Tag: Adaptive Reuse

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CITY NIXES WHITE OAK MUSIC HALL’S DEJA-VU STAGE PERMIT PLAN White Oak Music Hall April Construction and Temporary Stage Setup, 2915 N. Main St., Northside, Houston, 77009 The city isn’t planning to renew aÂ permit for White Oak Music Hall’sÂ temporary-but-kinda-not-temporary outdoor stage once it expires next month, Erin Mulvaney reports this week. Tickets have already been sold for concerts scheduled later in October and November, but the public works departmentÂ now says that the temporary stage’s operating permitÂ will expire on October 5thÂ when the structure has been up forÂ 180 days —Â and no, says Mayor Turner, the venue can’t just take the stage down and put it back up again to get a new one, as the developers told Mulvaney they were planningÂ to do. Mulvaney writes that the White Oak folks applied for permits for a planned permanent outdoor stage several times in the winter and spring, but took a break from resubmittingÂ after the plans failed code review a few times; another set ofÂ application materials was submitted last Wednesday. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of White Oak Music Hall’s temporary stage during setup in April: Swamplot inbox

77009, Adaptive Reuse, Concert Venues, Near Northside, Permitting

Briarbend

09/01/16 11:30am

United Transmission Branch Defects To Texas Direct Auto Empire in Briarbend

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Alvarez United Transmission, 7730 Westheimer Rd., Briarbend, Houston, 77063

Word comes fromÂ Westheimer Rd. and Stoney Brook Dr. that the corner outpostÂ of Alvarez United Transmission has now fallenÂ beneath theÂ canine-themed bannerÂ of Texas Direct Auto’sÂ expansion. The shop is slated to be repurposed as a Sell Us Your Car! center, adding to the collection of Direct Auto facilitesÂ now guardingÂ nearly all major highway ingresses to the city along with the Mars-themed Downtown locale. AÂ rep for the company says the shop should be converted and ready to open later this fall; other United locations will retain their current allegiance and continue to operate.

County records pin the building at 7730 Westheimer to 1965, though signage at the site claims the business itself has been in operation since 1960:

Transmission Transition

77063, Adaptive Reuse, Auto Dealerships, Auto mechanics, Briarbend

08/17/16 10:45am

Heights Blvd. Trees Now Dressed To Impress Along Heights Mercantile Construction Site

Houston Heights, Retail, Trees

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Heights Mercantile trees TheÂ shot above, facing south along the eastern edge of the 7th-St.-straddling site of theÂ Heights Mercantile development,Â shows a few ofÂ the new meant-to-catch-eyes green sashesÂ now adorning a series ofÂ trees along the Heights Blvd. sidewalk. But just what kind of message are those low-slung stripesÂ sending to workers at the site, a reader wonders?Â Does green meanÂ made the cut,Â or cutÂ ’emÂ down?

Renderings of plans for the project include a double-wide strip of trees framingÂ a walking path parallel to 7th St. (labeled an outdoor art gallery), with additional greenery arranged in front of the Heights Blvd. bungalows being recruited into the retail center:

Marked at 7th St.

77007, Adaptive Reuse, Houston Heights, Retail, Trees

08/16/16 12:15pm

A Peek Inside the Gaslamp Owner’s Next Project, 5 Blocks Away

Midtown

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Work at at 1916 Baldwin St., Midtown, Houston, 77002

Here’s the latest from the house-turned-law-office-space at 1916 Baldwin St., now getting worked over behind its previously-noticed TABC application notice. AÂ few more details on what’s planned for the spot have since surfaced, as Phaedra Cook and Craig Masilow noted earlier this summer while writing about the ongoing legal whosamawhatsit of the newly-rotatedÂ nightclub formerly known as Gaslamp (about 2 minutes to the south by car). Cook and Masilow point out that the owner of the Baldwin space appears to be Gaslamp owner Ayman Jarrah’s brother,Â and that Jarrah himself is listed as the manager of the business moving in at the Baldwin address (referred to as Oakmont)Â in aÂ TABC-noddingÂ newspaper notice published in May.

