Popular Post Urbannizer Posted June 10, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2016 723 Main Street to become an AC Hotel by Marriott. The building is catty corner to the JW Marriott. http://www.downtowntirz.com/downtownhouston/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/06142016-JOINT-BOD-MEETING-AGENDA.pdf 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cspwal Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Interesting...I wonder if this will finally stem the tide of clubs dying at that corner 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_cuevas713 Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 My goodness! This is exactly what needs to happen here! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rechlin Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 This would be awesome. It would be even better if they could do the same thing as the JW and take off the ~1960s façade to restore it to its original 1917 appearance! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Awesome! but goodness gracious please tell me there is a beautiful original facade they can return to. Just don't leave it the way it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 (edited) 2 minutes ago, rechlin said: This would be awesome. It would be even better if they could do the same thing as the JW and take off the ~1960s façade to restore it to its original 1917 appearance! I hope so. Time to start searching for those vintage photos! was the address the same? Edited June 10, 2016 by lockmat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towerjunkie Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 Damn we are killing the hotel game right now! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pragmatist Posted June 10, 2016 Share Posted June 10, 2016 I only wish it was a brand new build with an address of 1101 Main. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post tigereye Posted June 11, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted June 11, 2016 (edited) 6 hours ago, lockmat said: I hope so. Time to start searching for those vintage photos! was the address the same? Found a pic from the 20's, 723 Main is on the right (left foreground is now JWM) http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/p15195coll2/item/171 Edited June 11, 2016 by tigereye 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 ^^^ what an amazing idea to place a european designed AC HOTEL at this particular site. houston has acquired it's groove back..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ctaf Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Are they renovating this building or tearing it down and building a new one? Their website says each of their spaces is built from the ground up, but I guess that could just mean a full gut job 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 (edited) 18 hours ago, tigereye said: Found a pic from the 20's, 723 Main is on the right (left foreground is now JWM) http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/p15195coll2/item/171 <img src="http://digital.lib.uh.edu/contentdm/image/standard/p15195coll2/171/393/500/6.2212268259301/0/0/0/0" alt="" /> Edited June 11, 2016 by lockmat 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 (edited) There was a point in time a few years ago when it was sometimes very hard to get a hotel in downtown Houston on "fairly short notice". The economy is slow now so it's not difficult to find one. When the economy rebounds, will downtown actually be "overbuilt" with rooms? Lots of new beds have come along(or will). marriott marquee embassy suites W JW marriott humble apartment building was converted? Aloft Greenstreet holiday Inn (did I miss any?) now the AC thats a lot of new beds! Maybe a thousand? While it is great to think of all the visitors and infrastructure that comes with it, I am a bit concerned that the absorption of those rooms many be challenging.... A thousand new beds that need to be filled week in and week out?. Oh well. I know nothing of the hospitality business so I am sure that smarter people than me looked at the data and decided to launch. Good stuff. Edited June 11, 2016 by UtterlyUrban 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 ^^^ @UtterlyUrban where did you acquire the W HOTEL flag? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 (edited) 42 minutes ago, monarch said: ^^^ @UtterlyUrban where did you acquire the W HOTEL flag? Oooops. My mistake. There have been so many I can't keep them straight. I meant to say "Le Meridian" not the W. Edited June 12, 2016 by UtterlyUrban 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 The Marriott Marquis alone has 1,000 rooms.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloud713 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 On June 10, 2016 at 4:26 PM, rechlin said: This would be awesome. It would be even better if they could do the same thing as the JW and take off the ~1960s façade to restore it to its original 1917 appearance! From the picture tigereye linked, it doesnt appear to have been a reskin/cladding over top of an old facade. Looks more like they just took removed the decorative elements from the original design. But yeah, hopefully they find a way to spruce it up a little.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-Town Man Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 The BG Group Place effect continues (though now no longer BG Group Place). Has this building been sitting vacant all this time? Are we now about done with our inventory of vacant buildings, except for the old Battelstein's??? I doubt there's much left of the old facade. The current one isn't bad, starting to get a nice retro vibe. It's in good condition and respectable overall, much better than the modernist skin on 806 Main pre-Marriott. The main thing about this is that it gets more warm bodies on Main Street. And hotel-goer warm bodies as opposed to office, who won't just get sucked into tunnels and leave at 6 PM. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREguy13 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Imagine the continued effect as 609 Main delivers next door. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Would be nice to have the old facade but I kind of dig the way it looks now. No harm feelings if they just polish up the current design. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 13 minutes ago, Montrose1100 said: Would be nice to have the old facade but I kind of dig the way it looks now. No harm feelings if they just polish up the current design. I don't hate the current look but Houston needs more historic facades. I would be THRILLED to get its old look back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 38 minutes ago, Avossos said: I don't hate the current look but Houston needs more historic facades. I would be THRILLED to get its old look back. Eh, I don't know how the current facade was done, but remember, the renovation at 806 Main was not restored, but rather a completely new facade patterned after the original facade. At 806 Main, the building was gutted to the riveted frame. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nole23 Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Awesome news! Also don't forget the bottom corner of the Gulf Building being converted back to retail across the street. Exciting times indeed. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rechlin Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 This building is currently far from vacant. I don't know how much is occupied, but from what I can tell peeking in the windows, I'd be surprised if it's even half vacant. However, the ground floor has been vacant after that nightclub left, and a couple TABC permit request signs have popped up and gone back down over the last few years, so a hotel here would add some much-needed street presence too. So if the current tenants get forced out, that will hopefully help fill some of the other vacant office space downtown. A win for everyone! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREguy13 Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 The landlord of 723 Main had stopped all new leasing activity about a year ago. They've been trying to restructure this for sometime now. Really happy to see they found a great flag for the immediate area. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nole23 Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 "To be sure, the estimated $44 million project will add more shine to downtown's overall revitalization, which includes new residential towers, hotels and restaurants. Yet, unlike some of the historic structures nearby, the original facade of 723 Main will remain hidden beneath cladding that was placed over it 50 years ago." http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Downtown-s-Main-Street-to-see-more-upscale-changes-8214081.php?t=65f3fd172a&cmpid=twitter-premium 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avossos Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Sad. But it will be an improvement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lockmat Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I can't find a "vintage" photo of the 1966 version. What are they gonna do, put polish on it? Use soap and water on the windows? If potential customers consider the outside of a building, I can't imagine anyone WANTING to stay there if they have other options and money isn't a significant consideration. Unless this "restoration" is significantly better than what it is now, I'm curious what is going through this developers head. Maybe I'm wrong and most hotel guests don't care about architecture that much. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 43 minutes ago, lockmat said: I can't find a "vintage" photo of the 1966 version. What are they gonna do, put polish on it? Use soap and water on the windows? If potential customers consider the outside of a building, I can't imagine anyone WANTING to stay there if they have other options and money isn't a significant consideration. Unless this "restoration" is significantly better than what it is now, I'm curious what is going through this developers head. Maybe I'm wrong and most hotel guests don't care about architecture that much. I think that exterior architecture is something less considered, especially if people know it's an older building. If it looks like a flophouse from the outside, then yes, I think it would drive people away. The hotel at 59 and Kirby (Crowne Plaza River Oaks) isn't exactly a looker, but still commands high prices for a night. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunstar Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 (edited) This is a very interesting article. The developer is claiming that the old facade was heavily compromised when they put up the current cladding 50 years ago, and there wouldn't be much left to restore. Then the Texas Historical Commission establishes a guideline that a building must be at least 50 years old to be considered historic, which I assume would help the developer apply for the redevelopment grant. I have an issue with taking the developers word for it, since not doing the full restoration and still getting the grant probably helps their business case quite a bit. Edited June 16, 2016 by Sunstar grammatical changes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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