. Grade-schoolers could take field-trips there & High School science projects would follow the Astrodome’s demise: How many years before nesting birds arrive? Does concrete break down faster than steel? Do cigarette butts ever decompose?” [movocelot, commenting on Comment of the Day: The Astrodome Mothball Savings Plan]
“There was a Chronicle article a while back that estimated the cost of demolition at $30 million, as compared to something like $600,000 per year just to keep it in mothballs. I ran it through an NPV analysis, and it actually was not cost effective to tear it down. It’s better fiscal policy to keep it, even if we never use it for any purpose ever again. I’m not much of a sentimentalist, but this is the kind of historical preservation I can get behind. Anything to save a buck.” [TheNiche, commenting on County Judge Foresees New Use for Astrodome: Giant Enclosed Space, Shielded from Weather]
An “anonymous news reporter/non-resident” explains all the wacky goings-on at Wilshire Village — complete with a detailed timeline. Here’s an excerpt, but if you love real-estate soap operas, settle in with a snack and read the whole finger-pointing thing: “. . . The original owner, Jay H. Cohen, inherited the apartments and property from his parents, who had the apartments built in 1940. In November 2005, Matthew Dilick partnered with Cohen under a partnership called Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd., taking out a loan to pay for taxes. Through this partnership, Dilick was able to obtain general partnership status to make management decisions, and his widely published plan all along has been to demolish the buildings and sell the land. Before the apartments could be demolished, they would have to be vacated. But the original owner Jay H. Cohen maintained majority ownership and wished to keep the buildings standing. Toward that goal, Cohen obtained two repair permits in January and February 2009 and set electricians to consistently making electrical repairs over the course of the next couple of months. . . . Questions: If the buildings were demolished and new condos were built, would the City of Houston stand to profit by the increased value of the land and therefore increased taxes? Was the City of Houston working in coordination with Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd to cause the buildings to be vacated? Why were Cohen’s repair efforts disregarded by Alabama & Dunlavy, Ltd. and the City of Houston? Has everything been legit? . . .” [dredger, commenting on Wilshire Village Is Ready for Its Closeup]
Note: Story updated below.
Over at Wilshire Village, all appears on track for one of those classic salvage-free start-over-the-weekend demos — the kind this town is famous for! A pre-demo sewer-disconnect permit for the apartments was pulled yesterday. And a Swamplot reader has sent in a photo report:
I saw that one of your commenters had noticed the Komatsu in the parking lot of Wilshire Village. It’s from Ambush Demolition, so that’s not a particularly good sign. There are numbers spray-painted on the sides of at least some of the buildings there and orange cable (and gas line?) markings on the sidewalks . . .
Will Wilshire Village’s actual demo permit be purchased sometime today? You’ll get a definitive answer . . . in next Monday’s Daily Demolition Report, right here on Swamplot!
Now, about that closeup:
The reader who provided this “tip” wouldn’t or couldn’t tell us where the information came from, so there’s no particular reason to take it seriously. But it raises a few interesting questions about the future of the 8-acre property at W. Alabama and Dunlavy that’s apparently soon to be the former site of the Wilshire Village apartments.
. . . So here it is:
The buzz in the air over the demolition of Wilshire Village is Mr. Dilick plans to try to sell the property soon after the demolition, word is he hasn’t the funding to develop this tract.
Photo: Swamplot inbox
“Demo permits sold in the greater Heights last year - approx 220. (zips 007,008, 009) The Chron’s real estate report showed that 25% of 2008 home sales in the Heights were new construction. And how many were built in the last 10 years? Don’t know, but for anyone who thinks The Heights has NOT been decimated, go to HAR.com to see how nearly all listings were built since 1999 or are lot value only. Heard a story on the radio not long ago about how people stood in line for hours to see the Bill of Rights, but when an exact replica went on display, nobody bothered. What does that tell us?” [Sheila, commenting on Jack Preston Wood: Making an Impression in the Freeland Historic District]
House designer Jack Preston Wood has apparently had second thoughts about his plan to build two 4-story townhomes where this bungalow now sits in the Freeland Historic District. The city historic commission turned down both his new-construction and demolition plans last month, and neighbors have been writing him letters and protesting every weekend since.
Freeland Historic District is a collection of 35 bungalows, marked down from the original 37, on two blocks south of White Oak Blvd. at the damp end of the Heights. There’s been no new construction in the district — which was designated just last fall — and residents have been working hard to keep it that way.
