Search the Community

Former Imperial Linen Building being brought back to life with retail, art gallery and factory space. http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/It-s-like-the-1800s-all-over-again-but-with-9225002.php

Anyone know what's going on next to the Federal Reserve on Allen Pkway?

There is a rumor about a new project in uptown, thought I heard some rumblings but thought I would test the waters here to see if I am just hearing things.

http://vimeo.com/8643810

The Board of Directors of the American Institute of Architects, Houston passed the following Position Statement at its regular meeting on April 10, 2007. The statement will be presented to the Mayor and City Council tomorrow, April 17, by AIA Houston member Peter Boudreaux, AIA, of Curry Boudreaux Architects. AIA Houston POSITION STATEMENT April 10, 2007 RE: The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation Site Lease / Potential Sale The American Institute of Architects, Houston does not support the sale and demolition of the buildings of the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation located at 3550 West Dallas. The Center and the City of Houston are in disagreement over the validity of the site lease, where the Center's architecturally significant facilities are located. Invalidation of the lease may result not only in the destruction of the homes of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities but also the demolition of these historically important works of Houston architecture, which anchor a visible site in heart of the city. The current buildings and prominent site comprise first-class urban design and environmentally propitious use of open land, both concepts AIA Houston supports in general. The Center buildings are important examples of the architectural trend called the New Brutalism. They occupy a significant place in the history of Houston architecture, particularly in the wake of the recent demolition of the Houston Independent School District Headquarters on Richmond Avenue. The New Brutalism was a modernist architectural movement inspired by the work of Le Corbusier that flourished internationally from the 1950s to the 1970s. New Brutalist buildings usually are formed with striking repetitive angular geometries and are often constructed of rough, unadorned poured concrete. Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry designed the Center for the Retarded (1966), as it was originally called. The Cullen Residence Hall (1978) is the work of S.I. Morris & Associates. These architects are significant in Houston's history and these particular buildings are especially important because they represent a high standard of design in service to a community that has been traditionally under served. The buildings are in good condition and will serve their function for a significantly long future. Together Barnstone & Aubry designed several brilliant Houston buildings such as Rothko Chapel (1971); Guinan Hall, Univ. of St. Thomas (1971); Media Center, Rice University (1970); and 3811 Del Monte (1969). Both architects individually are also well-known for their work. S.I. Morris headed a string of firms (including Morris*Aubry), the successor of which is Morris Architects. The full body of Morris work touches almost all of segments of Houston architecture from the Astrodome (1965) to award-winning skyscrapers, to public buildings such as the Central Library (1975) to small houses. Transactional costs for the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation to build a new facility will take away from monies and services that this special needs population urgently requires. The Center for the Retarded, a non-profit organization, invested $7 million (1960's dollars) in the buildings, which probably cannot be recouped (in today's dollars). The $26 million estimated sale price of the land would fund only a portion of the needs for a new facility of comparable size and quality. The cost of comparable new facilities would mirror the inflation rate of the land and construction cost. Loss of this site and its buildings would entail a substantial net loss to the Center and adversely affect its ability to maintain its present level of service. Therefore, because of the outstanding architectural significance of this campus, the Board of Directors of AIA Houston recommends that the City of Houston renew its lease with the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation so that the Center may remain in its current location and continue to provide essential services to the citizens of Harris County. Hanover Square

2 retail structures totaling a little over 21,000 sq feet http://ucr.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Navigation-Place-property-flyer.pdf

The one along Holly Hall crosses freight tracks owned by UP or Houston Belt & Terminal, but the frequency of trains is very low and almost never during the daytime. At night, small trains drop off and pick up cars at the Grocers Supply Co. distribution center on Holcombe, which is where the line currently ends, but that is the only user of the tracks of which I'm aware.

For years I have been wondering if Sears will ever do something with this eyesore located in midtown. It has so much potential, I guess at one point it was actually considered a beautiful building. Sears really needs to think about bringing it back to its original form. Something needs to be done. I would prefer to preserve the building, instead of razing it . What do you all think? Article found in the Chronicle today. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/5924010.html ''It's hideous!" fumes my friend V., warming up to one of his favorite rants: the unbearable ugliness of the Sears on Main Street. "It's right there on the light-rail line! At the entrance to the Museum District! At one of the few places where Houston can look good to visitors!" V., I have to admit, has a point. Sears' tan metal siding, blotched with graffiti cover-up, gives the building's upper floors the beaten-down air of an aging ministorage unit. But even that beats the urban battle fortifications at ground level. Someone, it appears, worked hard to make the department store defensible, able to repel invading hordes of shoppers intoxicated by Vanessa Hudgens' back-to-school ads. At the Wheeler side of the building, two sets of glass double doors, blacked out and locked during business hours, present an ominous face to the street. Opaque gray film makes the official entrance's glass doors, facing Main, only a little less scary. Bricks fill almost all the former display windows; burglar bars and more of that gray film cover the plate glass that survived. Only the most intrepid seekers of Kenmore appliances would dare breach such a bulwark. What's the deal, V. wonders. Does Sears think that the urban shoppers that store serves deserve less than, say, the suburbanites at the Memorial City Mall? And for that matter, hasn't someone at Sears noticed that Midtown has gentrified around the store? Isn't there a retail audience yearning to be better served? "Don't just return," exhorts the Hudgens back-to-school ad for Sears. "Arrive." V. would like that Sears to do just that. ...

