What the New Montrose H-E-B Is Gonna Look Like

Ignore the alternating reds, greens, and yellows on the renderings: store regional president Scott McClelland says the new H-E-B coming to the corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy will have “natural materials” on the exterior — though he says he doesn’t know yet what those materials will be. Getting rid of the colors is just one of the changes requested by attendees of the recent neighborhood meeting. H-E-B announced last week that those same neighbors had selected the “Pavilion” roof design — already the most Menil-like of the 3 decorate-the-box options prepared by San Antonio architects Lake Flato. The vote totals, tallied by Neartown Association president David Robinson: 88 for the Pavilion, 75 for the Sawtooth, and 43 for the Wave. (See all three designs here.)

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Though the clock hasn’t exactly run out, it’s apparent H-E-B has all but given up on a 2-story version of the store, which would have had parking underneath and left part of the site open as a park. McClelland says aspects of such a design — which would have included additional lease space — would have provided additional income for the company, but not enough to make up for a $800,000 funding gap. None of the 3 single-story designs produced by Lake Flato included retail spaces facing West Alabama because without building a raised structure there wouldn’t be enough space for parking to support them. The 78,000-sq.-ft. H-E-B will have about 390 parking spaces, or 5 for every 1,000 sq. ft.

A portion of the parking lot close to Dunlavy — and close to outdoor seating for the planned cafe — will host outdoor markets and concerts on an occasional basis. Underneath will be a stormwater retention system. McClelland says the store will by supplied by smaller 28-ft. delivery trucks instead of the 48-ft. trucks most of his other stores use; they’ll be routed from the 527 spur to Richmond Ave., and unload their goods on the western side of the building.

All existing trees along West Alabama are slated to be cut down. McClelland says that’s necessary to route electrical service for the building. But he’s pledged to replace all trees taken out from the site — caliper inch for caliper inch — with new ones on site or elsewhere in Montrose.

One issue that’s still unresolved: Whether to include a pedestrian gate at the end of Branard or Sul Ross St., which H-E-B had promised to wall off. McClelland says neighbors to the west of the property want one — except, of course, for those neighbors who live on the dead-end portions of those 2 streets.

The store’s designers are now making “tweaks” to incorporate other input received at the meeting. McClelland tells Swamplot he expects to have another rendition to show within 4 weeks.

Renderings: Lake Flato; Landscape Plans: McDugald Steele

48 Comment

  • I want a transparent car like one of those!

  • I still don’t get why people are getting so bent out of shape over this.

  • Why can’t they just share parking with the Fiesta? The number of neighborhood shoppers isn’t going to suddenly double.

  • I see Lake|Flato has snuck in their patented Cattle Shader.

  • Yeah, bummer? In a city with thousands of trees we are going to lose a few to a decent locally based company that will sell better wares than the dump across the street where – guess what – they don’t even have a potted shrub much less a tree! Where’s the outcry over that? Hypocritical. Typical.

    Montrosians should have banned together to stop that CVS @ Richmond but… We all know the outcome.

  • ” None of the 3 single-story designs produced by Lake Flato included retail spaces facing West Alabama because without building a raised structure there wouldn’t be enough space for parking to support them.The 78,000-sq.-ft. H-E-B will have about 390 parking spaces, or 5 for every 1,000 sq. ft.”

    Sad that the retail isn’t going in there. The parking seems excessive,is this because of required parking minimums?

    http://library.municode.com/HTML/10123/level4/COOR_CH26PA_ARTVIIIOREPALO_DIV2REPASP.html

    Sorry to answer my own question, but it matches the minimums.

    I wonder if the city didnt have the minimums, would we get the retail? I already like the HEB going in there, but I think a more mixed used set up would be even better for the neighborhood.

  • Speaking of that CVS…watch their oaks on Montrose die a slow and suffocating death due to the 3′ of dirt placed over their roots.

