ljchou

Starting a new topic for this:

Concept neighborhood purchased the former WKM buildings surrounding 201 Roberts Street.

See article below:

Quote

An ambitious group of entrepreneurs aims to transform a four-acre warehouse complex in Houston’s East End into a walkable, mixed-use district that could become an example of socially conscious real estate development in one of the most rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods in Texas.

Houston real estate firm Concept Neighborhood plans to convert more than four blocks of mostly historic properties into a destination filled with hyperlocal businesses, boutique retail, restaurants and small office spaces. Construction is set to begin in late 2022 on the redevelopment of the roughly 80-year-old buildings that once housed the oil and gas equipment manufacturer W-K-M.

The proposed redevelopment, which encompasses nearly 145,000 square feet spread across several sites around 201 Roberts Street, is a few blocks away from another Concept Neighborhood project, The Plant, a 20,000 square-foot mixed-use development on Harrisburg Boulevard, about 1.5 miles east of downtown. Together the projects could bring more change to the 16-square mile East End district, where urban professionals are flocking, property values are rising, and new cafes, condos and storefronts are popping up in the once predominantly industrial area.

Concept Neighborhood’s goal is to create a collection of small businesses reminiscent of the pedestrian-friendly Midtown Houston or the Bishop Arts District in Dallas. The properties are a few blocks from MetroRail’s Green Line, unlocking the potential for a walkable district that urban planners typically only dream of in Houston.

“It will be like Brooklyn in the South,” said Jeff Kaplan, 43, a principal of Concept Neighborhood, who previously helped to develop the popular Midtown beer garden Axelrad with a handful of others.

Kaplan, who lives in the East End, has long had a passion for the concept that residents should be able to access most daily needs within walking or rail-transit distance. His co-principals in Concept Neighborhood - Dave Seeberger, a former private equity professional, David Kelley, a co-housing developer and founder of a community bank, and commercial real estate attorney Jeremy Roberts and former real estate broker Zachary Samet — share his vision. Urban designer and another Axelrad co-founder Monte Large and broker Andrea Daniel are also involved.

To get a sense of what Concept Neighborhood wants to create in the East End, take a look at The Plant, the adaptive reuse project that opened in 2020. Colorful murals advertise businesses inside, where splashes of pastel paint and hanging orb lanterns light up the hallways between boutiques and small offices.

In the mornings hip hop music emanates from the HAM Barber Studio as a barber cleans his tools for the day. Bicycle-riding baristas arrive at Café Louie, where they’ll craft oat-milk lattes alongside bakers painting pastries with melted butter. Next door at a bodega-style grocery shop, called Little Red Box Grocery, hipsters peruse locally-sourced tortilla chips alongside residents of a nearby affordable housing complex shopping with food stamps.

In 2016, when Kaplan first hatched the idea for The Plant, he said in an interview that his goal was to create a project that wasn’t “just for the yuppies moving into the neighborhood.” So far it seems that dream is coming to fruition. Overall 83 percent of the businesses in The Plant are owned by women, minorities or people who live in the neighborhood.

“What we have here is a really sustainable example of community wealth,” Kaplan said. “When a merchant is an entrepreneur tied to community, odds of success go up. It’s not just about the money, our neighbors are meaningfully invested in these businesses.”

Concept Neighborhood isn’t just leasing spaces, it’s aiming to help small businesses who might not otherwise have the resources to set up a storefront in a standard retail development. For example, in The Plant, Concept Neighborhood paid for a kitchen for one of its tenants, the frozen treat shop Popston opening soon, and is paying for a soon-to-be-built patio outside. Working with the investment firm Next Seed, Kaplan also assisted Cafe Louie’s owners in raising capital for their new restaurant in The Plant. For some tenants, Concept Neighborhood struck sliding-scale leasing agreements with rents rising as businesses prospered. The developer also provided pre-permitted, move-in ready spaces for tenants such as vintage store The Second Shop to minimize tenants’ set-up expenses and timeline.

