capnmcbarnacle

You know, I can never tell if the neighborhood changes as much as I think it does, or if I'm just getting older. I moved to Montrose when I was 22. It was different then, no doubt about. I moved to this neighborhood because I didn't want to live in a huge apartment complex. I wanted to live in a neighborhood. I got lucky and found a cool place in an old 4-plex. I was your basic run of the mill stoner guy who liked to hang out and listen to records and maybe throw a frisbee now and again. I enjoyed the little things in the neighborhood, just walking around the streets and into the stores and feeling like I was someplace that is different than other places in Houston. It felt like a natural fit for me and it still does.

The neighborhood will always evolve. It will never be what it was when I moved in in 1994. At that time, it wasn't what it was in 1984. I've talked to my neighbor who has lived here since 1954 and he tells me it was different then. And an old friend who went to Lanier Jr. High in the 30s claims the neighborhood was different back before WWII. Imagine that. The neighborhood has never just been one way, but is more of a collection of eras and people. It's the collective experience of the people who have lived here and stayed here through decade after decade.

I feel nostalgic for the neighborhood as it was 10-15 years ago, but I'm also nostalgic for being in my 20s again. Unlike a lot of my friends, I didn't leave Montrose. I got married, had kids and stayed here. When you see me walking on the street to get a bite with my kids, I might look like I rode my mini-van in from a Katy suburb. But I didn't. Believe me when I tell you that sometimes when I see a reflection of myself pushing a stroller I don't recognize who that yuppie looking dork is. I just had to get a haircut to get the job I wanted. And I got older. I can't kick a hacky sack like I used to and I look stupid on a skateboard (but I still have one). So I guess I'm someone that is contributing to the problem of old/new Montrose. By staying here instead of moving out of Neverland when I hit a certain age or position in my life, I am contributing to the demise of Montrose by inspring yuppies who see me to move here. So I apologize if my continuing presence in the neighborhood is ruining it, but I'm not going anywhere. This is home.

Maybe this is what happens when alternative becomse mainstream. Excitement and danger give way to what the chamber of commerce calls "ecclectic and quirky." So now I'm rambling, but I just wanted to add my experience to the mix. But you know what? It's a beautiful day and, dammit, I can still go get breakfast at La Mexicana (RIP old La Strada scene), see what's shaking at the Alabama Ice House, look at some old records,grab a Gyro at Niko Nikos and cap the night with a pint at Rudz or maybe on the patio at Lolas. No matter what else you can say, there is no other place in Houston where you can do that.

schweet. all pertinent information is being added to the wiki

http://www.towrs.com/wiki/index.php/High_Street

Here is an article from Nancy Sarnoff in today's chron. To assuage the fears of naysayers, they assure us that this is "real."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/busine...ff/5603335.html

Bingo. The increase in traffic with the Ashby highrise is going to have nothing on this. Shepherd/Alabama is already one of the busiest Inner Loop intersections as it is. Shepherd is always congested with the constant stream of people getting off/getting onto 59. I don't see how this is going to work.

I don't think this would have any more impact on traffic than all the other 5 story apartments going up in the area. It's about the number of units. If the gables is going to throw another couple hundred conventional units where Little Woodrow's is, what is the difference with putting a couple hundred up and going vertical. The one that is going to be insane is the old Westheimer Square apartments by Randall's. All of those people trying to get in and out via Westheimer? Good luck.

I don't think 200 units of residential radically effects the traffic by number of trips on the street. Ashby has always been about scale and size. Look at the Fairmont museum district -- it's on Dunlavy and has more units than Ashby but it is not going vertical. Dunlavy through Blvd. Oaks will see an increase in traffic from those residents getting to Bissonet, but where is the outrage? Nobody freaked out when the Rice Graduate Apartments put a similar number of units in 3 stories on Bissonet near the Ashby intersection.

I am concerned about the problems that come with the inevitable increase in density but I think the concern over highrises is overblown. Retail draws much more traffic. When the corner of Alabama and Kirby was The Ale House and the car dealership, the traffic was nothing like it is now. Traffic at Kirby and Westheimer is going to be nuts in a year not because of 2727 Kirby, but because of all of the retail at West Ave.

And let me say for the record that I will miss Roeder's pub. I waited out a flood in there one afternoon. Which reminds me that I've seen those businesses flood more than once in heavy rain. That's part of the reason Land, Sea & Sky moved to Richmond Ave. Oh well, I'm sure the developers are aware of all of that.

