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Knapp Chevrolet At 815 Houston Ave.


Triton

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I don't have any renderings available yet but my good friend who is a salesman there said they are already beginning on a new dealership for the corner. The row of cars that line that intersection will be moved to other lots that they recently bought. 

 

The remaining Art Deco building will be used simply for vehicle service.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I don't have any renderings available yet but my good friend who is a salesman there said they are already beginning on a new dealership for the corner. The row of cars that line that intersection will be moved to other lots that they recently bought. 

 

The remaining Art Deco building will be used simply for vehicle service.

Demolition (or remodel)  is happening on a building to the west of the dealership

 

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Is that where the hat company was?

 

Yep. You can see the remnants of the "SHUDDE BROS." signage on the front of the building in the pic. I happened to be in the Sixth Ward yesterday afternoon and got a look at the other side of the building. It almost looks like there are some materials reclamation efforts going on as opposed to a straight demo. 

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Yep. You can see the remnants of the "SHUDDE BROS." signage on the front of the building in the pic. I happened to be in the Sixth Ward yesterday afternoon and got a look at the other side of the building. It almost looks like there are some materials reclamation efforts going on as opposed to a straight demo. 

 

There were some people on the second floor when I took the picture -- it looked like they had a bunch of the old windows stacked up together like they were going to reclaim them

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And...  (cough)

 

What are the official boundaries of The Heights?  I don't think I'd call Washington and Houston Avenue The Heights.  Isn't I-10 the southern boundary?

 

Knapp would be in the Sixth Ward, I think...

 

Since the Heights was platted in the 19th century and freeway construction rarely respected traditional neighborhood boundaries, no, not exactly.

 

The southern boundary was White Oak Bayou, except for one block on either side of Heights Blvd all the way down to Washington.

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And...  (cough)

 

What are the official boundaries of The Heights?  I don't think I'd call Washington and Houston Avenue The Heights.  Isn't I-10 the southern boundary?

 

Knapp would be in the Sixth Ward, I think...

 Should this be posted to Other Houston Neighborhood?

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This should stay in the heights...

 

And does anyone have a rendering? How much can we hope for here? Anything like the Audi dealership? I hope they build a cool garage / show room combo and sell off their surface parking - I dont think they should honestly expect to hold on to surface parking with the area taking off like it is.

 

 

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This should stay in the heights...

 

And does anyone have a rendering? How much can we hope for here? Anything like the Audi dealership? I hope they build a cool garage / show room combo and sell off their surface parking - I dont think they should honestly expect to hold on to surface parking with the area taking off like it is.

Find another new Chevy dealership and you will have a pretty good idea what it will look like.  The manufacturers, especially US and Japanese, tend to want a very similar look for their franchisees' new buildings.  Dealerships also save a few bucks by recycling architect's plans. 

 

The Audi dealership was a major exception to the norm.  They put a ton of money into that store (largest dealership sq footage in the country) because that store was killing it in sales even in the terrible old location it shared with VW.  They also had the benefit of being part of a publicly traded company and the finances that go with it. 

 

Knapp is an independent and not part of a big group.  They won't have the cash to do anything crazy like the Audi store did.  It would be nice if they were able to keep as much of the old architecture around.  Chevy would probably pooh pooh it, but that dealership does have a lot of history:

 

http://www.knappchevrolet.com/KnappHistoricalPhotos

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Find another new Chevy dealership and you will have a pretty good idea what it will look like.  The manufacturers, especially US and Japanese, tend to want a very similar look for their franchisees' new buildings.  Dealerships also save a few bucks by recycling architect's plans. 

 

The Audi dealership was a major exception to the norm.  They put a ton of money into that store (largest dealership sq footage in the country) because that store was killing it in sales even in the terrible old location it shared with VW.  They also had the benefit of being part of a publicly traded company and the finances that go with it. 

 

Knapp is an independent and not part of a big group.  They won't have the cash to do anything crazy like the Audi store did.  It would be nice if they were able to keep as much of the old architecture around.  Chevy would probably pooh pooh it, but that dealership does have a lot of history:

 

http://www.knappchevrolet.com/KnappHistoricalPhotos

 

 I understand what you are saying. It very well may be true. But I think this historic dealership - and Houston - deserves better than a dumb surburban *pun intended* dealership. In fact, I dont know how they could do the  STANDARD dealership... space is so limited. They have no room to grow their space. The nature of their existance is unique and I dont know how they can expect to grow without going up.

 

We may not get an audi dealership. But Knapp has money, and maybe (hopefully) he chose to invest in the building.

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This should stay in the heights...

 

And does anyone have a rendering? How much can we hope for here? Anything like the Audi dealership? I hope they build a cool garage / show room combo and sell off their surface parking - I dont think they should honestly expect to hold on to surface parking with the area taking off like it is.

