Leasing | Swamplot

07/06/10 1:52pm

The Somewhat Public To-Do List Posted at 230 West Alabama

Construction Problems, Leasing, Midtown, Montrose, Westmoreland

“Apparently ‘Houston’s newest chic address‘ has some code violations on its hands,” writes the reader who found a well-worn code enforcement tag at 230 West Alabama, the Midtown-ish apartment tower formerly known as Executive House:

I stopped by on Sunday, July 4, to see if the leasing office was open and found this notice on the door. The violation from the City of Houston Code Enforcement Department says: OBTAIN ELECTRICAL PERMIT AND REPAIR UNSAFE ELECTRICAL IMMEDIATELY…OBTAIN PLUMBING PERMIT AND REPAIR UNSAFE PLUMBING IMMEDIATELY…REPAIR UNSAFE STRUCTURAL IMMEDIATELY…SEE REPORT FOR DETAILS…SUBJECT TO CITATIONS DAILY FOR NON-COMPLIANCE. The date in the bottom right hand corner appears to be 04-04-10. I think I’ll keep searching for that apartment elsewhere.

The tag:

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77006, Apartments, Construction Problems, Leasing, Midtown, Montrose, Westmoreland

Downtown

07/02/10 2:01pm

The GSA’s Curious Houston U.S. Attorney Office Leasing Deal: Higher Costs, Double Rent

by Swamplot

Leasing, Office Space

1 Comment

A Swamplot reader who has some familiarity with the terms of the deal has expressed surprise at the 10-year lease the federal government’s General Services Administration recently signed for 132,539 sq. ft. of office space Downtown. The arrangement appears to leave the GSA paying rent on 2 separate Houston office locations for the U.S. Attorney — for 2 years. The U.S. Attorney’s office, located in the office building at 919 Milam since 1994, will move early next year to offices on the 23rd through 27th floors of Wells Fargo Plaza at 1000 Louisiana St. — space formerly occupied by Dynegy, according to a report in Globe St.:

The GSA . . . considered more than 40 potential locations before touring seven buildings and then narrowing it down to four final buildings. Wells Fargo Plaza stood out because of its location, which is two blocks from the federal court building, along with its access to the downtown tunnel system and its 25,000-square-foot floorplates.

The GSA was represented in lease negotiations by the Houston office of Jones Lang LaSalle. Bruce Rutherford is a managing director in the office:

â€œThe building is a short walk to the federal courts, and when itâ€™s really hot or raining, the lawyers can use the tunnel to get there,â€ Rutherford says, adding that Wells Fargo Plaza is also a â€œstraight shotâ€ by cab if necessary.

But the reasons for the move cited in the article — which include an impending lease expiration, proximity to the federal courthouse, desire for a more efficient use of space as well as enhanced technology and security, and tunnel access — “just donâ€™t add up” for our source, who notes that the Wells Fargo Plaza location is only one block closer to the federal court building at 515 Rusk than the Attorney’s current offices, which also have access to the underground tunnels.

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77002, Downtown, Government Agencies, Leasing, Office Space

Apartments

05/27/10 12:55pm

Houston House Ready for Rehab, Tenants Prepare To Play Musical Apartments

by Swamplot

Downtown, Leasing, Renovations

6 Comments

Renovations are scheduled to begin in the next few weeks on Downtown’s Houston House Apartments at 1617 Fannin, according to a notice distributed to residents yesterday:

These renovations will include, but are not limited to ALL APARTMENT UNIT INTERIORS, plumbing, HVAC system, domestic hot water, sprinkler systems, the lobby, 9th and 10th floors and the building’s exterior. There will be significant additions to our amenities as well.

Here’s the fun part: Everybody gets to relocate!

