Tag: Shopping Centers

04/03/15 2:30pm

Whole Foods Market Continuing Randalls Conquests with Frontal Attack on Wilcrest Store Leftovers

Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Westchase

9 Comments

Crews have broken open the front of the former Randalls grocery store in the Westchase Shopping Center at the corner of Wilcrest and Westheimer, and are busy inserting a new, smaller Whole Foods Market inside. The photo above shows the view from the One Westchase Center office building, immediately to the east. This isn’t Whole Foods’ first Randalls redo; a new Whole Foods at 1407 S. Voss, on the former site of another Randalls, is scheduled to open next Wednesday.

Westchase Front

77042, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Westchase, Whole Foods

04/01/15 4:30pm

Aldi in, Birria de Chiva Out, Baskin-Robbins Safe at the Corner of Beechnut and Bissonnet

Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Retail, Robindell, Shopping Centers

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Robindell Shopping Center, 6751 Bissonnet St., Robindell, Houston

Robindell Shopping Center, 6751 Bissonnet St., Robindell, Houston For Trudi’s Birria de Chivo and other now-shuttered mainstays of the east corner of Bissonnet and Beechnut in Robindell, just down the road from Bayland Park, it’s all over except the asbestos-clearing and smashing. Going up in place of the 1956 Robindell Shopping Center, according to Sharpstown Civic Association, will be a new Aldi grocery store.

The site plan below for the center at 6751 Bissonnet St. predates the Aldi announcement, but shows a possible arrangement of freefloating buildings to replace the about-to-be-demolished retail row now backing up to Albacore Dr.:

Robindell Shopping Center Redo

77074, Demolitions, Redevelopment, Retail, Robindell, Shopping Centers

03/17/15 11:00am

What Michael Graves Brought To Houston

Quicklink, Shopping Centers

19 Comments

WHAT MICHAEL GRAVES BROUGHT TO HOUSTON Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 1801 Allen Pkwy., North Montrose, Houston Is Michael Graves personally to blame for the infestations of flattened pediments that began appearing on commercial building faÃ§ades in the early nineties, and later morphed into the default “look” for the standard midsprawl shopping center? Not really. But the early acclaim his variety of postmodern design received did play some role in the license now apparently felt by thousands of lesser architects (and developers) to festoon dull commercial designs with all sorts of cartooned classical elements — and declare the result to be “traditional.”Â By the time the New Jersey-based architect designed his 2 Houston building projects in the early naughts, he had moved on to super-scaling other building elements: His Martel College and Master’s house at Rice and the Federal Reserve Bank (of Dallas!) on Allen Pkwy. (pictured above) are both dressed in a sort of Lego-like big-brick wallpaper, but one “drawn” using actual-size bricks. After an infection he contracted in 2003 left him paralyzed from the waist down, Graves became an outspoken champion of universal design. Graves passed away last week at the age of 80; Writer Michael Hardy has a remembrance of the man he calls “the architect Houston loved to hate.”Â [Houstonia] Photo: John D. Cramer

Commercial Real Estate, Obituaries, Shopping Centers

Bellaire

02/26/15 11:45am

H-E-B Considering Multi-Story Replacement for Bellaire Market

Proposed Developments, Retail, Shopping Centers

40 Comments

H-E-B Nogalitos Market, 1601 Nogalitos St., San Antonio, Texas

H-E-B Bellaire Market, 5130 Cedar St., Bellaire, Texas The new 70,000-sq.-ft. grocery store H-E-B is hoping to build to replace its current location near the intersection of Bissonnet St. and S. Rice Ave. in Bellaire (pictured in the bottom photo) may fit most of its parking space underneath the store. Speaking to Bellaire residents at a meeting earlier this week, officials from the company described an option that would require demolition of the entire shopping center at 5100 Cedar St. — including the existing 20,000-sq.-ft. H-E-B store and all adjacent stores. In its place would go up a 70,000-sq.-ft. store with parking underneath and in front. All shopping would be on the second floor.