A reader on the scene, meanwhile, notes the construction going on in and around the structure (above), including a 2-story something going up out back:

Going by Oakmont

77002, Adaptive Reuse, Bars, Nightclubs, Office Space, Restaurants, TABC

08/12/16 12:45pm

Vacant Downtown Days Inn To Get a Total Facelift, Become Whatever Hotel It’s Becoming

Hotels, Quicklink, Renovations

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VACANT DOWNTOWN DAYS INN TO GET A TOTAL FACELIFT, BECOME WHATEVER HOTEL IT’S BECOMING 801 Saint Joseph Pkwy., Downtown, Houston, 77002 SFK Development’s Nadeem Nasir tells Craig Hlavaty that the owners of the long-vacant hotel highrise at 801 Saint Joseph Pkwy. are, in fact, currently “in the process of rehabbing the building,” though they’re still “waiting to get on the same page as a hotel franchise.” Hlavaty writes this morning that the group won’t answer questions about which hotel franchise that might be, but that the structure will be getting a full strip-down and facial reconstructionÂ as part of the process (in the face of a minimumÂ $25-million cost to tear the structure down and build new). Swamplot’s readerÂ onÂ the sceneÂ sends fresh word from a worker earlier this week that the site mayÂ become a Sheraton — a story which matches up with a fewÂ previous rumors — but no official nods or confirmation have come from either the owners or the hotel chain. [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of 801 Saint Joseph Pkwy.: Garrett Robles

77002, Adaptive Reuse, Downtown, Hotels, Renovations

08/10/16 1:30pm

Up Close and Personal with Downtown’s Foremost Former Hotel and Vedic University

Hotels

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Is this time the charm for the long-vacant all-but-freeway-sideÂ former hotel atÂ 801 Saint Joseph Pkwy.,Â on at least its 3rd round of intended redevelopers since it was vacated inÂ 1998? The building began its career in the early 1970s as a Holiday Inn, later becoming a Days Inn before being turned into Heaven on Earth hotelÂ by a group founded by embraced-then-renouncedÂ Beatles spiritual advisor Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.Â That group eventually shut down their increasingly dilapidatedÂ hotel and turned the place into a Vedic school before code violations forced the structure’sÂ not-just-for-summer vacation; the spotÂ has been courted by fickle would-be-remodelers on and off ever since.

But some workÂ permits have been issued this year to the most recentÂ owner, SFK Development, which bought the site in late 2012 per county records, and Catie DixonÂ reported last fallÂ that the building will be turned into a SheratonÂ (an assertion backed up by some more recent tidbits from the structural scrutinizers over at HAIF).Â Meanwhile, reader Garrett Robles reports that the site is now the most active he’s seen it in 5 years of wandering around the area.Â RoblesÂ sends thisÂ set of recent photos peering at, around, and into the ground floor of the structure:

Rebuilding Heaven on Earth

77002, Adaptive Reuse, Downtown, Hotels

08/10/16 10:15am

Empty Chirps Chicken and Rice Box Getting Filled Back Up in the Heights

Houston Heights, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail

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Former Chirps Chicken and Rice, 300 W. 20th St., Houston Heights, Houston, 77008

Former Chirps Chicken and Rice, 300 W. 20th St., Houston Heights, Houston, 77008 A reader caught sight of someÂ recent stirringsÂ at the southwest corner of W. 20th St. and Rutland, where food truck The Rice Box looks to be setting up a second non-mobile operation in the former home of Chirps Chicken and Rice. Braun Enterprises snapped up the 1,584-sq.-ft. buildingÂ in mid-2015, when Chirps flew the coop; a TABC permitÂ for the dry zone address was issued to Black Dragon Private Club — anÂ entity listingÂ The Rice Box as a trade name — in early May.Â Braun also owns theÂ retail strip across Rutland, which replaced those Baptist Temple buildings that were demolished in 2013; the photo above was taken from the Zoe’s KitchenÂ at the corner.

