The Driscoll High-Rise & River Oaks Shopping Center Developments

[Subdude]

Given that it is apparently too late to save this section, can something be done now to help protect the theater (Phase 2)?

What's worse, I have a friend that is generally for preservation but he is excited about this project. He can't wait to see how the lines mimic the old center and he bought hook, line, and sinker into Weingarten's press release that this will pay homage to the old center.

That always bugs me how people are so willing to confuse trite decorative gestures, like the fake movie marquee on University, or the new Barnes & Noble design, as somehow being equivalent to preservation. Preservation means preservation, not just architectural tokenism.

Interesting that it was identified as a "community center."

[sevfiv]

Given that it is apparently too late to save this section, can something be done now to help protect the theater (Phase 2)?

unfortunately, no. if city council votes to make the River Oaks and Alabama properties/theaters, it won't really mean anything. only Weingarten can step up to save it and/or make it a protected landmark. and seeing how they respect their hometown, i am not at all hopeful.

looks like it is up for this Tuesday:

75. RESOLUTION designating certain properties within the City of Houston as historic landmarks:

River Oaks Community Shopping Center

the north side of W. Gray including 1952-1998 and

2030-2048 W. Gray and the south side of W. Gray

Including 1953-2047 W. Gray and the River Oaks

1952-2050 W. Gray, including the River Oaks

Theatre at 2009 W. Gray

DISTRICT D - EDWARDS

Alabama Community Shopping Center

and Alabama Theatre including 2900-2946 S. Shepherd Drive,

including The Alabama Theatre at 2922 S. Shepherd Drive,

being the entire west side of the 2900 block of

S. Shepherd Drive between Kipling and W. Alabama

DISTRICT C - CLUTTERBUCK

TAGGED BY COUNCIL MEMBER WISEMAN

This was Item 13 on Agenda of August 1, 2007

http://www.houstontx.gov/citysec/agenda.html

[Native Montrosian]

That cheerful "For Fun, For Life, For You" banner they hung is a nice touch

Some acquaintances were talking about amending the sign to read:

"For MY Fun, For MY Life, For My WALLET! - Drew Alexander"

[musicman]

i drove by there early saturday evening. it was eerily peaceful.

[Saddleman]

If they're going to knock the place down, why don't they go ahead and get rid of the front parking. Build up to the damn street. As much as I love the place, I'd give my eye teeth to have it all drug up to the street throughout its entire length.

[Highway6]

I am in town. I am staying literally one block away.

Dont you live in Boston ? Do you have other reasons to visit Houston or did you just come down for the show ?

[tmariar]

I suppose Weingarten can begin demolition at 12:01 a.m., right? The idea that City Council can vote on landmark status for a structure that's undergoing demolition just boggles my mind.

Could Weingarten start the demolition right after midnight on Tuesday night? Might noise regulations force them to wait until at least Wednesday during the day? I don't know - thought someone else might.

[musicman]

Could Weingarten start the demolition right after midnight on Tuesday night? Might noise regulations force them to wait until at least Wednesday during the day? I don't know - thought someone else might.

that is a good point tmariar. it could provide a reprive til 7am or so.

[tmariar]

that is a good point tmariar. it could provide a reprive til 7am or so.

I was just asking because I could be in that area with my camera around midnight on Tuesday. Wednesday day is harder for me. I used to live near there, and it seemed like the house demolitions always started right around 8:00 a.m. Could be that there are variances or different rules for a project like this, though.

[sevfiv]

i will more than likely be there at midnight just to see, but i have a feeling it will be later.

Save Our Landmarks is hosting a "wake" Wednesday starting at 5pm in the upstairs bar of the River Oaks theater.

[gonzo1976]

I'll probably drive by then to see what's going on, too.

[KinkaidAlum]

Dont you live in Boston ? Do you have other reasons to visit Houston or did you just come down for the show ?

About 90% of the family is still in Houston and all but me are in Texas. I have some property here and some business in town.

Ideally, I would love to open a franchise down here so I have actually been doing some early scouting for a retail place. Needless to say, it wont be in a Weingarten-owned joint.

