JW Marriott Hotel Downtown At 806 Main St.

[sevfiv]

Wow - I can't wait for the full "after"

 

I finally found my old 806 Main pictures (and postcard): http://arch-ive.org/archive/carter-building/

 

[Specwriter]

Sandblasting is pretty much death to brick though it may take some time before the damage is evident. When standard brick (not even glazed) is fired the outer surface becomes more dense than the rest of the brick.

 

Though freeze/thaw is not as much a consideration here as in colder climates removing the outer "skin" of the brick makes it more porous and can lead to its accelerated deterioration. As Purdue and cuevas correctly stated this is why preservationist discourage the practice.

[Nate99]

So they put up plywood walls in places on the sidewalk. Inerestingly, they covered over the front of the Battelstein's buildng next door. I was not under the impression that it was part of the project, and maybe it is not, but it is interesting that they appear to be using it somehow.

 

 

[Chi-Char-Hou-Dal]

Those cops on overtime are really making some $$$ - making sure no one uses the sidewalk.

[Nate99]

Those cops on overtime are really making some $$$ - making sure no one uses the sidewalk.

 

Especially with the plywood doing their job for them now.

[Houston19514]

So they put up plywood walls in places on the sidewalk. Inerestingly, they covered over the front of the Battelstein's buildng next door. I was not under the impression that it was part of the project, and maybe it is not, but it is interesting that they appear to be using it somehow.

 

I noticed that yesterday too.  And it seemed to me that there might have been some activity in the Battlestein's building.  I'm hoping it is going to be part of the hotel.

[HoustonBoy]

Hopefully it becomes some type of residential building with only a few apartments. That'd be really urban.

[lockmat]

Chron article mobile.chron.com/chron/db_311130/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=4sHM55Pp

[Nate99]

Chron article mobile.chron.com/chron/db_311130/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=4sHM55Pp

 

Here you go...

 

Downtown hotel

 

A new JW Marriott will open at 806 Main next spring, the developer and city officials announced today during a press conference at the construction site.

The project is a renovation of the Samuel F. Carter building, which was acquired in 2009 by Pearl Hospitality. The hotel will include 323 rooms, a restaurant and bar, spa, health club, swimming pool and 10,000 square feet of meeting space.

The project will create 177 new jobs, 150 of them permanent, the developer said.

The city of Houston provided $7.35 million to the project.

“This is a perfect model of a public/private partnership that is a win-win for the community,” Mayor Annise Parker said in a statement. “It puts a vacant building into productive use, restores a historic structure and most importantly creates jobs for Houstonians.

Pearl Hospitality owns and operates hotels in Fort Worth and Lubbock. The JW Marriott will be its first Houston project.

[kylejack]

Ehh, semi-vacant. It had a few tenants before the construction began.

[Nate99]

Ehh, semi-vacant. It had a few tenants before the construction began.

 

I actally tried to join the gym that was located in the building back in late 2009/early 2010. The owner told me that the buildingitself had gone bankrupt and they were being forced out.

 

Domino's and the Christian Scientists stayed for a while at street level for a while after that though.

[Nate99]

Looks like they are working through the options on restoring the exterior brick...

 

[rsb320]

I noticed from the train the other day that the building stone is engraved with "Second National Bank".

[Subdude]

I noticed from the train the other day that the building stone is engraved with "Second National Bank".

 

It was Second National Bank early on. 

[lockmat]

Someone should tell Lauren. Her handle escapes me

[sevfiv]

Thanks lockmat (and Subdude for the message) - I was down there last night but couldn't see much - where does it actually have the engravings?

[rsb320]

Thanks lockmat (and Subdude for the message) - I was down there last night but couldn't see much - where does it actually have the engravings?

 

In the center, above the first floor, on Main St.

[Nate99]

More exterior work progress.

 

 

 

The lower floors have significanly more damage to the bricks than the uppers. They look to be treating them differently.

[Urbannizer]

Taken just a few hours ago:

Sent from my iPhone5 using Tapatalk 2

[Houston19514]

More exterior work progress.

 

 

 

 

The lower floors have significanly more damage to the bricks than the uppers. They look to be treating them differently.

 

 

Great pics. Thanks.  And they reminded me... I walked aroudnd this a week ago or so and noticed that the construction fence also covers the front of the very narrow shorter building on Rusk.  Hopefully, it is also included in the hotel property...

[kylejack]

Yes, they've peeled off a ton of the gunk and a lot more brick detail is visible. Most of the upper areas are being painted with the green paint. Base coat or something?

[Nate99]

Great pics. Thanks.  And they reminded me... I walked aroudnd this a week ago or so and noticed that the construction fence also covers the front of the very narrow shorter building on Rusk.  Hopefully, it is also included in the hotel property...

 

I have seen them mocking up rooms inside thenarrow Rusk side building, so it is involved, at least somewhat. Not sure why they haven't stripped the facade there too.

 

The Battelstein's building is wide open on the ground floor. That would make for great meeting space if it is that way throughout, I have not seen whether it is involved in the project at all and only started speculating about it when they covered over its entrance with the plywood construction fence.

[kylejack]

I figured they were just using Battelstein's for access into 806.

[Nate99]

I figured they were just using Battelstein's for access into 806.

 

Ae they connected internally, or do you mean for construction staging/storage?

[lockmat]

Are those windows old or new?