Someone please tell me more about this project. This would be for the Texas Medical Center at the corner of Main & Holcombe, where the Bank of America building sits. http://www.slideshare.net/QingjingZuo/smilodon-rendering-collection-20154-47319504

Can anyone make out the location? Edit: Based on the surrounding buildings, this would take out the small strip center at 1801 Post Oak in Uptown. https://www.google.com/maps/place/1801+post+oak+blvd/@29.7474982,-95.4611141,3a,75y,87.71h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sXd5WoOxdOvHSXYP4vzM0OQ!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xff016152317bbfc1?sa=X&hl=en-us https://vinetower.com/project/luxury-hotel-residences-houston-tx/

This shopping center is at Buffalo Speedway & Westpark. Across the street from H-E-B. This center is anchored by Kroger. Noticed Vietopia vacated their spot after a decade. They are now located at the Southwest Freeway service road by Whataburger. Went to eat there last night. Same great food! Definitely a smaller footprint. Probably had to downsize due to Covid. Found an old drawing from the realtor's website. http://www.rhsint.com/plaza-in-the-park.html

Brazos Town Center ready for groundbreaking Allison Wollam Houston Business Journal NewQuest Properties will break ground on a 430-acre, $241 million development in Fort Bend County this week. Recent Company News

City View Lofts Phase II is in permitting.

Big land sale announced: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/morning_call/2015/02/21-acre-industrial-site-near-downtown-houston.html?page=all

Subscribed article: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/05/15/boutique-style-apartments-to-go-up-near-heights.html

Surprised I'm the first to post this revelation (at least I think I am), but the Allen House is slated to be re-developed. Notices were on the doors of 3535 and 3505 Dallas and 3601 Allen Pkwy. June 1 closing. Mixed used development planned...kind of explains all of the recent structure torn down in the area. Surely the Chronicle will be on this news. As for me, well its been home for a bunch of years...

I thought there was already a thread about this, but I can't find one, so I will include all the information I know. At 2715 Bissonnet in West U, diagonally across the street from the old Coca Cola bottling plant, there is a two-story shopping center from the 1960s or 1970s, which is being torn down for redevelopment. Plans for redevelopment have been going on for a while; this flyer was posted in 2017 when a company called Edge was marketing it. More recently, BPI realty has been marketing it, with the following rendering common to both flyers, showing a one-story strip mall: And here is the site plan: In November, the city of West University Place had a hearing to replat it. The existing development is called The Upper Kirby Building, not to be confused with a building of the same name on Richmond, and other places have referred to it as the Shoppes at Upper Kirby and the Shops at West U, so I am uncertain of what the name of the final development will be. Swamplot reported on the imminent demolition of the existing buildings, including this pre-demolition photo: Here are some photos I took of it today during demolition:

7-story medical office with retail proposed for River Oaks. https://www.citylandsinvestments.com/investments/

Noticed this on JLL. Such prime real estate! This is the retail center with the famous Trulucks at 5350 Westheimer Rd. https://www.us.jll.com/en/investorcenter/retail/westheimer-court-houston-tx-unitedstates Building Area: 43,465 sf Land Area: 3.8 acres (165,528 sf)

Speaking of the Greensheet building: Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/houston/news/office/greensheet-building-in-midtown-across-from-superblock-sold-61730?rt=20122?utm_source=CopyShare&utm_medium=Browser

I couldn't seem to find a post for this one, but it's on the planning agenda for 08/30/2018 requesting a set-back variance of 5'. Montrose Garden. NEC Montrose and West Clay. 20 stories. 9 floors of residential above 9 floors of parking. Two floors of retail with one level of underground parking for the retail. 2019 start date listed. Owners: Supo Corporation, 1209 Montrose Blvd. Sorry if this one is already around here somewhere.

Houston-based AmReit has bought Uptown Park, a Galleria-area retail center developed by Giorgio Borlenghi's Interfin, for $68.8 million. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3208551

A lot of rumors about the Montrose HPD (900 block Westheimer) storefront closing, not surprising since HPD Chief Acevedo wasn’t a fan of store front idea. But a neighbor mentioned a developer had bought the entire strip ( Guess Theo’s Will be moving also.)center and a few adjacent lots north on Grant and on Crockett street including a beautifully restored 1920’s home. All for multi use multi-storied building ——included will be the Freed library’s move from Montrose Blvd. Apparently the developer did something charming around 6 th street and Yale in the Heights. Now I wonder if this developer will underwrite the HPD storefront in that development or if someone else will offer rent free space inside Montrose for the storefront to move into. Montrose Collective: https://www.888westheimer.com/

And the link.. Webcams: http://oxblue.com/open/HoustonFirst/GeorgeRBrownConventionCenter http://www.welbro.com/project/marriott-marquis-hotel/ Renderings: Model:

Museo Plaza http://www.pjararchitects.com/#!museo-plaza/cem1