Checking in from a window seat at the Luby’s on South Post Oak, Swamplot correspondent Aaron Carpenter keeps close to the slasher action now playing on all 16 demolished screens of the AMC Meyer Park Theater. As Swamplot noted last week, a new Kohl’s will be built at the shopping center after the theater drops its final curtain. Also coming to the Meyer Park center, according to reports from the scene: a brand new standalone Luby’s. The one that’s there now will be torn down.
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- Previously on Swamplot: Daily Demolition Report: For Whom the Bellfort Tolls
Photos: Aaron Carpenter
I remember when that place opened as Meyer Park 14, it was advertised as the largest theater in the US, in terms of number of screens. From the period after the Shamrock was torn down until the theater at the corner of West Grey and Waugh opened, I saw the majority of the movies during my childhood there. Aside from the Galleria and Meyerland, there weren’t any other first run theaters close to inside the loop.
I am so excited about the rebirth of meyer park. Where is the new standalone luby will be. It would be great if they put a Acadmedy in that shopping center
I agree with mab. I feel like within 15 minutes of the economy improving and debt being more readily available to developers, we’ll see a fully redeveloped Meyer Park and Northwest Mall. Both are in too good a location to remain in their current condition instead of getting the Gulfgate / Meyerland treatment.
Meyer Park is pathetic, and a bigger Luby’s changes nothing. It is/was/will remain bad news. A nasty Wal-Mart, too.
Yes, I did live practically next door.
Yes, I remember when it was OK.
Yes, I remember when it was built.
I doubt it will ever be nice, unless you consider competing dollar stores “nice”.
It is a shame, ’cause the neighborhoods adjacent are attractive and improving.
People prefer Meyerland Center.
I don’t understand the logic behind them building a bigger Luby’s. They could do a lot with this property like add in some mixed use on the southeast side, but probably won’t.
i’d like to see this place improve as it’s right in my neighborhood, but individual buildings surrounded by a sea of parking isn’t going to do the trick. it’s the same sad standard issue development in Houston though.
New = Better.
walmart will run off most other sorts of retail going in there (aside from other big box). that luby’s is always packed, so i could see the reason for the upgrade there. there are quite a few old people in meyerland/willowbend.
As long as lending remains almost non existent, you’ll see a bunch of bleh safe stuff going up.
Really disappointing. The surrounding areas are indeed improving and it’s a shame that Randall’s will now be flanked by riff raff on either side. As if Walmart isn’t bad enough for the area. Why do we need more generic low end retail? Put some green space there! This perpetuates Houston’s ugliness.
Totally agreement with Mark. It was a blessing to get rid of the AMC and all the crine it brought. With the advent of Kohls, the neighborhood will go to hell in a hand basket. So sad for a great residential area to bring in the potential riff raff from Kohls.
I doubt the Khols will bring in worse people then the walmart.
The amc sitting vacant wasn’t doing any good and it was a swing and a miss with the Khols. Not ideal but better then another dollar store, pawn shop, or check cashing place.
The green space is worthless without some function to it.
I rarely shop at any Meyer Park business and I live in the neighborhood. The stores are poorly staffed and invite behavior and attitude from their employees and patrons that creates a negative shopping experience. The new Kohl’s will become trashy and run down in six months or less without proper management. To become successful and revitalized this center requires a systemic overhaul, removal of poor staffing and replacement with qualified management who demand respect for property and people.
As long as Wal-Mart and the associated clientele are there, decent retail and restaurants will not come. As others have said, it’s a shame because the surrounding neighborhoods are in good shape and the location is excellent with regard to commuting.
I have heard that Randall’s is closing, and it will be replaced with an HEB. The same person who told me this told me about the new Kohl’s and Luby verbatim.
I’ve heard the HEB comment before but that was almost 2yrs ago. Didn’t hear anything about the Khols or super lubys.
