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East Washington At 1818-1814 Washington Ave.


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http://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/09-15-14-new-steakhouse-and-butcher-shop-set-for-revitalized-washington-ave-ready-for-rooftop-dining/

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A Veteran member of Houston's restaurant community is stepping out from the corporate shadows and setting out on his own with an intriguing new concept for the east end of Washington Ave.

Long-time Smith & Wollensky general manager Benjamin Berg announced on Saturday's edition of The Cleverley Show that he will leave the Highland Village steakhouse next month to devote himself full time to a new concept called B&R Butchers. It's the first time Berg has offered any public comment on his plans, but Swamplot noticed a liquor license application for the space back in February.  

"It's made of old brick, really (has) a lot of character," Berg said about the building. The space's signature feature will be a roof-top patio that affords diners a view of the downtown skyline.Located in the historic Dittman Building, B&R, which Berg told host Cleverley Stone stands for his name and his grandfather Rudolph, will feature both a retail butcher shop and a steakhouse. If all goes according to plan, the concept will open in January of next year. 

Berg didn't provide many details about the menu; he told Stone that he's hired a chef but isn't ready to reveal who. 

B&R adds to the emerging restaurant scene at the east end of Washington. It joins recently opened cocktail bar Julep and two other upcoming concepts: Big Eyed Fish and Graffiti. 

 

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  • 2 years later...

This looks amazing, and fits in well with B&B and 1902 Wash (the building w/ Tacodeli).

 

Also love the improvements on Center St., including the angled parking. What I'd really love to see is a parking management district for this stretch of Washington, say from Liberty Station to Sabine St. A couple of well-placed parking structures would allow another half-dozen developments the size of 1902 Washington to replace surface lots in the area.

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  • 1 month later...
8 minutes ago, cspwal said:

That's a lot of parking 0.o

 

More than the city requires, yes. But once in place, it allows them to develop the land just west of the Tacodeli building (currently parking for that development), using the more valuable Wash Ave frontage for retail rather than parking. 

 

It also would allow them to lease space to B&B, allowing THAT parking lot to be further developed. Could be similar to what's happening on Fairview with the new parking structure there.

 

It may even give them critical mass to apply for a Special Parking Area, which would release individual businesses from having to provide their own parking, allowing it to be shared across the SPA.

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I agree that this is a great approach. That massive parking lot is just vacant land right now; it's adjacent to the RR tracks with no through street; it will be easy to redevelop it either by parts or a as a whole in the future; just bank a massive amount of parking so you don't have to deal with city requirements while you focus on the Washington frontage.

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  • 8 months later...

Some additional detail in today's planning commission agenda (the development is requesting a setback variance). 

 

There's an additional 12,750 s.f. retail building at the NE corner of Center & Silver, and the rest of the frontage along the north face of Center St looks to be reserved for non-parking use. Space count on the northern lot is now 330, not 542.

 

There's also an additional 9000 s.f. retail building at 1900 Washington (West of the Tacodeli/Platypus building).

 

Total retail square footage, including B&B and 1900 Wash, is just under 103k s.f.

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2 hours ago, Triton said:

Damn that's a lot of parking spots. Hopefully that will be a future phase for more development someday.

 

It's pretty close to the CoH minimum, and it looks like they got there pretty aggressively.

 

Total square footage, between the 6 buildings (2 existing, 4 additional) is just over 100k sf. That's an important number, since it exempts them from having to provide additional parking for bars and restaurants in excess of 20% of the total GFA. And bars/restaurants will almost certainly exceed 20% of GFA.

 

Additionally, they're taking very nearly the full reduction for bicycle spaces in lieu of car spaces. With a full 10% reduction, they'd be required to provide 371 spaces. Current layout shows 383.

 

Ideally, I'd eventually like to see the parking go vertical, which would allow development of the rest of the Center St frontage, as well as the lot just east of B&B, not to mention the handful of under-utilized properties across Washington.

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2 hours ago, Angostura said:

 

Ideally, I'd eventually like to see the parking go vertical, which would allow development of the rest of the Center St frontage, as well as the lot just east of B&B, not to mention the handful of under-utilized properties across Washington.

