Urbannizer Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/42/66/00/9134113/3/1200x920.jpg More historic buildings coming down unfortunately. Quote A pair of century-old downtown buildings and a pecan tree perhaps as old are expected to be demolished in the next couple weeks as the owner of an adjacent hotel said he needs the land for parking to better serve guests. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/100-year-old-downtown-buildings-to-make-way-for-6708623.php#photo-9134113 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pragmatist Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 I really like those buildings. What a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 NOOOOOOOO. Again, we never learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Don't it always seem to go,That you don't know what you've gotTil its goneThey paved paradiseAnd put up a parking lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 ^^^ those two old edifices are quaint and charming. however, they are both more suited for bourbon street in new orleans, louisiana.. as opposed to louisiana street in houston, tx. i would suspect that the new parking garage shall be ultra modern, adorned with ground floor retail, and can generate a much needed source of revenue as per the hotel property owner. just saying.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFootsSocks Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 You guys don't understand...where am I supposed to park my car?!!!?!?!?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 This is criminal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pragmatist Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Monarch, I must say that I've never seen a person so excited for the possibility of a garage. At least you have an optimistic outlook. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Read the article. The plan calls for a 10,000 square foot surface lot to park 50 cars. Maybe, sometime in the future, there will be a garage, a ballroom, and an expansion of the Lancaster Hotel but come one... how many times does it take to realize that if a group can't afford to rehab two buildings then it likely can't build a multi-million dollar mixed-use garage. This will be a scar for years. The Courtyard that used to be a part of the Longhorn and BBs was a beautiful space and that pecan tree is a thing of beauty. If those buildings were a dime a dozen downtown, then maybe. But, this is just raping the land to make a quick buck. It's the Houston way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towerjunkie Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 And so my heart breaks eternally.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brijonmang Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Houston gonna Houston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moore713 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Just when I think Houston has finally pulled it head out of it ass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Monarch, I must say that I've never seen a person so excited for the possibility of a garage. At least you have an optimistic outlook. Lol^^^ well thank you my pal. however, i didn't realize that i was "so excited". the LANCASTER HOTEL has been around for decades and has currently undergone a multi million renovation to its hotel premises. i stated what i stated as a bonafide means of support for an establishment that is trying desperately to move forward. nonetheless, its all good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downtownian Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 ^^^ those two old edifices are quaint and charming. however, they are both more suited for bourbon street in new orleans, louisiana.. as opposed to louisiana street in houston, tx. i would suspect that the new parking garage shall be ultra modern, adorned with ground floor retail, and can generate a much needed source of revenue as per the hotel property owner. just saying.... Beautiful buildings like these are well suited anywhere. They are heart of the theater district and across from Alley Theater and Wortham. This is very short sighted - it will be the next area to be developed after Market Square takes hold - only a few blocks from Market Square Tower and Aris. In my ideal city, they would have a nice pub or restaurant on the first floor for before and after show drinks and a few studio apartments above them with character. A nice little bar district consisting of Birra Poretti's, the space currently housing the Steinway showroom (the roof is beautiful and not utilized by its current occupant). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 They took all the treesAnd put them in a tree museumThen they charged the peopleA dollar and a half just to see 'em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nole23 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Noooooo!!!! I love these old buildings and now they are tearing them down for a parking lot. At least if they were going to start the hotel expansion right away it would soften the blow, but I doubt that will happen for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Huge Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 >checks date >not April 1st >***k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Bummer. Too bad no one wants to pay extra to keep them around. The Lancaster is about to have a bunch more competition, so I can't blame the owner for sacrificing buildings he can not lease to make the one that is paying its own way more viable. I agree that the area seems to have a lot of upside, but no one wants to bet more than a parking lot's worth on that, evidently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 They paved paradiseAnd put up a parking lotParadise would probably not have sat vacant for years. Head up Prairie from this block and you will see many other empty old buildings to