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The Heights Theater At 339 W. 19th St.


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  • 6 years later...

Sounds like a way to lose a bag of money.

 

That is why I am asked for someone else's bag of money. 

 

Also, the "Healing Waters" church on Harvard and 11th sold.  The property is not in a historic district.  So, expect the worst and hope for the best.

 

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You can't build an urban, street facing movie theatre anymore. Even if you grandfather in the current building's footprint (zero-foot setbacks), any modifcations that require permitting will result in the parking minimums kicking in. 

 

(There is a 40% reduction in parking minimums available for protected landmarks or contributing structures in historic districts, but neither designation applies to this building. And even if it did, any parking requirement greater than zero pretty much dooms the project.)

 

This is why Houston can't have nice things.

 

 

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Regarding parking:

According to the Houston parking requirements, for a movie theater you need 0.3 spots per seat.  According to 6th picture in the listing, it was expanded to 900 seats.  That means that you would need 270 parking spots without a variance if you kept the same capacity as its largest expansion.  That being said, if you made it much smaller (say 100 seats) you would only need 30 parking spots.  If the vacant lot next door to it could be used, you probably could get 30 spots.  But yeah Angostura is right this is why we can't have nice things - need 30 parking spots for a tiny movie theater.

 

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Don't businesses on 19th have their parking grandfathered?  Shade obviously pulled permits at some point, yet there isn't a single space of designated parking for Shade or any other business on 19th (main strip, Harolds development excluded).  If the theater went back to being a theater, why couldn't they just be grandfathered back to that use and not have to line up new parking?  The current gallery/theater is also used as a wedding venue.  But they have not had to get any parking for that.

 

 

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From the intro to the off-street parking ordinance:

 

This article applies only to:

(1) The construction of a new building;

(2) The alteration of an existing building or tract where the alteration results in an increase in the parking factor;

(3) A change of use classification;

(4) An alteration of a shopping center (strip) or shopping center (neighborhood) that results in the addition or alteration of a class 6 or 7 use classification; and

(5) Buildings or tracts within the central business district except that division 2 of this article shall not apply to buildings or tracts within the central business district.

 

May not have applied for Shade, assuming there was already a restaurant in that space (otherwise #4 could apply).  Would almost certainly apply for the theater (#2). Art galleries are 3 spaces per 1000 s.f., theaters are 0.3 spaces per seat.

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From the intro to the off-street parking ordinance:

 

This article applies only to:

(1) The construction of a new building;

(2) The alteration of an existing building or tract where the alteration results in an increase in the parking factor;

(3) A change of use classification;

(4) An alteration of a shopping center (strip) or shopping center (neighborhood) that results in the addition or alteration of a class 6 or 7 use classification; and

(5) Buildings or tracts within the central business district except that division 2 of this article shall not apply to buildings or tracts within the central business district.

 

May not have applied for Shade, assuming there was already a restaurant in that space (otherwise #4 could apply).  

 

The Kaldi Cafe previously occupied the space Shade is currently in.

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They should try and model after River Oaks Theatre

 

I have no doubt that with the right person overseeing programming, the Heights could be a viable theater once again if the parking obstacle could be overcome. That, and as mentioned, a big bag of cash. It would not be cheap to retrofit all the required theatrical accoutrements, starting with $60-100K for a digital projection setup. The bigger obstacle is that it's very, very hard to make the economics of a single-screen theater work anymore - even the River Oaks had to eventually wall off and twin the balcony to make three screens. I could almost see a mix of current fare and an offbeat repertory program working there if the community involvement were strong enough to support it, maybe something like the New Beverly in LA or the Aero in Santa Monica. Of course, the obvious match would be for the Alamo Drafthouse folks to take it over as the latest jewel in the regional theatrical empire they've built. 

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The Kaldi Cafe previously occupied the space Shade is currently in.

 

I am feeling old now.  I do remember Kaldi.  They were the first to try to get a private club license in the Heights when they went from a coffee house to serving dinner.

 

Boomtown used to be a Persian Rug store.  They built out a kitchen and changed the use, but there are no Boomtown parking spaces anywhere.  And I think Gelazzi also got some sort of grandfathering on parking even though the prior use was not a restaurant.  There is no parking lot for Gelazzi. 

 

Of course, given the recent history of off-street parking wars in the Heights, it would be highly unlikely that redevelopment of the old theater would get any sympathy from the City parking overlords.

 

I do not see how anyone could make a go of it with a movie theater on a for profit basis.  It would take a big time philanthropist to drop some serious money to buy it and set up a non-profit to run it as a arthouse/repertory cinema.  That would be amazing, but the folks with that kind of money like to have buildings named after them at colleges and hospitals.  You are not going to see the Houston Heights Kinder Theater anytime soon.

