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Miller Outdoor Theatre Finalizes Renovations City

The Uptown Houston website lists this new project as: A.D. Players Theatre: New construction is planned for a performance theatre at Yorktown and Westheimer. The 85,000 square foot theatre complex will hold three theaters with a total seating of 1,000. The theatre should be complete within three years. The A.D. Players broke ground on the new location February 2006. Do we know any additional information? The AD Players theatre website does not have any information about the architect, renderings, or any other information. This will be a great venue. What else can we find out? -Yak-

Fairgrounds Addition Block 39 Partial Replat No 1 Anyone have any information? I think the current building is 2907 Louisiana Street. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=530l4633l0l4727l21l21l0l0l0l0l234l2057l14.5.1l20l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1440&bih=734&wrapid=tlif133018930011510&q=2907+louisiana+houston&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x8640bf695edeb3bb:0x30ab04c1daaa4552,2907+Louisiana+St,+Houston,+TX+77006&gl=us&ei=-RNJT9PiEMXMsQKsu_HqCA&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ8gEwAA

Oops. The Hobby Center has already made into an architectural book. Yes, it is included in The Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century Architecture as one of the "greatest buildings of the 21st Century."

I figured that the upcoming Sundance Cinemas that is replacing the old Angelika should get its own thread .... I received an email from Rob Arcos the other day that he recently joined on as manager for the new venue going in. He is the former manager for the Houston Landmark Theatres and owner of the late Movies! The Store. I expect some interesting things to show with him on board and am pretty excited with his involvement.

Seems Angelica Theater is now closed permanently. I guess the A/C problems they were having are just a tell tale sign.

Went to the lovely park next door to the 610/Meyer Park Walmart and across from the AMC movie house I've been to lots: http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa187/manos77035/BuffaloBayouandmore035.jpg Tried to feet the cute ducks with some old bagels we had and they didn't go for it. Looked across the street and noticed that the AMC 16 was closed. Had no idea. I think it was kind of going downhill from last movie seen there. During the prevues the sound went off and didn't come back on until the feature film. Didn't like that as I love the prevues. http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa187/manos77035/BuffaloBayouandmore038.jpg http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa187/manos77035/BuffaloBayouandmore039.jpg

EXCLUSIVE REPORTS From the December 10, 2004 print edition Group pays $24.5 million for Arena complex with rowdy past Jennifer Dawson Houston Business Journal A local partnership has purchased the Arena Towers and Arena Theatre with plans to increase the occupancy rates by making significant capital improvements in the properties with a checkered history. Fred Schiller is general partner in the Arena Group, which bought the two office towers and circular theater from Miami-based Lennar Partners for roughly $24.5 million. The acquisition includes two 19-story buildings, each with approximately 390,000 square feet of space; a 2,850-seat live performance theater; and two nine-story parking garages with a total of 2,200 spaces. The properties are located on the Southwest Freeway at Fondren. The performance venue had been leased and operated for many years by H'Town Arena, which stopped leasing the facility days before the sale closed. Officials with the former theater operator could not be reached for comment. "We're currently in negotiations with several major national venue operators who are very interested in leasing it," Schiller says. The Class B office space in the two towers is approximately 70 percent occupied, with several large call centers as tenants. PM Realty Group has been replaced by Transwestern Commercial Services in leasing and management of the property. Leasing will be handled by Michele Ellis-Felder and Clint Bawcom. Coincidentally, Ellis-Felder used to lease the property roughly 12 years ago. She says finding tenants will be much easier now because construction on the Southwest Freeway has been completed and the buildings were renovated six years ago. "There's just a whole new feel and look to the property," she says. Towers of Powers The office buildings were developed in the early 1980s by Mel Powers. They were constructed next to the theater, which was originally built in 1965. Powers grabbed a lot of attention at the time by building a personal penthouse on top of one of the office towers. Later, when the project went into foreclosure, he tried to homestead the whole tower as a residence. "It was a pretty celebrated case," recalls Robert Williamson of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, who with Jeff Hollinden represented Lennar Partners on the sale. "This is a very storied project. He (Powers) was a very flamboyant developer," Williamson says. New owner Schiller plans to spend an undisclosed but "significant" amount on further upgrading the appearance and functionality of the buildings. "I'm very bullish on this area of town," Schiller says. "It's undergoing some major revitalization right now. I think it's an unbeatable location." Lennar Partners had spent the last couple of years making improvements to the property as well, says Williamson of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler. "We had incredible interest for the buildings," says Williamson, of the recent marketing push. "There was tremendous upside available to the buyer." Tucker Knight of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, who arranged financing for the buyer, says lenders also saw an upside even though the buildings did not have superior cash flow. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. arranged a loan for 80 percent of the cost, and the buyer got a very low interest rate, he says. "This building could be a home run for the current ownership," says Knight. jdawson@bizjournals.com • 713-960-5935