Tag: Buildings for Sale

Shopper Hits the Market

77009, Brooke Smith, Buildings for Sale, Buying and Selling

04/25/18 2:45pm

Downtown Houston’s Foremost Abandoned Building Now Listed for Sale

Downtown, Hotels

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The Holiday-Inn-turned-Days-Inn-turned-Heaven-on-Earth-Hotel at 801 St. Joseph Pkwy. has now been posted to CoStar by commercial broker CBRE following a 2-week period of higher-than-usual on-site cleanup activity. Crews removed debris from its garage and pool late last week; and just yesterday, 2 workersÂ scaled nearly all 31 stories of its western face to take down the semicircular light box of the Days Inn sign that once hung near the top of it (see photo above).

The seller, SFK Development, bought the property in 2012 — becoming the building’s third owner in its post-MaharishiÂ era. (The building — which for a time was home to a Vedic school run by the former Beatles spiritual advisor — was shut down by the city in 1998.) Since then, it has been fertile ground for numerous urban explorers, as well as the imagination of several would-be redevelopers.

The sale listing includes images of possible makeovers:

Heaven On Earth Up for Grabs

77002, Buildings for Sale, Downtown, Hotels

02/15/18 4:30pm

Two Homes-Turned-Retail on W. Gray and Stanford, Now Waiting for Their Next Gig

Montrose, North Montrose, Retail

If the Platform Group has settled on a plan for redeveloping the corner of W. Gray St. and Stanford, it hasnâ€™t made it known yet. An entity connected to the developer bought the white corner building home to the Traci Scott hair salon and the former Skinny Rita’s restaurant adjacent to it last December. The firm’s website now explains it’s “in the early stages of feasibility studies” for the pair of 2-stories at 615 and 607 W. Gray.

The 2 buildings share the parking lot visible in the snow-capped aerial above with entrances on W. Gray as well as one on Stanford, behind the hair salon. Not pictured is a narrow patio that runs along the chop shop’s Stanford side. A larger fenced-off seating area and upper deck currently front W. Gray outside the former restaurant, which closed last February after just under a year in the building.

Here’s a closer up view of Skinny Rita’s seating taken from the parking lot entrance between the 2 buildings just after the restaurant vacated the premises:

Skinny Ritaâ€™s Plus One

77019, Bars and Restaurants, Buildings for Sale, Montrose, North Montrose, Retail

01/18/18 1:30pm

The First Sign of Changes Coming to the Soon-To-Be Searsless West Oaks Mall Is Now Standing in Front of the Former Macy’s Parking Lot

Malls, Openings and Closings, West Oaks

A Swamplot reader sends this photo of new signage fronting Hwy. 6 along the vacant Macy’s parking lot at West Oaks Mall. The space left behind by the former anchor tenant — which closed its doors last year — will be turned into a new store called The Outlet at West Oaks that will specialize in clothing and home goods and open within the next few months. Dress shop Formal Gallery has been announced as the new store’s first retailer. Other additions have been announced for the rest of the mall, HBJâ€™s Cara Smith reports: a gym, a trampoline park, a daycare facility, a food hall,Â restaurants, event venues, and some sort of maker space.

1st Emporium, the real estate division of Houston-based Mehta Investments, quietly bought most of the mall — out of bankruptcy, Paul Takahashi reports in the Chronicle —Â last August. (The mall’s former owner, Pacific Retail Capital Partners, bought the shopping center out of bankruptcy, too, back in 2009.)

Anchors Away

77082, Buildings for Sale, Department Stores, Malls, Openings and Closings, West Oaks

11/27/17 2:30pm

A Flood-Ready NYFD Cabin Compound Hideout in the Friendswood Woods

Friendswood

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11 partly-elevated cabins off Deepwood Dr. are on the market for $69,499 to $89,499 each, or $680,000 for the whole set. The mini-neighborhood was built between 1955 and 1960, reportedly for members of the New York Fire Department who came to Friendswood (at that time, home only to a small community) for training exercises. Each house is partially, if not entirely, built on stilts.

