Montrose | Swamplot

04/30/13 10:00am

The Montrose Space Space Montrose Will Take

Lower Westheimer, Montrose, New Construction, Retail

The other tenant in thisÂ new retail center at Westheimer and Dunlavy will be Space Montrose. Owner Leila Peraza says that by August the artsy and crafty retailer at 2608 Dunlavy will be relocating from this spot behind Cafe Brasil into the 4,800-sq.-ft. building under construction at the cornerÂ about 200 ft. away. Space Montrose will take up 1,200 sq. ft. of that and share a wall with what a pending liquor license names Leaven & Earth, aÂ pastry cafe from well-schooled, globe-trotting chef Roy Shvartzapel. Recently, 2608 Dunlavy has been an art gallery and yoga studio; Peraza says she heard a book store is next.

Photos: Allyn West

77006, Lower Westheimer, Montrose, New Construction, Relocations, Retail

Lower Westheimer

04/26/13 11:35am

More To Come at the Corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy

by Allyn West

Montrose, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail

8 Comments

A rep from Edge Realty Partners says that that new retail centerÂ that’s now under construction at Westheimer and Dunlavy will have 2 tenants. The primary one, occupying 3,600 sq. ft. of the new building’s proposed 4,800, will be aÂ well-bread pastry cafe from Roy Shvartzapel, the globe-trotting chef profiled recently in Eater Houston. A TABC permit application, filed April 17, suggests that the cafe will be called Leaven & Earth.

And the other tenant? The Edge rep says that names can’t yet be named, but that a lease is all but complete for a “boutique” retail shop that’s already in Montrose to relocate inside the remaining 1,200-sq.-ft. suite that’s depicted in the rendering here as right next to Agora.

Images: Edge Realty Partners (rendering); Allyn West (building)

77006, Lower Westheimer, Montrose, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail

Freeways and Toll Roads

04/25/13 11:00am

How To Ease the 59 Northbound Bottleneck Between Shepherd and the Spur

by Swamplot

Traffic

28 Comments

The Problem: “As traffic backs up on 59 past the Spur, drivers are faced with a dilemma. Do I sit and queue here in the right three lanes, which arenâ€™t moving? Or do I get over and zoom past until right before the split? Many, understandably, choose the latter. But what this does is create a new bottleneck at the point where the Spur diverges, because traffic is merging into the left lane and then trying to cross over to get to 288 or stay on 59.” The (Not So Obvious) Solution: “Add a couple miles of barrier and put the split (‘gore point’ in traffic engineer speak) at Shepherd. If youâ€™ve driven this route once, you can see how it would immediately shave several minutes off the trip to Downtown/Midtown/Montrose. The Spur is never jammed in the reverse direction, so anything that effectively lengthens the Spur lengthens the distance of hassle-free 60mph cruising. But such a configuration would also help drivers continuing on 59.”

The Spur needs to split at Shepherd [Keep Houston Houston]

Photo: Flickr user jfre81 [license]

77098, Freeways, Midtown, Montrose, Traffic

Lower Westheimer

04/24/13 3:30pm

Dirt and Flour Moved To Create New Place To Drink at Westheimer and Dunlavy

by Allyn West

Montrose, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail

4 Comments

Note: More here.

It looks like that retail center that’s replacing the art gallery that burned down is beginning to shape up. And it looks like at least one of the future tenants intends to serve adult beverages. The sign behind the chain-link at the site names the applicant as Leaven & Earth, and a rep from the TABC confirms that the application, filed on April 17, is pending. The original plans for the site here at 1706 Westheimer describe a 4,829-sq.-ft. building — with 36 parking spaces behind it, accessible from Dunlavy — designed to replace the Galerie Mado Chalvet, which was lost in a fire and immortalized on a backpack in 2012.

Previously on Swamplot: Burned Building Next to Agora on Westheimer Returns â€” As a Backpack, No, Dunkinâ€™ Donuts Is Not Coming to the Corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy, The Commotion at the Corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy

Photos: Allyn West

77006, Bars, Lower Westheimer, Montrose, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Retail

Montrose

04/24/13 11:10am

Adios, Bocados

by Allyn West

Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Restaurants

4 Comments

ADIOS, BOCADOS Culturemap’s reporting that Bocados on West Alabama is closing after a party on Cinco de Mayo. Bocados owners and friends from their days at across-the-street University of St. Thomas Terry Flores and Lily Hernandez tell Culturemap that though they’ll be leaving the restaurant at 1312 West Alabama where they’ve been for 15 years, they’re considering buying a Heights property where they might bring Bocados back. Moreover, reports Whitney Radley, the pair says they plan toÂ open this summer “in a yet-undisclosed location” downtown a restaurant they’re callingÂ The Red Ox Grill. And what’s up next for the Bocados building? Radley writes that it’ll be The Brick and Spoon, a restaurant coming to Montrose by way of Lafayette, Louisiana, onÂ June 1. [Culturemap] Photo: Panoramio user Wolfgang Houston