 

Same here.

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8 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

When is this supposed to kick off?

 

Setback variance won't get approved any sooner than next week.

 

I didn't see a permit application submitted yet, either. I wouldn't expect construction to start in earnest before mid/late summer, and that's only if plans are ready to submit as soon as the variance gets approved (assuming it does).

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On 4/6/2018 at 8:22 AM, Angostura said:

 

Setback variance won't get approved any sooner than next week.

 

 

 

(Slightly modified) setback variance approved yesterday.

 

Setback will be 10-ft along Washington, 5-ft along Silver, 0-ft along Center. Parking along southern face of Center now appears to be parallel instead of angle-in.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Angostura
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https://www.virtualbx.com/construction-preview/25253-houston-pedestrian-realm-takes-precedence-in-washington-avenue-retail-project.html

 



Houston (Harris County) - The Houston Planning Commission approved setback variances that will allow a 50,000-square-foot hospitality/retail project to proceed in the Washington Avenue corridor in the north end of the Montrose District.

 

The developer, Lovett Commercial, is operating on this project by the name Dittman on Washington LLC. The architect is Ted Rubenstein, a former Gensler architect who left in January 2017 to start his own firm--Graphite PLLC.

 

Aracely Rodriguez--the Planning & Development Department staffer that presented the project at the April 12 session--said the developer initially requested a five-foot building line on all sides of the proposed new structures. At a previous meeting, the commission raised objections about the narrow pedestrian realm and Lovett Commercial opted to defer the vote and work out a more pedestrian friendly concept with city staff.

 

The project involves constructing two buildings, each having two-story heights, with the larger Building A configured in an L-shape and having an area of 43,480 square feet. Building B would be 5,700 square feet. The site street boundaries are Washington Avenue, Silver Street and Center Street.

 

The development will be across Silver Street from the Platypus Brewing and Tacodeli, and it encompasses the existing brick building that is home to the popular steakhouse B&B Butchers and Restaurant Landing, 1814 Washington Ave. B&B Butchers will not be touched, however, the surface parking lot that exists beyond its west wall up to Silver Street will be demolished and replaced with the new structures.

 

The B&B Butchers existing parking lot to the east will be upgraded and new landscaping introduced. Additional off-street parallel parking spaces will be created on either side of Center Street.

 

Because of its proximity to Platypus Brewing, the architectural renderings position an outdoor street-level patio cafe directly across the street from the craft brewery. A metal structure rises above the patio cafe scene and provides two second story patio cafes, separated in the center but extending the length of the block along Silver Street.

 

There appears to be a courtyard between Building B's east wall and the larger building.

 

The planning department's project narrative recognizes that this is part of a larger project. It states, "The applicant is proposing to develop a regional shopping center spread across three city blocks that will include at least five new retail building alongside the two existing buildings that currently house the Platypus Brewing Company, Tacodeli and B&B Butchers Restaurant."

 

"The applicant's concept is a walkable, mixed-use shopping center with centralized off-site parking. By moving the main parking area to the north away from the major thoroughfare, the applicant is able to develop a dense, pedestrian-focused retail center that doesn't waste any of the primary frontage," Rodriguez said.

 

A Lovett Commercial marketing brochure also shows that an elongated rectangular surface parking lot the length of at least two city blocks is planned to the north of the development. When completed, it will hold 542 vehicles. A lot that size would more than compensate for the surface parking being removed and provides a parking allowance that could be credited toward future retail development.

 

According to the sidewalk schematics submitted, the compromise on setbacks provides pedestrian realms that are about 20-feet wide along Washington; 16 feet-6 inches wide along Silver; and 14 feet wide along Center. Each pedestrian zone breaks down as follows:

 

Washington Avenue: a 14-foot width of hardscape of which 10 feet is sidewalk, and a 6 foot landscape buffer to the curb.

Silver Street: an 11-foot width of hardscape of which 6 feet is sidewalk with an additional 5-foot setback, and a 5 foot-6 inch landscape buffer to the curb.

Center Street: a 7-foot sidewalk with a 7-foot landscape buffer.