The lowest address number, 1301, sits halfway down Deepwood, across from the Friendswood Public Works Department. From there, the complexÂ extends southeast. 7 properties, including 1311 Deepwood, shown at top, front the road. The other 4 are accessible only by unpaved paths that branch off into the wooded area adjacent to and behind the street.

The largest, 1,300 sq. ft. at 1315 Deepwood, is one of those 4:

Stilted Listings

77546, Buildings for Sale, Friendswood

04/10/17 11:30am

Lenten Offerings at Near Northside Church Now Include Sanctuary, Nearby Buildings

Churches, Near Northside

4 Comments

Bible Days Church, 501 Quitman St., Near Northside, Houston, 77009

Bible Days Church, 501 Quitman St., Near Northside, Houston, 77009 Showing up on the market this month, just in time for Easter: a couple of buildings and lots belonging to Bible Days Revival Church, formally located at or around 501 Quitman St. in Near Northside. The church gives 1935 as the construction date for at least one of the included structures up for grabs, which sit on a block along the northern light-rail line next to a formerly Exxon-branded gas station. Along with the sanctuary, the new listings include a few multifamily structures and empty lots:Â

Come Into the Light-Rail

77009, Buildings for Sale, Churches, Near Northside

03/20/17 2:00pm

Heights Waterworks Work Could be Paired with Chase Bank Sale Chaser

Houston Heights

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Chase Bank at 500 W. 20th St., Houston Heights, Houston, 77008

Heights Reservoir land sale As the digging around hasÂ started recently across the road, the Chase BankÂ onÂ W. 20thÂ street has gone up for sale, a reader notes. Most of theÂ land west of Nicholson St. between 19th and 20th streets isÂ owned by Chase (which has a drive-in on the block), as is the parking lot on 20th across Lawrence. The property is wedged in with those 2 pieces of Heights Waterworks land (outlined here in red) that the city sold last year to Alliance; the apartment developer’s plan for the catty-corner sites includes a pair of 8- and 6-story midrises plus a conversion of the protected reservoir structure itself for restaurant and-or retail use.Â The signage at the corner of 19th and Lawrence St. (shown above) note that the bank will be seeking its fortune elsewhere.

500 & 600 Blocks of West 19th & 20th [HAR]
Initial Plans for 19thÂ St. Waterworks Site Revealed [The Leader]
Previously on Swamplot:Â City-Wide Drainage SWAT Team Possibly Bankrolled By Heights Waterworks Sale;Â Apartment Developer Alliance Ready To Buy Landmarked Heights Waterworks Land

Images: “Random Property Gossip” (top); City of Houston (bottom)

Banking on Heights Densification

77008, Buildings for Sale, Houston Heights, Land for Sale

Energy Corridor

12/14/16 12:45pm

BP Moving Onshore HQ Out of Houston, Way Further Onshore

Quicklink

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BP MOVING ONSHORE HQ OUT OF HOUSTON, WAY FURTHER ONSHORE Helios Plaza, Energy Corridor, Houston, 77079 BP announced today that it plans to move the main office for its onshore oil and gasÂ branch to Denver at the start of 2018, starting with aboutÂ 200 employees (compared to about 450 currently in the Houston office). The company announced late this summerÂ that it was pulling its employees out of the WestLake 4 towerÂ (about 7 years before that lease would’ve beenÂ up); that news was followed up a few days later with an announcement thatÂ BP would alsoÂ sell offÂ its LEED-platinumÂ Helios PlazaÂ building (pictured above), which it built in 2010 as a trading office. The plan at the time was to lease backÂ space in Helios from the new owner; the rest of the company’s Energy Corridor employees will stay in the WestLake 1 office tower, which BP also owns. [BP Media Affairs via Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Helios Plaza at 201 Helios Way: BP

