Tag: Historic Preservation

Commercial Real Estate
03/31/10 4:19pm

Alamo Drafthouse to Weingarten: Why Gut the Alabama Theater When We Can Just Chop It in Half?

by
Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
16 Comments

The new owners of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema franchises in Katy and at the West Oaks Mall tell the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff they’ve begun new talks with Weingarten Realty about turning the former Alabama Theater into the first Inside-the-Loop location for the dinner-drinks-and-movie chain.

Triple Tap Ventures partner Neil Michaelsen tells Sarnoff his group had held discussions with Weingarten about the former Alabama Bookstop location at 2922 South Shepherd more than 6 months ago — but “couldn’t come to an agreement” about leasing the space. Triple Tap announced its purchase of the two Houston Alamo Drafthouse locations — and plans to construct new cinema locations in Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Lubbock, the Midland-Odessa area, San Marcos, and Houston — just last October.

Sarnoff explains that the Alabama Theater building isn’t exactly Triple Tap’s ideal location:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Adaptive Reuse
03/26/10 2:03pm

Comment of the Day: What Makes the Alabama Theater So Easy To Lease

by
Comments, Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Quicklink, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
8 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHAT MAKES THE ALABAMA THEATER SO EASY TO LEASE “Sigh. I’ve been told in the past that Weingarten would like to have a restaurant in this location, but with a rent that is probably in the low-mid 30’s/sf, that puts the monthly rent at around $35,000 a month, which is out of the price range of many retailers and restaurateurs. Also, 14,000 sf would be a huge restaurant. One of the other little discussed obstacles in this building is the balcony, and the low headroom that it provides at the lobby entrance. Most of the building is concrete but I’ve been told that the balcony is in fact a steel structure. I would not be surprised if the balcony does not survive. Regarding the sloped floor, it is extremely difficult to rent sloping space like that in the age of ADA. Bookstop was constructed prior (1984) to the implementation of ADA. . . .” [mt, commenting on Weingarten Realty: We Won’t Demolish the Interior of the Alabama Theater Until a Lease Is Signed]

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Commercial Real Estate
03/25/10 4:34pm

Weingarten Realty: We Won’t Demolish the Interior of the Alabama Theater Until a Lease Is Signed

by
Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Leasing, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
10 Comments

What’s the latest on those plans to demolish the interior of the Alabama Theater at West Alabama and Shepherd — you know, the plans already put out to bid to subcontractors but that owner Weingarten Realty can’t quite seem to verify are its own?

A spokesperson under contract to Weingarten tells Swamplot that the company won’t act on them before a lease agreement with a new tenant is signed:

I now have the okay to post based on your last blog entry to reassure your readers that WRI has no intention undertaking any pre-buildout of the interior prior to any lease agreement. And, there is no agreement currently and no buildout plan.

“Buildout,” of course, is the correct term for the interior demolition here. Because the demolition plans out to bid show that Weingarten intends to permanently encase the theater’s extensive sloped floor in concrete, like this:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Comments
03/25/10 3:00pm

Comment of the Day: We Are All Weingarten Leasing Agents Now

by
Commercial Real Estate, Financing, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Quicklink, Real Estate Investing, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
1 Comment

COMMENT OF THE DAY: WE ARE ALL WEINGARTEN LEASING AGENTS NOW “. . . I’m not [against] historic preservation, but I find [it] silly and immature for people to attack Weingarten. If anybody could approach them with an idea or a plan to keep the theatre and turn it into a money making investment for any kind of use, I’m sure they’ll listen. If Weingarten could get a tenant without any changes to the space, wouldn’t you think they’ll go for that[?] They save a lot of money in that situation. They most likely looked into the gutting of the place since there isn’t much option for them. Saving a place purely on moral grounds that it is the right thing to do isn’t enough. It’s a place to start, but it’s a lot more that has to happen after that. In the end, a philanthropist or investor or a group of a combination of the two is needed. This group can either buy it out or develop a plan that Weingarten could get their rent and the place be saved. . . .” [kjb434, commenting on Weingarten Plans an Alabama Theater Demolition. Is Staples Moving In?]

, , , , , , , , , , ,
Commercial Real Estate
03/24/10 3:56pm

Chasing Down Weingarten’s Mysterious “Alternatives” to Demolishing the Alabama Theater

by
Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
13 Comments

Last night, a spokesperson under contract to Weingarten Realty writing on behalf of the company reported to Swamplot and its readers that the shopping-center owner “can’t verify the authenticity of the drawings” we reported on yesterday.

The drawings referred to are bid documents that Heights Venture Architects prepared for Weingarten detailing an extensive interior demolition of the 70-year-old Art Deco Alabama Theater at South Shepherd and West Alabama — more commonly known until its closing last September as the Alabama Bookstop bookstore.

Well, gee. Today, “an official” of Weingarten’s architecture firm isn’t having such a hard time with the verification process:

An official at Heights Venture Architects told CultureMap this morning that the company did submit plans detailing a near total interior demolition of the Alabama at the specific request of Weingarten (the company that owns the vacant building).