To help describe the concept, officials showed images of the company’s store on Nogalitos St. in San Antonio (pictured in the top photo), which opened last month. That store, which is only 62,000 sq. ft., features a first-floor parking garage and a “travelator” (similar to one of the escalators installed to connect the garage to the entrance of the new Post Oak Blvd. Whole Foods Market) to move shoppers and their carts between levels. (The low structure in front of the building is a preserved section of the faÃ§ade of the previous store on that site.)

Upper Level Groceries

77401, Bellaire, Grocery Stores, Proposed Developments, Retail, Shopping Centers

02/19/15 11:30am

Weingarten: Tearing Down North Shepherd Sears Was Just Our Suggestion to Sears

Garden Oaks, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Shopping Centers

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Proposed Oaks on Shepherd Shopping Center, 4000 N. Shepherd Dr., Independence Heights, Houston

Sears, 4000 N. Shepherd St., Garden Oaks, Houston A scheme to demolish the 1949 Sears building at 4000 N. Shepherd Dr. and the Pine Forest Business Park behind it and replace it with an “Americana”-themed shopping center headlined by a new Sears store and a supermarket is only part of an unsolicited proposal sent to the national retailer, a representative of Weingarten Realty tells Swamplot. A brochure describing aspects of the proposal, which would replace the Streamline Moderne department store between Garden Oaks and Independence Heights with a higher density shopping center that the body copy implied would be styled in a manner akin to the residential designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, was posted online by the publicly traded REIT earlier this week.

Oaks on Shepherd

77018, Garden Oaks, Independence Heights, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Shopping Centers

02/18/15 1:00pm

Weingarten Wants To Turn Streamline Moderne Sears on North Shepherd Into Prairie Style Shopping Complex

Garden Oaks, Oak Forest, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Marketing, Redevelopment, Shopping Centers

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Proposed Oaks on Shepherd Shopping Center, 4000 N. Shepherd Dr., Independence Heights, Houston

Update, 2/19: Weingarten says the brochure was a “vision book” that was released to the public in error.

“The time is right for redevelopment” of the Sears at 4000 N. Shepherd Dr., declaresÂ a brochure published online earlier this week by Weingarten Realty. The brochure, which appears to be part of a proposal to Sears, which owns the 11.7-acre western portion of the site, says the REIT plans to partner with the retailer to turn the sleepy department store and the Pine Forest Business Park directly to its east into a “wonderfully connected and designed retail shopping destination for Garden Oaks, Oak Forest and neighborhoods around it,” including a new grocery store and restaurants.

No site plan is included in the presentation, but Weingarten notes that it plans to keep “the 2nd longest operating Houston Sears” open in some form throughout the redevelopment. “Weingarten’s vision is to acquire adjacent land,” then “temporarily relocate Sears into an existing building” — the Family Bingo Center at 641 W. Crosstimbers — before scraping and redoing the whole site.

Oaks on Shepherd

77018, Garden Oaks, Independence Heights, Oak-Forest, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Marketing, Redevelopment, Shopping Centers, Weingarten Realty

Adaptive Reuse

02/05/15 12:45pm

Here’s Heights Mercantile, Carved Out of the Former Pappas Warehouse Facility at Yale and 7th St.

Development Regulations, Historic Districts, Houston Heights, Mixed Use, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Retail

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Proposed Heights Mercantile Retail and Office Complex, 7th St. at Yale St., Houston Heights

Proposed Heights Mercantile Retail and Office Complex, 7th St. at Yale St., Houston Heights Residents near the section of 7th St. between Yale St. and Heights Blvd. have been discussing plans to turn the group of warehouse buildings long held by Pappas Restaurants into a 4-building “creative neighborhood and shopping destination”Â called Heights Mercantile. The Finial Group, which bought the properties from Pappas and a few other landowners last year, hired Austin architect Michael Hsu to come up with plans for renovating 3 of the buildings lining 7th St., tearing down the long warehouse lining Yale St. and replacing it with the new 2-story structure pictured above. The new project is a joint venture between Finial and a local investment firm called Radom Capital.