77079, Buildings for Sale, Energy-Corridor, Jobs, Office Buildings, Office Space, Sublease Market

09/20/16 11:00am

Thirsty Parrot Owners Trying To Hand Off Flock of Buildings, Fish, 14-Acre Habitat South of Pine Island

Hempstead, Monaville

4 Comments

13200 and 13302 FM 359, Hempstead, TX, 77445

Up for grabs just down the road from the Monaville General Store: family-friendly biker bar and pool hallÂ The Thirsty Parrot Bar & Grill. A PR rep tells Swamplot that the owners are retiring from running the Waller County restaurant, which has been open since 2006. ConcurrentÂ listings on LoopNet and HARÂ (at 13200 and 13302 FM 359, respectively) are both running with a $1.6-million asking price, which includes the 14-ish-acre swath of land that the bar sits on, all kitchen equipment, and all of the other buildings on the property: that’s a 3-bedroom ranch house, a second guestÂ house, a pavilion, a barn, and a stocked fishing pond, plus a few other hangers-on. Here’sÂ a quick tourÂ around the place, including a stop by the live parrot collection:

Hempstead Restaurateurs Flying the Coop

77445, Bars, Buildings for Sale, Businesses for Sale, Hempstead, Land for Sale, Monaville, Restaurants

09/19/16 5:45pm

Crew Scraping Out Interior of Old King Biscuit Box, Now Paired With House Next Door

Houston Heights

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King Biscuit Patio Cafe, 1606 White Oak Dr., Houston, 77009

King Biscuit Patio Cafe, 1606 White Oak Dr., Houston The artsy buildingÂ at the pointy intersection of White Oak Dr. with Morrison and Beauchamp streets appears to be preppingÂ for the possibility of a new gig.Â City permissionÂ for some interior wall smashingÂ in the former King Biscuit space (shown above in full 2011 Technicolor) was granted at the beginning of August, and a reader sends the topmost photo of the scene this afternoon with reports of some recentÂ scuttling about inside.

The space at 1606 White Oak is currentlyÂ listed for saleÂ on LoopNet as part of a 2-fer: buy the Biscuit for $2.17 million, and the owner will throw in the well-camouflaged houseÂ across Morrison at 1528 White Oak for free:

White Oak 2-Fer

77009, Art Galleries, Buildings for Sale, Houston Heights, Restaurants

Bars and Clubs

08/22/16 1:30pm

Buffalo Fred’s Ice House Price Now Down to $3.25 Million on N. Shepherd

Buildings for Lease, Buildings for Sale, Houston Heights

2 Comments

Buffalo Fred's Ice House, 2708 N. Shepherd Dr., Houston Heights, Houston, 77008

Buffalo Fred's Ice House, 2708 N. Shepherd Dr., Houston Heights, Houston, 77008 After a month or soÂ on the market at $3.75 million, the asking price on Buffalo Fred’s Ice House has dropped by half a million as of early last week. The 37,500 sq.ft. property, positioned right across the northern boundary of the potentially moistening Heights dry zone at 2708 N. Shepherd Dr., sits a few blocks north of the ongoing culinary redevelopment zone near the recent Fiesta Mart breakup. The HAR sales listing notes that leasing the space is an option (and a matching LoopNet leasing listingÂ has been addedÂ for the property in the last few weeks).

The listing claims the early-1980s ice house is now running on a month-to-month lease; the bar building is up for grabs along with the 2,100-sq.-ft. building formerly occupied by Speedy Cycle Lube (on the right hand side, both above and below):

Room to Roam in Houston Heights

77008, Bars, Buildings for Lease, Buildings for Sale, Heights Dry Zone, Houston Heights, Ice Houses

Eastwood

08/19/16 11:30am

Briefly Redeemed Church of the Redeemer Buildings Back Up for Grabs in Eastwood

6 Comments

4411 Dallas St., Eastwood, Houston, 77023

Now on the market for $2.5 million: the triangular Telephone Rd. block bounded by Dallas and Eastwood streets, complete with the still-well-labeled former complexÂ of the storiedÂ Church of the Redeemer. The church’s congregation moved out of the literally crumblingÂ structuresÂ in 2011 after receiving some $5-to-7-millionÂ estimates onÂ bringing them up to minimum habitability standards. The propertyÂ was later bought by Dominion Church International, whichÂ wrangled a new certificate of occupancy for the site inÂ early 2014.