Previously on Swamplot: The Retail Thatâ€™s Replacing the Razed Heights Baptist Temple Buildings

Photos: Jason B. Cockerell (top), Chirps Chicken and Rice (bottom)

Rutland Remake

77008, Adaptive Reuse, Food Trucks, Houston Heights, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail

Adaptive Reuse

07/26/16 1:00pm

Inside the Downtown Post Office Stripping Down To Join the Entertainment Biz

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Former Barbara Jordan Post Office, 401 Franklin St., Downtown, Houston, 77002

Barbara Jordan Post Office, 401 Franklin St., Downtown Houston The former Barbara Jordan Post Office campus at 401 Franklin St. is on its way toward a new careerÂ (as highlighted by yesterday’s news that trippy music and art festivalÂ Day for NightÂ will be hosted on the property this year). The new stage name for the 16-acre planned mixed-use space near Buffalo Bayou isn’t quite setÂ yet — PaperCity says that Lovett has been calling the property Central Post, but an active Facebook account using the name Post HTX (and staking claim toÂ the 401 Franklin address) has been posting photos of the insideÂ and promising updates on progressÂ atÂ the site.

Demo permits for some interior walls were issued back in October after the property’s summertimeÂ sale last year. Those concrete finsÂ on the outside of the post office’s Franklin-facing midrise sectionÂ are creating the stripy light pattern visible in the interior shot up top; here’s more of Post HTX’s photosÂ of the building, pre-redo:

Franklin St. Remake

77002, Adaptive Reuse, Downtown, Event Spaces

Quicklink

07/25/16 5:15pm

Free Press Houston To Ship Day for Night to the Former Downtown Post Office

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FREE PRESS HOUSTON TO SHIP DAY FOR NIGHT TO THE FORMER DOWNTOWN POST OFFICE Barbara Jordan Post Office, 401 Franklin St., Downtown Houston The former Barbara Jordan Post Office at 401 Franklin St. will be the newÂ host of Free Press Houston’s Day for Night music festival, Matthew Ramirez reports today. The 16-acre campus (including anything left ofÂ itsÂ train station ruins)Â sits on the north bank of Buffalo Bayou (across from Sesquicentennial Park and east of the University of Houston Downtown). The property was bought last year by an entity connected toÂ Lovett Commercial; by mid-December the site will have to be ready to hold 3 music stages andÂ the festival’s associated experimental art installations.Â [PaperCity; previously on Swamplot] Photo of former post office at 401 Franklin: CRBE

77002, Adaptive Reuse, Buffalo Bayou, Downtown, Music venues, Redevelopment

Adaptive Reuse

07/20/16 12:00pm

Stripped-Down Walter’s on Washington Now Getting a Tyvek Touchup

Washingto Corridor, Washington Ave

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4215 Washington Ave., Houston

A reader sends a set of quickÂ driveby shots of the former home of Walter’s on Washington,Â which has been getting some cosmetic attention of late. After a 2009 relocation announcement, Walter’s slowly made its move to a former car and cabinetry warehouse on Naylor St.; the Washington Ave property was passed around to a few different owners (including corporate entities called Ay PapiÂ and Carnegie Homes and Construction) before landing in the hands of The Mosaic GroupÂ in June of last year. Mosaic appears to have sold or transferred the property to one Joe F. West last August, but is still listed as the owner-slash-occupant of the space on the building permits that have been issued since then (including a few fromÂ as recently as May).

