Studemont Junction Multifamily

[H-Town Man]

But then you have to ask yourself, is it a bad thing to get feeder-road development in an area that has always lacked such amenities, especially one in an urban environment? I don't see anyone complaining here about the suburban-ness of the Buffalo Speedway/Highway 59 area.

 

Perhaps if it's one of the only ones left in the city.  No one really likes the Buffalo Speedway/59 area, do they?

[fernz]

Perhaps if it's one of the only ones left in the city. No one really likes the Buffalo Speedway/59 area, do they?

Besides, that was developed over 10 years ago, Houston was very different then.

[Triton]

Besides, that was developed over 10 years ago, Houston was very different then.

 

So 10 years later, we shouldn't expect suburban-type development in the inner-city? No retail and grocery stores with a large amount of parking? It's going to come to areas where the growth is and where the need is. So what if this same type of development comes to the east of downtown along I-45? Are we going to be upset? What if it comes to Third Ward? Remember, this isn't the beautiful Heights... this is very much a warehouse district with most of the current manufacturing moving to areas along the beltway.

 

As many have said over at Swamplot, this would be a prime location for a HEB and it would be a store I would absolutely go to weekly... especially if it was like the one on West Alabama and Dunlavy.

[Avossos]

I think an area has to go through phases. going from industrial to highly urban is probably a far stretch. It also doesnt help that there isn't a grid system here. We will have to accept the improvement here.

 

I love the urban setting. I am exciting to see Houston going this direction. However, I don't think the area above Washington avenue has the "need" to be highly urban. I enjoy the diversity of development. As long as they use nice materials, plant lots of trees, and invest in the infastructure - I think it will end up nice. After a few years, we might see some of this land go through more changes. Please reference the Target on San Felipe near uptown. High rises are going right next to that large target parking lot. I can bet that this parking lot won't last. And in time - the same for this area. When the need is there, it will come.

[fernz]

You can still get all the amenities you want with all the parking you need, it just doesn't need to be with such a suburban mindset and design, that's all. It could be something like this:

 

 

or this:

 

[H-Town Man]

You can still get all the amenities you want with all the parking you need, it just doesn't need to be with such a suburban mindset and design, that's all. It could be something like this:

or this:

Thank you! First pic looks great. Maybe the post office site will be something like this.

[Triton]

Now I would agree with that... It would look great for the post office site. But honestly, there is just no way Studemont would be able to handle a development that massive.

[Texasota]

eh, studemont is fine. the real problem is lack of connectivity by other streets. you beef up hicks a  bit, take the heavy rail below grade and push court and lakin across and i think it would be fine.

[Angostura]

You can still get all the amenities you want with all the parking you need, it just doesn't need to be with such a suburban mindset and design, that's all. It could be something like this:

 

 

 

 

 

First picture is in the middle of a high-density neighborhood near downtown Seattle, surrounded by residential high-rises and offices, along a light rail line. None of these descriptions apply to the Grocer's Supply site.

 

The nearest equivalent neighborhood in Houston is Midtown, where something very similar to that picture is getting built.

 

 

 

 

[alternativemike]

First picture is in the middle of a high-density neighborhood near downtown Seattle, surrounded by residential high-rises and offices, along a light rail line. None of these descriptions apply to the Grocer's Supply site.

 

The nearest equivalent neighborhood in Houston is Midtown, where something very similar to that picture is getting built.

 

I'm from Seattle originally and recognized that development the instant I saw the picture you posted - it's in the Denny Triangle/South Lake Union area! It's crazy for me to think how much that area has changed! 

 

Much like Houston, the area it sits is an area that was very different even just 10 years ago - transitioning from a somewhat blighted area of the city filled with warehouses and vacant lots to a fast growing neighborhood of apartments, retail, biotech companies and even the new headquarters for Amazon. I like to think Midtown could transition into something similar. Both have many elements in common, such as prime location and light rail connection.

[Triton]

There will be more that follow.   Keep your eye on this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tile plant sale fits redevelopment pattern

By Nancy Sarnoff

July 18, 2014 | Updated: July 20, 2014 10:01pm

Powers Brown

Rendering shows the expanded offices in Katy of Norwegian company DNV GL.

A 21-acre parcel sandwiched between the Katy Freeway and the Washington Avenue corridor that has been held by the same owner for more than eight decades has hit the market in what is expected to result in a significant re-development for the area.

Texas Tile Manufacturing, an affiliate of Tarkett USA, is selling its manufacturing plant at 2728 Summer between Studemont and Sawyer streets.

The company plans to vacate the property this summer, as it is relocating its vinyl flooring operations to a sister plant in Florence, Ala.