  • Supposedly the residents on the two streets are having behind door meetings with the associations to back them on their behalf. Blocking pedestrian access doesn’t seem to be in the interest of the general public. So lets see if anyone really cares. Why does anyone care about pedestrian access in Montrose anyway?

  • Kudos to HEB for a masterful PR stunt with the store design thing. Propose the solution that the nimby’s want … but then claim that the big bad city won’t pony up to build it for you. Then propose three designs that are effectively the same building with different aesthetic features. Add pig ugly colors that you have no attention of incorporating. You can then remove these in a show of apparent empathy with the community feedback. And voila, you get to build exactly what you would have built in the first place. I wouldn’t be congratulating their architect, I would be congratulating their PR company.

  • “Getting rid of the colors is just one of the changes requested by attendees of the recent neighborhood meeting. ”

    There is nothing worse in architecture, design, or development than design by committee. It always results in mediocrity. Heaven forbid anything in this town be anything but beige. What is the obsession with “neutral” in this city. It makes my head ache.

  • Figures the “community” picks the worst design.

  • @NotUr: “Why does anyone care about pedestrian access in Montrose anyway?”
    .
    Speaking for myself, I care because I walk almost everywhere. The times I do end up on the freeway and get caught up in the commuter traffic mess, I want to punch myself. For the life of me I don’t see how people can commute, but that’s not the point here.
    .
    One of the reasons Montrose one the ‘top 10 neighborhood in the US’ award was due to its walk-ability.
    .
    Or perhaps you were being sarcastic? If not, I’d ask, why WOULDN’T people in Montrose care about pedestrian access?

  • Don’t give up on retail. INSIDE the store there will probably be a key making counter, a cell phone counter and maybe, if you’re lucky, even one selling GOLD chains!!

  • Jimbo nailed it. This was a pr stunt from the get-go. Whoever handles HEB’s account needs a raise. What a brilliant campaign. Heck, half of the posters on this thread are praising HEB despite the fact that all trees on West Alabama (a main artery to one of our city’s most iconic places) will be torn down. The end result after floating ideas about underground parking, preserved green space, additional retail in a 2 story format, and bold architectural design elements is nothing more than a big box grocery with surface parking. Will Houston(ians) ever learn?

  • From Jim Porter:

    “Why can’t they just share parking with the Fiesta? The number of neighborhood shoppers isn’t going to suddenly double.”

    Seriously?

  • Wow, what a concept: Working with the community to design a development that will fit into the character of the neighborhood!

    Just think that Ainbinder had a contract with HEB before they negated and went with WMT in West End.

  • Yo Cody
    I’m sarcastic and agree with you completely. People are voicing our opinions without our consensus. Montrose is a unique neighborhood that is becoming less, with time and apathy. If you’re really concerned, and not here just to vent, then call your civic association president and get it going. Otherwise, this too will change and become a prosaic suburb.

  • What da fk?
    Everyone here complains but what is anyone doing? Is anyone considering organizing a boycott to save the trees? Are you guys going to your civic association meetings and helping out to make things work? Or is this a place to spend 5 minutes and complain? Why don’t you people get organized? You expect your associations to do the work for you but don’t bother to help out. Then the associations make a decision and then you complain here.

    No, most of you people just complain.

  • 16
    From kilray:
    From Jim Porter:
    “Why can’t they just share parking with the Fiesta? The number of neighborhood shoppers isn’t going to suddenly double.”
    Seriously?
    November 9, 2010 at 7:06 pm

    Are you stupid? They will double due to the difference in demographics. Are you stupid? Share a parking lot? Really, like sharing your driveway with illegal immigrants. Are you really that stupid to think that people don’t want go make money?
    You are about to become extinct.

  • 15
    From Doofus:
    Jimbo nailed it. This was a pr stunt from the get-go. Whoever handles HEB’s account needs a raise. What a brilliant campaign. Heck, half of the posters on this thread are praising HEB….

    Hey Doofus
    Thanks for sitting on your ass to complain about the obvious. Hey, how about the fact that the residents didn’t organize to boycott the store? Hey, you guys might try something else but complaining.