save. Few seem to want to do so with their own money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 The thing is, there is going to be a lot of demand for surface retail spaces in this area when these two additional residential towers get filled and people need places to go and buy things like pharmacies,flower shops, laundries, gift shops, barber and beauty salons, and on and on. For the life of me I can't see why the powers that be i.e. the Central Houston/Downtown District people don't recognize this. Its these types of buildings that bring the spice of life in a neighborhood. Not a fifty story steel and glass tower. If you want to make a downtown fun to walk around in you need places to go. Not just a 9-5 Starbucks in an office building lobby. These simple old structures are what give neighborhoods in a city their good vibes. This is a sin and just like the Pappas family when it took down the market square building for its bricks, theses people need to have their heads examined. There has to be a better solution. I don't care that they own the property and I know they can do what they want but I can still call it a loss for this part of downtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KinkaidAlum Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Nate- Please list all of the vacant buildings for sale downtown. I am in real estate. I know which ones are for sale. The majority of vacant buildings are held by entities with zero interest in being landlords or having their properties rehabbed. They are waiting to flip to make a dime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 If any of you are friends or have connections to any of the Central Houston people like Bob Eury, or Minette Boesel who is involved with the city and the Historic district, please drop them a line or call and ask if there is any way they could negotiate some kind of deal. Perhaps the Hines people could reach out with the Chronicle garage. Its right around the corner isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 If I had property in this district I would want to be getting my empty warehouses and buildings up to snuff to be rented out by a million different service and needs, types of establishments. Its going to be a goldmine. Think about it. Fairly middle class to upper class people are going to be living in these towers and the fact that they are making a conscientious effort to move downtown means they want to particitpate in an urban setting where they can walk to get coffee, get their nails done, or a spa, or a haircut, or maybe buy some books, or get some hardware needs, or buy some music or on and on. Wake up downtown real estate and save these buildings and others like them. They will make or break living downtown. And while Im on it this is exactly why the new residential buildings going up in some of these other downtown neighborhoods should be required to have ground floor retail in every one of them. Someday people will need things that you can't buy in a parking garage or office building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Is this where Charlie's 517 was located before it closed I. The early 2000's?I seem to recall eating there a LONG time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Nate-Please list all of the vacant buildings for sale downtown. I am in real estate. I know which ones are for sale. The majority of vacant buildings are held by entities with zero interest in being landlords or having their properties rehabbed. They are waiting to flip to make a dime.I'm sure you are right. Whoever is wanting to flip sees more value in sitting around paying taxes than dealing with tenants, which is their choice, I suppose, but that has to be a matter of price. If rents were high enough, this owner would have found someone to replace BB's and the law firm who were here last, but as you point out, an empty building was preferable. My point was at some price, that zero interest changes, and no one wants to tilt it. If a person exists that is interested in being a landlord for one of these buildings, they can be the one buying, but no one is willing to do so at the number the flipper is waiting for. If it's just not worth anyone's while to actually use these buildings right now, they are only good for speculation about what might happen in the area down the road. Sounds like this guy's clock ran out, but I'm confident he has a price for which he would let someone else deal with it.That's sort of the definition of a flipper in my understanding. This one wanted a parking lot more than he wanted to wait for someone to come along and meet his number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollusk Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 A surface parking lot for the Lancaster sounds pretty lame, particularly with the Theater District garages located right across the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chi-Char-Hou-Dal Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/Building/2281/The-Longhorn-Pecan.php Can someone post an email or method to try to save these buildings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chi-Char-Hou-Dal Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 https://peoplesguidetohouston.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/a-witness-to-history-by-rebecca-debardelaben/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbates2 Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Ridiculous. Downtown isn't lacking parking at all. F the Lancaster for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobruss Posted December 19, 2015 Share Posted December 19, 2015 Like I said above two people who have a lot of pull downtown are Bob Eury at Central Houston and Minette Boesel who works for Mayor Parker. I think you can get their email addresses off of the city and Central Houstons sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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