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The Daphne Hotel: 347 W. 20th St.


Angostura

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Site layout and elevations from parking variance request. The 7 large trees are already existing on the site. 

 

In addition to parking and setback variances, the project requires a variance to Ch 28, Section VI, the ordinance regulating location of hotels, as it takes primary access from a local street (Ashland) and is within 750 feet of both a church (Baptist Temple) and Hospital. Both have written letters of support.

 

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https://theleadernews.com/contentious-boutique-hotel-a-dream-come-true-for-developer/

 

Wow.  and I thought I was a rich kid because my dad loaned by $8k for a down payment on a house.  

 

If this place has enough room to put on weddings and special events, it should do well.  I just do not see enough demand to sustain a high end boutique hotel in the Heights without revenue from weddings, etc.  But my dad is only good for about $8k.  So, I will just have to sit back and watch.

 

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  • The title was changed to 347 W. 20th St.
  • 1 month later...
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Identified as a 51-room hotel in the Heights, this project had been on hold but is apparently back on, per HBJ...
Plans for Heights boutique hotel back on after delay, filing says

"The TDLR filing said the 51-key hotel will have 16 on-site parking spaces, a single-story retail component, an indoor lounge area and an outdoor cabana and pool terrace.

The $24 million project is expected to break ground later this year and to wrap up construction in 2024, the filing said.

Massachusetts-based BlanchardA+D is listed as the project architect, and Austin-based Bunkhouse Hotels has been tapped with managing the property, according to TDLR..."

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  • The title was changed to The Daphne Hotel: 347 W. 20th St.

Smart move switching from Maison Robert to Hotel Daphne.  The odds of people using the French pronunciation of Robert (Roe Bare, but with French Rs which are different at the beginning of a word and in the middle) successfully are pretty slim and using the English pronunciation of Robert makes it sound silly such that it may as well be Maison Kevin.  

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2 hours ago, s3mh said:

Smart move switching from Maison Robert to Hotel Daphne.  The odds of people using the French pronunciation of Robert (Roe Bare, but with French Rs which are different at the beginning of a word and in the middle) successfully are pretty slim and using the English pronunciation of Robert makes it sound silly such that it may as well be Maison Kevin.  

inglorious basterds grat-zee GIF

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Planning Commission deferred all three proposals till the next meeting.

This went from a 37 key hotel to a 51 key with a possible restaurant on site and the biggest complaint by the neighbors was parking, traffic and possible traffic using the alley. They also don't want the house demolished for a parking lot. The florist across Ashland St. was proposed to be purchased for a parking lot but now might be a coffee shop.


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Edited by hindesky
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29 minutes ago, J Money said:

I wasn't a fan of them tearing down that house when there's 3 large parking lots adjacent. You'd think they could negotiate some sort of parking agreement with the owners of those lots. 

Or the garage at the medical building on 20th, which is never more than half full.  And they could make it valet parking.  

I think this is actually an elaborate setup.  They are going to get their variance denied and then announce that they are partnering with Unitronics to build a 9 story automated parking garage (and whatever happened to the one that was supposed to be built on White Oak?).  

Also, the redesign of the hotel is lame.  It is now 5 stories instead of 4 and is more boxy.  I actually kind of liked how the original design had a big patio fronting 20th st. with the hotel rooms set back a bit.  

While I can see this hotel getting bookings as being an alternative to downtown or galleria hotels with the benefit of a walkable area with restaurants and shops, I thought that they would make bank by being a wedding and event venue.  But the blown up version looks like it minimizes some of the event space in favor of more rooms and retail space.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

I actually like this project, but don't quite understand why the district can't work together and solve the parking issue another way? It would be cool if the district/city bought a lot nearby and created a parking garage that would serve the area. Maybe even with retail on the bottom. Is that not common?

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1 hour ago, Amlaham said:

I actually like this project, but don't quite understand why the district can't work together and solve the parking issue another way? It would be cool if the district/city bought a lot nearby and created a parking garage that would serve the area. Maybe even with retail on the bottom. Is that not common?

You would never be able to get a project like that through city council.  There are too many councilmembers who have a long list of basic needs for their districts to get them to vote to buy expensive real estate in the Heights to build a parking garage for rich people to go to a boutique hotel.  It would be DOA.

The only alternative would be a management district.  There are several management districts in Houston.  They can build parking facilities among a bunch of other things.  I really doubt anyone would be willing to take on a management district in the Heights after the Montrose management district went down in flames.  They seem to only work well when there are a bunch of big developments involved, like Memorial City, Energy Corridor, Westchase, etc.  Heights is probably too dispersed commercially to make a management district work.  

I joked in a post above about someone building an automated parking garage like the one proposed for White Oak and Studewood.  But it would actually be a good business move for the landlord who own the real estate along 19th to do a deal with one of those vendors to expand parking so there can be more restaurants and bars in 19th.  Tea Sip is closing because the rent is too high.  If there were additional parking, you could fill that space with a big restaurant.  You could also build out the blank spot where the junk dealer used to be with restaurant space.  And within a few years, 19th street would totally suck, but people would make lots of money.  So, in my opinion, anyone who is moving around tens of millions to build a boutique hotel in a major city is a big boy and needs to be responsible for sufficient parking.  

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  • 2 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Amlaham said:

Wow.....its like they read our forum 💀

The neighbors are the ones that pushed for the changes and the developer accommodated them so it would pass. They had about 10 people from the neighborhood speak at the first and second meeting against the original plans, plus the developer had several meetings with the Heights neighborhood association to find a solution.

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