A notable feature of the 1.4-acre site plan is 3 stretches of head-in parking along 7th St. The plan shows 36 spaces on the north side of the street, facing the row of wooden bollards lining the hike-and-bike trailÂ converted from the path of the former MKT rail line and 2 banks of 11 spaces in a row on the opposite side. Although head-in parking configurations dominate in some portions of the city (Rice Village, for example), new stretches of more than 4 spaces in a row have been prohibited by city regulations for decades.

The Pappas warehouses have head-in parking along 7th St. The developer not only wants to preserve and adjust that arrangement for the new development, but is asking the city to count these on-street spaces toward the required number of off-street spaces.Â The planning commission is scheduled to rule on the associated parking variance application this afternoon.

Here’s a site plan:

Retail Revamp

77007, Adaptive Reuse, Historic Districts, Historic Preservation, Houston Heights, Mixed-Use, Parking, Planning Commission, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Shopping Centers, Variances

01/28/15 12:45pm

A List of 17 Fashionable Houston Newcomers Headed for River Oaks This Year Who’ll End Up on the Other Side of the Tracks

Highland Village, Mixed Use, Quicklink, Shopping Centers

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A LIST OF 17 FASHIONABLE HOUSTON NEWCOMERS HEADED FOR RIVER OAKS THIS YEAR WHO’LL END UP ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS River Oaks District Under Construction, Highland Village, Houston John Lobb, Akris, Kiton, Moncler, De Boulle, Giuseppe Zanotti, Etro, Chopard, Canali, Brunello Cucinelli, Brioni, Diptyque, Bonobos, Intermix. Haven’t heard of â€™em? Well, how about Tom Ford, Roberto Cavalli, and Dolce & Gabbana? They’re all luxury retailers who are new to Houston, and who’ll be arriving here about the same time that OliverMcMillan’s long-awaited (but not-so-accurately named) River Oaks District opens up on Westheimer between the Galleria and the Highland Village Shopping Center — only a mile away from the actual neighborhood called River Oaks — sometime this spring. [Real Estate Bisnow; previously on Swamplot] Photo of River Oaks District under construction: OliverMcMillan

77027, Highland Village, Mixed-Use, River Oaks, River Oaks District, Shopping Centers

01/22/15 2:15pm

A North Main St. Shopping Center’s Change of Clothes

Norhill, Renovations, Shopping Centers

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heights-place-facade-const

Visiting the former Mark’s Plaza shopping center at 4721 N. Main St. near the end of Airline Dr., reader Christopher Andrews notes that the new facade going up (top) appears to be headed in a slightly different direction than what was portrayed in the rendering (below) floated by Braun Enterprises after the serial shopping-center fixer-upper company bought the Norhill property and renamed it TheÂ Heights Place.

The Heights Place

77009, Norhill, Renovations, Shopping Centers

Highland Village

01/14/15 1:30pm

Sorry, No Mattress Store Can Sneak into Highland Village Without Somebody Noticing

Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Retail, Shopping Centers

23 Comments

SORRY, NO MATTRESS STORE CAN SNEAK INTO HIGHLAND VILLAGE WITHOUT SOMEBODY NOTICING Mattress Firm, 3743 Westheimer Rd. at Weslayan, Highland Village, Houston Here’s a piece of hot retail news the likes of which has not been encountered since . . . well, since Swamplot broke the story that the Walgreens near the corner of Westheimer and Weslayan will be moving across both streets to the former Fresh Market spot: A reader has ID’d a new neighbor moving into the former Rice Epicurean shopping center, next to said future Walgreens. It’ll be . . . wait for it . . . a Mattress Firm going into the 3743 Westheimer Rd. address, as evidenced by the familiar red sign now glowing brightly above the future front door shown above. Intriguing bonus tip, for all you Highland Village area store-opening watchers to chew over: “There were two vacant spots in the center when Fresh Market was there and it looks like the other one is leased as there’s a sign in the window for construction but does not identify who is moving in.” Photo: Swamplot inbox

