Tag: Leasing

Leasing, Warehouse Space

9 Comments

100 Hutcheson St., East End, Houston

Having successfully reached its scaled-back crowdfundraising goals with a $10,000 Indiegogo run back in September, the team behind the Houston Makerspace says it has secured a lease for 21,000 sq. ft. in this warehouse building at 100 Hutcheson St., 4 blocks north of the coming rail line on Harrisburg. Inside, eventually, will be shops for jewelry fabrication, screen printing, rapid prototyping (with a laser cutter and 3D printers), carpentry, metalwork, and sewing and textile work, and plain ol’ work work. There are also plans to put in a commercial kitchen and classrooms, install 3,000 sq. ft. of climate-controlled office, studio, and lounge space. Outside, they hope to set up a garden.

Shop Talk

77003, East End, Leasing, Warehouse Space

12/17/13 10:45am

The Mixed View of Hughes Landing from ExxonMobil’s New Woodlands Campus Corner Conference Room

Leasing, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, The Woodlands, The Woodlands Hughes Landing

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View from Corner Conference Room, Proposed ExxonMobil Office Building, Hughes Landing, The Woodlands, Texas

A couple of renderings are out of the 2 office buildings in Hughes Landing ExxonMobil has signed up to lease as part of the oil company’s surprise second new Houston-area campus. And the one above shows a broad-ranging view of the Hughes Landing development — as the office buildings’ architects at Kirksey see it. Judging from the renderings and the Hughes Landing site plan posted on the Woodlands website (below), the 2 buildings will not sit directly on the Lake Woodlands waterfront but along Hughes Landing Blvd., 2 parking garages south of the previously announced Two Hughes Landing. The view out of the corner conference room shows off the overall development’s mixed-use cred: To the left is the 175-room hotel shown on the plan, fronting Hughes Landing Blvd. and a fountained inlet of Lake Woodlands; beyond and to the right of that is the 8-story, 390-unit apartment building that sits behind a row of inlet-side restaurants with dummy names. At the far right of the image is an 8-level parking garage with a waterside grill on the ground floor (somehow obscuring the expected view of the Two Hughes Landing office building). That’s quite a view, but it’s a well-chosen one.

Off the Waterfront

77380, ExxonMobil, Hughes Landing, Leasing, Mixed Use, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, The Woodlands

Apartments

11/27/13 11:30am

New Owner of The Place Apartments in Castle Court Plans ‘Lease Down’; All Tenants Out by End of April?

Buying and Selling, Castle Court, Leasing, Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes

10 Comments

The Place Apartments, 1341 Castle Ct., Castle Court, Montrose, Houston

Responding to the unidentified pamphleteer who went door to door over the weekend distributing warnings of an impending demolition for The Place Apartments at 1341 Castle Ct., the 90-unit complex’s new management responded early this week with its own tenant missive. The politely worded note from property manager Lori Lindley of newly hired Greystar responds point-by-point to the issues raised in the original flyer, namely that 1) tenants will get a “document stating the amount due,” not an eviction notice, if they’re a few days late with rent payments; 2) the management office is now closed on weekends; 3) online and drop-box payment options offered by the previous management company are no longer available; 4) a recent utility bill was distributed late to tenants only because of the recent change in ownership; and 5) the biggie: “The property was purchased with the intent to do a lease down. However, it is not our goal to evict any resident . . . We are currently renewing leases through 4/30/2014; should this change we will notify all residents accordingly.”

A Word from Management

77006, Apartments, Buying and Selling, Castle Court, Leasing, Montrose, Neighborhood Disputes

Castle Court

11/25/13 3:30pm

Getting Out of The Place?

Montrose, Quicklink

12 Comments

GETTING OUT OF THE PLACE? Photo and Flyer Distributed at The Place Apartment Homes, 1341 Castle Ct., Montrose, Houston A flyer distributed over the weekend to the front doors of a seventies-era apartment Castle Court complex that hugs the Southwest Fwy. warns tenants that plans are afoot to demolish the property next year. Greystar took over management of The Place Apartment Homes, down a driveway at 1341 Castle Ct. in Montrose, in late October. The new unsigned notice, which is clearly not from the management company or the property’s owner, claims eviction notices have been sent out to “tenants who are just one day late (from the grace period) paying their rent,” and asserts that all apartments will be vacated by the end of April: “We recommend ensuring your rent is payed on timeÂ and carefully reading any addendum to a current leasing agreement that is presented by the new management,” warns the anonymous pamphleteer. “The purpose of this notice is to inform tenants of recent developments, hopefully allowing tenants to protect themselves.” [Swamplot inbox] Photo: Rent.com