In case you haven’t noticed folks there are a lot more unemployed people and a lot of folks on the lower end of the economic scale occupying parts of Houston that they would never dream of living much less afford. I’m sure the marketing for these new anchor stores told the company execs. what is coming down the road in the near future for this side of town and it don’t look like the Hiltons or the Buffets will be moving here anytime soon. I’m waiting for the 1st taqueria to open…I love the smell of menudo in the morning it smells like our future.
It makes sense for Luby’s to go to a pad site because everything from the old Marco’s (and Sound Warehouse and Phar-Mor) down to Luby’s is vacant and that’s property that could be used for other means. Still sad to see the theater go.
Well it looks like just about all of the vacant spots in that complex have been demolished. i know the Luby’s is moving and Kohl’s is moving in. there has to be something else planned to go in there. it’s too big of an area for just those two businesses. i’ve tried to call the management company but they’ve been tight lipped. you’d think they’d want to advertise and drum up as much business as possible in that spot. hope it doesn’t mean something craptastic is moving in. what could be worse then the Wal-Mart that’s already there?
The hubby and I have been trying to promote the dream of a Trader Joes moving into that space. It would be perfect. Ah, if only…
Sigh. Caroline, don’t depress me. I guess one can dream right? How amazing would that be?
One Rumor that I have been hearing is that Wal Mart will close at the end of it’s lease and will be replaced by a mid rise senior assisted living residence. The next rumor is an Academy store is going to locate there.
Nobody seems to be able to get any information directly out of the owners. Could it be crapistic? I sort of doubt in this post real estate boom & bust world that financing could be obtained for anything that was not a solid project. When this thing started I thought it would be tons of apartments, but so far all I hear is retail except for the senior project.
In drive by meyerpark twice a day going to and from work and i have no idea of exactly what the heck is going on in that massive construction site. In this day and age you would think the developer would have a website ,a billboard, a flyer or something that provides the general public with more information about what’s going on. They’re completely demolished several of the buildings but they left the tower in place. That leads me to believe they are going to some how use it as part of the new design. In addition to the Luby’s we need another restaurant like a Cheddar’s with Good food for a low price. I just think this area has so much potential for growth and it’s location is ideal.
I agree with Joe – a restaurant like that is sorely needed. I don’t understand the reticence of decent businesses to move in there — you can’t throw a stick in Westbury without hitting a young professional who works at UH, Rice, or the Med Center. We want good retail!
It sickens me to think something worse than walmart could be coming in. I know that the intentions of putting in a Khols was good as we have nothing really more than walmat in meyerpark. I grew up in this neighborhood, raised my kids here and now they are interested in buying in the area to raise their kids. It was disappointing for them to see walmart and how it has lower our potential property valve. I wish that as area residents we had a say in what was effecting or might I say infecting our neighborhood.
I heard yesterday that in addition to Kohl’s, an Academy will be built there.
I have heard Academy and Fudruckers along with rebuilt Luby’s and of course the already mentioned Kohls. I would like to know for sure about the Walmart and it would be great if a nice HEB went in or a CENTRAL MARKET!
well driving past there i still can’t really tell whats going there. it looks as if they have a lot of the drives poured. looks more like strip parking then one big parking lot.
Still nobody is talking about what’s going there. Hermes is the architecture firm and they redid Meyerland Plaza. i’m sure it’s going to look good but will probably still be the suburban style shopping center and not very pedestrian/ biker friendly.
Any new news? So the rumors you hear about the academy and fuddruckers… just people talking or did you get this info from the developer?
PLEASE BRING IN AN HEB!! Randalls is a dump, goes well with the Wal-Mart, and the rest of Meyer Park…
Certainly the addition of a Chili’s would be a nice idea. I asked at Academy last week and supposedly there are no rummors of an Academy, but the employees are usually the last to find out. There is going to be a Khols and the new Luby’s. I certainly hope that WalMart considers upgrading, because that one is really trashy. The Randall’s could be nice, but it certainly needs repositioning of the merchandise, new floors in certain areas would also help, and perhaps better cleaning, since the store always smells like rotten meat when you walk in. Perhaps better staff, because unfortunately the one they have now is really slow.