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77002, Apartments, Downtown, Financing, Leasing, Renovations

Binz

05/26/10 3:21pm

Where To Open Your Bar So It’ll Be Close to Exit Ramp, Museums, Root Canals

by Swamplot

Houston Architects, Leasing, New Construction, Office Space, Retail

7 Comments

At last! An answer to a question posted on Swamplot just last October. (Note to potential tipsters: You’ll generally get a much quicker response to questions you submit here if you include a photo or 2 or 3.) But better late than never. That curvy-swervy structure going up near the 59 exit ramp on Main St. south of Midtown, across from the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is now available, reports Vincent Biondillo of Norhill Realty, who’s marketing the property:

This building is being developed by Dr. Anna Munne to house her periodontal practice. The first floor space with the curved wall up front will be leased retail space, which would be great for a salon or bar. The 2nd floor space will house Dr. Munneâ€™s practice and will also offer 2768 SF of leasable office space.

Funny, our original tipster did note that the building appeared to be rooted into the ground with rather substantial columns.

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77002, Binz, Houston Architects, Leasing, New Construction, Office Space, Retail

Foreclosure

05/14/10 10:20am

Thank You for Leaving Your Place for the Bank in Such Good Condition

by Swamplot

Leasing, Office Buildings, Quicklink, Tanglewood

6 Comments

THANK YOU FOR LEAVING YOUR PLACE FOR THE BANK IN SUCH GOOD CONDITION â€œWe mowed the lawn this weekend, so weâ€™re giving it to them in nice shape.â€ — Dougal Cameron of Cameron Management, leader of an investment group that delivered the freshly LEED-certified and entirely vacant 12-story 2000 St. James Place office building just south of Tanglewood to Wachovia Bank (now a part of Wells Fargo) in a sparsely attended foreclosure ceremony earlier this month. Minute Maid moved out of the building in February 2009 — about a year and a half after Cameron’s investment group bought it; the building has had no tenants since then. [Houston Business Journal]

77056, Foreclosure, Leasing, Maintenance, Office Buildings, Tanglewood

Leasing

05/13/10 9:09am

Up Next on the Westheimer Retail Turntable: School for DJs

by Swamplot

Openings and Closings, Retail, Westheimer Curve

7 Comments

Another year has passed, which means it’s time for yet another business to move into the little house across the street from Hugo’s Restaurant, at the northeast corner of Westheimer and Mandell, where the Westheimer Curve finally figures out how to go straight. So what comes after Juliet and Romeo, Remix, and the Pleasure Chateau? Thanks to an inquisitive Swamplot reader with a camera, we know that the next tenants at 1550 Westheimer will be a Mixxwell Audio Lab. According to a construction worker our reader spoke to, it’s a DJ school.

Sadly, it appears the Pleasure Chateau’s lovely chandeliers have been removed:

I asked if I could look inside, the contractor explained that he didn’t have any access inside, but that the instructors would be there sometime this week. I did get a chance to look through the window and I must say it looks completely redesigned . . .

Photo: Swamplot inbox

77006, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Retail, Westheimer Curve

Buying and Selling

05/07/10 11:23am

Rescued from the Bistro Vino Redevelopment Flop: Ocean’s Ceviche

by Swamplot

First Montrose Commons, Homebuilders, Leasing, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

15 Comments

Remember the swingin’ days of a couple of years ago, when InnerLoopCondos bought Bistro Vino and got ready to tear down the 24-year-old Montrose restaurant at the corner of West Alabama and Roseland? And then the company put out that goofy little internet survey asking us to vote on which type of condo-building cliche you’d like to see shoved onto the site? If you’re one of the lucky participants who somehow managed to write in “Give it up,” congratulations! Your choice has been selected!

Mexico City natives Jorge and Isaac Alvarez have since secured a lease-purchase of the former restaurant property from its would-be redevelopers. Jorge Alvarez, a custom-home developer himself, had a crew from his Alvgar Construction company renovate the 1930’s Tudor-style home and patio.