77006, Apartments, Castle Court, Demolitions, Leasing, Montrose

Leasing

11/25/13 11:30am

The End in Sight for Randalls

Quicklink, Retail, Westchase

21 Comments

THE END IN SIGHT FOR RANDALLS Randalls Grocery Store, 11041 Westheimer Rd., Westchase Shopping Center, Westchase, Houston The Randalls grocery store on the southeast corner of Westheimer and Wilcrest is a goner, reports Catie Dixon. And she tags the chain itself as the likely next casualty in the region’s ongoing grocery wars. Landlord Weingarten Realty, which also manages the Whole Foods Market across the street, sent out notice earlier this month that the space occupied by the former top-performing Randalls in the Westchase Shopping Center is now available for lease. But other new grocery stores are coming to the area: another 60 in the next 18 months, keeping up the recent pace, says broker Jason Baker — who also notes Trader Joe’s is experiencing “challenges” with its new store on S. Voss near Woodway. [Real Estate Bisnow; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Randalls at 11041 Westheimer Rd.: Weingarten Realty

77042, Grocery Stores, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Retail, Westchase

11/22/13 12:15pm

The River Oaks Plant House Will Be Gone by the End of the Year

Openings and Closings, Retail, River Oaks, Schools

23 Comments

River Oaks Plant House, 3401 Westheimer Rd., River Oaks, Houston

River Oaks Plant House, 3401 Westheimer Rd., River Oaks, Houston The River Oaks Plant House — also known as the greenery purveyor that regularly festoons the corner of Westheimer and Buffalo Speedway with dancing bears and other fake topiary — will be closing up shop at the end December. Headmaster Mark Desjardins writes in an email that St. John’s School notified the owners of the more-than-30-year-old store in September that its lease would be terminated by December 31. The prep school had purchased the property from the Henry J. N. Taub family,Â along with the land under Blanco’s Bar & Grill, in a 13-acre deal completed exactly a year earlier.

Leaving Soon

77027, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Retail, River Oaks, Schools

Comments

11/20/13 2:30pm

Comment of the Day: Reading Between the Lines of a Leases-Not-Up-Yet Story

Development Strategies, Leasing, Montrose, Quicklink, Retail

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COMMENT OF THE DAY: READING BETWEEN THE LINES OF A LEASES-NOT-UP-YET STORY Reading News “Translation: current tenants have murderously cheap rents and would not leave for a million bucks. Buyer is trying to play hard ball by threatening to let the property sit until the leases are up unless tenants take a crappy buyout offer. Prediction: Buyer will eventually pay what it takes to get tenants out once they realize that no one will want to pay market rate to be in that old dog of a strip mall.” [Old School, commenting on Apartments and Retail for Westheimer and Montrose Corner? Not Until Half Price Books and Spec’s Scoot] Illustration: Lulu

77006, Comments, Development Strategies, Leasing, Montrose, Retail

11/20/13 10:15am

Apartments and Retail for Westheimer and Montrose Corner? Not Until Half Price Books and Spec’s Scoot

Houston Landmarks, Montrose, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Redevelopment, Retail, Strip Centers

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APARTMENTS AND RETAIL FOR WESTHEIMER AND MONTROSE CORNER? NOT UNTIL HALF PRICE BOOKS AND SPEC’S SCOOT Half Price Books in Westmont Shopping Center, 1011 Westheimer Rd., Montrose, Houston The owner of the once-Art Deco but now slathered-with-stucco shopping center at the southwest corner of Westheimer and Montrose says it’s willing to wait 7 to 10 years for the center’s leases to run out before building something new on the site. Unless, of course, they can negotiate an early exit (or time-out while construction takes place) for the Half Price Books, Specâ€™s, Papa Johns, 3-6-9 China Bistro and Jack in the Box currently on the site. If they can’t buy out the tenants, PM Realty’s Wade Bolin tells Shaina Zucker, they’ll start leasing out the still-vacant spaces in the former Tower Community Center, which the company calls the Westmont Shopping Center. “PM Realty Group did not share early design plans,” Zucker adds, “but several sources confirmed the mixed-use structure could include residential with retail on the ground floor.” [Houston Business Journal; previously on Swamplot] Photo: PM Realty

77006, Houston Landmarks, Leasing, Montrose, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Retail, Strip Centers

11/19/13 1:00pm

New Fluff Bake Bar from Former Top Chef Contestant Will Be in Midtown, If Y’All Pay Up

Financing, Leasing, Midtown, Restaurants, Retail

7 Comments

Kraftsmen Cafe, 611 W. 22nd St., Houston Heights The undisclosed location of the planned Fluff Bake Bar retail location and bar is somewhere in Midtown, owner Rebecca Masson tells Swamplot. But there’s a bit of fundraising to do before the former Top Chef Just Desserts contestant can sign the lease she’s been getting ready for the space. The self-described “Sugar Hooker” currently operates her wholesale dessert business out of space she shares with 5 other businesses in the Kraftsmen Cafe kitchen at 611 W. 22nd St. in the Heights, selling fluffernutters, cake-in-cup cupcakes, and macaroons to retailers such as Revival Market, Double Trouble, Southside Espresso, and Inversion Coffee House. But if her just-launched Kickstarter campaign bears fruit . . . er, compote, she’ll move all operations to the new space. In addition to desserts, Masson is hoping to serve beer and wine at her “proper dessert bar.” She’s hoping to bring in $50,000 in crowdfunded donations within a month.