Or as I like to call RMS -Get them out of there, I'd prefer a parking lot to those pirates.

I'm with you. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Well, I gave RMS the chance to rip me for a third time and the did it. Just call me stupid. That was 10 years ago and I haven't been back. Erick's Auto on the other hand, always took care of me. And you can wait out your repairs at the Alabama Ice House.

Ok, ok...but a remodel wouldn't hurt

Not a huge fan of RMS, either, but I'm sure there are others out there who need them as well. In five years we'll probably have neither - both will be replaced by hair salons, no doubt

I'd back you a remodel, but don't touch the distinctive smell of the AZ. And I just had a weird flashback to something I haven't thought of in years. I think there used to be a Mexican lady who sold tacos in there -- like 10 years ago. Can anyone confirm that?

Replacing that stuff with fab salons wouldn't be all bad I suppose. It beats nail salons and Cingular Wireless storefronts. I'm a little perturbed that the proximity to Lanier keeps bars out though. I don't go to bars as much as I used to, but I take some comfort in knowing that there are good number that I can walk to and stagger home from.

Trader Joes and 3 Buck Chuck!

3 Buck Chuck!! A man after my own heart. I love Spec's like it's one of my children, but I'd love to have a Trader Joe's here too. It's the lush in me.

Excellent news... Now if we could only get something done about that gas station, lol

Sorry Okie, I just can't agree with you on that. I've been frequenting the AZ Food Mart for 15 years, even though they only sell losing lottery tickets. Eagle Express dry cleaners next door is the answer to every stain. And I've even had to call Bravo locksmith a few times. I need that corner. On the other hand, if you wanted to gut RMS across the street, I'd support you 100%.

That'd be pretty ironic if it's the one that kicked out Diedrich's

I got some skinny on this. There will be two buildings with a driveway between them. One building will be a salon, the other is unknown. The salon will border Woodhead, with the door to the building facing Woodhead. There will be windows along the Westheimer side. The building is two stories. It is a contemporary design. I saw renderings and I thought it was pretty cool. The building will be built close to the sidewalk, so we don't have to worry about a strip mall going in there. Parking is in the back.

All in all, from the drawings I saw, I think we will all be pretty pleased with this, especially given the alternatives. The building incorporates some interesting designs and is well-situated on the site. I hear that they plan to be open this summer.

Is it trapazoid shaped? And maybe I'm the only one who hasn't noticed yet, but it looks like the top ornamental part is only on the front.

I was wondering about the shape too. It does look to be something other than a rectangle in the rendering. The lot is an interesting shape so maybe the building will follow suit.

Looking at this property, I know there is a large, empty, grassy section along waugh which must be what they are talking about. But it doesn't look like 11 acres to me. 11 acres would seem to have to include the frontage along the north side of Dallas all the way to Montrose. If that is correct, than he could have a lot of fun with this property. I'm pretty sure he can do better than Perry Homes did when they developed the south side of Dallas 6-8 years ago.

More like $150 ladies haircuts.

Dream

Dream,

Do you know if this is the relocation of an existing salon?

It's going to be a high end hair salon, built from the ground up. Single tenant building, it should be very modern and contemporary, not sure about the site plan, parking, building orientation to the street or urban feel of the building. I like the site and think this is a good fit for a small piece of property.

Dream

Please tell me that it is a high end hair salon that turns into a bar after 6 p.m.

Hey, we all need haircuts. As I've said before, I am just happy it won't be a strip mall with a big parking lot along Westheimer. Assuming Origin development at the old Martha Turner building got its variance, combined with this and the new building near Empire, there may be some precedent for workable buildings that meet people at the sidewalk. I hope the trend continues.

They were drilling piers and pouring cement out there today. The rebar forms for the piers were prety small, so it doesen't look like anything huge there. I'l be interested to see how it turns out. Just looking at the outlines of the structures, it kind of reminds me of Artigiani (sp?) over on Shepherd near the Exxon. Whatever they are doing they seem to be doing it rather fast.

FYI, Discovery Tower will have 871,001 SF of office space (as of Feb. 8, 2008)

http://marketing.cbre.com/houston/Listing%...%20Property.pdf

Soooo, if 21 floors of office space was going to encompas 630,000 feet, I guess the new specs support 31 floors of office with 10 stories of parking on the adjacent lot.