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Both Boomtown and Gelazzi are tenants in larger buildings.

 

I'm generally in favor of blanket amnesty on parking minimums, but in order to make a go of it as a 900-seat theater, the owner would have to deal with the issue somehow. For example, the River Oaks theater has the benefit of the multi-story garage across the street.

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I do not see how anyone could make a go of it with a movie theater on a for profit basis.  It would take a big time philanthropist to drop some serious money to buy it and set up a non-profit to run it as a arthouse/repertory cinema.  That would be amazing, but the folks with that kind of money like to have buildings named after them at colleges and hospitals.  You are not going to see the Houston Heights Kinder Theater anytime soon.

 

Of the two examples I cited, the Aero is part of the American Cinematheque, which is a 501©3 non-profit, and the New Bev building is owned by Quentin Tarantino, who also recently assumed control of the programming (he has a large collection of 35mm film prints). So, yeah, a non-profit structure, a benevolent, deep-pocketed film lover, or both would probably be the only viable path forward. I wouldn't expect to see the Houston Heights Kinder Theater either, but you never know - Lynn Wyatt is the founding chair of the MFAH's Film Committee and a longtime MFAH Films supporter. 

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I'm generally in favor of blanket amnesty on parking minimums, but in order to make a go of it as a 900-seat theater, the owner would have to deal with the issue somehow. For example, the River Oaks theater has the benefit of the multi-story garage across the street.

 

The garage is a relatively recent addition to the area, and the River Oaks managed to get along without a serious parking crunch for a long time prior to its construction. But, point taken, even without the garage the River Oaks Shopping Center and its immediate environs had quite a bit more parking available than 19th Street does now.

 

I also don't think 900 seats would be feasible in a reconfigured setting, even though the theater originally seated 950. The River Oaks is bigger, and it has just under 800 seats, with 250 of those in the two balcony screening rooms. I'm not sure how many people on average the weddings and other events held at the Heights currently attract, but the larger events are easily capable of filling up all of the available parking spaces on 19th between Ashland and Rutland. As long as the theater restricted itself to evening programs, parking might be manageable, but there's no way matinee programs could coexist with the average weekday and weekend traffic generated by the shops on 19th. 

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We should all thank these folks for wanting to preserve such history. I passed by the new condos on Yale and 6th, that had a huge HEIGHTS sign on the corner. That building on Yale  isnt anything 'Heights' besides its location. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

First step should come as no surprise: 

 

 

 

 

“Our first test will be Aug. 20 when we have a meeting with the Planning Commission to share with them our vision and secure our parking variance request,” Cabaniss said. “One of the challenges you face with any historic property is parking, and having the landmark designation allows us to work with the city and get some relief on the parking requirements. The protection status isn’t detrimental at all, even from a business standpoint – besides, what interests me is the preservation of the building itself.”

 

 

Landmarks are entitled to a 40% reduction in parking minimums, which translates to one space for every 5 seats.

 

 

Should the parking variance be granted, Cabaniss said he anticipates putting a shovel in the ground as early as September or October but hesitated on giving a timeline on finishing the project.

 

 

Indication in this story is that the deal is contingent on getting a parking variance.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The application for reduced parking variance is up on the DRC website (plat tracker).  I stink at computers and cannot figure out how to post it on this forum, but others will hopefully do that. 

 

They are planning a theater with 186 lower level seats and 114 upper level seats.  There will be a bar on both the lower and upper levels, which raises the issue of the dry restrictions/private club license.  They will put in 16 spaces in the vacant lot right next to the theater.  They will also lease parking by the dentist office down the street.  they calculate that they are required to have 100 parking space for a 300 seat theater.  They get a 40% reduction due to landmark status.  They get another reduction of 6 spaces for bike racks, which are much needed on 19th street anyway.  That leaves them at 54 spaces required.  They are seeking a reduction to 45. 

 

19th St. no longer looks like a ghost town after 7 pm.  Torchy's packs them in at an alarming rate.  Heights General Store and Shade do a good business.  People going to a show at the new theater will need parking in addition to the existing on street parking on 19th street.  But, there are a couple of big surface lots at the intersection of Ashland and 20th for the hospital and medical office building behind it.  Those lots clear out at 6 pm and become de facto 19th overflow parking.  The owners of those lots could probably make a few bucks charging for event parking when the theater has shows on busy nights on 19th street.  Thus, I do not see much of a problem with parking for the proposed theater. 

 

I have not seen much in the way of opposition from near by land owners, but I am sure a few will show up to squawk.  It will be interesting to see whether the planning commission will continue to be ruthless in the application of the parking minimums for this one. 

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