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Holiday Inn Express/Staybridge Suites Hotel At 1319 Texas Ave.


downtownian

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Sad to see another parking lot - and that no one could turn this into semi-useful space

 

I would presume parking lot as well, but the revenue off of that would take a while to earn back the cost of demolition. I guess it could be an investor wanting to sit on the land, but even then I would think letting the building [continue to] rot would be a cheaper option on net.

 

But I'm just guessing.

 

The driver said that he had no idea what they were going to do with it post smashing.

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However, there are major structural issues with the property and it was almost demolished in 2009:

 

"It could cost $4.7 million to resolve the warehouse's structural issues, according to an August 2008 engineering report. "The problem with the [Hogan-Allnoch] building is that the brick is load-bearing brick," Ellwood says. "Unfortunately, with the settling of the earth, the building basically has been compromised. There are pretty substantial cracks going all the way from the bottom to the top." http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2009/todays-news/houston-spares-two-buildings.html

 

 

There were structural issues - it would have required a lot of renovation work to become anything more than a single floor building with very high ceilings

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Well I guess it's a good reason. Houston is starting to save a lot of structures now. So it seems the owner just didn't want to fork up more money to just save the building since it's such a prime piece of real estate. I'm hoping for residential in its place. Hey on the bright side nothing compares to the 1000s of buildings demolished for Government Square in Boston.

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Well I guess it's a good reason. Houston is starting to save a lot of structures now. So it seems the owner just didn't want to fork up more money to just save the building since it's such a prime piece of real estate. I'm hoping for residential in its place. Hey on the bright side nothing compares to the 1000s of buildings demolished for Government Square in Boston.

 

Some can be saved, others can not.

 

In the last 15 years or so, in Downtown off the top of my head, these buildings have been repurposed from an abandoned (or nearly abandoned) state: 

 

  • Rice Hotel
  • Hotel Icon
  • Magnolia
  • Stowers
  • Melrose
  • Savoy Hotel
  • Texaco
  • 806 Main/JW Marriott
  • State National Bank

That strikes me as a decent batting average, though the Savoy is no great shakes to begin with and 806 was only faux-preservation.   It would be nice to save some cool old stuff like this building that didn't make the cut, but outside of subsidizing it in to feasibility with tax money or restrictions (or it being some rich folks' pet project), it's just not worth enough to enough people to do it every time.

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Some can be saved, others can not.

 

In the last 15 years or so, in Downtown off the top of my head, these buildings have been repurposed from an abandoned (or nearly abandoned) state: 

 

  • Rice Hotel
  • Hotel Icon
  • Magnolia
  • Stowers
  • Melrose
  • Savoy Hotel
  • Texaco
  • 806 Main/JW Marriott
  • State National Bank

That strikes me as a decent batting average, though the Savoy is no great shakes to begin with and 806 was only faux-preservation.   It would be nice to save some cool old stuff like this building that didn't make the cut, but outside of subsidizing it in to feasibility with tax money or restrictions (or it being some rich folks' pet project), it's just not worth enough to enough people to do it every time.

 

Add to the list:

 

Sam Houston Hotel

Union Station

500 Fannin

Bayou Lofts Building

Hermann Lofts Building

Capitol Lofts Building

Byrd's Lofts Building

Franklin Lofts Building

Humble Tower (Courtyard/Residence Inn/Springhill Suites)

Keystone Lofts Building

Kirby Lofts Building

St. Germain

Crowne Plaza Hotel (previously Whitehall Hotel, but had been abandoned for years)

 

On the boards:

Great Southwest Building

1114 Texas Ave?

 

Edited by Houston19514
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Well I guess it's a good reason. Houston is starting to save a lot of structures now. So it seems the owner just didn't want to fork up more money to just save the building since it's such a prime piece of real estate. I'm hoping for residential in its place. Hey on the bright side nothing compares to the 1000s of buildings demolished for Government Square in Boston.

Thousands of buildings demolished for Boston's Gvernment Center?

Can you find me a link to that? I always knew that they demolished the "Sculley Square" area but "thousands of buildings" seems extremely high to me. I have walked that brick paved wasteland that they built to "modernize" the area and I am having a hard time envisioning that there were "thousands" of buildings there. Citation?

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Thanks for this but, other than the statement, it is not cited.

Government center is about 60 acres. If over a thousand buildings were demolished, that would be a density of 17-20 buildings per acre (not including streets and alleys, etc). For those who know urban planning (i.e. Not me) does that seem like an appropriate building density for an "old city" like Boston?

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I actually casually looked at this building. Being an auction didn't help. You weren't allowed in. That said, we were scared off for a few reasons;

 

1) The lot had no parking. None. Any new development would need a parking solution

2) The cracks in the brick on the exterior were scary bad and I've saved buildings that people thought I was crazy for doing so

3) The type of construction limited any addition possibilities

 

I would have loved to have seen it saved, but the only way it could have been saved is if some eccentric multi-millionaire bought it for a single family residence or live/work space. 

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http://billwarner.posthaven.com/a-horror-story-with-bulldozers-it-happened-in-boston-and-almost-happened-in-cambridge-somerville-and-brookline-urban-renewal-the-west-end-and-the-inner-belt-highway-i-695

It was a combo of Government Square and a new highway... either way we have no room to complain. Boston almost destroyed 1/4 of its history.

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Short term? Parking lot. Long term? Boutique Hotel.

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/sarnoff/article/Old-downtown-building-sold-and-demolished-with-6692023.php

 

Could end up being another Hampton Inn/Embassy Suites scenario whenever it moves forward. Same developer

 

 

 

"We're visiting with several brands, exploring concepts and visiting with our architects to see what we can do there," said Nick Massad Jr., president and CEO of Houston-based American Liberty Hospitality, which owns other downtown hotels and has construction underway on another property nearby.
 

He said the hotel could perhaps have a restaurant and small deli/grocery on the first floor. It could be a couple of years before construction starts. Until then, the site may be used for parking.

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Short term? Parking lot. Long term? Boutique Hotel.

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/sarnoff/article/Old-downtown-building-sold-and-demolished-with-6692023.php

 

Could end up being another Hampton Inn/Embassy Suites scenario whenever it moves forward. Same developer

 

This news should provide an outsize level of consternation here on HAIF.

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