Thanks for the pics

[Houston19514]

Are those windows old or new?

Thanks for the pics

 

New.

[lockmat]

Yes, they've peeled off a ton of the gunk and a lot more brick detail is visible. Most of the upper areas are being painted with the green paint. Base coat or something?

If I remember right, the proposal shows it in entirely brick. Did we ever confirm the brick would be original? Seems like they could be laying new.

[Nate99]

If I remember right, the proposal shows it in entirely brick. Did we ever confirm the brick would be original? Seems like they could be laying new.

 

They will have to do some serious restoration of the brick right above the first floor. You can see on the corner how torn up it is with big chunks missing. Maybe they have saved some of what they tore out to replace it, but I'd bet for the work around the lower level that will be most visible that they will go back with new brick. Going off of my pic in post #162, it looks like they mocked up the base coats and finishing on a small section to either follow the original brick pattern or just replicate a new one. The black coating that was on there under the now removed curtain wall was really thick. I'm guessing removing it was prohibitively diffcult.  The brick up on the upper levels was coated over with the green base coat stuff, none of that was torn out.

 

I guess we could go by the rendering, but there will also need to be accomodation around this area for awnings/entrance coverings and signage. That may be the last area tobe completed.

 

 

Edited June 12, 2013 by Nate99

[Nate99]

The white stuff is not paint, but some kind of sheet/board covering maybe 1/2" thick. It looks temporary to my untrained eye, but it could be another base/backer layer.

 

[lockmat]

That is what I was thinking the green stuff was too.

That is a pretty cool color scheme though

[Nate99]

That is what I was thinking the green stuff was too.

That is a pretty cool color scheme though

 

I think the green is paint, or at least some kind of self adhering coating.

[Nate99]

So, it looks like they are filling in the joints of whatever the exterior covering/sheeting is. Perhaps it is not so temporary as I thought. There were also workers working on putting a brick pattern on to a section of it.

 

Without knowing exactly what every step has been, it is tough to say definitively, but it looks like it will be faux brick exterior.

 

 

Edited July 15, 2013 by Nate99

[HoustonBoy]

It's sad but I guess the underlying brick was too damaged. Or maybe that was their original plan.

[H-Town Man]

There were also workers working on putting a brick pattern on to a section of it.

Can you describe this a little more? Was there some material they were putting on or more like paint?

[Nate99]

Can you describe this a little more? Was there some material they were putting on or more like paint?

 

More like paint, I would say. If I had a decent camera with a zoom, I'd take a shot of the (small) part that they have done this way on the Main side.  Since you can not get closer to it than across the street, it's tough to say for sure, but based on the varying coats of stuff around it, I'm guessing it is just a pattern painted/applied on top of the sheeting.

[Nate99]

Looks like they are taking out the lower level brick altogether...

 

 

Edited to add big version, you may be able to see the new "brick" pattern to the left of the construction elevator on the 4th floor.

Edited July 24, 2013 by Nate99

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

here's the rendering posted to Culture Map, so, yeah, they will probably repalce the lower facade with new brick, then paint a brick facade over the higher bricks they had to paint to cover up the damage from the 60's facade's glues and resins...

 

[TowerSpotter]

There seems to be a lot of renovations going on in Houston.

[H-Town Man]

Interesting stuff. Now I know what the skeletals of a 1912 building in a hot southern town look like.

[rsb320]

They've removed most of the brick on the first few floors revealing the steel structure.

[cloud713]

I don't mean to get off topic, but I don't know where else to ask without starting a new thread. Does anyone know what's happening to the old days inn building that's vacant?

[Houston19514]

I don't mean to get off topic, but I don't know where else to ask without starting a new thread. Does anyone know what's happening to the old days inn building that's vacant?

 

It was reported recently that it had been sold and the new owner plan/hope to rehabilitate in the next couple years.  I think that's about all anyone knows.  (Unless we have some insiders here with more knowledge.)

[Howard Huge]

It was reported recently that it had been sold and the new owner plan/hope to rehabilitate in the next couple years. I think that's about all anyone knows. (Unless we have some insiders here with more knowledge.)

That building is old and full of asbestos.

There were many proposed renovations of it before but no one wanted to eat the cost of asbestos abatement, which is extrememly expensive due to EPA regulations.

[Nate99]

"Texturing" going on the corners kind of, sort of matches the rendering...

 

[H-Town Man]

So it looks like they've added quoins where none existed before? Or at least I couldn't tell they were there on the earlier photos.

[Nate99]

So it looks like they've added quoins where none existed before? Or at least I couldn't tell they were there on the earlier photos.

 

I didn't know what they were called, thanks. You can see what the structure looked like from the earlier pictures, there does not look like there was much of anything apart from the plain brick. 

[RedScare]

Looks like they were on the original shorter structure. Go look at the photos in post #21.

[Slick Vik]

here's the rendering posted to Culture Map, so, yeah, they will probably repalce the lower facade with new brick, then paint a brick facade over the higher bricks they had to paint to cover up the damage from the 60's facade's glues and resins...

 

 

I like the shade at the bottom.

[TowerSpotter]

^^^ me too, is the clock an addition or is it already there?

 

Edited August 8, 2013 by TowerSpotter

[Nate99]

Looks like they were on the original shorter structure. Go look at the photos in post #21.

 

Saving the click for everyone...

 

 

I'll be damned. I guess they took them off when they did the re-skin.