serious

Just got this email as a response to mine:

Good afternoon,

My name is Mark Hanna, and I am working with the owners of the property at 1801 Ashland. Your email was forwarded to me as I have asked to be informed of any communications regarding the unfortunate demolition of the house that stood on this site.

All of us fully understand and associate with the feelings regarding the destruction of historical buildings in the Greater Houston area. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of misinformation concerning the Ashland house.

What you may not know is that for almost a year, the current owners of this house were in the process of restoring the property to open a restaurant, slated to open this spring or early summer. Recently, soon after the interior demo had been completed, it was discovered that the many additions, renovations and alterations that had been made on this building over the years had so damaged the structural integrity of the building, the contractors deemed it both unsafe and unsalvageable. Our contractors, by the way, have been active in saving and restoring old properties - and been awarded for their efforts. We explored the possibility of selling the house and having it moved but were informed the structure would not survive.

Our decision to demolish the building comes at both an emotional and financial loss. We did salvage as much of the home as possible, and it will be incorporated in the building to be constructed. Our architects are now working on a design which we assure you will be very compatible to the historic nature of the Heights. At such a time when the exterior drawings are made and we feel they meet our demands, we will work to show them to those who live and work in the neighborhood. All of this will be more expensive than anticipated as well as delaying any hopes of opening a restaurant until early fall.

I hope you understand that our initial plan had always been to open a restaurant with the fanfare of being in a unique, historic area and in showing off the restoration and modification of a grand old structure. The reality of the situation has not been pleasant for anyone. And while I cannot expect this explanation to smooth over the anger you feel at the loss of another historic building, I can assure you it was not done with callous disregard nor was it a decision that came easily or painlessly.

There are some that understand your predicament. We were just sad to see it go. Even if you had had the house moved, as I feel would have been good, you would still not satisfy the extremist who is narrow and waste times and does keep an eye on what is coming. Thank you for working toward providing like architecture.

Here's a thought...

Why didn't he try to sell the house/restaurant?

Wouldn't it have been cheaper to flip the property and just build new somewhere else once he realized HIS plans wouldn't work there? There are plenty of empty parcels in the Heights and plenty of structures that need to be replaced but very few HISTORICAL buildings. Additionally, a restaurant had been functioning in that space until the sale, so it's entirely plausible that another restaurant entity without such grand plans could have moved in or maybe even an interested buyer could have converted it back to a single family home or B&B.

Honestly, if you are going forward Ryan, I would suggest NOT throwing up a mock Victorian. That would be quite offensive. Making it a themed version of what was once there just adds insult to injury. Go in a completely different direction and pray that people forget...

This is not the consensus of the Heights. We thank you for trying to fit your plans with the Heights.

Ryan,

Thank you for addressing this issue personally. I think your best bet is to ask to speak at the Heights Association's monthy meeting and present your materials. The meetings are held the second Monday of every month, 7 p.m. at the Heights Fire Station located at W. 12th and Yale. If you can prove your good intentions to them, you can do anything!

I understand that owning a restaurant in The Heights was probably a dream come true. After all your hard work and planning, it must feel terrible to see what everyone is saying in this forum (and elsewhere). We really know how you feel. It's a lot like we all felt when we heard the house was demolished. Again, if you have documentation to back up your story, I would go to the general Heights meeting, as well as some of the smaller neighborhood meetings, to plead your case. That may sound like a lot of time and effort, but winning back support of Heights residents (even if you have to do it one at a time) is the only way you're going to make your dream a reality.

Please don't speak for the "Heights Residents". We are all sad for the demo, but we don't wish any ill upon anyone. The Heights was asleep at the wheel probably doing this. We need to be more attentive and fight the best fight. We need to trust our neighbor and not have to see proof of good will or intent. Don't misguide them into thinking there is hope for forgiveness if you have to ask for proof.

Not trying to speak for Ryan, but as an insurance person who is always dealing with properties for sale and inspections for insurance, I can say with good certainty that once he had gutted it and it was inspected and determined to be unstable (which from the reports I've read was only discovered once interior walls were removed for the beginning of the remodel), there was very little chance that anyone would be able to (or even want to) buy it.

Our insurance company cannot insure any building that has already been inspected and deemed unsafe. So I doubt any business could have come into there or would want to given potential problems inherent with that.

Case in point: I had an client once who had a house that we insured. It looked great, beautiful 1950's ranch home. No problems at all...that we could see. He decided to add on a new master suite to the back of the house. Once the walls were removed and the linoleum and carpet on the back part of the house were taken up, it was discovered that there was a huge (and I mean HUGE) crack from one side of the slab to the other (he called us wanting to turn in a claim, but that's another story). Anyway, contractors had to notify the city inspector and they actually CONDEMNED the structure. Long story short, he ended up tearing down the house. He still owned the lot and so built back in the same spot. Had they not decided on the add on master suite, it would probably still be there just as it was, with no one the wiser.

I guess my point is there are a ton of factors involved that might not be so obvious on first glance.

And I think I'd rather have something Victorian, or at least period appropriate architecture...as long as it's done well and does honor the neighborhood. There are a few new 'Victorians' on Heights Blvd the last few years and they are great additions. Would we want him to go in the direction of the 'brick single family monstrosity/orphanage' further down the Blvd? I don't think so. Plus, I love the idea of using what was salvaged in the new building. That's the only way to do it.

I'm willing to give him a chance and see what happens.

Ditto!!!!

Does anyone know about the renovation at 205 Bayland in Woodland Heights? This is the former halfway house which was the subject of at least a couple of Channel 2 investigations. It appears they're making it into a single family residence. Now that they've taken down the fire escape and ripped off the old siding, you can see it's a beautiful building. It will definitely be an asset to the neighborhood.

It is a prominent realtor in the Heights who is restoring this structure. He also tearing down homes with Allegro to build new in the Houston Heights.