  • Hey NUB – How much money did you raise to buy the property? How many complaints did you lodge on behalf of the tenants in the apartments there before they were allowed to go to ruins? Or have you just bitched at everyone else for observing the movements of a free market society from your perch on your high horse? Keep shopping at Fiesta and find peace in the fact that Montrose will never be a ‘suburb’.

  • How about a runoff between the top two?

    Any design is better than what’s been on that site for the last 20 years.

    Is it perfect? Of course not. Is anything in Houston perfect? No. But when you take all the tiny pieces of the Houston mosaic and put them all together I think they look pretty damn good.

  • I’m not an arborist, but outside of the 7 or 8 mature oaks on the site, I did not see many older trees worth incorporating into the design. It appears that HEB is going to save most of those. Even a new park on the site would have required a fair amount of clearing.

    I am encouraged by some of the recent tree plantings at Rice Univ and Hermann Park over the past 5 years. Smart landscaping with a focus on long term growth can have an impact relatively quickly.

  • Congratulations Terry, you just proved my point beautifully. Now please go back and tell me one thing that HEB have actually done to work with the community apart from give them the choice between three effectively identical big box grocery stores.

  • Hey NUB, if you think that the neighborhood associations had anything to do with the store that HEB is going to build then you are frankly deluded. The 11th largest private company in the nation didn’t get that way by letting neighborhood associations plan design their stores by committee.

  • Right on Jimbo. HEB never had any intention of building anything other than what they are now starting. Cheapest and fastest.

    Scum suckers.

  • We didn’t have these issues back when the neighborhood was “undesirable”.

  • it’s not part of montrose until it has a nickname and this thing looks like it’s in west houston right now.

    i don’t think the store is worth it for the neighborhood just to save a few bucks compared to kroger/fiesta on the sale items, but i suppose it provides more utility and will dump more money in the city coffers than another townhome complex.

    the rise of the grocery stores in the area has been quite surprising though. while it is the denser part of town, i can’t recall ever finding this many grocery stores so close to each other in denser cities like NYC or san fran.

  • Another giant strip mall. Yea. We sure don’t have enough of those!

    For all the talk about encouraging walking and increasing the urban nature of neighborhoods inside the loop in Houston, we continue to allow this type of development in Houston. I’m increasingly learning that the talk of change is just that. Talk.

  • Martin,

    see my earlier post. It is not that we allow this kind of development. The city actually requires it.

    http://library.municode.com/HTML/10123/level4/COOR_CH26PA_ARTVIIIOREPALO_DIV2REPASP.html

  • AWP,

    Fair enough. But the city code can be changed, can it not?

  • Reducing the number of parking spaces at this store would not encourage people to walk to get their weekly grocery shopping, it would just encourage them to drive to a different store.

  • If it’s the Montrose HEB, does that mean you always have to park in the rear? *rimshot*

  • While I suppose I can see their point, I’m still disappointed that those residents in the dead-end streets closest to the HEB want to deny pedestrian access. Anyone coming from the east would have to walk halfway around the property before entering it.

    Also, I can’t tell from the pix above, but is there any intention for bike parking?

  • You people wouldn’t care if they cut every tree down on that lot if it was a Whole Foods. The Montrose is a pit of tired old homes, crappy streets, and idiots that actually think there is something unique about it. You Swamplot lovers should have found a way to buy the property, then you could have made a park and donated it to all the Montrose posers that need a place for their dogs to take a dump.

  • exactly, it’s a cesspool of herpes and drugs. be sure to tell everyone you know to stay far away.

  • Thems fightin’ words Briscoe.. haha..:)

  • From Briscoe:

    We just want to keep “crap” like you out, along with Wallmart.

  • “From Joyce:
    While I suppose I can see their point, I’m still disappointed that those residents in the dead-end streets closest to the HEB want to deny pedestrian access. Anyone coming from the east would have to walk halfway around the property before entering it.”