Wood tells Chronicle reporter Robin Foster that neither the Realtor nor the owner of the house told him that the house at 536 Granberry was in an historic district before he signed a contract to buy it:
Ken Hoffman returns from Italy with a little perspective: “The Colosseum was originally called Amphitheatrum Flavium, and it was built by the powerful emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. The Astrodome was originally called the Harris County Domed Stadium, and it was governed by former Houston Mayor and Harris County Judge Roy Hofheinz. He just thought he was an emperor. The Colosseum, after several expansions (mostly to honor a new emperor), had a seating capacity of about 65,000. It had 80 entrances and could completely fill and empty in less than five minutes. The Astrodome, after several expansions (mostly to stop Houston Oilers owner Bud Adams’ whining), had a seating capacity of 62,000 for football. It would take an hour to get out of the parking lot because of a lack of exits. Parking was cheaper in ancient times, too.” [Houston Chronicle; previously in Swamplot]
“I think the State and Henderson historic properties are adjacent and both owned by Fenchurch Properties. Certificate of Appropriateness information at http://tinyurl.com/bhfzsj and http://tinyurl.com/al479p - in both applications, Fenchurch claimed it wants to turn the properties into green space. The Chairman of Fenchurch Properties is Thomas A. Reiser. Tom Reiser spent $1.2 million of his own money in a 2002 Texas House race against Chris Bell, and lost.” [ArlingtonSt, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Making Demolition History]
Still waiting in the wings, the long-promoted but as-yet-unmade proposal to turn the long-vacant Astrodome into a giant indoor movie lot is almost ready for its closeup, says Christine Hall in the Houston Business Journal. Astrodome Studios co-executive directors Elise Hendrix and Cynthia Neely
along with a laundry list of supporters, including “Dazed and Confused” director/writer Richard Linklater, are one month away from presenting a proposal to Harris County that would put a major soundstage and movie production studio into the proclaimed “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
“We would have absolutely everything a creative agency would need to film a movie,” Hendrix says. “With 140,000 square feet, you wouldn’t have any problem building a city in there if you needed to.”
But what would an Astrodome movie studio look like, really? To help unimaginative county officials picture the transformation, Astrodome Studios has prepared the dramatic photo-illustration above, along with a series of similarly rich diagrams:
The last remaining building associated with Houston’s 1950s-era glam-magnet Shamrock Hotel is slated to be torn down, reports Cynthia Lescalleet in the West U. Examiner. The Shamrock’s former ballroom facility at 2151 W. Holcombe became the Edwin Hornberger Conference Center in 1996, nine years after the Shamrock itself was famously axed.
The Texas Medical Center has more building plans for the site:
TMC will build 250,000 square feet of office space in three floors to be added atop the Bell building, which also houses the existing parking garage, said TMC’s John Kajander. The added space is to support TMC institutions, he said.
The building housing the Hornberger’s foyer and ballroom “is nearing the end of its useful life,” he said, and will be taken down.
A little Hornberger history:
From BayouCtyHistory (J.R.G.): RT @swamplot: Going Attractions: Hollywood Video Gives Up on the Tower Theatre http://twurl.nl/ly5csn
From heightslife (The Heights Life): RT @swamplot: Going Attractions: Hollywood Video Gives Up on the Tower Theatre http://twurl.nl/ly5csn
From GTello (Gus Tello): @Lennar Houston Real Estate Market Doing Much, Much Better Than Last October http://twurl.nl/t6uo7b (RT @HoustonPress @swamplot)
From HoustonPress (Houston Press): RT @swamplot: Houston Real Estate Market Doing Much, Much Better Than Last October http://twurl.nl/t6uo7b
From isthishouston (isthishouston): RT @swamplot: How’s That Corner of Harrisburg and Wayside Looking? http://snipurl.com/tay31From isthishouston (isthishouston): isthishouston Harrisburg & Wayside - http://isthishouston.com/2009/11/19/harrisburg-wayside/ - #houston @swamplot #eastend
From jenxer (Jennifer Mathis): I can hear it now: "Obsess much, Jen?" RT @swamplot: Comment of the Day: Demo Addicts http://twurl.nl/yf4twm
From kniemeier (Karen Niemeier): Attention East Enders! RT @swamplot How’s That Corner of Harrisburg and Wayside Looking? http://snipurl.com/tay31From jenxer (Jennifer Mathis): I need to quit reading @Swamplot's demolition reports. Seriously. This one breaks my heart. http://is.gd/4YfUZ
From TheLoopScoop (TheLoopScoop): Wow! Hope this works out! RT @GunsandTacos: RT: @swamplot: The Block Party’s Over http://twurl.nl/nxk320
Comment of the Day: On the Corner of West Main and Roseland
“903 W. Main is a lovely Prairie style home in First Montrose Commons. The owner of it and the neighboring home 909 W. Main, an even grander Craftsman, will demolish both homes for replacement with eight townhouses (likely four story, given the density). But he’s saving the trees, so apparently the civic association is ok with the plans! First Montrose Commons is currently working on an application to become a city historic district. And these two homes contribute to that historic fabric.” [no history remains, commenting on Daily Demolition Report: Rambam]