The brothers’ “modern Mexican” restaurant, Ocean’s Ceviche, isn’t expected to open officially until May 21st, but intrepid Swamplot photographer Candace Garcia brings you this little preview of the spiffed-up grounds:

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77006, Buying and Selling, First Montrose Commons, Homebuilders, Leasing, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

Comments

05/03/10 3:50pm

Comment of the Day: The Tower Theatre, Back To the Future

by Swamplot

Leasing, Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Quicklink

3 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE TOWER THEATRE, BACK TO THE FUTURE “But if we donâ€™t get the sign from 1955 to 1985 before the lightning storm, Annise Parker will never be born!” [Evan7257, commenting on The Tower Theatre Puts No Name in Lights] Photo: Swampot inbox

77006, Comments, Leasing, Lower Westheimer, Mayor Parker, Montrose, Movie-Theaters

Leasing

05/03/10 10:45am

Look Out Bello: What Could Possibly Take the Place of La Strada?

by Swamplot

Lower Westheimer, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

7 Comments

The new wrapper on what used to be a For Lease sign in front of the former La Strada restaurant building at the corner of Westheimer and Taft mentions lunch and dinner, but not brunch. The name of the new tenant: Caffe Bello.

Previously on Swamplot: Arrivederci, La Strada

Photo: Swamplot inbox

77006, Leasing, Lower Westheimer, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

Leasing

05/03/10 10:01am

The Tower Theatre Puts No Name in Lights

by Swamplot

Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Renovations

4 Comments

A reader reports on the newest bright spot on Lower Westheimer:

My photo isn’t terribly good, but it will at least give you an idea of what they’re up to with the new marquee.Â Half of the upper neon is working and the marquee is completely operational.Â Even without everything functioning, it already puts the River Oaks to shame. It’s still not going to be as outrageous as the original setup with the taller spire and even more neon, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Previously on Swamplot: Drive-By and Walk-By Reports on the Tower Theatreâ€™s New Headliner, Whatâ€™s Playing at the Tower Theatre?, and Going Attractions: Hollywood Video Gives Up on the Tower Theatre

Photo: Swamplot inbox

77006, Leasing, Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Movie-Theaters, Outdoor Lighting, Renovations

Critters

04/29/10 12:02pm

Killing a League City Apartment Intruder: Not a Good Idea To Smile So Wide in Front of the Leasing Office

by Swamplot

League City

5 Comments

Just how tough and efficient is the security at the Signature Point Apartments off Marina Bay Dr. in League City? Last week a visitor that showed up in front of the leasing office was detained for several hours by authorities and then put to death. The visitor had been found earlier in the month in a complex parking lot fronting a canal connected to Clear Lake.

That time, game wardens trapped and released the 7-foot-long alligator into the canal it had crawled from. But they began to suspect apartment residents were feeding the animal, and tried a different strategy on the next encounter:

[Apartment manager Susan] Cogbill said game wardens took the animal to a secluded area of the complex and shot it. Tanuz declined to comment how the animal was killed.

Game wardens did not move the alligator or release it into the water behind Signature Point because it was too comfortable around humans, [Galveston County game warden supervisor Capt. Edward] Tanuz said. Bayous across Galveston County are natural habitats for alligators, but they typically avoid humans, Tanuz said.

What a waste, huh? Oh, no:

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77573, Apartments, Critters, League City, Leasing, Parking-Lots

Comments

04/09/10 12:04pm

Comment of the Day: Chin Up, Weingarten!

by Swamplot

Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Development Strategies, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Quicklink, Redevelopment, River Oaks, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby

18 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: CHIN UP, WEINGARTEN! “I donâ€™t totally understand Weingartenâ€™s defensiveness here. After all, they totally earned the wrath of people in the community who would like to see older, architecturally significant buildings preserved in some fashion when they tore down the north side of the shopping center at Shepherd and Gray. They made a calculation then that peoplesâ€™ upset feelings would not outweigh the financial benefit. Given this, why do they care what people think now? Did the negative publicity before actually hurt them in any material way? (Iâ€™ve made a point of not shopping at the new B&N even though I am a compulsive book-buyer, but I have no illusions that me and people like me have any impact on their bottom line.)” [RWB, commenting on Weingarten Exec Blames Those Alabama Theater Demolition Drawings on Staples]

