A commenter named Jamie fills in the details on this “Stairway To Nowhere” — which also appears to include a ramp — found on the corner of 18th and Ashland streets in the Heights. Blogger Viula of The Heights Life, who snapped the photo, is curious about where the stairs came from:
“They really struck me as part of a time gone by in the Heights,” she writes.
And what a time it was! Reports Jamie:
A little more than 2 years after announcing they’d be closing down, demolishing the restaurant and selling the land underneath it, and 9 months after reopening the almost-60-year-old institution with great fanfare, the owners of Otto’s Bar B Que are now saying the restaurant at 5502 Memorial Dr. will be closing for good. Sort of:
Otto’s has a long list of customers, including former President George H. W. Bush. He came by yesterday to get a final plate of food before the business closed. The building will be demolished and replaced with a bank. The owner told us it was hard to say goodbye.
“We have some wonderful people here in the City of Houston that have supported us for hundreds of years. It’s a little, a little emotional,” said owner June [Sofka].
You will still be able to order a hamburger from Otto’s at that location for a few more months.
Photo: Flickr user tamtam.afropunx
ARCHITECTS WITH A LITTLE MORE TIME ON THEIR HANDS A dramatic reduction in plans for new commercial construction — coupled with the Texas legislature’s failure to renew funding for higher education projects — resulted in “about 15 employees” losing their jobs at Kirksey last week, writes Nancy Sarnoff. Also mentioned in passing: earlier cutbacks at EDI Architecture, BNIM, and Gensler. Now that a lot more of you have time to write in, tell us: Are there any other layoffs or related stories we should be mentioning here? [Prime Property; previously on Swamplot]
RESTAURANT-GARAGE COMBO ON WESTPARK PUT ON HOLD Some unspecified “complications” in continuing negotiations have stalled plans for a brand new 2-story Molina’s Restaurant and parking garage on a West U-owned lot on Westpark, between Wakeforest and Dincans streets, a city council member tells reporter Angela Grant. “The building would have included a parking garage for Goode Company Seafood, which currently leases the land for its parking lot. Goode Company pays West U. about $4,300 per month for rent. The agreement expires in just over three years. The terms of the agreement with [developer Mike] Gallagher provided for a 15-year primary lease, with options for five more 5-[year] renewals. The Molina’s rent would gradually increase from $7,000 per month to $15,373 per month.” [Instant News West U]
BAYLOR AND RICE: THE DEAL IS OFFICIALLY DEAD Just out from the presidents of the two institutions: A formal “we’re not going to merge” statement: “Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University have ended our discussions about a possible merger of our two institutions. At the same time, both institutions have agreed to develop further our existing academic and research relationship, which has grown significantly over the years.” [Rice University]
DOWNTOWN SHERATON-LINCOLN REDO: TOO MANY RESERVATIONS Hey, how about those plans to renovate the vacant 1962 Sheraton-Lincoln Hotel on Polk St. Downtown between Louisiana and Milam, and turn the once-swank 28-story hulk into an all-suites hotel with meeting spaces and restaurants? “More than two years later, it doesn’t look like much work has been done at all. ‘Omni is not involved in the project,’ Caryn Kboudi, a representative for Omni Hotels, told Hair Balls. ‘I believe Songy still is.’ . . . The Harris County Appraisal District lists the owner of the building as Downtown Houston Hospitality LP, which is based out of Atlanta, the same place as the Songy corporate headquarters. That could be a sign that Songy still owns the property, but it’s impossible to say, because no one from Songy has returned our phone calls or e-mails.” [Hair Balls]
Here’s a little drive-by tour with expert commentary on the lost and leaning Ocean Tower on South Padre Island, slated for implosion this Sunday at 9 a.m. The condo tower has supposed to have 31 levels, but accumulated many more stories: Construction was halted last year after one side of the building sunk more than 14 inches into the sand.
Three months after topping out the tower last spring, developer Antun Domit sent a letter to buyers noting that a problem of “differential settlement” had occurred:
Unfortunately, there is a layer or stratum of which the engineers tell us is “expandable clay”, meaning that it is a clay stratum that compresses [when] weight is placed upon it. Although our foundation is engineered to a depth above that stratum, the weight pressing on the stratum has caused sinking of the building on it.
But there’s a fix for that!
Driving around North Montrose, a reader is surprised to find the Allen House Apartments still standing. Weren’t those units part of the Allen House that was demolished more than 2 years ago — so the land could rest for a bit while Regent Square tries to get some funding?
I am curious as to why 2 buildings of the erstwhile allen house were left untouched. Was Regent square never expected to cover these lots or is this allen house a new entity with no links to the GID Urban Development Group ? Are these going to be demolished in the future?
Just a month ago, an executive of Brooklyn’s Boymelgreen Developers was telling the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff that the company was still committed to building those twin 28-floor condo towers at the very end of Woodway on San Felipe, next door to the old Dolce & Freddo gelato shop. Development director Sara Mirski reported that the firm planned to start construction on the Ziegler Cooper design next year, after completing a new market analysis in the spring.