Fluff Bake Bar: A Toast to Just Desserts [Kickstarter]
Sweet! You Found Us! [Fluff Bake Bar]
Rebecca Masson [Top Chef Just Desserts]

Photo of Kraftsmen Cafe: Soo Kim

A Dessert Bar Bar

77002, Bars, Fundraising, Leasing, Midtown, Retail

Highland Village

11/14/13 10:30am

Construction Beginning Shortly in That Quaint Mid Lane Shopping Block

Leasing, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail

1 Comment

A note in a newsletter from a restaurant website hints that some long-rumored changes to that quaint shopping district on the west side of Mid Lane north of Westheimer, just west of the Highland Village Shopping Center, are about to begin: “Yes, the block that Crapitto’s Cucina Italiana is in has been sold. No, Crapitto’s is not closing and will remain there. The block will be developed and most of the businesses have moved out so construction can begin in a few weeks.”

77027, Demolitions, Highland Village, Leasing, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail

Highland Village

11/12/13 10:30am

The River Oaks District’s New Box of Dior

Leasing, Proposed Developments, Retail

12 Comments

A rendering showing a standalone-look Dior boutique in the new River Oaks District has made an appearance in a brochure now available on the website of the project’s developer, San Diego’s OliverMcMillan. And while rumors that the not-so-far-from-the-actual-River Oaks development might feature a boutique from the French fashion house have been bandied about since Christian Dior shut down its Galleria store last year, neither the project’s developer nor the retailer have officially announced the company’s return to Houston. A slightly different version of the above rendering appears directly on the River Oaks District page of the developer’s website, but in place of the Dior logo is the word “Tread”:

77027, Leasing, Proposed Developments, Retail, River Oaks District

First Montrose Commons

11/11/13 1:00pm

Siphon Coffee Sucking Up Washateria Space on West Alabama

Leasing, Retail

19 Comments

Going into the 2,034-sq.-ft. former Washateria space at the back of the little shopping strip across Greeley St. from the Blue Bird Circle Shop on West Alabama: a soon-to-be beer-and-wine-licensed coffee shop called Siphon Coffee, set to open late this year or early next. The space is shown on the far left of the photo above. Owners Michael Caplan and Edward Treistman write on the coffee house’s Facebook page that there’ll be food enough for breakfast and lunch too, once the place opens, after they get help from former Brasserie 19 chef Amanda McGraw with the menu and training.

77006, Cafes, First Montrose Commons, Leasing, Retail

Houston Heights

11/04/13 1:30pm

A Close Shave with Eviction for Wes Anderson’s Favorite Houston Barber Shop

Houston Landmarks, Leasing, Retail

10 Comments

That little 84-year-old barber shop spot at 219 E. 11th St. in the Heights featured in Wes Anderson’s movieÂ Rushmore has survived anÂ eviction scare. Proprietor Doug Dreher tells the Houston Press‘s Dianna Wray that a Saturday-night email from the building’s landlord, J. Conti Interests, assured him that Doug’s Barber Shop wouldn’t be kicked out: “Dreher remembered dropping off the October rent check before going out of town for a few weeks. When he got back to town, just before the end of the month, he was notified that his business, located at 219 East 11th Street, was being evicted in two weeks.”

77008, Evictions, Houston Heights, Houston Landmarks, Leasing, Retail

Leasing

10/24/13 11:00am

A New Lucky Spot Next to Washington Ave Fire Station

Restaurants, Retail, Washington Ave

3 Comments

This building at the corner of Washington Ave and Wagner between Studemont and Heights Blvd. will soon be the home to a restaurant-bar-market combo called Lucky’s Urban Eats. At least that’s what Swamplot reader Debnil Chowdhury has deduced, from careful study of the TABC notice now hanging in the window — and the new venture’s website. Heights-area homebuilder Robert Sanders Homes put a new brick facade on the older 2-story structure (which it owns) back in 2005; more recently, the company tacked on the stucco-clad addition to the east side of the building, which is adjacent to Houston Fire Station No. 6. Here’s a site plan: