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What would you do with the Interstate 610 Auchan Building?


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Question posed: big ol' 150k square feet Auchan building on the Loop. What do you do with it?

It's been closed over a decade, and not even a flea market has been it, the most seen is some FEMA hurricane evacuee centers, and the most recent would have been in 2008.

I personally think it should be a Fiesta, leasing extra space to others once the space revives. The nearby Fiesta at Mykawa would be demolished for eventual highway R.O.W. when they finish the spur out to Interstate 45 and beyond.

Barring that, a Randalls could and might just kick ass there if conditions are right. With Albertsons now taking the company in a more neighborhood-sensitive, price-conscious direction, and with existing history (after all, a commercial from the mid-1990s has Randall Onstead speaking in slightly broken Spanish in an attempt to bring in that demographic) could really take off.

From what I read, though, it's just not profitable to run a good-quality store there. I mean, Auchan failed within three years, by 2002 they were already looking for a way out, and H-E-B down the street wanted to close and to continue receiving benefits, it can't function like a Joe V's or Mi Tienda...though some may contest to that.

But maybe retail isn't the best choice for the site: what if it repurposed as a school or church?

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Being serious...

 

Community Health Center - with UH as the anchor.  Eventually UH will do something, and this would be a perfect place for a healthcare related facility, particularly given the somewhat lower income population areas nearby.  Could be a big help for those neighborhoods?

 

OR - City of Houston could commandeer it for use as a trauma facility.  Why not provide a level 2 facilty at least?  It'd be good for the neighborhood.

 

Houston has 4 Level 1 facilities: Ben Taub, Memorial Hermann, Texas Children's (didn't know that), and UTMB (which is not in Houston).  By my reasonable guess we should have 1 for every million people - maybe for every 800,000?  That would mean we'd need 2-3 more - why not have another?

 

Houston has (4) Level 1, (ZERO) Level 2, (12) Level 3, (6) Level 4.

 

I didn't count all Texas cities, but sure saw a lot of Austin and San Antonio in Levels 3 and 4...  Clearly we need more given the proximity to so many potentially hazardous chemical plants.

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I would attempt to convince Auchan to return and would screen a lengthy dramatic short film with lots of tears and begging on the knees highlighting the scar its departure created in the houston supermarket market.

 

I don't know if we need the whole thing, but I'd sure like them to bring the bakery back.

 

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I would attempt to convince Auchan to return and would screen a lengthy dramatic short film with lots of tears and begging on the knees highlighting the scar its departure created in the houston supermarket market.

yes if auchan had been a locale for the famous and beloved movie Rushmore, maybe the market would still be in business. just joking.
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