Most of the stores are very outdated, and it certainly is in need of a good anchor. Perhaps a new theater wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially one where you don’t have to pay for parking, like the one on Weslayan. As long as is not anoter dry cleaner, nails salon, donut shop and dentist, it should be all right.
Today–April 23, 2011–my husband and I were walking passed the Meyer Park redevelopment and lo and behold a copy of the electrical-construction plan for the site flew in our way. The project is called The Lakes at Meyer Park. Clearly, the development is larger than the Kohl’s and “new” Luby’s mentioned thus far. It appears that perhaps five to six new buildings will grace the 42 acre site. No names were mentioned on the plans. The plans showed the old Chili’s, Schlotskys, Randalls complex, and Blockbuster complex in tact. We are not sure what this means (will these buildings stay or go?). I googled Lakes at Meyer Park and found a Dodge Report, which I did not buy, that alerts contractors to projects around the country. I, for one, would like to see a Petsmart, Academy, and a new Theater complex, plus a slew of new restaurants go in. With gas prices so high, we need neighborhood development!!!! Yep–this is getting interesting. While not unwelcome, this development will mean a lot more traffic for that section of So. Post Oak and Bellfort.
LMPC
Thanks you so much Linda i wish they can just tell us already did it show wal mart?
GREAT NEWS today i went on haif and drfood wrote this about meyer park hope what they say is true i hope mcmangement will say something soon
May 4 Update
Drove by this evening and saw Kohl’s sign was up. Opening date I believe is September 25.
All of my sources are still saying the following–
Wal-Mart is closing in 2012 and will be demolished. One of 2 things may happen–Mid-rise retirement center or possibly mid-size box store.
Academy is coming in early 2012. Still working out details on lease.
Chili’s will be demo’ed
Blockbuster center is either going away or being renovated
HEB is in negotiations with developer to have a 99 yr land lease. The deal is bogged down because HEB wants a gas station and car wash, but the developer does not want this. If you recall when Randall’s was being remodeled a while back their site plan had a gas station. But it was killed at the last minute by the developer for some reason.
At least 3 new restaurants will be built. Rumors right now are for Johnny Carno’s, Cheddars, Olive Garden or Red Lobster.
I am also hearing rumblings of a CVS being built and possibly a Petco. A lot depends on HEB I think.
All of my sources are speaking in unofficial roles as employees. Rumors come true 98% of the time they say.
The strangest thing about this whole process is the developer still refuses to answer questions to the Willow Meadows, Meyerland, and Westbury Civic Associations. I know they don’t have to tell anyone anything, but this will impact traffic flow and crime in the area. It looks like the developer would want to be a good neighbor and keep the citizens informed of the exciting events taking place.
Another interesting development is rumors from Trader Joe’s personnel that they are shopping the area for a location.
http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/24246-meyer-park-demolition-and-construction/page__pid__384828#entry384828
I read that earlier and I hope this Dr.Food has some good sources because most of the ideas he has listed would help out the neighborhood tremendously. The stores all sound like places people would want to shop at and two out of the four restaurants would be wonderful additions to our community. I just wish they would just release the plans. I’ve anxiously waiting for almost 6 months and I guess we will all have to wait a while longer. The one downside to this new shopping center would be the traffic, but that’s a small price to pay for all the options we would have right in the neighborhood.
http://edge-re.com/Properties/Houston-MeyerParkCenter_WithBand.pdf
here is an update of the site plan look like there will be alot of pads and there will be another anchor store sooner than later and they show where the retirement home will be
Well that site plan is depressing. How many islands in a sea of parking can they make?
So looks like walmart is still there, no HEB, and nothing that looks walkable or that will present a good face to the neighborhood.
i think randall is leaving and all the other stores around there we just have to wait for all of the leases to expire so that might be a while and then they will put heb or we will hope they will
I saw a sign today saying that all the construction next to the Kohls is for an Alzheimer’s and Assited Living Facility.