The currentÂ listing shows that theÂ crown ofÂ T-mobileÂ relay equipmentÂ atop the church’s bell towerÂ appears to still be in place — county records show a rooftop lease agreementÂ for the building was renewed for another 50 years in mid-2014:

Salvation or Salvage?

77023, Buildings for Sale, Churches, Eastwood

07/25/16 4:00pm

Digging Up a Little Dirt on the Uncle Johnny’s Good Cars Lot in Near Northside

Land for Sale, Near Northside

1901 N. Main St., Near Northside, Houston, 77009

Chris Andrews has caught a few snapshotsÂ of what appears to be a soilÂ sampling crew at workÂ at 1901 N. Main St.,Â formerly the site of Uncle Johnny’s Good Cars. Most of the 37,679-sq.-ft.Â property, occupying the block onÂ the east side of N. MainÂ between Hogan and Gargan streets (including the 1950s auto shop and the next door 1930s Beer’s Building), was transferred to a legal entity called Cerveza FourÂ in May of 2015. Shortly thereafter,Â Keller Williams RealtyÂ postedÂ the cheerily-soundtracked video listing below showing the ins and outs of the property, nestled between the Casa De Amigos city health clinic to the south and the former home of Alamo Thrifty Bail Bonds (now bike shop HAM Cycles 2) across Gargan:

Movement on N. Main

77009, Buildings for Sale, Land for Sale, Light-Rail, Near Northside, Soils

Meanwhile

07/15/16 1:30pm

Longaberger Empties 7-Story Picnic Basket for Sale or Foreclosure

Quicklink

Architecture, Buildings for Sale, Meanwhile, Office Buildings

LONGABERGER EMPTIES 7-STORY PICNIC BASKET FOR SALE OR FORECLOSURE Meanwhile, in Newark:Â Yesterday Ohio-based basket weaverÂ Longaberger finished moving the last of its employees out of its former corporate headquarters, a replica of the company’s Medium Market model (albeit 160 times larger than life). The company, which saw a 90 percent drop in sales between 2000 and 2014, is currently trying to sell off the building, which consists of a 7-story office structureÂ behind a stucco-over-steel faux-woven facade, complete withÂ 2 enormousÂ handles that heat up to prevent icing in the winter. Â The company hasÂ accumulated more than half a million dollars in unpaid taxes on the property; if a buyer cannot be found, the city may foreclose and offer the structure up for public auction. [Columbus Dispatch via Houston Chronicle ]

03/29/16 11:00am

McGowen Cleaners For Sale on Fairview Near Restaurant-Slated Former Te House of Tea

Vermont Commons

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1931 Fairview St., Vermont Commons, Houston, 77019

Just aÂ few blocks northwestÂ from the ballroom in the works on Woodhead, a reader sends a shot of the former McGowen Cleaners at 1931 Fairview St., now up for saleÂ by NewQuest Properties. The cleaners closed shop on Friday the 13th back in November, though they allowed stragglingÂ clients to come by for their left-behind clothes throughÂ the end of last year.

The once-actually-on-McGowen business’s 3090-sq.-ft. former building (on a 15,000-sq.-ft. lot)Â is surrounded to the north and east by townhomes, and by older homes and duplexes to the south and west; 1Â block down Fairview is the former Te House of Tea, which the reader reports just gotÂ a new parking lot where its back garden used to be.Â NewQuest’s Â sales flier for the McGowen Cleaners property also shows the Te’s spot taggedÂ for a new restaurant: