Hotel Saint Augustine At 4110 Loretto Dr.

[tigereye]

New project by Austin’s Bunkhouse Group. They’ve previously done El Cosmico (Marfa), Hotel San Jose & Hotel Saint Cecila (Austin), Hotel Havana (San Antonio), and Hotel Phoenix (San Francisco) 

Unlike their past projects, this will be new construction adjacent to the Menil. Opens Fall 2023

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/lifestyle/home-design/article/Austin-s-hip-Bunkhouse-group-plans-cool-hotel-16378230.php?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&fbclid=IwAR3CHIF3EC16GTTokNUWNNBS75uNJb49cMiUOT-7MOuC-x5f_mQamjy9UKQ

[Urbannizer]

[Houston19514]

Here to do the Chron reporter's job:

It is apparently in the 4100 block of Loretto.  (There does not seem to be a 2100 block of Loretto in the City of Houston.)

Assuming the reporter had the name of the street and adjacency to The Menil correct, the Menil must be somehow involved in this (either as landlord or joint venturer), as they own all of the land on both sides of Loretto St.

[gene]

this is amazing news...i have stayed at Hotel Saint Cecilia before and man that place is amazing and so darn cool! Jake Gyllenhaal was staying there at the same time btw! 

anyway...don't know if you all remember but originally these owners were looking at the land where Cane's Chicken Montrose is now but when the economy went down, so did their plans. I am so excited they have decided to open up a Houston hotel after all, as they are one of the best at small boutique hotels with exceptional service. 

 

[iah77]

1 hour ago, gene said:

this is amazing news...i have stayed at Hotel Saint Cecilia before and man that place is amazing and so darn cool! Jake Gyllenhaal was staying there at the same time btw! 

anyway...don't know if you all remember but originally these owners were looking at the land where Cane's Chicken Montrose is now but when the economy went down, so did their plans. I am so excited they have decided to open up a Houston hotel after all, as they are one of the best at small boutique hotels with exceptional service. 

 

Liz Lambert who made the group what it is what fired from her own company a few months ago so this hotel is not going to be as detail oriented as past proejcts but a welcome addition anyways. Very good article in Texas Monthly on her this month! 

https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/liz-lambert-next-act/

 

[gene]

wow that is surprising news! will definitely read that article...thanks @iah77! 

[Houston19514]

31 minutes ago, iah77 said:

Liz Lambert who made the group what it is what fired from her own company a few months ago so this hotel is not going to be as detail oriented as past proejcts but a welcome addition anyways. Very good article in Texas Monthly on her this month! 

https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/liz-lambert-next-act/

 

According to the article, I think it was almost two years ago...

[clutchcity94]

Is one of the existing buildings getting torn down because that lot looks awfully small?

[hindesky]

Hip soundtracks, ecelctic furnishings and luxurious touches combine for memorable experiences at Bunkhouse properties such as Hotel Saint Cecilia and Hotel San Jose in Austin, Hotel Havana in San Antonio and El Cosmico hotel in Marfa.

Next, the Austin-based hospitality group will bring its design/music/community driven program to Houston at Hotel Saint Augustine, which is expected to open in fall 2023.

“As with all Bunkhouse hotels, Hotel Saint Augustine will be deeply rooted with a sense of place,” said Amar Lalvani, CEO of Standard Hotels and Bunkhouse Group. “Houston is a vibrant, culturally rich city. We’re honored to be adjacent to the internationally renowned Menil Collection, an art museum that we adore.”

The hotel will be located on the 4100 block of Loretto Drive, adjacent to the Menil Collection in Montrose, and will consist of 71 rooms on two floors, plus an event space, restaurant and bar.

Lake / Flato architects will design the structure, Post Company will handle interiors, and the grounds will be designed by Ten Eyck Landscape Architects. The Marchbanks Company is the project’s developer.