"This is one of the larger redevelopment tracts, under one ownership, to come on the market in the Heights/Memorial area in some time," said Conrad Bernard of Boyd Commercial, which is marketing the property.

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/sarnoff/article/Tile-plant-sale-fits-redevelopment-pattern-5631957.php?cmpid=twitter-premium&t=d1b7473136

 

Edited July 22, 2014 by Triton

[cousaji]

There will be more that follow.   Keep your eye on this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/sarnoff/article/Tile-plant-sale-fits-redevelopment-pattern-5631957.php?cmpid=twitter-premium&t=d1b7473136

 

Well, if the Grocer's Supply development is any indication of what is to come on the Tile Plant site, I wouldn't get too excited. Hoping for the best though.

[fernz]

Katyville is booming!

[cloud713]

This is in Katy Fernz? I thought it was between 45 and 610?

As for the "Grocery Distributor Warehouse" plot not being exciting.. I'm not sure every large available piece of property in the city is best suited for ultra dense mixed use developments with towers..

[H-Town Man]

This is in Katy Fernz? I thought it was between 45 and 610?

As for the "Grocery Distributor Warehouse" plot not being exciting.. I'm not sure every large available piece of property in the city is best suited for ultra dense mixed use developments with towers..

 

cloud713 with the false dichotomy of the morning! ;-)

 

Katyville is lingo from the Swamplot commenters for the quasi-suburban area a couple miles northwest of downtown that aspires to look and feel exactly like something along I-10 west of Highway 6.

[cousaji]

This is in Katy Fernz? I thought it was between 45 and 610?

As for the "Grocery Distributor Warehouse" plot not being exciting.. I'm not sure every large available piece of property in the city is best suited for ultra dense mixed use developments with towers..

 

Not disagreeing with you that not every plot needs to be mixed use, full of towers, blah blah...Trust me, I think the constant cry for mixed use on this site is way excessive (and irritating at times). I'm just saying that taking a huge parcel of land like this (Grocer's Supply) and throwing in a retail development with seas of head-in parking kind of sucks and I would hope for at least a slightly more urban, pedestrian model in an area that's experiencing pretty rapid growth. But I know these developers do their due diligence (and have figured out what will work best for their bottom line $$) and have the right to put up whatever they want. I'm just hoping that the owners of the tile plant have a better model in mind. 

[cloud713]

cloud713 with the false dichotomy of the morning! ;-)

Katyville is lingo from the Swamplot commenters for the quasi-suburban area a couple miles northwest of downtown that aspires to look and feel exactly like something along I-10 west of Highway 6.

Ahh... I don't comment on swamplot much. Thanks

[fernz]

Ahh... I don't comment on swamplot much. Thanks

I don't either. But I did comment last week, and I made it into a Chronicle article!

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Muttering-about-a-micro-park-5631404.php?cmpid=twitter-premium&t=fb5829de14d90d0955

[Timoric]

-

Edited July 8, 2019 by Timoric

[IronTiger]

I wouldn't complain that Houston's becoming too "suburban" especially since the historically low-density did that years ago. In the 1970s, the Heights got a Kmart (decades before the maligned Walmart near I-10) and Montrose got a Kroger (with a relatively large parking lot) with the gamut of fast food (Wendy's, Burger King, McDonald's) in that same era. And no one here is arguing that Montrose is too "suburban" (at least, I hope not).

[Purpledevil]

IronTiger, are you referring to the Kmart at 1431 West 20th? Because it opened earlier than the 70s, I believe it was opened in the early to mid 60s actually.

Any idea what will become of Arne's with all this new development going on around it? The old girl is beginning to stick out like a sore thumb.

[Specwriter]

Any idea what will become of Arne's with all this new development going on around it? The old girl is beginning to stick out like a sore thumb.

 

I agree Arne's is in jeopardy because of the increasing value of the land but wouldn't it be a pity to loose the place. Architecturally the building is a cipher but the stuff inside and the way it is piled in there is a hoot. I've bought everything from chew toys for my dog to Cinderella themed plates, napkins, and table decorations for my daughter's 4th birthday party to a 6 quart pressure cooker for my kitchen (for a fraction of the price at a department store, BTW) at Arne's. My wife just got a new dog and bought all kinds of accessories for the pooch there for half what they would have cost at P--co.

 

[Angostura]

Not disagreeing with you that not every plot needs to be mixed use, full of towers, blah blah...Trust me, I think the constant cry for mixed use on this site is way excessive (and irritating at times). I'm just saying that taking a huge parcel of land like this (Grocer's Supply) and throwing in a retail development with seas of head-in parking kind of sucks and I would hope for at least a slightly more urban, pedestrian model in an area that's experiencing pretty rapid growth. But I know these developers do their due diligence (and have figured out what will work best for their bottom line $$) and have the right to put up whatever they want. I'm just hoping that the owners of the tile plant have a better model in mind. 

