Tag: Adaptive Reuse

04/07/14 11:00am

‘Renovation’ of Menil Bungalow into Menil CafÃ© Will Be More Extensive Than Originally Planned

Demolitions, Houston Architects, Menil Collection, Montrose, Museums, Renovations, Restaurants

5 Comments

Construction of Bistro Menil, 1512 Sul Ross St., Montrose, Houston

Construction of Bistro Menil, 1512 Sul Ross St., Montrose, Houston Whatever the original plans were for the partial demolition of the gray-painted 1940 bungalow that sat across the street from the Menil Collection and across the footpath to the West Alabama St. parking lot from the Menil Bookstore, they appear to have been exceeded. A reader sends in these photos of the construction site at 1512 Sul Ross St.; they show that the woodframe structure intended for “adaptive reuse” into a new Bistro Menil according to a design by Stern and Bucek Architects has been removed entirely.

The Menil had announced plans for the bungalow-to-bistro conversion at that spot last October, in concert with an upgrade of the parking-lot path into a “new campus gateway” designed by landscape firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. “In keeping with the emphasis on sustainability that is a keynote of the landscape design,” read a Menil press release, “the Menilâ€™s cafÃ© is designed by Stern and Bucek through the adaptive reuse of one of the bungalows that define the character of the Menilâ€™s campus.” The press release also noted that the Menil’s architect, Renzo Piano, had originally proposed putting a cafÃ© in this exact location. Since named (via a contest) Bistro Menil, the arts institution’s first eating spot is set to be run by CafÃ© Annie, Taco Milagro, and CafÃ© Express alum Greg Martin.

Leaving Only Footprints

77006, Adaptive Reuse, Bungalows, Demolitions, Houston Architects, Menil Collection, Montrose, Renovations, Restaurants

03/31/14 12:30pm

Aloft Hotel Will Alight in Stowers Building Downtown

Downtown, Hotels, Renovations

6 Comments

Stowers Building, 820 Fannin St., Downtown Houston

A website entry noted by eagle-eyed HAIF commenter Urbannizer indicates that Starwood HotelsÂ and Resorts plans to convert the Stowers Building on the corner of Fannin and Walker downtown (pictured above) into an Aloft Hotel. Aloft Houston Downtown will open at 820 Fannin St. in June 2016, according to the company’s listing of upcoming Starwood properties. The 10-story former headquarters of the G.A. Stowers Furniture Company was built in 1913 and renovated for office condos in 2005 by Spire Realty. It’s the only building left on the block now dominated by the BG Group Place tower fronting Main St.— the previously neighboring buildings were torn down in 2008.

Starwood Hotel Directory: New Hotels [Starwood]
Stowers Building [Arch-ive.org]
Stowers Building to Become an Aloft Hotel [HAIF]

Photo: Mike Bloom Jr.

Starwood on Fannin

77002, Adaptive Reuse, Downtown, Hotels, Renovations

Up Against the Spur, a Well Conditioned Montrose Home-Office Home

by CALwords

Homes for Sale, Interiors, Mixed Use, Montrose

2 Comments

4411-greeley-01

4411-greeley-03

Tucked on a lot that hugs the curve of a Spur 527 access road east of Montrose Blvd., a 1930 cottage in the Fitze Home neighborhood — also referred to as Roseland Estates — has been serving as the home office of an air conditioning business. The updated Montrose-area property blew onto the market last week as a home-or-office listing with a $335,000 price tag. That includes the upgrades to the electrical and AC systems.
CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

Cottage Industry

77006, Adaptive Reuse, Fitze Homestead, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Montrose, Roseland Estates