While Hotel Saint Augustine will be a new construction, other Bunkhouse projects have revived existing buildings, such as the 1956 motor court lodge in San Francisco that is now the Phoenix Hotel. In Marfa, its El Cosmico property includes trailers, teepees and yurts for overnight guests.

diane.cowen@chron.com

Edited August 12, 2021 by hindesky

[Houston19514]

10 hours ago, clutchcity94 said:

Is one of the existing buildings getting torn down because that lot looks awfully small?

Possible.  The Menil Foundation owns the entire block.  But the hotel could also be going in on the east side of the street.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

4 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

But the hotel could also be going in on the east side of the street.

Not according to the Menil campus master plan.

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[X.R.]

I wonder how big the parking podium will be...😝

The first thing that comes to mind is A) love this part of the city, and B) this feels like that "fine grain" development I've seen others post about when it comes to elevating a neighborhood. @Houston19514are you saying they are going to destroy everyone's favorite dog park and weirdly open space?? Thanks @iah77for the article, gonna read over lunch.

[Houston19514]

1 hour ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Not according to the Menil campus master plan.

 

 

I don't think either side of the street matches their master plan...  (There are different versions out there... where did you find this one?)

Edited August 12, 2021 by Houston19514

[MidCenturyMoldy]

1 hour ago, Houston19514 said:

I don't think either side of the street matches their master plan...  (There are different versions out there... where did you find this one?)

There is currently a big empty lot on the east side of Loretto Drive, just south of the Menil Drawing Institute, which corresponds exactly to a park space in the master plan. The image comes from a thread in this forum, the link to which is right under the plan image in my post.

Edited August 12, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[Urbannizer]

That master plan image is from 2018. Things could be different by now.

[bobruss]

I think these plans are right. The park will be much smaller than it currently is and they will be adding phase two to the east side of current park and phase 3 on the Richmond side or southern side of the existing lot. There is a letter that has been sent out to the residents and I have a copy. It says the project will be low key. the building will follow the campus height of 2 stories and they will require the hotel to keep the signage and the outdoor lighting at a minimum. They also say that they will expect the property to keep a low profile as far as outdoor music and the like. This is definitely going to be an extremely popular destination for art collectors around the world interested in spending a long weekend in Houston touring the world class art institutes in the Montrose area. If you haven't seen the article in Travel and Leisure you should Google. It says Houston with the addition of the new Kinder building and the Menil campus Houston has become the new Mecca for Art in America. Great article. Several collector tour groups have already established artist studio visits to possibly buy Houston artists works this fall.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

29 minutes ago, Urbannizer said:

That master plan image is from 2018. Things could be different by now.

Maybe so, but my response was to the suggestion that "neither side of the street matches" the master plan. As it stands right now, the east side of the street (vacant lot = park) matches the plan perfectly.

Edited August 12, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[Valhalla]

name a single master plan that's ever been followed perfectly 

[kbates2]

16 minutes ago, Valhalla said:

name a single master plan that's ever been followed perfectly 

Inside Man?

[MidCenturyMoldy]

1 hour ago, bobruss said:

 If you haven't seen the article in Travel and Leisure you should Google. It says Houston with the addition of the new Kinder building and the Menil campus Houston has become the new Mecca for Art in America. Great article. Several collector tour groups have already established artist studio visits to possibly buy Houston artists works this fall.

Saw it last week. Here's the link: https://www.booktandl.com/trip-inspiration/houston-art-museums-kinder-menil-turrell-rothko 

I was a little disappointed at first when I read that the author lives in Texas (Austin). Then it became apparent he isn't from Texas, he seems to be from NYC and just lives here part of the year, so I felt all better again. 😉

[Houston19514]

1 hour ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Maybe so, but my response was to the suggestion that "neither side of the street matches" the master plan. As it stands right now, the east side of the street (vacant lot = park) matches the plan perfectly.

My point was that a hotel on either side of the street appears to be a departure from the Master Plan, so the Master Plan doesn't really tell us much about which side of the street it might be on.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

1 hour ago, Houston19514 said:

My point was that a hotel on either side of the street appears to be a departure from the Master Plan

Maybe, except there is a building on the master plan exactly where the hotel is to be located (Southwest corner of Loretto and W. Main).

