Swamplot Archives by Tag: Proposed Developments

Friday, November 6, 2009

It Didn’t Take, This Broken Wing: What the Developer of Wilshire Village Had in Mind for Bellaire

November 6, 2009 – 8:13 pm

Lauren Meyers, archivist of would-be Houston, digs up an earlier plan for a building at 4500 Bissonnet, on the corner of Mulberry St. in Bellaire. That’s the vacant property long in the possession of legendarily delinquent Wilshire Village landlord Jay H. Cohen, where Matt Dilick, the man who now apparently controls it, is planning to build a 2ish-story stucco mild-West meets retail-Tuscan strip center and sell off the rest of the land.

Back in 1946, Cohen’s father, who had developed the Wilshire Village Apartments on West Alabama and Dunlavy 6 years earlier, planned a 122-home subdivision on the 30-acre strip between Avenue A (now Newcastle St.) and Mulberry St. with a partner. And at the southern end of the property, facing Richmond Rd. (now Bissonnet St.), a sweeping, low-slung modern structure spanning Howard St.: the Mulberry Manor Community Center, designed by Houston architects Lloyd & Morgan.

Meyers quotes a Houston Chronicle report from September 1, 1946:

Continue Reading This Story >

8:13 pm | 2 Comments | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Houston Architects, Houston History, Neighborhoods: Bellaire, Proposed Developments, Retail, Strip Centers
Read more about: , , , , , , , , ,

First They’ll Need To Clear Out All That Vegetation That’s in the Way

November 6, 2009 – 1:44 pm
   

Nancy Sarnoff hears word that the owners of the 100-year-old Teas Nursery at 4400 Bellaire Blvd. near Newcastle are hoping to sell off the property for single-family homes: “The Bellaire business will be relocated, sold or liquidated, according to Tom Teas, president and manager of the landscaping division. Plans are for the nursery company to redevelop the five acres of land itself and then sell lots to builders. The project will start in January.” [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]

1:44 pm | 6 Comments | Read more about Houston History, Land Sales, Neighborhoods: Bellaire, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment
Read more about: , , , , ,
Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Mixed Use for the New Uptown Corridor: A Better Perennial Portrait

November 4, 2009 – 2:54 pm

Here they are: More renderings of the Perennial, the mixed-use development the Redstone Companies is hoping to fit onto a block at 2200 Post Oak Blvd. just north of the Galleria — on the former site of the Compass Bank building, which was imploded in a small ceremony earlier this year. Does this thing look familiar? An earlier drawing of the project appeared on the SkyscraperPage forum and was featured on Swamplot in May. Now HAIF poster Urbannizer digs up a leasing brochure for the property from the development’s otherwise password-protected website.

What’s for lease? Two separate buildings: a 20-story office tower incorporating an 8-level parking garage as well as lots of retail space at the base; and a separate hotel tower to the north — combining just under 300 guest rooms and 100 residences. In all, the developers are counting just under 74,000 sq. ft. of retail space, including 3 levels meant to face the action on Post Oak.

Continue Reading This Story >

2:54 pm | 14 Comments | Read more about Mixed Use, Neighborhoods: Galleria, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Transportation
Read more about: , , , , , , , ,
Tuesday, November 3, 2009

On Bissonnet near Newcastle: More Pieces of the Wilshire Village Package

November 3, 2009 – 10:15 am

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.

Continue Reading This Story >

10:15 am | 4 Comments | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Land for Sale, Neighborhoods: Bellaire, Proposed Developments, Retail, Strip Centers
Read more about: , , , , , , ,
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Comment of the Day: H-E-B in the Heights

October 28, 2009 – 2:46 pm
   

“. . . Other good Heights grocery news is that HEB is seriously considering opening a store on Heights BLVD. just across the street from The Art Car Museum.” [EMME, commenting on Expanded Heights Kroger: Now Wider Than Wide Angle]

2:46 pm | 25 Comments | Read more about Comments, Neighborhoods: Houston Heights, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Retail
Read more about: , , , , ,
Tuesday, October 27, 2009

On Heights Blvd.: Jacked Up and Ready To Go

October 27, 2009 – 3:55 pm

Snapped from the porch of Lola at 11th and Yale last week by a Swamplot reader: this photo of the 1903 Perry-Swilley House, formerly known to reside at 1101 Heights Blvd., and headed for 1103.

The city architectural and historical commission gave permission last year for the home to be moved one lot to the north. Swamplot reported on the owner’s plans for the site last November.

Why is the home being raised? So parking for that strip center planned for the corner can fit underneath.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

3:55 pm | 5 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: Houston Heights, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Retail, Strip Centers
Read more about: , , , , , , ,
Monday, October 26, 2009

Dilick: How About We Throw Up Some Townhomes Where Wilshire Village Was?