The goal is to amplify that approach at the W-K-M redevelopment. The property’s historic designation will allow developers to tap into potentially $8 million worth in tax credits over several years, according to Concept Neighborhood. The location within an Opportunity Zone will also allow the developer to defer taxes on capital gains tied to their investment.

Concept Neighborhood purchased 16 buildings in the former W-K-M campus in December from the Grenader family, known for helping to convert a former textile mill into a mixed-use project, The Heights Clock Tower, among other projects in the Houston area.

The W-K-M properties have been in the family for more than 45 years, said Jonathan Grenader, 71. A few years ago he and his wife, Nonya, a retired architecture professor from Rice University, got the properties listed on the National Register of Historic places, enabling them to access tax credits to restore parts of the buildings into office and retail suites. But as they transitioned to semi-retirement, the two did not have the time or resources to redevelop the entire campus, they said. Instead, they sought to sell to a like-minded developers.

“We really admired (Concept Neighborhood’s) energy and their commitment to continue a certain legacy of the neighborhood, infusing new things and existing things together,” said Nonya Grenader, 68.

Concept Neighborhood plans to redevelop the W-K-M campus over the next four years. The handful of manufacturing tenants in the site will eventually exit the project as it transitions from heavy industrial uses, Kaplan said.

Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter on the first phase, which includes 50,000 square feet of retail and 23,000 square feet of office space, according to the developer. The redevelopment is expected to wrap up in 2026.

Like the rest of the East End, the neighborhood around the W-K-M campus is a mismatch of modernity and industrial relics of a bygone era when the district mostly served as manufacturing and shipping hub near the Houston Ship Channel. Less than a mile from the W-K-M site, the former Maxwell House coffee roasting plant looms over mid-rise warehouses, derelict properties with overgrown grass, chipped paint and semi-rusted structures.

In between, restored craftsman-style bungalows, art studios, trendy cafes and modern townhomes are signs of change in a neighborhood where the median household income has more than doubled in the past decade, according to Census data for the 77003 zip code.

The East End and adjacent East Downtown neighborhoods are peppered with projects converting, industrial sites into residential lofts, retail shops, cafes, restaurants, small offices and coworking spaces. North of the bayou, Midway’s 150-acre mixed-use development, East River, will dramatically reshape the northside of the East End while the nonprofit Buffalo Bayou Partnership has launched a 20-year, $200 million master plan to reimagine of the eastern side of the bayou

Many of these changes build off the expansion of light rail to the East End. Between 2017 and 2019, property values jumped 30 percent on land adjacent to the light rail line along Harrisburg Boulevard, said Veronica Chapa Gorczynski, president of the East End District, the economic development group.

What’s different about Concept Neighborhood’s approach is its efforts to create a transit-oriented neighborhood of hyperlocal businesses “where everyone's from the community and they can get around without being car dependent.”

“And,” she added, “that's the part where they really are breaking new ground and not just for the neighborhood, but I think they're breaking new ground for Houston.”

The vision of the future "Model T" building (I believe this is directly across from New Hope Housing):

Can one of y’all provide the text from this?

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Exclusive-Axelrad-developers-East-End-17291259.php

20 hours ago, EaDolivin said:

I heard a rumor that Bobby Huegel and Justin Yu are going to take over Night Shift as the 2nd 'Better Luck Tomorrow' but call it 'Better Luck Manana' with a focus on Bobby's beloved agave spirits.

Mind if I clarify whether this is a joke or from a reliable source?

Building pmt in the system! Let's goooo

Also, I've seen some permits for night shift (fire, smoke, elevator) -- are these annually required of vacant buildings or could this indicate someone readying the property?

Thanks!

2 hours ago, SMU1213 said:

Are those just short term covered land plays?

What does this mean? Masking a land play by paying for a cheap architectural drawing?

16 hours ago, Paco Jones said:

SOTO Night Club

 

🙅🏼‍♀️

There's a permit in the system for the 3rd floor to become an event venue. Great idea with such good downtown views.