77019, 77098, Alabama Theater, Comments, Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Development Strategies, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Movie-Theaters, Redevelopment, REITs, River Oaks, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby, Weingarten Realty

Commercial Real Estate

04/09/10 10:52am

Weingarten Exec Blames Those Alabama Theater Demolition Drawings on Staples

by Swamplot

Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby

16 Comments

Today’s Houston Business Journal features a rather surprising statement from a Weingarten Realty executive about the company’s recent plans for the vacant Alabama Theater. Late last month you’ll remember, Swamplot broke the story that a local construction company was obtaining bids from subcontractors for an extensive interior demolition of the vacant 1939 Art Deco movie theater at 2922 South Shepherd Dr. — using drawings prepared for Weingarten Realty by a local architecture firm.

Since that time, representatives of Weingarten, a publicly traded REIT, have been pushing back on the story to local reporters with a series of carefully worded statements. One such statement, delivered to both Swamplot and its readers the same day the story broke, by a spokesperson under contract to Weingarten, was typical: Weingarten, Swamplot was told, “can’t verify the authenticity of the drawings you posted on your blog one way or the other.”

Aw, shucks. And yet — if this statement in today’s HBJ is to be believed — it appears they certainly could have verified them:

Patti Bender, executive vice president with Weingarten, says the preliminary design that recently hit the streets was part of a site pricing analysis conducted by Staples.

Oh . . . does that mean Weingarten had no part in producing those drawings that showed exactly how the theater was to be gutted and its sloping floor encased in concrete? It was all Staples’s doing? Of course, those of you who have been following the story here on Swamplot realize there are just a couple problems with that statement:

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77098, Alabama Theater, Big Box Stores, Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Leasing, Movie-Theaters, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby, Weingarten Realty

Commercial Real Estate

04/07/10 9:53am

Staples to Weingarten Realty: Don’t Gut the Alabama Theater for Us, Thanks

by Swamplot

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

11 Comments

In a letter published in today’s Chronicle, the PR director for Staples goes beyond her previous “we do not have a lease” statement and says the national office-supply chain is done with the idea of putting one of its stores in the vacant former Alabama Theater on South Shepherd at West Alabama — for now, at least:

. . . we are not currently considering a store at this site. We typically don’t comment about sites unless and until leases are signed, but we understand that this property represents a unique situation of local concern.

So what prompted theater owner Weingarten Realty to have a local architecture firm draw up plans for a complete interior scraping of the 1939 Art Deco theater — and arrange for at least one local construction firm solicit demolition bids based on it?

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77098, Alabama Theater, Big Box Stores, Commercial Real Estate, Demolitions, Historic Preservation, Houston Architects, Leasing, REITs, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby, Weingarten Realty

Commercial Real Estate

04/06/10 9:01am

A Few Signs the Montrose Whole Foods Market Is On Its Way

by Melinda Merola

Land Development, Leasing, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail

9 Comments

There’s a new sign up across the street from the Jack in the Box at the corner of West Dallas and Waugh, announcing the new Whole Foods Market. And an employee of the building’s architect, Beckham Design Group of Austin, confirms that the project was recently put out to bid to general contractors.

How big will it be? Another source indicates the new store is now scheduled to be approximately 48,000 sq. ft. — including a mezzanine. That’s up a bit from what we’d last heard: that the market would be 40,000 sq. ft. and include “eco-conscious elements and tons of inviting space for neighbors to congregate.” Whole Foods Market signed a 25-year lease for the land with The Finger Companies back in 2008.

Here’s an aerial view of the site the Finger Companies sent out last year:

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77019, Commercial Real Estate, Land Development, Leasing, Montrose, North Montrose, Proposed Developments, Retail, Whole Foods

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