October 26, 2009 – 1:42 pm

The purported owner of the Wilshire Village complex at the corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy, who managed to stay out of the media spotlight while the 69-year-old 8-acre complex was emptied and then torn down after a sequence of peculiar events earlier this year, appears at the end of Nancy Sarnoff’s phone line to make a few pronouncements about the property.

First, that big Commerce Equities sign on the property that says “Available”? Well, here’s what it really means:

“We would consider an outright sale if the appropriate user was identified,” owner Matt Dilick of Commerce Equities said.

That’s right: Dilick might wanna do a little creatin’ there himself!

Continue Reading This Story >

1:42 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Development Strategies, Neighborhood Disputes, Neighborhoods: Lancaster Place, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Townhomes
Read more about: , , , , , , ,
Thursday, October 22, 2009

Ashby Highrise Loses Appeal

October 22, 2009 – 10:58 pm
   

The city’s General Appeals Board today rejected a request by the developers of the Ashby Highrise to gain permit approvals for the 23-story project’s original version — which includes a larger number of residences and more commercial space than the plans that finally received permits from the city. “Matthew Morgan, one of the two principals with Buckhead Investment Partners, said the next step would likely be to appeal to the Houston City Council. . . . Ironically, the prolonged battle that has been played out not only in the city bureaucracy but with yard signs, bumper stickers and vocal, packed protests did not draw any other media or public attention Thursday at this key city hearing.” [West University Examiner; previously on Swamplot]

10:58 pm | 38 Comments | Read more about Development Regulations, Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, Neighborhoods: Boulevard Oaks, Neighborhoods: Southampton, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
Read more about: , , , , , , , ,
Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Ashby Highrise Developers Want Their Original Baby Back

October 21, 2009 – 11:21 am

Thursday is a big day for the Ashby Highrise:

Developers Matthew Morgan and Kevin Kirton, of Buckhead Investment Partners, will appear Thursday before the General Appeals Board, a city panel that hears appeals of permit denials. They will ask for approval of a 23-story building at 1717 Bissonnet with more than 200 apartments, a restaurant, a spa, retail space and offices, which the city repeatedly said would worsen traffic congestion to unacceptable levels.

In August, the city approved modified plans that stripped out all of the commercial uses except the restaurant. The developers have not picked up the permit, however, and said Tuesday that they still want to build the original project.

What’s the difference between the plan approved by the city and the original design Buckhead is still pushing for?

Continue Reading This Story >

11:21 am | 55 Comments | Read more about Development Restrictions, Development Strategies, Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, Neighborhoods: Boulevard Oaks, Neighborhoods: Southampton, Proposed Developments
Read more about: , , , , , , , ,
Friday, October 9, 2009

Little Grand Parkway on the Prairie Not So Shovel-Ready After All

October 9, 2009 – 3:05 pm
   

Those pesky federal regulators, ruining all the fun: It’s now looking like the 15-mile-long Upper Katy Prairie paving project known as the Grand Parkway Segment E won’t be getting the bucket of cash Harris County Commissioners Court wanted. County officials will instead request that the $181 million in federal stimulus funds earlier allocated to the way-out-northwest loop road be distributed to other projects: “The recommendation to withdraw the project from the Texas Department of Transportation’s list of stimulus projects was made by Art Storey, who heads Harris County’s Public Infrastructure Department. Storey declined to comment on his recommendation until it is considered at Harris County Commissioner Court’s meeting next Tuesday. ‘Staff and consultants have worked diligently and successfully to be on schedule to meet the deadlines to enable Segment E construction to qualify for and receive the stimulus funding, but the federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cannot be completely processed by the required mid-February date,’ Storey said in a letter to the court. ‘In fact, because of conflicts over environmental impacts and mitigation, that permit might never be issued.’” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]

3:05 pm | 8 Comments | Read more about Freeways and Toll Roads, Neighborhoods: Bridgeland, Neighborhoods: Katy Prairie, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Transportation
Read more about: , , , , , , , , ,
Friday, October 2, 2009

Chipperfield Sculpts the New Menil: Goodbye, Richmont Square

October 2, 2009 – 5:08 pm

The Richmont Square apartments on Richmond Ave. get knocked down in the new master plan for the Menil Collection campus. Speaking at a public forum last night, British architect David Chipperfield referred to the Menil’s big multifamily property as “this thing getting in our way.”