 

 

The problem lies in the fact that they ARE large parcels of land.  We'd be much more likely to end up with dense, urban development if these parcels were divided up into chunks from 1/10 to 1/2 acres with a street grid overlaid and platted for 5-ft setbacks.  Individual buyers could then mix use to their hearts' content: commercial, retail, single-family, small multi-family, small vertical mixed-use, etc.

 

Big chunks of land end up getting big boxes and big parking lots because it's 20 times easier to lease 60,000 s.f. at a time than 3000 s.f. at a time.

[s3mh]

I believe Arne's owns the land.  They have done a decent job of beating back the tax man without having to pay a law firm $150k to sue the county.  The store still prints money.  Every time I go there, the cash registers are screaming along.  People moving inside the loop will shop there for kids birthday parties, Halloween/Christmas supplies and pet stuff.  There are still plenty of Spanish speakers inside the loop to buy the Quinceanera stuff.  It is such a Houston institution and still relevant commercially that I think they can hang on to the location as long as they want. 

 

The main problem with Katyville is that it is an inefficient use of very scarce land.  When you underbuild, you cause inflation in real estate prices as land becomes more and more scarce without meeting demand.  The Walmart and Target properties could have been built up with an additional1,000 multifamily units and still had the same retail square footage.  But when they were developed, no one foresaw the current demand.  So, now there is again a big opportunity as the 1st Ward de-industrializes.  Developers can make good money strip malling up these properties, but their short term gain will result in long term pain for inner loop real estate. 

 

Also, the 1st Ward is truly a diamond in the rough.  The stretch of Washington Ave between Sawyer and Downtown has the potential to be the best stretch of restaurants/bars/retail and residential in all of Houston.  There is plenty of land for parking.  It is close enough to downtown that you can get lunch and after work business.  It is right off of the bayou and can attract lots of residential development.  But if every big tract ends up with a couple of strip malls on it, the momentum to redevelop the 1st Ward will not be as strong as it could be.

[arche_757]

I feel like the name: Studemont Junction deserves this as a mascot

 

 

 

[s3mh]

ftp://edrc.houstontx.gov/2014/Applications//2014-1417/SubdivisionPlatPDF_s%2014134150%20R2%20%207-11-14%20Model%20(1).pdf

 

Sullivan Brothers platted the Detering property kitty corner to the southeast for 25 lots.  

[Angostura]

ftp://edrc.houstontx.gov/2014/Applications//2014-1417/SubdivisionPlatPDF_s%2014134150%20R2%20%207-11-14%20Model%20(1).pdf

 

Sullivan Brothers platted the Detering property kitty corner to the southeast for 25 lots.  

 

 

Link requires a password.

[Tower26]

290 & Beltway 8 ,90A & West Junction ,I-59/69,Sugarland, I-10/Channelview & Beltway 8 ,I-45 would be ideal locations for a bigger Grocer's Supply warehouse. Grocery retail is rapidly growing as the city expands meaning more jobs . It would create more variety in produce , dry foods , specialty foods and poultry . Being directly on a interstate would be good for local delivery traffic and arrival delivery traffic . Being located near freight rail would be essential due to refrigeration and container traffic importing huge quantities of perisheable items by rail . Rail to dock would be utilized quickly especially if it is being constructed near a SIT or Intermodal Classification yard . Food will spoil or expire if not kept in refrigeration or quickly shipped directly to the store especially poultry and dairy .

[Houston19514]

290 & Beltway 8 ,90A & West Junction ,I-59/69,Sugarland, I-10/Channelview & Beltway 8 ,I-45 would be ideal locations for a bigger Grocer's Supply warehouse. Grocery retail is rapidly growing as the city expands meaning more jobs . It would create more variety in produce , dry foods , specialty foods and poultry . Being directly on a interstate would be good for local delivery traffic and arrival delivery traffic . Being located near freight rail would be essential due to refrigeration and container traffic importing huge quantities of perisheable items by rail . Rail to dock would be utilized quickly especially if it is being constructed near a SIT or Intermodal Classification yard . Food will spoil or expire if not kept in refrigeration or quickly shipped directly to the store especially poultry and dairy .

 

Not sure what your point is.  Grocers Supply has already selected their new location.  Pinto Business Park on the southwest corner of Beltway 8 and Interstate 45 North.

 

[Mab]

http://ucr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Studemont-St-Junc_Mktg_Book_06-30-14.pdf