capnmcbarnacle

It used to be the site of the Allen Park Inn. The API was a great place. It didn't look like much from the outside but once you got inside it was beautifully landscaped, with a great pool and palapa bar. The bar at the API was like walking into 1965 -- and they served Prime Rib until 2 a.m. Anyway... The API is no longer there because it flooded during T.S. Allison in 2001. You will find this hard to believe, but I saw it with my own eyes both a the time of the flood and visiting the hotel to salvage some stuff a few months later -- the water was about as high as the first floor units of the Bel-Air. What appears to be the Bel-Air's parking garage on the ground level was underwater. So, the only thing I can tell you is that if we have another wicked storm like Allison, you can expect your car to be flooded and, if you live on the first floor at the front of the property, your carpet to be soaked. But how often do you get a chance to launch a kayak from your balcony? I don't know anything else about the place or its management, but I think it looks like a nice development. The location is great. Just ask for the second floor and park as close to Dallas St. as possible during a storm.

The mural went away when it became the mid-century modern furniture store. They took out the mural to put in some big display windows. It now houses both American Apparel and Duo. Between those two stores, Edin, and Raye, the area is now full of angst-ridden teens who drive in on Saturdays to find new clothes that will make them look cool in Kingwood.

Just curious if anyone has any substantive information regarding the old Architectrual Emporium antique store at Westheimer and Shepherd. There have been people up there dismantling the old fence around the lot and I have heard that the owner of that block plans to redevelop it. For those of you familiar with the block, you'll recall that there is a small, old building near the Morse side of the lot that used to house the office for a small used car lot. My source tells me that the old car office bulding will be renovated and incorporated into a larger structure, thereby allowing the developer to build to the sidewalk and avoid a 25 foot setback. I would love to see a sensible development that was pedestrian friendly. There is a real opportunity to create a pedestrian friendly corridor of stores and restaurants along Westheimer from Hazard all the way down to Montrose. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but this is still Houston...

I was up there today and saw they were getting prepared for a foundation and it looked like the piers were along the sidewalk. According a guy who works next door, it looks like the guy finally got his variance and can build along the sidwalk. The rumor is for a 1st floor retail and restaurant (with possible patio tables on the side street), second floor office, third floor residence. I hope that is the case. On another note, the old architectural emporium is being dismantled and apparently the owners will redevelop that block.

I drove by today, April 12th, around 3 p.m. The crane was swinging around and there were guys in the hole with welding masks on -- looked like they had placed a bunch of rebar in the footprint for a concrete pour. I'm not a contractor or an architect, but it looked to me like they are starting to build something there.