 

The setback variances allow the project to match the prevailing development trend on Washington Avenue. For example, Tacodeli at the northwest corner of Silver and Washington has reduced setbacks.

"The applicant’s goal for this project is to provide a cohesive, multi-block retail center that is integrated with and complimentary to the Washington Avenue neighborhood. The requested variance will enable the developer to locate their building closer to the subject streets to create a more intimate experience for future patrons," Rodriguez stated.

 

 

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  • 4 months later...
13 minutes ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

More on 1818 Washington Ave, part of the Sawyer Yards expansion.


PaperCity:
 

There will be other tenants, depending on how it shakes out so far as square footage. Likely another couple of large restaurants and quite a bit of unique urban entertainment concepts,” Lovett Commercial’s Erin Dyer tells PaperCity.
 

 “A tenant we’re working with is an axe-throwing concept. It’s a fun experience we’re bringing to the campus. We’re able to do that because we have large buildings we’re able to repurpose. It’s hard to find that amount of space in urban Houston.”
 

“These old buildings — you can’t really create them. It’s an experience in addition to going to a salon or fitness. It’s an experience that you really can’t recreate or mirror simply because of the unique feel to the area,” Clay Mealy of Lovett Commercial adds.

https://www.papercitymag.com/real-estate/sawyer-yards-expansion-barbecue-brewery-artists-concerns/#166090


 

 

https://houston.eater.com/2018/3/1/17066814/urban-axe-ax-throwing-bar-houston

 

Urban Axes fits the bill. 

Edited by LBC2HTX
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15 minutes ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

More on 1818 Washington Ave, part of the Sawyer Yards expansion.


PaperCity:
 

There will be other tenants, depending on how it shakes out so far as square footage. Likely another couple of large restaurants and quite a bit of unique urban entertainment concepts,” Lovett Commercial’s Erin Dyer tells PaperCity.
 

 “A tenant we’re working with is an axe-throwing concept. It’s a fun experience we’re bringing to the campus. We’re able to do that because we have large buildings we’re able to repurpose. It’s hard to find that amount of space in urban Houston.”
 

“These old buildings — you can’t really create them. It’s an experience in addition to going to a salon or fitness. It’s an experience that you really can’t recreate or mirror simply because of the unique feel to the area,” Clay Mealy of Lovett Commercial adds.

https://www.papercitymag.com/real-estate/sawyer-yards-expansion-barbecue-brewery-artists-concerns/#166090


 

 

Any guesses as to the "celebrated barbecue house reborn"???

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17 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

More on 1818 Washington Ave, part of the Sawyer Yards expansion.


PaperCity:
 

There will be other tenants, depending on how it shakes out so far as square footage. Likely another couple of large restaurants and quite a bit of unique urban entertainment concepts,” Lovett Commercial’s Erin Dyer tells PaperCity.
 

 “A tenant we’re working with is an axe-throwing concept. It’s a fun experience we’re bringing to the campus. We’re able to do that because we have large buildings we’re able to repurpose. It’s hard to find that amount of space in urban Houston.”
 

“These old buildings — you can’t really create them. It’s an experience in addition to going to a salon or fitness. It’s an experience that you really can’t recreate or mirror simply because of the unique feel to the area,” Clay Mealy of Lovett Commercial adds.

https://www.papercitymag.com/real-estate/sawyer-yards-expansion-barbecue-brewery-artists-concerns/#166090


 

 

Are you sure this is relative to 1818 Washington and not the "two building expansion" of Sawyer Yards over the next 2 years?  There is no building being repurposed at 1818. It's all new construction.

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1 hour ago, Visitor said:

Are you sure this is relative to 1818 Washington and not the "two building expansion" of Sawyer Yards over the next 2 years?  There is no building being repurposed at 1818. It's all new construction.

 

I am 100% confident the axe-throwing business will be located in the renovated buildings that will hold the cidery and brewery... off Oliver

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  • 2 months later...

Structured parking?!?!?  Don't they know this is Houston and 4 acre parking lots in front of the buildings are how things are done here?

 

Joking aside, I'm really excited for this development and I too would like to see them build the structure from the start. Looking forward to groundbreaking so 1818 becomes a reality and not another missed oppty. 

 

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