The official at Heights asked not to be named and said he had no speaking authority, but confirmed that the company had been asked to submit the plans, which Swamplot first published.

What a fun game! Now that this round is over, let’s jump to the next one: Okay, so maybe Weingarten did ask its architects to prepare demolition drawings. Maybe Weingarten is exploring all its options! Just pricing a complete demo for . . . say, comparison.

Here’s the same Weingarten spokesperson feeding this ruse:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Commercial Real Estate
03/23/10 3:16pm

Weingarten’s Alabama Theater Plan: Speculative Demolition for Fun and Profit

by
Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
18 Comments

Weingarten Realty’s director of investor relations Kristin Gandy tells the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff that the owners of the vacant Alabama Theater building in the Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center at the corner of South Shepherd and West Alabama do not have a deal for the space with any new tenant, including Staples. Swamplot reported earlier this morning that a local construction firm is soliciting bids from subcontractors for an extensive interior demolition of the 1939 Art Deco theater, which from the early eighties until late last year was the home of the Alabama Bookstop bookstore. Drawings detailing the demolition were prepared for Weingarten by Heights Venture Architects, and the bid documents included floor plans for a prototype Staples office-supply store.

Gandy tells Sarnoff

Weingarten has not signed a lease nor has any lease under (letter of intent) with any particular tenant at this time. We have several tenants that are reviewing, but we don’t have a definitive agreement in place.

Weingarten may not have an agreement in place, but the publicly traded company certainly has demolition plans in place, already labeled as issued for permitting. Which means either

  • Weingarten is conducting extensive pricing research for a number of options for the space in a rather peculiar manner (the ready-for-permit bid documents do not ask bidders to price any alternative to demolition); or
  • (far more likely) Weingarten is gambling that demolishing the interior of Alabama Theater will help it to attract a very particular type of tenant to the unique Inner Loop property.

How much does Weingarten want to demo?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Commercial Real Estate
03/23/10 8:15am

Weingarten Plans an Alabama Theater Demolition. Is Staples Moving In?

by
Historic Preservation, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby
78 Comments

It looks like the former Alabama Theater — known since the early eighties as the Alabama Bookstop, and since last fall as that big vacant space for lease in Weingarten Realty’s Alabama Shepherd Shopping Center — is about to be gutted. A local construction company is currently taking bids from subcontractors for a rather complete interior demolition. The plans, prepared by Heights Venture Architects, show major alterations to the floor, walls, and ceilings.

The theater’s original sloped floor will be buried under a new concrete slab; wood floors inserted during the 1983 bookstore conversion will be removed. For now, the balcony will remain.

Here’s a little before and after to demonstrate:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , , , ,
Demolitions
03/08/10 4:44pm

Immanuel Lutheran: Okay, We Won’t Trash Our Old Church Building

by
Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Institutional Buildings, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
1 Comment

The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance has sent out an email reporting that the congregation of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Heights voted in a special meeting this past weekend not to demolish its sanctuary building after all.

So what’s going to happen to the unused 1932 brick structure instead? Says the GHPA:

The Gothic Revival building on Cortlandt Street at East 15th Street will be used as flex space to accommodate church functions and Immanuel Lutheran School activities as well as community events.

Sure, it’s likely to make a great space for events. But how could any church function match an all-out building demo for fun?

The GHPA reports the congregation has committed to spending $150,000 on the rehab — about twice the cost of the demolition, which had already been scheduled for May. GHPA credits the 90-days-to-oblivion feature of the city’s otherwise toothless preservation ordinance for the save:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , ,
Construction Materials
03/08/10 11:55am

The Strand Building Where They Found the Secret Window Sash Stash

by
Galveston, Historic Preservation
4 Comments

This is it — the 1870 building where Galveston County’s Treasurer uncovered a hidden treasure of more than 100 unused old-growth pine and cypress windows dating from about 1900 above a false ceiling in the third-floor loft he’s renovating. The Magale Building at 2311-2315 Strand in Galveston was likely a window and door store and warehouse at one time, the Galveston Historical Foundation’s Matt Farragher told Galveston County Daily News reporter Hayley Kappes. That Strand neighborhood was once the city’s hardware district.

Kevin Walsh bought the loft not long after Hurricane Ike — from someone who’d lived there for 30 years. He found the windows when he ripped out the ceiling late last year.

Walsh, a CPA, also serves on the finance committee of the Galveston Historical Foundation; he’s already donated the windows to the non-profit organization. They’ll eventually go on sale at the foundation’s architectural salvage warehouse on 23rd St.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , ,
Historic Preservation
03/04/10 2:08pm

More Backstory on That 1960 Walnut Bend Mod: Nobody’s Screwed It Up Yet

by
Homes for Sale, Renovations, Walnut Bend
14 Comments

Thinking long and hard about that unloved $160K 1960 Mod on Olympia Dr. in Walnut Bend featured here earlier this week? Real estate agent (and Swamplot advertiser) Robert Searcy has a few thoughts:

Due to the presence of pets, unfinished projects and other work needing to be done, (plus the absence of the mod furniture you see in the pictures), it all combines to make the home show less than ideal. Architecturally, however, it is one of the more dramatic in that price range and someone could pull it together. Mod houses are almost ALWAYS a project. This one is no exception. Most either need to be brought up or if they have a higher level of maintenance then they typically require “undoing.” That means going in and taking out inappropriate alterations done in the name of updating and putting back in more architecturally compatible finishes. This is often times a more difficult and more costly process than a straight up restoration. Especially if the seller wants more for the house initially because of their “updates,” which in reality are nothing more than bad choices that architecturally “dumb down” the house to look like every tract home in Katy.