There's another WW permit in the system for this location.

On 5/28/2022 at 8:56 AM, HoustonMidtown said:

In order to resume serving food, the trio hired chef Danny Leal. Known for his creative dishes at shuttered cocktail bar Night Shift, Leal will roll out a new menu of casual fare starting in June.

 

https://houston.culturemap.com/news/restaurants-bars/05-26-22-local-group-brewing-brewpub-restaurant-new-owner-distincture-hospitality/

I am so butthurt I’ll never experience those enchiladas again

6 hours ago, phillip_white said:

You would think one would need a permit to knock a hole in the side of building.

I can't find anything! Sneaky.

The property (1102 Sampson) is owned by Chadha Vikrant on HCAD. Linked to 3202 McKinney Street.

43 minutes ago, phillip_white said:

The permits mention partial demolition. I wonder if that means interior only or if they are going to knock down everything besides the two main structures to match up with the proposed site plan.

 

 

That makes sense! I didn't do too much research, just saw two demo permits and blindly associated them with the two buildings.

Two demo permits in the system for these buildings (in the pictures)

15 hours ago, thedistrict84 said:

They’re putting up a tall metal fence around this building, including the parking lot in the back. Certainly makes it less inviting from the sidewalk.

I thought there was supposed to be a cafe or some other small retail going in here? 

I think it’s just going to be offices 

4 hours ago, wilcal said:

Shit, so it is officially gone? So sad and stupid. 

No idea. I heard this from my boyfriend in insurance so there’s literally zero way to verify his statements. What he said is it sounds like it because it was so successful they’re trying to partially revive it? Not sure if it would be a new concept or similar. Feels like bad juju to reopen as is.

18 hours ago, DotCom said:

Looks like they are getting ready to break ground on the multifamily building.  Submitted Expedited permit app yesterday.

Project Details
Project No:	21083542
Date :	2022/05/10 00:00:00
USE :	NEW 93441 SF APARTMENT BUILDING 1-5-3-R2
Owner/Occupant :	*TRITEN EADO-THE MILL
Job Address :	2315 NAVIGATION BLVD BLD 5 77003
Valuation :	$ 0
Permit Type :	EC
FCC Group :	Apartments
Buyer :	RIOS JASMINE
Address :	11665 FUQUA ST STE E507 77034
Phone :	(832) 250-6429

Can you explain what an Expedited Com permit does? I was trying to google and couldn't find anything relevant. Thanks!

Heard through the longest grapevine that Bobby Heugel (anvil, squable, blt, tongue cut sparrow) may be eyeing the former Night Shift location to try for a similar concept.

14 hours ago, wilcal said:

I think we are conflating two different pieces of property.

Purple are the townhomes and green is the one that I  was talking about that is going to be the highish-rise.

The light rail stop IS directly in front of the green arrow lot FWIW 😜

Thanks for clarifying! This topic is about the purple.

You can find information on the green here:

@wilcalThe to-be built townhomes are already listed on zillow (https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/510-Sampson-St-Houston-TX-77003/2063375570_zpid/)

Perhaps they're just gauging interest?

1 hour ago, wilcal said:

This is on the planning commission agenda this week. Asking for a variance to create one lot and one reserve.

Evidently the plan is to open another restaurant in the former space and add in one lot between it and the neighbor. 

Can you share the agenda item? Hopefully they'll demo the current structure. Who are the POCs on the topic?

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/510-Sampson-St-Houston-TX-77003/2063375570_zpid/

They were having an event yesterday, not sure if they’ll do a soft opening before may 11. The inside looks great

21 hours ago, wilcal said:

Also, do we have a thread about the SW corner of Milby @ Navigation?

Looks like some site work is happening. 

I haven't seen anything. Is it just the empty lot you're referring to?

There's a new Business Permit in the system for "Ture Anomaly Brewly - Navigation"

Not the best spelling, but I smell an upgrade, perhaps in prep for the 45/59 expansion?

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/4001-Navigation-Blvd-Houston-TX/19841403/