    Just to let you know, this is a current issue and needs input from residents. Do you in the area? You need to contact the civic associations now.

  • maybe at this HEB the employees will be able to park near by instead of getting shuttled in or parking in the neighborhood.

  • “Just to let you know, this is a current issue and needs input from residents. Do you [live] in the area? You need to contact the civic associations now.”

    Civic associations? As far as I know no one has asked us for input regarding this issue (we are very near the new HEB, but not Lancaster Place). I’m not sure we’re yet official members of Neartown Association, however.

  • Joyce

    You need to contact the president of Lancaster Place Civic Association now. If anyone is truly concerned about this, they need make a phone call stating that they want pedestrian access. Swamplot has the websites for contacting the association. The associations are only hearing from people on the side streets. I called all of the presidents to voice my opinion. Like it or not, they listen to the loudest voice. Currently, they have not heard from many people expressing a desire for opening the streets. You need to let others know. A decision could be made by Sunday.

  • Get the vote out.
    The residents on the side streets are the only group that the Civic Associations are listening to.
    If you want pedestrian access, call Lancaster Civic Association NOW!!!
    Otherwise, they will support closing the two side streets.
    The side street residents have been meeting with Scott McClelland and will get their way unless people speak out.
    The Ciivc Associations are listed here.

  • From Jimbo:
    Congratulations Terry, you just proved my point beautifully. Now please go back and tell me one thing that HEB have actually done to work with the community apart from give them the choice between three effectively identical big box grocery stores.
    ——-
    http://www.heb.com/page/about-us/community/community-involvement

  • So who wants to prevent pedestrian access to HEB along Sul Ross and Branard streets? Well, naturally the most wealthy person in the neighborhood, Sandeep Bhakrhi, who owns over 25,000 sq. ft. of property valued at over $1.3 M with property taxes that exceed $26,000. Since his property extends from Branard to Sul Ross, and is adjacent to the west perimeter of the HEB property line, he’s been soliciting Scott McClellan (Houston area HEB president) to block off access. Of coarse, Scott and Sandeep have become dinner buddies of late, with dinner at Sandeep’s palace and lunch at local restaurants.

    So how did he get in front of Scott McClellan? Rumor has it that Sandeep posed to be a member of the Lancaster Place Civic Association, even though he never paid dues or attended more than 2 meetings. Rumor has it that he represented himself as part of the current board. He and Kipp Miller (past president of Lancaster Place Civic Association who lives across the street from Sandeep) arranged multiple meetings with Scott McClellan, where they presented themselves as representatives of the Lancaster Civic Association. The twosome negotiated deals for the residents that live in the immediate neighborhood, without a vote from the association. Kipp and Sandeep successfully arranged to have their two streets, Sul Ross and Branard, dead-end into the HEB property. And then they decided that they would attempt to block off pedestrian access for the good of the community. Now, Kipp’s house is for sale if you have $440,000.

    So what are Civic Associations doing now? There’s a rumor that they will compromise and support blocking the streets, which the Neartown association will support for the broader community. The rumor is that this will take place by next week, if not over the weekend. So how can few people can affect the entire neighborhood even though there’s supposed to be a process? Maybe a lawsuit can help.

    MontroseSlums.com

  • did anyone mention that some of the trees will be moved from the site–likely to SPARKpark at Wilson elem off Fairview–
    there will be parking for bikes—
    i have been to most of the local neighborhhod assoc meetings–the pedestrian
    is an emotional issue–having your formerly quiet street suddenly a pedrestrian thoroughfare–it’s not easy–
    I am more concerned that the park space and community room won’r be happening—my question is why the lack of support from other business owner–why couldn’t leasee be found for the 2 story building? Mattress Mack? Tilman Fritita? papa bros bbq? prince’s hamburger?brian caswell? half price books?aaron’s frames? —there wasn’t ANYONE who could be pursuaded?
    it’s hard to believe some kind of economic negotiations could have been made and tenants found.