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Sakowitz Department Store At 1111 Main St.


citykid09

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i guess in the world of instant commumication you could expect a response in 2 hours, but i was in a meeting, sorry. ;)

The project is moving slowly forward. In order for the landlord to give up the revenue from parking and convert the space back into retail, there needs to be several leases in place, which AA is one of. There are several other leases that are close and I expect the momentum to really pick up with construction starting sometime Feb and a store opening July/August.

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i guess in the world of instant commumication you could expect a response in 2 hours, but i was in a meeting, sorry. ;)
The project is moving slowly forward. In order for the landlord to give up the revenue from parking and convert the space back into retail, there needs to be several leases in place, which AA is one of. There are several other leases that are close and I expect the momentum to really pick up with construction starting sometime Feb and a store opening July/August.

Greetings Houston Retail...

I do understand that discretion is tantamount within your obvious profession, but just what are you indicating here?

Apparently, we were all under the impression for months that this project was a BIG GO! I for one just cannot imagine the landlord was making all that much of a financial windfall on parking leases within that particular building.......for whom would have guessed?

Seems to me that a bit of momentum, as well as a few prior pronouncements from just across the street "HOUSTON PAVILIONS PROJECT" are starting to produce the standard "sugarplums" effect as in greed...... from a few property owners.

Also, and once again I do respect that you may not be able to reveal too much on some prospects, but are there going to be a few surprises to go along with the American Apparel store within that same building? I am most certain that with the announcement that the "TIRZ" process has accomplished and that the HP project is now in the rapid planning stages as we speak, that there is going to be a lot of prospective merchants wanting to join in on this momentum and getting in while they can.

HOOK'EM HORNS! .......surely someone has created a burnt orange rose by now.....

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we all thought that the shamrock was a big go as well.

Im not saying that the sakowitz is not going to happen, to the contrary, Im confident that sakowitz is happening, im just saying not to believe anything until it has happened. sorry for the circular logic, but you know what i mean.

I may have gone into too much detail about the structure of the deal, but it should only make sense that the landlord needs to have signed leases before he spends out of pocket money to convert the space. But not to worry, as I said the other leases are close to execution.

And yeah, im sure sakowitz will have some surprises, some of which, i dont know about!

lastly, thanks for respecting the fact that some of us on the board do work in the "industry" and cant always reveal privledged information.

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we all thought that the shamrock was a big go as well.

Im not saying that the sakowitz is not going to happen, to the contrary, Im confident that sakowitz is happening, im just saying not to believe anything until it has happened. sorry for the circular logic, but you know what i mean.

I may have gone into too much detail about the structure of the deal, but it should only make sense that the landlord needs to have signed leases before he spends out of pocket money to convert the space. But not to worry, as I said the other leases are close to execution.

And yeah, im sure sakowitz will have some surprises, some of which, i dont know about!

lastly, thanks for respecting the fact that some of us on the board do work in the "industry" and cant always reveal privledged information.

Of course, but thanks for sharing your insights anyway. They are always informative.

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it is still a beautiful building blank wall or not it is very interesting kind like monument.

Yeah, I can kind of see what you mean [Foley's across the street] but Sakowitiz was not completely blank- walled. Check out the Main and Dallas street sides. I think I remember having lunch in one of those windows with my sisters and my mom a few times. Can't remember if it was on Main or Dallas...might have even been Fannin. Jeez, ya know? I'm like into my 50's-cut me a break :lol:

B)

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So shopping occupied ALL the levels in the building in downtown? How in the world did they convert it into parking? What a waste!

easy cowboy, this building was saved from the wrecking ball only because it was converted into a garage. Otherwise, it would have been torn down and a garage would have been built in its place in the 80's

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I wonder what was up with all the blank faced wall department stores going up in those days.

Air conditioning, my friend. A building without windows made a clear atatement that the building was air conditioned. I'm sure that not having windows allowed more efficient use of the interior as well, but, like Foley's, I believe, showing off air conditioning in the 50s was a big deal.

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I worked at Battlestein's one summer while I was in High School. Switched over to Foley's that fall, lots more business so we didn't stand around with nothing to do. They got bought out by Beall's I thought -- at least the one in Sharpstown Mall did.

This was back in the days when retail stores were closed on Sundays and only opened till 9 pm on Mondays & Thursdays. We used to stand around Mon & Thurs night with an average of about 4 customers a night. The ceiling in that store sort of looked like the underside of an egg carton, and we'd kill time by throwing some light weight object up to the ceiling to see if we could hit the high points.