Cite magazine’s Raj Mankad describes more details of the Chipperfield plan:

The car park along Alabama would be strengthened with the new bookshop, cafe, and auditorium nearby. The key change would be to connect West Main across the site [to Yupon] through the area occupied by the northern end of Richmont Square. The complete street grid would surround a new green space that would also be made possible by the clearing of the north side of the apartments. It would connect, slightly off axis, with the current Menil park between the main building and the Rothko. The Drawing Institute and Study Center and Single Artist Studios would be sited around the new green space. And along Richmond itself, the plan calls for dense residential and commercial development.

Continue Reading This Story >

5:08 pm | 13 Comments | Read more about Apartments, Art, Institutional Buildings, Museums, Neighborhoods: Menil Collection, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment
Read more about: , , , , , , , , ,
Friday, September 25, 2009

Galveston’s Flagship Hotel: No Sale

September 25, 2009 – 1:14 pm

Those rumors earlier this summer that Galveston’s Flagship Hotel would soon be sold to an unnamed buyer didn’t pan out. And now it looks like Landry’s Restaurants may also be backing away from its earlier backup plan to tear down the hotel and build a “pleasure pier” in its place. A Landry’s official tells the Galveston County Daily News’s Laura Elder the company now plans to repair and reopen the hurricane-ravaged hulk-on-a-pier at 25th Street and Seawall Blvd.:

The city built the Flagship in 1965 as a show of confidence after Hurricane Carla struck the coast.

If Landry’s developed an entertainment complex, it would return the 25th Street pier to its roots. In 1943, the city built the Galveston Municipal Pleasure Pier.

At 1,130 feet long, the pier held a dance hall, a 2,000-seat open air arena, restaurants and concessions, according to the “Galveston Architecture Guidebook.”

Landry’s officials declined to divulge what their specific plans were.

The company is assessing the price of repairs, [Landry’s VP Steve] Greenberg said.

Photo: Ellen Yeates

1:14 pm | 3 Comments | Read more about Uncategorized
Read more about: , , , , , ,
Friday, September 18, 2009

All Those New Energy Corridor Office Buildings

September 18, 2009 – 11:56 am
   

“Among projects slated to begin construction soon are the 477,000-square-foot Energy Tower III from Mac Haik Realty Ltd. on the Katy Freeway, the 170,000-square-foot Enclave Corporate Center and the 230,000-square-foot Energy Crossing II, developed by Phoenix-based Opus West Corp. on the Katy Freeway. Currently, 13 new office buildings are being constructed in the Energy Corridor, according to the Energy Corridor Management District. Major developments coming online in the near future include the 300,000-square-foot Three Eldridge Place at 737 North Eldridge Parkway being developed by Dallas-based Behringer Harvard; the 447,000-square-foot Energy Tower II, which is expected to be completed this fall and will be occupied primarily by Technip; and Eldridge Oaks I, a 350,000-square-foot building at 1080 Eldridge Parkway being developed by Transwestern. In all, the market will gain an estimated 1.25 million square feet of new space, of which about 33 percent is pre-leased. Class A vacancy is expected to increase by about 50 percent this year, its highest rate in five years, according to market experts.” [Houston Business Journal]

11:56 am | 2 Comments | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Leasing, Neighborhoods: Energy Corridor, New Construction, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
Read more about: , , , , , , , ,
Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Into the Heart of Houston Real Estate

September 16, 2009 – 4:53 pm
   

A short note appears on the Google Map NPR Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep is using to keep track of his multi-day visit here: “We met with the developer of the Ashby, a controversial new condo building that is slated to replace the Maryland Manor building.” [Google Maps; previously on Swamplot]

4:53 pm | 2 Comments | Read more about Highrises, Neighborhood Disputes, Neighborhoods: Boulevard Oaks, Neighborhoods: Southampton, Proposed Developments, Quicklink
Read more about: , , , , , ,
Tuesday, September 15, 2009

In and Around the New North Montrose Whole Foods

September 15, 2009 – 10:11 am

A few details on that new Whole Foods Market planned for the corner of West Dallas and Waugh, just south of the now AIG-sign-free America Tower: Finger Companies, the owners of the land, says the new store will be 40,000 sq. ft. — slightly smaller than reported when the company first announced the project more than a year ago. Also: The store will have “a variety of eco-conscious elements and tons of inviting space for neighbors to congregate.”

The Finger Companies says the Whole Foods will be built “in conjunction with the developer’s proposed new luxury apartment project.” That project, also announced in the spring of 2008, was slated for the eastern portion of the site, closer to Montrose Blvd.

Image: The Finger Companies

10:11 am | 28 Comments | Read more about Apartments, Commercial Real Estate, Land Development, Leasing, Neighborhoods: Montrose, Neighborhoods: North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail
Read more about: , , , , , , , , ,