H-Town Man Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 5 hours ago, Ross said: Berlin has no history, it was destroyed in WWII, then rebuilt to look old. London is tearing stuff down all the time, and much of the Eastern side is relatively new buildings that replaced structures lost in the war. The numbers you cite above might work if the building did not include the entire block. Given that the entire block is owned by a single entity that is not in the real estate business, there's no scenario that doesn't involve demolition and redevelopment with a structure that meets the owner's requirements. Presumably, the prior owner did not want to break up the block and sell pieces, and Chevron leaped at the chance to buy an entire block close to existing property in a single transaction. Berlin has plenty of historic 20th century buildings that are being preserved while radically innovative developments go up nearby. London preserves historic buildings as well as anyone and has no shortage of great new stuff like the stuff you mention. Simplest thing in the world to treat the vacant 3/4 of the block as excess land available for new development while retaining the historic building. Happens in other cities all the time. Even happened here with the Aloft hotel. It is circular logic to say, "This couldn't have happened because it is not what happened." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 2 hours ago, ADCS said: I think this overwhelming deference to and insistence on the rights of property owners is detrimental to the cohesive functioning and livable development of our city. At some point, people must realize that they are their brothers' keepers, and we are all in this together. Agreed. "A virtue is between two vices." - Aristotle "Balance, Daniel-san." - Mr. Miyagi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naviguessor Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 "Berlin has no history" LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 14 hours ago, H-Town Man said: Building covers slightly under 1/4 of the block, so land under it is worth about $4 million. If the neighborhood revives (basically waiting on Days Inn to be fixed up or demo'd) and you lease it up at say $18/SF blended, cap it at 7.00% and you get a value of $10.5 million. This is just back of the napkin, there would be other costs, but it's too early to say "there is no economic use." Chevron is likely tearing it down to save on taxes. 2 HCAD appraisal is $16 mil land and $1.3 mil improvement, so taxes on the structure are only like $35k/year. I would assume demo cost a few multiples of that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 27 minutes ago, Naviguessor said: "Berlin has no history" LOL Look at a map of buildings destroyed in WWII and tell me where Berlin still has true historic structures. I'll wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skwatra Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 yes, berlin was heavily bombed. they did restore some buildings, and following the war there were variations of tear downs and restoration depending on if you are looking at east or west berlin. but last time i checked Houston was not bombed during WWII so how is this relevant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate99 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Can we call in the Air Force on the Days Inn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 52 minutes ago, wilcal said: HCAD appraisal is $16 mil land and $1.3 mil improvement, so taxes on the structure are only like $35k/year. I would assume demo cost a few multiples of that? Probably. Makes sense if you might be holding the land for 10 years before developing it, and if that eventual development will most likely require demolition anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 42 minutes ago, gmac said: Look at a map of buildings destroyed in WWII and tell me where Berlin still has true historic structures. I'll wait. https://www.ranker.com/list/berlin-buildings-and-structures/reference Many landmarks survived. There are also "true historic" structures that were built after WWII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naviguessor Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 48 minutes ago, gmac said: Look at a map of buildings destroyed in WWII and tell me where Berlin still has true historic structures. I'll wait. Well aware of the great destruction of much/most of Berlin in WWII. The statement, "Berlin has no history, it was destroyed in WWII, then rebuilt to look old." is just laughable to me. History is only created through time. Buildings may be destroyed, but history is not. Berlin's history is amazing. The destruction of the war is just part of it. So, is the restoration and rebuilding of the historic structures. At least the German's care to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilcal Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 15 minutes ago, H-Town Man said: Probably. Makes sense if you might be holding the land for 10 years before developing it, and if that eventual development will most likely require demolition anyway. My next question is, would it really make sense to not continue to rent it out? No idea the quality inside, but it hasn't been unoccupied for that long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Just now, wilcal said: My next question is, would it really make sense to not continue to rent it out? No idea the quality inside, but it hasn't been unoccupied for that long. Not sure. They didn't try to rent out the YMCA building, just got rid of it without a moment's notice right after it went vacant. My guess is that they just want everything simple, clean, and ready to go, even if it means losing some small change. I imagine that currently it would be difficult to rent due to (1) the Days Inn stigma, (2) the parking garages across the street, and (3) the lack of supporting residential or office space (vacant Exxon building) nearby. Change a couple of those and it probably works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terra002 Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 There is quite a lot of residential nearby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted September 19, 2018 Share Posted September 19, 2018 1 hour ago, terra002 said: There is quite a lot of residential nearby. "Nearby" being a relative term. This building is not in a location where most of those residents are going to be walking past. But yes, I see your point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 That area of downtown is eerily quiet at night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