It was that summer that Battlestein's FINALLY got electronic cash registers. Before that we had cash drawers and hand wrote tickets & figured in the tax manually. My sister had worked at Battlestein's a few years before that and they didn't even have cash drawers -- instead, they wrote up the ticket and sent that along with the customer's money or credit card to the cash office via a canister similar to what you see in drive-though banks. Isn't that funny!?

Thanks for letting me reminisce.

Back on topic, I also remember Sakowitz II on Nasa Road 1. I worked for IBM (for Nasa) for a semester in college so I used to drive out to Clear Lake every day, and I shopped at that Sakowitz II sometimes at lunch. It was a pretty small store with not much selection.

Battelsteins.jpg

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I did not think Palais Royal was originally from Houston. Seems like I aways sent their credit card payment somewhere out of state...

Sakowitz was a bit out of my family's price range, but we did go there occasionaly to look around. We did a lot of shopping at Joskey's. I too worked at Foley's in high school..and love the downtown location.

The thing that sticks out the most to me....in looking at those old pictures of the inside of Sakowitz is how glamorous the store was...and how much room there was. My major complaint about department stores now is that are overstocked with inventory. You cannot move between the racks of cloths.

I remember years ago it was such a treat to spend hours in a store and really enjoy shopping. Now days I rush in, hope I can find what I'm looking for and get out as fast as I can. Who wants to spend time in a store that feels like the merchandise is going to attack at any moment?

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I did not think Palais Royal was originally from Houston. Seems like I aways sent their credit card payment somewhere out of state...

Sakowitz was a bit out of my family's price range, but we did go there occasionaly to look around. We did a lot of shopping at Joskey's. I too worked at Foley's in high school..and love the downtown location.

The thing that sticks out the most to me....in looking at those old pictures of the inside of Sakowitz is how glamorous the store was...and how much room there was. My major complaint about department stores now is that are overstocked with inventory. You cannot move between the racks of cloths.

I remember years ago it was such a treat to spend hours in a store and really enjoy shopping. Now days I rush in, hope I can find what I'm looking for and get out as fast as I can. Who wants to spend time in a store that feels like the merchandise is going to attack at any moment?

Palais Royal is owned by Stage Stores but was started by the Margolis family in Houston. Their HQ is on Main. They also own Bealls.

I still buy clothes at 43rd because I can find nice quality men's clothes without feeling like I'm getting mauled.

B)

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Palais Royal is owned by Stage Stores but was started by the Margolis family in Houston. Their HQ is on Main. They also own Bealls.

I still buy clothes at 43rd because I can find nice quality men's clothes without feeling like I'm getting mauled.

B)

We need to put name stickers on so we recognize each other..seems we travel same circles often.

PR on 43rd is about the only Dept Store I go to anymore. But you have to admit, even they have way too many racks of cloths in such a small store. :rolleyes:

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We need to put name stickers on so we recognize each other..seems we travel same circles often.

PR on 43rd is about the only Dept Store I go to anymore. But you have to admit, even they have way too many racks of cloths in such a small store. :rolleyes:

I agree. It's harder for the women. The men's dept is right by the front door and isn't that large to begin with.

I'll be wearing this: B)

B)

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  • 1 month later...

According to the print edition of Houston Business Journal, American Apparel is "still working on a lease". Looks like they've been working on it since last April.

The same article mentions that a hair salon called Uncle Funkys Daughter is looking at space at 1111 Main. A high-end clothing and home furnishings store called Habita has received a grant for a store on the block.

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A high-end clothing and home furnishings store called Habita has received a grant for a store on the block.

Was it "Habita" or "Habitat"? Habitat is a furniture store chain based in England. It would be cool if the first one (?) in the US was in Houston!

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so what? i'm guessing this project is just a "Nogo". last time i was in Houston, the same posters were on the window and i'm more than sure nothing has changed ever since. Even Dallas's American Apparel has become a reality before Houston's. Dallas's store is already open at Mockingbird Station.

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so what? i'm guessing this project is just a "Nogo". last time i was in Houston, the same posters were on the window and i'm more than sure nothing has changed ever since. Even Dallas's American Apparel has become a reality before Houston's. Dallas's store is already open at Mockingbird Station.

True, but Mockingbird Station already is built, with potential customers coming and going. It is entirely possible that the buildout of this property will coincide with the Pavillions opening, slated for late 2007.

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True, but Mockingbird Station already is built, with potential customers coming and going. It is entirely possible that the buildout of this property will coincide with the Pavillions opening, slated for late 2007.

There is also an American Apperal going into Montrose.

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