The former shopping-center site, just a leap over Buffalo Bayou from Piney Point Village, was purchased by an Israeli company controlled by developer Shaya Boymelgreen 2 years ago, just days after another Boymelgreen affiliate flipped the property at the corner of Richmond and Post Oak — the site of the former Mason Jar and Steak & Ale — for a quick $24 million profit.
But those were the good ol’ days. Now Boymelgreen may have a few other things to take care of before he can get going on the San Felipe Condominiums:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE’S OUR TANIGUCHI? “What’s the hold up on this thing? It’s still a vacant lot. In the past few weeks, utility work on water/sewer has been done on the street, but not sure if it’s associated with the Asia Society construction. Groundbreaking was in Nov. 2008??? It’s already Sept. 2009 and no sign of construction.” [David Hollas, commenting on More Images of the Asia Society Headquarters Design]
COMMENT OF THE DAY: DON’T TEAR DOWN THAT RESTAURANT! “A restaurant is a pretty good highest and best use for land in the loop. Look at the projects involving buying a restaurant and knocking it down to build. Little Woodrow’s = Empty lot no activity. The State Grille = Empty lot no activity. Nit Noi in Rice Village = Empty lot no activity. Am i missing any?? . . . Did the Stables on S. Main become anything?” [JPSivco, commenting on Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye: Otto’s, Back from the Edge of the Market]
Some vocal residents of the First Ward are happy to learn that plans to move a recycling facility to the Harris Moving & Storage location at 1904 Spring St. (pictured above) have apparently been halted. A staff member in the office of newly elected councilmember Ed Gonzalez has indicated to a neighborhood group that Mayor White’s administration has agreed “not to pursue” the relocation.
The 24-hour drop-off recycling center currently operating at at 3602 Center St. (just east of Heights Blvd.) will now apparently stay where it is. Admiral Linen, operators of a facility next door to that location, had wanted to purchase the property from the city.
The Solid Waste department’s plan would have resulted in a recycling center directly adjacent to the not-quite-finished MKT/SP Hike and Bike Trail along Spring St. between Houston Ave. and Taylor. A group of First Ward residents was upset at that plan, and was further angered when the department’s director referred to their neighborhood as “an industrial area” in a neighborhood meeting.
Here’s a construction-cam view from this morning showing progress on Baylor College of Medicine’s fancy new Clinic and Hospital on Old Spanish Trail, a stretch south of the main Medical Center campus — and, apparently, too big of a stretch for the financially strained institution. The Chronicle is reporting that BCM has decided to finish building the hospital exterior, but that it’s not gonna build out the building’s innards at all. For a while. Until it gets the money.
Or something changes. The medical school decided to build its own facility after breaking off an association with Methodist Hospital in 2004. A later bad hook-up, with St. Luke’s, ended in 2007. When BCM began serious conversations with Rice University about a merger last year, the new hospital was considered a major obstacle to a deal: Rice didn’t want it. If BCM becomes a part of Rice (which at this point appears quite likely), the hospital will have to be jettisoned somehow.
In an e-mail to faculty, [Baylor interim president William T.] Butler said the temporary suspension buys time to acquire additional capital through philanthropy, federal funds and other sources, gives the markets a chance to settle and provides an opportunity to consider project partners.
Sources said that by not building out the interior, it’s also possible the hospital shell would be more attractive to a buyer wanting to tailor the facility to its own desired specifications.
But in his e-mail to faculty, Butler dismissed such speculation: “Taking this pause will allow us to ultimately fulfill the plan to build the hospital,†he wrote. “The board has made it clear it is committed to this project.â€
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WELCOME TO WESTWOOD GARDENS “The neighbors are starting to join together to remove the graffiti. Not many kids are on the blocks but they do range in age from babies to happy teens. You can see them outside at times with their parents, riding scooters, riding bikes or just playing around. The neighbors even have indoor small pups, not those that you see on the news that maul on people or those that are seen used to fight. They are small well cared for happy dogs. Never without being on a leash when they are outside. A few neighbors have been seen flying small model airplanes. Everyone is friendly. Try it, if you see any one of the neighbors outside just wave and you will get a smile and a wave back. Hopefully one day we see you, if so Welcome to Westwood Gardens where you are Not just a Neighbor, Your Family!” [We Are Family!, commenting on Westwood Gardens Still Life: A Photo Tour of Half-Built Houston Homes]
A tidbit from Lamesa Properties, proud owner of that block of Bolsover St. in the Rice Village that was supposed to turn into a grand plaza for Randall Davis’s Sonoma development, but for now is just a fenced-off lot:
Company representative Julie Tysor said that while construction is on hold, the firm is open to ideas for the site to have some “long-term benefit to the community.†For now, plans are under way to make the unpaved area a green space, and the paved area may be used for much-needed Village parking.
Photo of Sonoma Site on Bolsover St.: Miya Shay