Awards Programs

01/13/14 1:30pm

It’s Development Campaign Season on Washington Ave

Quicklink, Washington Ave

No Comments

IT’S DEVELOPMENT CAMPAIGN SEASON ON WASHINGTON AVE Brand strategy outfit Axiom is applying its “creative communication” skills to a campaign to gain recognition for the company’s rehab of the former Fire Station No. 6: A banner now hangs outside the firm’s compound at 1702 Washington Ave (at right), asking passersby for help procuring wider recognition for the company’s multi-year office conversion project. The Fire Station renovation, along with northeast Houston’s James Berry Elementary School, the Heights’s Don Sanders pet adoption center, Dynamo Stadium, and BG Group’s wrench-shaped downtown skyscraper have been nominated in separate for-profit and nonprofit categories in this year’s local Urban Land Institute awards program, but only a group of 3 judges will pick those winners. Separately, though, they’re all competing against each other for top spot in the new-last-yearÂ “people’s choice” category, which you can sway with votes on this website — before January 21st. [ULI] Photo:Â John Luu/Axiom

77007, Adaptive Reuse, Awards Programs, Renovations, Washington Ave.

11/21/13 1:00pm

Katy Contemporary Arts Museum Creating Its Own ‘Museum District’

Art, Katy, Museums, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments

4 Comments

Katy Contemporary Arts Museum, 805 Ave. B at First St., Katy, Texas

Where is the new Katy Contemporary Arts Museum? “In the heart of Katy’s Museum District,” boasts the brand-new institution’s website. That appears to be shorthand for “right across from the Katy Railroad Park and Tourist Center“; the Katy Heritage Museum and Park and “G.I. Joe” Museum are a half-mile northeast. The white concrete-and-brick building at 805 Ave. B, at the corner of First St., was originally built in 1953 for the Katy Lumber Company. The museum chose the structure for its easy access to I-10, among other features. Like its more sophisticated metal-clad sorta-namesake in Houston, admission is free; but art blogger Robert Boyd notes there are plans to expand the 5,000-sq.-ft. facility to house an actual permanent collection:

Trains, Guns, and Art

77493, Adaptive Reuse, Art, Katy, Museums, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments

11/21/13 10:30am

Village Restaurateur’s New Wine Bar Coming to Old Cat House Next to Doomed Recycling Center

Bars and Clubs, Renovations, West University

No Comments

5010 Dincans St., West University, Houston

Sign, 5010 Dincans St., West University, Houston A city permit was approved last week to convert a portion of the building that once housed the A&M Pet Clinic at 5010 Dincans St. into a wine bar. The 2-story building is across the street from the new apartment block Hanover is completing between Bissonnet and North Blvd. just west of Kirby Dr. The Swamplot reader who visited the closing-after-New-Year’s West U recycling center just to the north of the property finds the posted TABC notice, which identifies the applicant as Catering Plus. Ray Memari, co-owner of the Antica Osteria Italian Restaurant on Bissonnet just west of Greenbriar, purchased the building last year.

Bottle District?

77005, Adaptive Reuse, Bars and Clubs, Renovations, West University

10/28/13 3:30pm

Checking Up on a Dental Office Residence in Montrose

by CALwords

Homes for Sale, Interiors, Montrose

5 Comments

Handling cavity searches since 1976, a 1940 home-turned-dental-office sits on a well-brushed corner lot in Montrose within spitting distance of a private school campus. The property appeared on the market earlier this month with a sparkly asking price of $499,900.

77006, Adaptive Reuse, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Montrose, WAMM

Historic Preservation

10/24/13 10:00am

Great Astrodome Parts Sell-Off Now Scheduled To Begin Before Votes Are Even Counted

Houston Landmarks, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

20 Comments

Here’s yet another demonstration that Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation really truly wants to trash the Astrodome if November 5th’s bond election doesn’t go its way: According to teevee reporter Ryan Korsgard, seats, concession equipment, AstroTurf squares, and a whole bunch of other pieces that can be extracted from the Dome’s dusty interior will be put on sale 3 days before the voting is completed — on November 2nd. The corporation, which has been carefully guarding all that rotting sports memorabilia for more than a dozen years, still hasn’t yet decided whether to sell the items in an auction or outright, however.

77054, Adaptive Reuse, Astrodome, Historic Preservation, Houston Landmarks, Public Buildings, Reliant Park

Condos

10/02/13 2:30pm

A Serene Single Bedroom in an Un-Orphaned Villa Serena

by CALwords

Homes for Sale, Houston Landmarks, Interiors, Neartown

28 Comments

Once an orphanage, a gated 1913 Italianate property near downtown and north of Montrose found new life in 2003 as a 15-unit condo re-dubbed Villa Serena. Its historic pedigree encompasses city, state, and national recognition. A corner unit on the ground level quietly made its market debut on Monday, with a $299,000 price tag. The 1-bedroom home last sold in 2010 for $210,000 — down from an asking price of $245,000 at that time.

77006, Adaptive Reuse, Homes for Sale, Houston Landmarks, Interiors, Neartown, Texas Historical Commission

09/24/13 12:05pm

Buffalo Bayou’s Abandoned Basement Now Ready To Be the Subject of Your Experiments

Bayous and Waterways, Development Strategies, Old Sixth Ward, Online Resources, Parks

7 Comments

Now have at it: SmartGeometrics has made available for free on a website launched yesterday the data from 3D scans of the allegedly leaky, 87,500-sq.-ft.Â 1927 underground water reservoir near Sabine St. along Buffalo Bayou. Though the Buffalo Bayou Partnership would like to do something cool with the “accidental cathedral,” as Houston Chronicle columnist and cistern sympathizer Lisa Gray has called it, there’s no more funding available. Thus, the partnership is hoping some smart cookie who knows her way around AutoCAD (and programs like it) will use this free data to come up with an idea that woos someone or something else — like, say, Bud Light — to pay to make it happen.

Image: Buffalo Bayou Park

77007, Adaptive Reuse, Buffalo Bayou, Buffalo Bayou Park, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Old-Sixth-Ward, Online Resources, Parks

09/09/13 2:00pm

Comment of the Day: How To Light Up the Astrodome

Comments, Quicklink

12 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW TO LIGHT UP THE ASTRODOME “It just occurred to me that the best use would be to turn the Astrodome into a giant Concentrating Solar Power plant — you know, the kind with all the mirrors pointed at a tower. Simply chop off the top, install the tower, and replace the seats with mirrors, and youâ€™re done. A rough, napkin calculation says we should get over 2M W, enough to power almost 1,000 homes. Wikipedia says CSP costs $4/W, so about $9.5 mil for the project. This would make the Astrodome a true symbol of the future while keeping the history mostly intact. Reliant Energy could then promote next door Reliant Stadium as being 100% renewable powered all year. There was talk of turning it into a conference center with photovoltaic solar panels on the top, but converting it to CSP means much more power per square foot generated, especially if you use the stadiumâ€™s natural bowl shape (25% efficiency for dish-shaped CSP vs. 15% for regular solar panels). [Derek, commenting on Anyone Got a Better Idea for the Astrodome?] Illustration: Lulu

Adaptive Reuse, Astrodome, Comments

09/04/13 1:30pm

Comment of the Day: The Qualities That Make Houston So Special

Comments, Quicklink, Renovations

27 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE QUALITIES THAT MAKE HOUSTON SO SPECIAL “Only in Houston can a building be ‘impossible’ to renovate to another use; and the citizens believe it. Try telling that BS to New Yorkers, Parisians, Bostonians, or even the folks in NOLA. Houstonians are a rare breed of gullible; and developers here (including MDAnderson) are a rare breed of lame.” [JON, commenting on The Last Remaining Piece of the Prudential Tower] Illustration: Lulu

Adaptive Reuse, Comments, Renovations

09/03/13 10:00am

Flying Underground: Buffalo Bayou’s Abandoned Basement Skeleton in Creepy 3D!

Attractions, Bayous and Waterways, Old Sixth Ward, Parks

4 Comments

Dude! Got a snazzy idea for that 1927 underground water reservoir near Sabine St. on Buffalo Bayou, but you just can’t picture what’s down there? Well, grab the potato chips and crank up Pink Floyd, because now you can. The Buffalo Bayou Partnership is reaching out in the hope that entrepreneurs, artists, and visionaries the city over will use the above video, created by SmartGeometrics, for inspiration. (And more 3D images are forthcoming on the partnership’s website.)

77007, Adaptive Reuse, Buffalo Bayou, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, Old-Sixth-Ward, Parks, Videos

08/19/13 2:15pm

Using Pictures To Picture Uses for Buffalo Bayou’s Basement