[Houston19514]

13 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

Maybe, except there is a building on the master plan exactly where the hotel is to be located (Southwest corner of Loretto and W. Main).

Yes there is, but I'm pretty the master plan did not contemplate it being a hotel/event space.  

[H-Town Man]

I wonder how they chose Saint Augustine as the name. He is one of my favorite saints, but was this decision based on any specific aspect of his life or theology? Surely some thought went into it. Perhaps they wanted to show their separation from (and yet collegiality with) the University of St. Thomas by picking a Western saint as opposed to the Eastern saints the university is associated with (St. Thomas and St. Basil)? Perhaps they wanted to endorse St. Augustine's teachings on original sin, the need for grace, the City of God vs. the City of Man? Or, on the other hand, perhaps it is a nod to the St. Augustine grass which grows so abundantly in the area?

 

Edited August 13, 2021 by H-Town Man

[J Money]

Perhaps to complement st Thomas aquinas, for which UST is named? Two of the better known thinkers in the church, it could help sell the area as sophisticated / educated. 

[H-Town Man]

12 minutes ago, jmosele said:

Perhaps to complement st Thomas aquinas, for which UST is named? Two of the better known thinkers in the church, it could help sell the area as sophisticated / educated. 

Ah! I was thinking it was named for St. Thomas the Apostle. So much for the East/West theory. Yes, perhaps this was their intent - to unite the two greatest doctors of the Latin church. A more Neo-Platonic complement to the university's Scholasticism.

 

 

[ATH]

The site is on the south side of West Main between Loretto and Mandel.

[Houston19514]

9 hours ago, ATH said:

The site is on the south side of West Main between Loretto and Mandel.

Do you know how much of that block it will take?

[ATH]

9 hours ago, Houston19514 said:

Do you know how much of that block it will take?

I recall it taking the entire block: West Main to Colquitt and Mandell to Loretto.

[hindesky]

Rode by a couple of possible places, parking lot and old unused garden style apartment complex.

 

 

[Texasota]

The full block seems too big for 71 rooms.

I could see them keeping all the houses facing W Main and using the rest of the block though. Or maybe that's just what I'd prefer they do.

Or maybe they even keep some of the existing buildings and convert them for use by the hotel.

Somebody get me a site plan!

[Skyboxdweller]

I paid $30 to park my Roofnest at El Cosmico last Thanksgiving.  Do you think they will set aside spots for campers like me? 

0B266E84-6475-485C-9542-7BA5FB99B872.heic

Edited August 16, 2021 by Skyboxdweller

[wilcal]

I'm pretty sure the CoH has extremely stringent requirements for anything RV-park related, so I doubt it. That would  be something to see, though! 

[hindesky]

State permits. Address is ambiguous but I would suspect those 2 apartments would be my first guess. They are both empty.

Architect - https://www.lakeflato.com

Edited April 9, 2022 by hindesky

[j_cuevas713]

This is huge. I hope that other boutique hotel gets built in Montrose. We need more hotels in our neighborhoods. 

[hindesky]

https://www.bunkhousegroup.com

[hindesky]

New plat for the San Augustine hotel. Looks like it will take up the whole block. The Neartown Association is having a meeting with the Director of Project Development for the Menil on April 26th at 7pm.

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by hindesky

[talltexan83]

This will be a great addition to the Menil master plan and a welcome new hotel option for those visiting the Museum District/Montrose/Rice area.  I believe Menil also owns the entire block bounded by Mandell/Richmond/Colquitt/Loretto (??).......hopefully this new hotel coincides with some additional investment in that block and parking lot/maintenance barn.  There is a lot of potential on the block, but everything west of the Dan Flavin installation is looking particularly neglected these days. 

 

[Amlaham]

Wow so they're going to demolish those 10 buildings? Definitely not opposed lol, those apartment buildings are beyond out of shape!