77006, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Restaurants

Art

04/17/13 10:00am

Montrose’s New Long Dog

by Allyn West

Montrose

33 Comments

Regretting what he calls “too much shitty visual culture” in Montrose, artist Cody Ledvina has spent the past few months approaching businesses with ideas for murals as a way of changing that culture, wall by wall. (You might remember Ledvina’s redoneÂ Mary’s mural before the leather bar was closed to make way for Blacksmith.) The most recent mural is this elongated weiner dog stretching out on the side of EJ’s Bar at 2517 Ralph St. The photo’s taken from Kueter St. beside Buffalo Exchange and that fenced-in vacant lot on Westheimer near Dunlavy. Also shown here is part of a mural — that’s a skyline silhouette, there — on the side of Urban Leasing & Realty’s building at 1901 Vermont St.

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77006, 77019, Art, Bars, Montrose, Murals

Uncategorized

04/16/13 2:00pm

A Little Vacant Lot on Yoakum Gets Some Approval

by Allyn West

1 Comment

It’s parched and scruffy, sure, and there’s an abandoned slab without any load-bearing walls to keep it company, but this less-than-a-half-acre patch of grass onÂ Yoakum Blvd. could be the site of a 3-story office building: A rep from Owens Management Systems says that a variance application for the siteÂ just west of Castle Court in Montrose has been approved by the city planning commission,Â and a commercial architecture firm is considering moving to what’s being dubbed the Yoakum Enclave. The 0.4-acre lot backs into Mt. Vernon St. and up against the U.S. 59 barrier wall at the very end of the 4300 block of Yoakum, south of the University of St. Thomas and the construction site on Richmond Ave. of theÂ 6-story Campanile South.

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77006, Castle Court, Land Development, Montrose, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Rossmoyne

Apartments

04/11/13 10:10am

The Apartments Behind the Finger Apartments Behind the Montrose Whole Foods

by Allyn West

Land Development, Montrose, New Construction, North Montrose, Proposed Developments

36 Comments

What’s going on here? From behind a window across W. Dallas, a reader sends this photo and wants to know. According to a construction manager on site, the work to this point has involvedÂ utility excavation for what will be, he says, “Class A apartments.”

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77019, Apartments, Land Development, Montrose, New Construction, North Montrose, Proposed Developments

Avondale

04/10/13 4:10pm

A Change Afoot at Old Tejas Boots Home on Westheimer

by Allyn West

Demolitions, Land Development, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers

2 Comments

Why did Tejas Boots leave 208 Westheimer? Owner Mike Kuykendahl says that the family that owns the li’lÂ strip center (above) that Tejas Boots shared with Hollywood Food & Cigars asked them to: The family gave the tenants 2 months to move, explaining that they’re considering upgrading the 4,100-sq.-ft. building, says Kuykendahl, or tearing it down andÂ redeveloping that corner of Helen and Westheimer. Tejas Boots had been here since 1984; they’veÂ relocated just a few blocks west into the browner, newerÂ retail strip stack shown at right at 415 Westheimer. It’s not much as signs go, but that faint horizontal smudge beneath the Green Park Pilates logo marks the spot where the bootmakers can now be found.

When only the finest Custom Boots, Belts and Buckles will do [Tejas Custom Boots]
Previously on Swamplot: Westheimer Bootmakers To Reopen Shop a Few Blocks West on Westheimer

Photos: Allyn West

77006, Avondale, Demolitions, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Relocations, Retail, Strip Center

Comments

04/05/13 1:00pm

Comment of the Day: Looking for the Hotel Montrose

by Allyn West

Hotels, Montrose, Quicklink

23 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: LOOKING FOR THE HOTEL MONTROSE “Hotel Hotel Hotel. A hotel is long overdue for Montrose. Kimpton, Aloft, W or some other modern brand would be great. I am no developer, so I have no idea if it is doable but it would be welcome. It has the bones and imagine a hip hotel pool bar on that roof!Â I bring people into Houston who are considering moving here from the West Coast and Northeast. They want to live in an inner city hip walking area; Montrose generally. I donâ€™t want them staying downtown where the streets are dead at night. The ZaZa is great but it is too far to walk to Westheimer. The Galleria has too much traffic. In the end though, I generally recommend the Derek or the ZaZa. If not here then a new build at the corner of Montrose and Westheimer. And what is the story about that lot on Westheimer near Dunlavy where it looks like construction started at one time? Hotel possibility? I am really really convinced that Montrose needs a hotel!” [charlie, commenting on What 3400 Montrose Looks Like Inside]