77027, Highland Village, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers

Houston Heights, Restaurants, Shopping Centers, Timbergrove Manor

12/29/14 10:30am

Froyo Arrives in Shopping Center Anchored by the Giant Heights Kroger

by John Nova Lomax

10 Comments

cherry-berry-n-shepherd-merchants-park

You’re looking at Harris County’s very first Cherry Berry Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt Bar. It’s going in at 949 N. Shepherd Dr., into a Merchants Park shopping center storefront that most recently housed an AT&T Wireless shop.

Froyo’s arrival in Merchants Park caps 5 years of steady transformation among the tenants in the Kroger-anchored shopping center that sprawls more than 2 blocks south down N. Shepherd and N. Durham Dr. from W. 11th St.

Retail

77008, Houston Heights, Restaurants, Shopping Centers, Timbergrove Manor

12/22/14 12:46pm

Sprawl Vortex at S. Shepherd and W. Alabama Will Turn Roeder’s Pub into Drive-Thru, Cat Clinic Houses into CVS

by John Nova Lomax

Montrose, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers

46 Comments

shep-alabama-cat-demo

As of December 10 heavy equipment was already on site at the southwest corner of W. Alabama St. and S. Shepherd Dr., where a bevy of venerable-by-Houston-standards small businesses — including quirky jewelers Fly High Little Bunny, laid-back Roeder’s Pub,Â a cat clinic and stray adoption center, and late-night hang Ruchi’s Taqueria — are eating it to make way for a CVS and a roughly 24,000 sq.-ft. pad site.

Back when news of the development broke, some Swamplot commenters criticized it, site-plan unseen, as overly suburban-looking for its location, just across W. Alabama from the old theater and adjoining strip mall that now houses Trader Joe’s.

And now developers Read-King have released the site plans:

Shepherding In A Katyville Corner

77098, Demolitions, Openings and Closings, Proposed Develoments, Retail, Shopping Centers, Westlawn Terrace

10/01/14 2:30pm

Shopping Center on Southwest Corner of S. Shepherd and West Alabama Clearing Out To Make Way for Another CVS Pharmacy

Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping Centers, Westlawn Terrace

45 Comments

Shepherd Corner Shopping Center, 3102-3120 S. Shepherd Dr., Westlawn Terrace, Houston

Shepherd Corner Shopping Center, 3102-3120 S. Shepherd Dr., Westlawn Terrace, Houston According to several sources, a new CVS Pharmacy is planned for the southwest corner of S. Shepherd Dr. and West Alabama St., across the street from the Trader Joe’s in the Alabama Shopping Center. The owners of Roeder’s Pub, Oaks Cleaners, Ruchi’s Taqueria El Rincon de Mexico, and Neon Nail received notice from the landlord of the Shepherd Corner shopping center in late August that their leases would be terminated by the end of November.

Patrons of Oaks Cleaners at 2103 West Alabama St. are being referred to the company’s 2 other locations (the closest is in the Avalon Place shopping center on Westheimer at Bellmeade); Roeder’s Pub, at 3116 S. Shepherd Dr., is searching for a new spot. The shopping center is notable for its site plan, which has businesses fronting S. Shepherd Dr. and has its parking lot in the back, accessed from West Alabama St.

Last Call for Roeder’s Pub

77098, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Redevelopment, Retail, Shopping Centers, Westlawn Terrace

Construction Materials

09/12/14 11:00am

What Happens When You Stuccoat a Brick Shopping Center in Copperfield