[j_cuevas713]

I have a feeling this is going to spark more density along Richmond Ave. Plus I seriously can’t wait for Metro to build the University Line. 

[hindesky]

Slides from the presentation. The slide we have all seen is from Loretto St. facing the lobby area.

Landscape architects.

https://www.teneyckla.com

Edited April 27, 2022 by hindesky

[august948]

On 8/13/2021 at 11:42 AM, H-Town Man said:

Ah! I was thinking it was named for St. Thomas the Apostle. So much for the East/West theory. Yes, perhaps this was their intent - to unite the two greatest doctors of the Latin church. A more Neo-Platonic complement to the university's Scholasticism.

 

 

You may have overthought this one...apparently Hotel St Cecilia was named so because she is the patron saint of music. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/travel/02checkin.html

I would guess, then, that Hotel St. Augustine is being named for a similar reason.  St Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, and theologians.  Make of that what you will...😉

[trymahjong]

I also viewed the lovely  presentation at the Neartown meeting. There was a question posed concerning security patrols. It was responded to in a throw away type answer…. No need for walking security till nightime….there will be cameras and people everywhere…..a lot of eyes and ears.

hmmmmmmm my own experience with one nest camera and one ring camera => great pictures of what happened and who did it BUT Houston criminals didn’t get memo that cameras were a crime deterrent IMO cameras aren’t that great to lead towards arrest and conviction. And about all those eyes and ears… I am remindered that COH gave the same Schpeel over security at Avondale promenade park “ no worries there will be lots of dog owners in dog park at all hours….. That turned out to be untrue and the park has been vandalized => in ground plants keep getting stolen  sigh.

The entire presentation centered on the openness, accessibility and freedom to move about this property and surrounding museums. Gotcha! But crime has really increased the past 2 years…. Sure violent crime, but also purse snatching, assaults and even panhandling. Attend one of the Central 1&2 Division PIP meetings and you see the statistics. I am surprised then that more thought didn’t go into the problem of adequate  security.

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by trymahjong

[H-Town Man]

11 hours ago, august948 said:

You may have overthought this one...apparently Hotel St Cecilia was named so because she is the patron saint of music. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/travel/02checkin.html

I would guess, then, that Hotel St. Augustine is being named for a similar reason.  St Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, and theologians.  Make of that what you will...😉

Since there is no brewery or large printing press nearby, but there is a university with theologians nearby, I'm guessing it's theologians... which pretty much dovetails with what I said before. St. Thomas and St. Augustine are the two greatest theologians in the Catholic tradition.

It COULD still be St. Augustine grass, but I'm not seeing much of that in the renderings....

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by H-Town Man

[iah77]

2 hours ago, trymahjong said:

I also viewed the lovely  presentation at the Neartown meeting. There was a question posed concerning security patrols. It was responded to in a throw away type answer…. No need for walking security till nightime….there will be cameras and people everywhere…..a lot of eyes and ears.

hmmmmmmm my own experience with one nest camera and one ring camera => great pictures of what happened and who did it BUT Houston criminals didn’t get memo that cameras were a crime deterrent IMO cameras aren’t that great to lead towards arrest and conviction. And about all those eyes and ears… I am remindered that COH gave the same Schpeel over security at Avondale promenade park “ no worries there will be lots of dog owners in dog park at all hours….. That turned out to be untrue and the park has been vandalized => in ground plants keep getting stolen  sigh.

The entire presentation centered on the openness, accessibility and freedom to move about this property and surrounding museums. Gotcha! But crime has really increased the past 2 years…. Sure violent crime, but also purse snatching, assaults and even panhandling. Attend one of the Central 1&2 Division PIP meetings and you see the statistics. I am surprised then that more thought didn’t go into the problem of adequate  security.

 

I agree it looks like a potential issue but why do you feel this is the hotel's problem? Shouldn't the blame be on the city? It's getting very expensive to put these extra responsibilities on not so large businesses. 