[ssullivan]

I drove by the River Oaks Center Friday night and it was really sad to see that section dark and fenced off. I'm in New Zealand right now, and hate to think that by the time I get back to Houston that building will be lost forever, but I know that's probably what is going to happen.

[Jax]

After it's destroyed, we'll still be able to visit it in google street view!

[sevfiv]

i will be checking it out later (but early) in the morning. if something happens tonight (highly unlikely because of aforementioned noise ordinance) hopefully anyone there from this forum can let us know (or Twitter it?)

[gonzo1976]

i will be checking it out later (but early) in the morning. if something happens tonight (highly unlikely because of aforementioned noise ordinance) hopefully anyone there from this forum can let us know (or Twitter it?)

I'll drive by sometime around 12:30-12:45 a.m. I'll post if anything is going on.

[sevfiv]

as of about twenty/thirty minutes ago, it was quiet

[sevfiv]

from Save Our Landmarks:

Today our City Council took a bold step and voted to designate the River Oaks and Alabama Theatre sites and their adjacent shopping centers as landmark sites in the city. This will give the property owner, Weingarten Realty Inc., tax incentives as well as making a strong statement about the city's concern for preserving these sites. This does not protect these sites from the wrecking ball - but it does delay requests for demolition and it also keeps the entire city's eyes on these very important community properties.

I am emailing you to invite you to join us in celebrating this victory at the River Oaks Theatre upstairs Martini Bar starting at 5pm. We will continue to monitor the start of the demolition of the north curve of the River Oaks Shopping Center, which Weingarten can legally begin today. And we'll discuss plans for further action that we can take to save these two sites. Come one, come all - be sure to forward this email and bring plenty of like-minded friends!

Sarah Gish,

Founder of "Save Our Landmarks"

[Subdude]

from Save Our Landmarks:

Somehow "making a strong statement" doesn't strike me as all that "bold." I'm sure Weingarten couldn't care less about "strong statements" and will simply proceed as they have planned. It seems a bit much for that group to be planning a party to "celebrate this victory" when in reality nothing has changed. A bit of smoking their own dope, as they say.

[tmariar]

For what it's worth, I went by twice between 1 and 1:30 am last night. The first time, there were a couple of cars in the parking lot. The second time, there was a big (near-18-wheeler-size) truck in the parking lot with its back open. I didn't see any movement, but it looked like they were loading furniture and boxes.

I saw something yesterday in the documents before City Council that said today is the first day Weingarten "may apply for a permit for demolition." So there may be some additional process that needs to be completed before demolition begins.

[sevfiv]

I saw something yesterday in the documents before City Council that said today is the first day Weingarten "may apply for a permit for demolition." So there may be some additional process that needs to be completed before demolition begins.

i was wondering the same thing...turns out that the 90 day wait that just ended began when Weingarten applied for a demolition permit after the HAHC started the historic landmark designation process, so there will not be another one.

they just have to secure the permits now.

reason for edit - really bad grammar

Edited August 9, 2007 by sevfiv

[citykid09]

After it's destroyed, we'll still be able to visit it in google street view!

I tried it, but the street view screen just turns black.

[musicman]

The City Council bestowed historic landmark status on the River Oaks and Alabama movie theaters and shopping centers on Wednesday.

But the 11-3 vote was largely symbolic, and does nothing to prevent demolition of the beloved Art Deco structures. Workers spent Wednesday shutting down utilities on the northwestern end of the River Oaks Community Shopping Center.

Demolition of the crescent-shaped building, which was built in 1937 and most recently included a Black-eyed Pea restaurant and a Jamba Juice among its tenants, could begin as soon as today.

The other structures covered by the vote, including the movie theaters, are now protected from demolition for at least 90 days.

"It's kind of bittersweet," said Lynn Edmundson, executive director of Historic Houston. "It's made the general public very aware of how weak our ordinance is."

The property owners, Weingarten Realty Investors, received a permit Wednesday to begin sewer disconnection work. After the city inspects that work, the company can apply for a demolition permit.

Weingarten declined to answer specific questions from the Houston Chronicle, but released a statement confirming it had already begun site preparations on the corner of Shepherd and West Gray. The $15 million redevelopment will include a four-story parking garage, stores and restaurants.