This house needs work, but doesn’t really need the “undoing” factor. It is priced well and the location is not bad.

And he sends in part of the program for the 1960 Parade of Homes:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , ,
Demolitions
02/15/10 11:37am

If Wishes Were Museums: Don’t Give Up on That Immanuel Lutheran Church Demolition Just Yet

by
Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
2 Comments

That report we passed on last Friday about the congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Heights voting to turn its former sanctuary at the corner of Cortlandt and 15th St. into a museum of Lutheran history turns out to have been false. City Council members Edward Gonzalez and Sue Lovell, who announced the decision in a press release, jumped the gun a bit:

Lovell spokesman Tim Brookover said the councilwoman’s office received a report from a preservationist attending the meeting that there had “been a lot of talk about a Lutheran museum” and presumed the church group approved the plan.

Though informally discussed, such a proposal has not been formally presented to the governing board, [board president Ken Bakenhus] said.

But there was some progress at the meeting: The congregation did vote to reject local artist and engineer Gus Kopriva’s proposal to lease the sanctuary and turn it into an art museum, the Chronicle‘s Allan Turner reports.

Bakenhus told Turner late last year that the board was “’99 percent’ in favor” of spending $60,000 to demolish the 1932 brick building. The church has a signed contract to tear down the structure this summer.

Photo: Heights Blog

, , , , , , ,
Demolitions
02/12/10 9:47am

Immanuel Lutheran Church Likes a Different Museum Idea

by
Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
11 Comments



Update, 2/15: As Miz Brooke Smith notes in a comment below, the report turns out not to be true.

The congregation of Immanuel Lutheran Church in the Heights has reversed itself and voted not to tear down its 1932 brick sanctuary building after all, abc13 reports. Instead, they’ve decided to turn it into a museum.

Will it be a Heights art museum, as proposed and promoted by local gallery owner and engineer Gus Kopriva? No. Congregants voted to turn the structure at the corner of 15th and Cortlandt into a museum of Lutheran history.

Photo of Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1448 Cortlandt St.: Flickr user dey37

, , , , , ,
Historic Preservation
01/07/10 1:05pm

This Is Not a Demolished Church

by
Houston Heights, Religious Facilities
No Comments

The 3D documentation artists who’ve been scanning the facade of Immanuel Lutheran Church’s unwanted sanctuary building at 1448 Cortland St. in the Heights issue an important caution to those appreciating their craft:

Once archived, the data file’s full-scale scan and related imagery becomes a resource for preservationists, conservators, architects, engineers, site managers, or others needing access for a variety of purposes, from maintenance to insurance to historical reference, explained the team from Smart GeoMetrics, a division of Smart MultiMedia. The venture’s principals are Richard Lasater and Doug Smith of the Rice Village area. . . .

Lasater said — with emphasis — that digital documentation is an archival tool, “not a replacement’ for a building.”

Image: Smart GeoMetrics

, , , , ,
Art
12/22/09 11:26am

Saved by a HAM: The Museum Plan for Immanuel Lutheran Church

by
Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Neighborhood Disputes, Religious Facilities
5 Comments

Immanuel Lutheran Church has a signed contract to demolish its original sanctuary structure at the corner of 15th St. and Cortlandt in the Heights this summer. But art gallery owner and structural engineer Gus Kopriva wants to turn the 1932 building into an art museum instead.

Kopriva, who was involved in the recent renovation of the Heights Theater and owns Redbud Gallery on 11th St., is scheduled to present his concept to the church today. It would involve a long-term lease and a new nonprofit organization to raise money for the renovation, writes Allan Turner in the Chronicle:

“It’s been my long-term dream to create a Texas arts mecca,” Kopriva said. The museum, which he would call the Heights Arts Museum (HAM), would also house art archives, he said.

Backing Kopriva’s proposal are the Houston Heights Association and the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, both of which have struggled to save the church, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo of Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1448 Cortlandt St.: Flickr user dey37

, , , , , , ,
Bellaire
12/15/09 2:59pm

Teas Nursery: Not for Homebuilders

by
Buying and Selling, Historic Preservation, Land Sales, Quicklink
6 Comments

TEAS NURSERY: NOT FOR HOMEBUILDERS A private Bellaire foundation run by two brothers has snapped up the remaining 5 acres of Teas Nursery at 4400 Bellaire Blvd. Jerry and Maury (“Bo”) Rubenstein haven’t announced their plans yet, but a press release reports they are hoping the property “could be retained for the benefit of all Bellaire residents.” The Teas family will continue to occupy the site until the middle of February. [Swamplot inbox; previously on Swamplot]

, , , ,
« Previous Page Next Page »