I was surprised how suburban it feels for the land values in that area.  They are tearing down a lot and seems like not replacing it with much.

[august948]

1 hour ago, H-Town Man said:

Since there is no brewery or large printing press nearby, but there is a university with theologians nearby, I'm guessing it's theologians... which pretty much dovetails with what I said before. St. Thomas and St. Augustine are the two greatest theologians in the Catholic tradition.

It COULD still be St. Augustine grass, but I'm not seeing much of that in the renderings....

 

You may be right, and I'd certainly vote for St Augustine grass, but I don't usually credit developers/businesses for putting deep thought into things like this.  So, theologians yes, but I suspect due entirely to the presence of the university and not one iota due to the impact St Augustine made.  I'd bet that they considered calling it the St Thomas originally but backed off to avoid any fights with the university.

[Luminare]

2 hours ago, iah77 said:

I agree it looks like a potential issue but why do you feel this is the hotel's problem? Shouldn't the blame be on the city? It's getting very expensive to put these extra responsibilities on not so large businesses. 

I was surprised how suburban it feels for the land values in that area.  They are tearing down a lot and seems like not replacing it with much.

Also its....again....an unrestricted reserve. They can do LITERALLY whatever they want. They can put a 10' tall fence in the name of "security" and the same people would complain about it. The developer has zero responsibility in regards to crime in the area. That is the responsibility of the city. If people are worried about crime then complain to the city, don't shoulder that onto the developer. The only security the developer needs to worry about is its own, and for a hotel the whole point of a hotel is to make an experience as seamless and easy as possible to get to where you want to go and do what you want to do.

1 hour ago, august948 said:

You may be right, and I'd certainly vote for St Augustine grass, but I don't usually credit developers/businesses for putting deep thought into things like this.  So, theologians yes, but I suspect due entirely to the presence of the university and not one iota due to the impact St Augustine made.  I'd bet that they considered calling it the St Thomas originally but backed off to avoid any fights with the university.

Depends. Some developers really do put a lot of effort into what the name will be, and some put it off until the very last minute. I like the name St. Augustine. Feels like it fits.

As for the name being named after St. Augustine grass, while that would be hilarious...I'm going to table my actual opinions on St. Augustine grass. To put it lightly I'd rather throw every palette of that grass into a massive bonfire.

[H-Town Man]

2 hours ago, august948 said:

You may be right, and I'd certainly vote for St Augustine grass, but I don't usually credit developers/businesses for putting deep thought into things like this.  So, theologians yes, but I suspect due entirely to the presence of the university and not one iota due to the impact St Augustine made.  I'd bet that they considered calling it the St Thomas originally but backed off to avoid any fights with the university.

Well... you can't really separate anything named "Augustine" from the impact that St. Augustine made. That impact is why things are still being named after him 16 centuries later. Or named after things that were named after him (like the grass is probably named after St. Augustine, Florida, which was named after him). Plus all the things named "Austin" are named after him or someone/something named after him (Austin was the medieval English shortening of Augustine).

My posts here are a little tongue-in-cheek. I don't think the developers of this hotel are having seminar discussions on City of God, etc.

 

[trymahjong]

Oh my……” Complain-to the City about crime” sounds so easy. I guess it should be easy, but a small police force trying to cover a huge population in a relatively large geographic area makes complaining harder;  the chance of addressing those complaints……even harder.

I guess it only takes one encounter with a horrible  criminal “ up close and personal “to give one a new point of view.

Ideas to prioritize crime and safety hum  in your brain……no one wants anyone else to be a victim of a similar encounter. …….so most of the questions one posts sound a bit uh naive?

IMO Any developer that works so hard to have state of the art staff that come up with  a dynamite architectural  look, greenery to die for and a charming business……….that developer surely can research and develop a new or “ out of the box” way to offer patrons more safety against crime than a lone watchman walking the perimeter at night.

[freundb]

22 hours ago, hindesky said:

SHE'S BACK!!!

Edited April 27, 2022 by freundb