 

I'm friends with the general manager at Knapp because of my profession and he's only showed me the floor plans. It's nothing too fancy. Showroom floor along Washington and a small piece of the floor on Houston Ave. Only six salesman offices, a general managers office, a couple of finance offices, and a funding office. From what I saw, it was only one floor. Knapp isn't like the Audi dealership or the BMW dealership just south of downtown. Knapp actually almost went bankrupt not too long ago so at the moment, the plan is to keep buying lots in the area. I was actually shocked how many vacant lots Knapp owns in the area just to hold future inventory.

 

Edit: I'm not aware of any rendering. The salesmen I know haven't even seen a rendering. It's a little strange, right?

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I'm friends with the general manager at Knapp because of my profession and he's only showed me the floor plans. It's nothing too fancy. Showroom floor along Washington and a small piece of the floor on Houston Ave. Only six salesman offices, a general managers office, a couple of finance offices, and a funding office. From what I saw, it was only one floor. Knapp isn't like the Audi dealership or the BMW dealership just south of downtown. Knapp actually almost went bankrupt not too long ago so at the moment, the plan is to keep buying lots in the area. I was actually shocked how many vacant lots Knapp owns in the area just to hold future inventory.

Edit: I'm not aware of any rendering. The salesmen I know haven't even seen a rendering. It's a little strange, right?

Boo - stop buying lots.

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Apparently Knapp is just a block south of The Heights. :D

Well not really. The Heights is a mile or so west of Houston Ave and "Texasota" is correct,  Washington Ave is the southern boundry of the Heights. Heights State Bank was on Washington Ave for decades at the southern entrance to the Heights. Think back if you were living in Houston at the turn of the century (the one before last), and you were going to visit a relative in the Heights, your journey would have been out Washington Ave, past the cemeteries and various other buildings and landscapes. As you got close to Heights Boulevard you saw a two story building up ahead, you knew you were getting close to the Heights........at last!, but wait, this was only the entrance road, you still had to travel several blocks up Heights Bouleavrd before you actually got close to your relatives house.

 

Aren't you glad we have freeway's now?

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Well not really. The Heights is a mile or so west of Houston Ave and "Texasota" is correct, Washington Ave is the southern boundry of the Heights. Heights State Bank was on Washington Ave for decades at the southern entrance to the Heights. Think back if you were living in Houston at the turn of the century (the one before last), and you were going to visit a relative in the Heights, your journey would have been out Washington Ave, past the cemeteries and various other buildings and landscapes. As you got close to Heights Boulevard you saw a two story building up ahead, you knew you were getting close to the Heights........at last!, but wait, this was only the entrance road, you still had to travel several blocks up Heights Bouleavrd before you actually got close to your relatives house.

Aren't you glad we have freeway's now?

Indeed - those two miles must have been hell.

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  • 4 weeks later...

They are clearing the area where the new cars and trucks were parked...

 


As for the Shudde building - there was a major salvage effort (they're just about done with the demo by now, I think. It's been a couple weeks since I was there). Stay tuned for pictures.

 

The building is gone now...

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The auto industry apparently thinks that we buy a particular make of car based upon the architecture of the dealerships; i.e., we might accidentally walk into something else if it doesn't have the silly silver V with a curve on top like Buick, or the centered blue square (in exactly the same shade last seen on a '72 Vega) for Chevy, the blue waves of Honda, the silvery white of a Ford or Lincoln store, or the sand colored Mayan mashup of a Lexus dealer's overhangs.  

 

Dipsticks.  I like architecture more than most (which is why I think Buick GMC stores are as ugly as the POSes they try to sell inside), but when I'm looking for something to drive I buy a car, not a building.

 

 

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The auto industry apparently thinks that we buy a particular make of car based upon the architecture of the dealerships; i.e., we might accidentally walk into something else if it doesn't have the silly silver V with a curve on top like Buick, or the centered blue square (in exactly the same shade last seen on a '72 Vega) for Chevy, the blue waves of Honda, the silvery white of a Ford or Lincoln store, or the sand colored Mayan mashup of a Lexus dealer's overhangs.

Dipsticks. I like architecture more than most (which is why I think Buick GMC stores are as ugly as the POSes they try to sell inside), but when I'm looking for something to drive I buy a car, not a building.

It's called brand control. You may not like it, but the GM brand is extremely valuable and homogeneous storefronts protect that brand.

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It's called brand control. You may not like it, but the GM brand is extremely valuable and homogeneous storefronts protect that brand.

 

Strict adherence to the same exact architecture???

 

Brand control is one thing... Look at the European dealerships - while they look similar, they can vary in appearance.

 

GM has a primitive understanding of what makes a difference. I think this will hurt them in the long run. Now there isnt anything special to this dealership... and I forsee this being gone in 10 years anyway.

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