infinite_jim Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 There's another old-timey car dealership bldg at St. Joseph and Milam that's been renovated and sat empty for almost 5 years. The Houston Press/Gillum Pontiac bldg is a smaller version of the same type but it did have some interesting history and a pleasant, low key mural befitting the edge of the "parking lot district." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarathonMan Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Block 352, just south of the old Exxon building, is completely fenced off. Anyone know what’s happening here? New development? Surface parking? Staging for Exxon building renovation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 There's a topic on this already. The building is being torn down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted October 19, 2018 Share Posted October 19, 2018 Old building demo'd for tax savings by out-of-state corporation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timoric Posted October 20, 2018 Share Posted October 20, 2018 - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htownbro Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 They need to demo that eyesore in the background and build a new residential highrise there or renovate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted October 24, 2018 Share Posted October 24, 2018 The Chronicle wrote an article about the building. What can we do to get our voice heard? We obviously love Houston. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Saving-1621-Milam-from-the-wrecking-ball-becomes-13332551.php?ipid=hpctp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 On 10/19/2018 at 7:59 PM, Timoric said: Downtown Block 352, how many total blocks does Downtown have? It's Block 352 SSBB, where SSBB is South Side Buffalo Bayou. It looks like there are/were 668 of them. Hard to get details on my phone. There are also blocks with NSBB North of the bayou. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angostura Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 On 10/19/2018 at 9:59 PM, Timoric said: Downtown Block 352, how many total blocks does Downtown have? 300 and something, depending on what you consider downtown. The number isn't continuous. Block map is here: https://www.downtownhouston.org/media/uploads/attachments/2014-01-06/Block_Map_2014_1.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 17 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said: The Chronicle wrote an article about the building. What can we do to get our voice heard? We obviously love Houston. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Saving-1621-Milam-from-the-wrecking-ball-becomes-13332551.php?ipid=hpctp Get creative. Make news. Print up a couple thousand t-shirts that say "CHEVRON [LOGO] PROMISED US A 50-STORY TOWER AND ALL WE GOT WAS THIS DEMOLISHED BUILDING" and pass them out for free downtown, especially to all the homeless in south downtown. I don't know. Longterm: put your money where your history is. Developers will take on historic rehab projects when they see that the ones that have been done have turned a profit. Eat at restaurants in historic buildings, stay at hotels in historic buildings, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 46 minutes ago, H-Town Man said: Get creative. Make news. Print up a couple thousand t-shirts that say "CHEVRON [LOGO] PROMISED US A 50-STORY TOWER AND ALL WE GOT WAS THIS DEMOLISHED BUILDING" and pass them out for free downtown, especially to all the homeless in south downtown. I don't know. Longterm: put your money where your history is. Developers will take on historic rehab projects when they see that the ones that have been done have turned a profit. Eat at restaurants in historic buildings, stay at hotels in historic buildings, etc. For a company that brags about sustainability, it sucks to see them do this. The trend in Houston the past few years has shown countless warehouses and older structures being restored to turn a profit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 I bet if you made Chevron a good offer on the property, they would part with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Note duplicate topics merged. Carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooklyn173 Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 I passed the site today on the light rail and it looks as if the northeast corner of the building is already being torn down. There were lots of bricks flying as some equipment was tearing down the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rechlin Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 The Chronicle is covering its demolition, complete with photos of the carnage: https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Downtown-landmark-Houston-Press-building-reduced-13348410.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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