And from the FWIW department, I drove by this evening and both cranes were up and one of them had a huge auger/corksrcrew/drill on it. Like the kind they use to drill piers for big office buildings.

Those new drawings don't seem to show the condo and office towers in the original drawings, but that's not too surprising given the ambitious nature of intial drawings. I was pleased to see they still have space of a boutique hotel. I think there is a definite niche for a small hotel serving the neighborhood. I'll be interested to see how this shakes out...

FWIW from my Architecture guide...

Former Henke-Pillot South End Store (1923)

The original segment of this complex, facing Travis Street, was resurfaced with the rest of the building in 1948, and the result has been modified piecemeal over the years. What distinguishes this building is that it was the prototype of the 20th century American suburban shopping center: it introduced the concept of off-street parking, toward which the grocery store itself was oriented. Its present role as an Indo-chinese retail center demonstrates the durability of the concept. Vietnamese names appended to city street signs in 1998 recognize the distinct identity this section of the South End acquired in the 1980s as a center of Vietnamese commercial life in Houston.

Yeah I agree. These old strip centers are the ugliest parts of Midtown. There are several of them, so getting rid of one is some progress.

This old shopping center was actually developed in the 1920s, along with the one that currently houses Reef. I used to go in there all the time and it was really a precursor to modern malls with the interior arcades. They have some cool features if someone wanted to rehab them. The shape of the old sign along the street is classic. But why do that when you can just put in something blah like a new and improved strip center or some "luxury" apartments.

As for Midtown staying Vietnamese, those guys are long gone. Remember when they had the street signs in Vietnamese?

From what I hear, most of them that were fortunate enough to own that stuff made the American dream when they sold it, but most of it was actually owned by Arabs and Persians who leased it. At least this is what my friend whose folks owned a Pho place over there told me. I used to relish being able to go over and choose from a dozen places to eat Pho with a hangover, but nothing really lasts. Besides, how many Vietnamese immigrants still live anywhere close to that part of town? I do miss the Hoa Binh Market -- that place was always fun to browse on a Saturday or Sunday. Crap, I'm starting to sound like a crotchity old guy.

This is a great, great thing to have. Kudos to all involved.

I realize that you can photoshop anything now, but to get photos of people getting air with the skyline right there in the background...it's a perfect setting.

Yep...there's an existing thread on it somewhere - looks pretty sizeable. I've noticed that they've also finally finished a side to the building going up about a block East of here. At this rate, just maybe they'll beat 2727 Kirby...lol

No kidding. That mediterranean builiding with the finished side is taking forever. I think it's cause they can't put on the stucco with all the rain. It looks like it will be light pink. In a perfect world, I have reservations about light pink stucco in Houston, but this is not a perfect world and I'm just happy it's not a strip mall.

I'll be keeping a close watch on this one. Could be nothing, but we'll see.

I think it'd be odd to put in a parking lot there...and would they really need two port-a-potties for that? lol

That said, I didn't see anything on the permit search either. Does anyone "in the know" have any info?

This morning there were guys putting in framing for a foundation in the area where the old used car place was. The good news is that the front of it appeared to line up with Southland across the street, so keep your fingers that whatever is there will be built out to the sidewalk.

I walked by the former site of the Architectural Emporium on Westheimer and Woodhead and the outdoor portion, comprised of the old car lot and outdoor portion of the emporium, was fenced off. Someone has been digging and put a couple of port-a-johns on the property. I haven't seen any signs for variances or anything up there, so it may be something as pedestrian as a parking lot, but does anyone know what is going on up here?

Has anyone else noticed this place doesn't have any exterior windows?

Yep. I've been hoping that the concrete textured exterior is not the final finish, but it looks like it is. I love the project but the exterior materials, in my opinon, leave something to be desired.

There's a crane that went up north of Memorial in this general area at least a week ago. I was assuming that was for this project. Am I mistaken, or is the article a little behind?

I think the crane you are referring to is for something else to the west of this project. I don't know what it is, but it is closer to Waugh.

An astute colleague of mine at work (and lurker on this site!) noticed that there were no cars parked today on the site of 6 Houston Center. I believe today is the first day that it hadn't been used as a surface parking lot. looks like they're up to something.....

I went by today and the lot was completely fenced off. I think something is indeed afoot...

Thanks for posting. The fact that this is up less than 2 hours after it happened is still amazing to me. I am a little conflicted about seeing the Montagu go, as I used to go to the bar 10 years ago, but I'm excited to see how MainPlace turns out.