"Weingarten has owned River Oaks Shopping Center for 35 years and has consistently invested in improving the aesthetic appeal of the center's architecture while upgrading and modernizing infrastructure to meet our retailer's needs," the statement said.

Wednesday's "historic" designation for the River Oaks and Alabama sites provides only tax incentives and an official recognition of historical significance.

full article

[Pumapayam]

I tried it, but the street view screen just turns black.

I was getting the same errors, maybe HAIF overloaded Google's servers!

[Jax]

It's black for me but then after 2 or 3 seconds it loads. Try Firefox or Safari. I haven't tested it in IE but I guess it should work there too.

[sevfiv]

I tried it, but the street view screen just turns black.

It's black for me but then after 2 or 3 seconds it loads. Try Firefox or Safari. I haven't tested it in IE but I guess it should work there too.

works for me in Firefox and IE7

Edited August 9, 2007 by sevfiv

[tmariar]

There have been discussions on other sites about plans to boycott the new B&N that will go in the River Oaks shopping center. I likely won't be shopping there myself, even though it will be the closest large bookstore to me, but am still debating whether I'd advocate a formal boycott. I know that Bookstop went out of its way to keep the Alabama Theater space in such a way that it could revert back into a cinema in the future, which I thought was considerate. My understanding, though, is that while B&N now owns Bookstop, B&N did not own Bookstop at the time the decision was made to retain the building's theater structure. Still, they didn't make any additional changes to the structure once they bought Bookstop.

It's a tough question. I'm much more comfortable with supporting businesses like Landmark that help keep historic buildings in use than I am with a boycott.

The building of the new B&N has always puzzled me, too, because - as GHPA has noted - it is so unlikely that large bookstores will be a viable commercial model for much longer. I guess it will be there just long enough to make it profitable, though.

Edited August 9, 2007 by tmariar

[sevfiv]

an interesting article interviewing Stanford Alexander from March, 1987:

"We stay in a particular area of real estate where we have experience," Alexander said. That's 50,000- to 300,000-square-foot neighborhood shopping centers. No strip centers, no big regional centers. The typical anchor of a Weingarten center is a grocery store, with perhaps a drug store and a midpriced clothing store.

"We cater to the basic needs of the consumer - food, drugs, housewares, hardware, clothing," said Alexander.

Of course, Weingarten also owns the River Oaks Shopping Center, filled with snazzy shops. But then, that's the right mix for that neighborhood.

The company has an ironclad rule. It won't build until a proposed shopping center is 50 percent leased. During the go-go years of Houston's real estate boom, that meant it lost out to others.

"A lot of people thought we were just plodding along," Alexander said.

But in today's market they are only in areas that make economic sense.

While it will buy someone else's shopping center, Weingarten seldom sells. As a result, it has a lot of centers that are fully paid for and depreciated. That fattens the bottom line.

Centers are like people. They age. But the company believes in refurbishing, frequently into new and innovative uses. An example is the center on Alabama Street that used to house the Alabama Theater. Now it's a Bookstop book store.

For years, Alexander said, if a building was 15 to 20 years old, the style in Houston was to tear it down. Rebuilding, he adds, makes a lot of economic sense if the location is right. You can usually remodel for less than half the cost of new construction.

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1987_449200 (reg. req.)

[sevfiv]

My understanding, though, is that while B&N now owns Bookstop, B&N did not own Bookstop at the time the decision was made to retain the building's theater structure. Still, they didn't make any additional changes to the structure once they bought Bookstop.

Barnes & Noble acquired Bookstop in 1989 and this article from early 1985 mentions the "newly renovated Alabama-Shepherd Center" with Andrew Kaldis as a partner in the project.

[sevfiv]

i haven't been able to get over there the last couple days - has anyone else been able to?

Project No:

07069165

Date:

8/20/2007

USE:

DEMO BLD/SEWER DISC

Owner / Occupant:

RIVER OAKS SHOPPING CENTER

Job Address:

2030 W GRAY ST

Tax ID:

0400442250000173

Subdivision:

RIVER OAKS SHOPPING CENTER

Buyer:

CHERRY DEMOLITION *

Address:

6131 SELINSKY 77048

Phone:

7139916236