Mosaic also snapped up the empty lot next door last summer, which was bundled with the property during the August sale (and had been wrapped up together with the building behind the same now-absent construction fencing):

Up Next on Wash Ave

77007, Adaptive Reuse, Washington Ave., Washington Corridor

07/19/16 11:30am

Mod Christian Science Church Now Being Converted To Steeple-Themed Nightclub Downtown

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First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1720 Main St., Downtown, Houston, TX 77002
AÂ dumpster was spotted last week loitering around the Travis St. entrance of the Mod-ish Brutal-ish teal-ish former Christian Science church downtown, which, per the language on a building permit issued this month, is now being converted into a nightclub.Â The name listed on the permit (Club Spire) marksÂ something ofÂ a shift in the tone previously set by the new owners this spring, when the group connected to ClÃ© bar sought a TABC permit for the building under the name 1720 Main Reception Hall.

A curious reader sends the Friday afternoon shot above, along with an inquiry as to the fate of any interior furnishings and materialsÂ to be stripped away (the outside being fairly naked already, save for the gold-and-blue soon-to-be-eponymous spire).Â Here’s a last look from inside, around, and on top of theÂ church’s sanctuary and courtyard as it was just prior to the finalization of the sale this spring — the elongated diamond-slash-triangle motif that covers the area behind the altar is carried through much of the rest of the building, from the stained-glass windows to the furniture:Â

Born Again on Main St.

77002, Adaptive Reuse, Bars and Clubs, Brutalism, Churches, Downtown, Modern Design, TABC

07/12/16 4:15pm

Newly Sold McGowen Cleaners Building Getting Liquored Up on Fairview St.

Vermont Commons

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1931 Fairview St., Vermont Commons, Houston, 77019

TABC Notice at 1931 Fairview, July 2016 A different kind ofÂ sign hasÂ popped up at the corner of Fairview Ave. and Morse St., notes a reader — the 1961 building that formerly housed McGowen Cleaners (shown above earlier this year decked out in NewQuest Properties sales banners) now sports a notice that the new owners have applied for a handful of food, beverage, and mixed drink permits from the TABC. The sign names Vibrant Living LLC as the applicant for the licenses; an entity by the same name (headquartered in the address of office and retailÂ developer Barnhart Interests)Â purchased the 3 adjacent lots at the corner from former Cleaners owner and operator George Groschke in May.

What’s Cooking in Montrose

77019, Adaptive Reuse, Alcohol Licenses, Dry Cleaners, Redevelopment, Restaurants, Retail, TABC, Vermont Commons

07/11/16 11:00am

Platypus and Friends Now Decorating Washington Ave Nesting Sites

Sawyer Heights, Washington Ave, Washington Corridor

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Australo-Texan Platypus Brewing has been not-so-secretly secreting away a set of fermentation tanks in the back of the reforming nightclub complex at 1902 Washington AveÂ (at the corner with Silver St.). The brewpub is readying the northernmost segment of the structure; a tree-lined patio is planned at the corner of Silver and Center streets.Â Here’s the updated site plan from Lovett Commercial’s latest leasing flier, now with more details about other tenants filled in:

Brewing on Silver St.

77007, Adaptive Reuse, Restaurants, Retail, Sawyer Heights, Washington Ave.

07/06/16 11:30am

Reshaped Guadalupe Plaza Park Preps To Reopen in Second Ward

Second Ward

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Guadalupe Park Plaza Redo, 2311 Runnels St., Second Ward, Houston, 77003

The forest of columns behind the newly planted trees above are most of what’s left of the original central plaza structure in Second Ward’s Guadalupe Plaza Park, which the Greater East End Management District saysÂ will reopen on July 30th as several years ofÂ de- and re-construction work are wrapped up. The 1980s park now caps theÂ western end of the previously redoneÂ Navigation Blvd. esplanade, and a landscaped sidewalk now connects the park to Buffalo Bayou at the crossing ofÂ Jensen Rd. (right across from the 136-acre KBR campus recently purchased by mixed-use developer Midway).

Here’s the view looking south along the walkwayÂ toward the main square from alongside cultural center Talento Bilingue, which the management district says won’t be knocked down until funding is in place to rebuild it:Â