Comments, Hotels, Montrose

Avondale

04/05/13 11:30am

Westheimer Bootmakers To Reopen Shop a Few Blocks West on Westheimer

by Allyn West

Commercial Real Estate, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Retail, Strip Centers

3 Comments

This photo of the strip center just west of the Lower Westheimer restaurant row shows the recently closed Tejas Custom Boots and Hollywood Food & Cigars. A Swamplot reader says that a sign posted in the window here at Helen and 208 Westheimer says that the alligator- and ostrich-unfriendly bootmakers will be moving the stretching and stitching operations farther west to the 400 block of Westheimer. As of Friday morning, calls to Tejas Custom Boots for comment about the relocation and reopening haven’t been returned. City records show that the 4,100-sq.-ft. 1960 building and 11,322-sq.-ft. property are owned by a single family.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

77006, Avondale, Lower Westheimer, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Retail, Strip Centers

Buildings for Sale

04/04/13 2:00pm

What 3400 Montrose Looks Like Inside

by Allyn West

Commercial Real Estate, Interiors, Montrose, Office Buildings, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Marketing

20 Comments

The only thing that’s really changed about 3400 Montrose, a tipster tells Swamplot, is the name of its owner: Global Paragon, which bought the former podium for Scott Gertner’s Skybar in 2011, went “belly up” this past November, the tipster says, and the vacant 10-story building’s now owned and managed by a 40-person LLC that’s looking for a buyer or a joint venture.

And that’s where these interior photos, from a short-on-infoÂ listing posted recently on Cushman & Wakefield’s website, come in:

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77006, Buildings for Sale, Commercial Real Estate, Interiors, Montrose, Office Buildings, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Marketing, Vacant Buildings

Downtown

04/04/13 12:15pm

Multiplying Houston’s Rent-a-Bike Fleet

by Allyn West

Montrose, Quicklink, Transportation

10 Comments

MULTIPLYING HOUSTON’S RENT-A-BIKE FLEET Yesterday, reports abc13, the city added to the original 3 B-Cycle kiosksÂ 18 more, bringing theÂ fleet of pay-to-play bikesÂ to 175.Â Thus far, most of the rental racks are clustered Downtown — including the one shown here at the Tellepsen Family YMCA on Pease St. — but theÂ expansion, funded wth $750,000 from Blue Cross and Blue Shield, also added racks to Hermann Park and the Westheimer restaurant row near Blacksmith and Underbelly. And even more are planned, says abc13, for the East End, the Med Center, and unnamed universities. (You can mess around with an interactive map of B-Cycle locations here and here.) [abc13; Houston Chronicle; B-Cycle; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West

77002, Bicycles, Downtown, Montrose, Transportation

Apartments

04/02/13 11:30am

The Muse Coming to Castle Court

by Allyn West

Castle Court, Demolitions, Montrose, New Construction, Quicklink

11 Comments

THE MUSE COMING TO CASTLE COURT Dallas developer Behringer Harvard announced today that construction’s underway on The Muse, an apartment complex planned for the 2.9 acres in Castle Court sold lastÂ summer where the former Andover Richmond Apartments had stood — until their demolition in November — for 50 years. The Muse, developed by a partnership between Behringer Harvard and Trammell Crow, will have 4 stories with 270 units atop 2 levels of parking, says the press release. Also planned for the site at 1301 Richmond near Graustark? “Common-area amenities will include a cyber cafe, business center, state-of-the-art fitness center, luxury swimming pool and dog-amenity station.” [PR Newswire; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West

77006, Apartments, Castle Court, Montrose, New Construction

Commercial Real Estate

04/01/13 11:50am

Demolished Yoakum Blvd. Apartments Make Way for 6-Story Office Building

by Allyn West

Demolitions, Land Development, Montrose, New Construction, Office Buildings, Office Space

15 Comments

Spring’s a time of renewal: And theÂ Yoakum St. apartments — and palm trees, too — pictured hereÂ came down this winter so something very like this office building could begin going up. Campanile South, it’s called, is being described by developers Hansen Partners as a 6-story, 82,000-sq.-ft. “boutique” spaceÂ with retail and restaurants facing Richmond Ave. Setting up on a lot between Yoakum and Graustark, Campanile South will be be the 7th member of the Campanile family that’s clustered aroundÂ ~~St. Thomas University~~ the University of St. Thomas and Montrose Blvd.; it’s expected to be ready for tenants in 2014.

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77006, Demolitions, Land Development, Montrose, New Construction, Office Buildings, Office Space, Proposed Developments

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