Mab
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Word on the street is Revival Market and Coltivare owners, Ryan Pera and Morgan Weber have more than their eyes set on a property for an upcoming concept. The duo are rumored to have purchased an abandoned building on the corner of Yale and West 11th Street. A former Citgo stationresides on the property located at 1039 Yale, littered in concert posters and street art. Pera and Weber's spokesperson couldn't confirm if plans for a third concept existed, but if sources are correct, the lot will transform into the pair's next restaurant, likely by 2016.The Revival Market duo have had a banner year with the opening of its rustic Italian restaurant Coltivare in January. Earning constant raves from local media, Best New Restaurant nomination fromBon Appétit and one of Garden & Gun's best dish of the South since, whatever Pera and Weber may have up their sleeves will be worth keeping an eye out for.
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In related news New Orleans might get the second Hotel Alessandra
Two Canal Street Investors Inc. and Hotel Alessandra
Who is involved? Woodbine Development Corp. of Dallas, which points to a history of renovations, including recently acquiring the New Orleans Ambassador Hotel, is partnering with real estate investment firm Monday Properties, which has focused its business in New York and Washington D.C. The team also includes Valencia Hotel Group hotel management firm.
Among other partners, co-developers are Steven Peer and Peter Arey, who were part of a different team that lost a bid for the World Trade Center in the city's last failed attempt to lease out the building.
What is the proposal? A 318-room "five-star, uber-hip" hotel targeted at affluent, younger travelers, 240 luxury apartments serviced by the hotel, a rooftop jazz club on the 33rd floor and restaurants on the first and 30th floors.
Project cost: $201 million.
Hotel brand: Hotel Alessandra. It would be only the second Alessandra brand. The first is under construction in Houston. Developers describe the hotel as "new luxury" that offers old-line amenities with a more upbeat style.
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2014/12/former_world_trade_center_reno_1.html
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Gatlin BBQ moving to 3510 Ella
Gatlin’s BBQ is growing up. The family-owned business that has been a local barbecue success story since it opened in June 2010 has long since outgrown its tiny storefront at 1221 W. 19th St. Now it is eying a larger location for its honest, homey barbecue that comes with a huge side order of hospitality.
This week the Gatlin family intends to sign a lease to open a much larger barbecue restaurant at 3510 Ella Boulevard at 34th Street, said Greg Gatlin who owns the business with his parents, Mary and Henry Gatlin. The new store, at 4,200 square feet, is huge compared to the 700-square-foot store (not including the 1,000-square-foot pit room) that the family currently operates. The new restaurant is expected to open in May
http://blog.chron.com/foodchronicles/2014/12/gatlins-bbq-to-open-larger-restaurant/#29014101=0
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Retailers:
- Akris – Swiss fashion label
- Anne Fontaine – Women’s apparel
- Bonobos – E-commerce driven men’s clothing
- Brioni – Italian fashion house
- Brunello Cucinelli – Cashmere designs and men’s and women’s sportswear
- Canali – Italian tailor-made suits for men
- Chopard – Swiss watches and jewelry
- De Boulle Diamond & Jewelry – Fine diamonds and luxury timepieces
- Diptyque – Parisian-based scented candles, perfumes, home fragrances and face and body care
- Dolce & Gabbana – Italian fashion house
- Etro – Italian fashion house including men’s and women’s ready-to-wear clothing, shoes, jewelry and home decor
- Giuseppe Zanotti – Italian shoemaker
- Intermix – Multi-brand fashion retailer
- John Lobb – Men’s and women’s ready-to-wear
- Kiton – Custom men’s and women’s clothing and accessories
- L’Occitane – Skin and bath products
- Moncler – Outerwear for men, women and children
- Roberto Cavalli – Italian fashion designer
Restaurants:
- Taverna – Italian cuisine
- Thirteen Pies – Wood-fired pizzas and hand-cut pasta
- Toulouse Cafe and Bar – Traditional bistro
- Le Colonial – Upscale French/Vietnamese
- American Food and Beverage (AF+
– Upscale American in a neighborhood tavern setting
Spa:
- Equinox – an upscale fitness club and spa
In addition to the shops and restaurants, River Oaks District will include 92,000 square feet of office space and 279 residential units. An eight-screen, 560-seat iPic Entertainment movie theater with dining and a bar/lounge will also operate in the center.
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New River Oaks District has landed designer stores, a cinema complex and upscale restaurants. Soon there will be a luxury gym to work off those calories.
CultureMap has learned that OliverMcMillan, the California-based real estate development firm that is developing the 14-acre mixed use complex on Westheimer inside the 610 Loop, has landed Equinox, the New York-based luxury fitness chain known for cutting-edge exercise and racy advertisements.The Houston Equinox will encompass nearly 35,000 square feet on two floors in an office building at River Oaks District. It will offer a broad range of fitness, nutrition and health classes, including branded strength and cardio training, group fitness, with classes in pilates, barre, martial arts and yoga, and personal training.
The chain, whose sexy ads have drawn a storm of controversy, is a pioneer in the upscale fitness industry. It recently introduced an iOS mobile app, allowing members to track their nutrition and fitness goals when on or off site.
The Houston Equinox will also include a full-service spa, offering massages, facials, manicures and pedicures.
The company operates 73 clubs in the U.S., including two in the Dallas area. It has been on a buying bing recently, acquiring Sports Club/LA properties in five cities and Reebok Sports Club/NY. In 2011, it acquired a majority interest inSoulCycle, with a rabid following among celebrities in New York and Los Angeles.
River Oaks District has previously announced that it has landed such major retail tenants as Cartier, Dior, Hermès and Tom Ford, along with an eight-screen luxury cinema from iPC Entertainment.
The first phase of the complex is scheduled to open next year.
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I feel like it be a good idea to make a discussion forum about news/development on downtown Houston restaurants
I will start with this news
Q: Do you have anything new planned for Houston restaurant-wise?
A: We're looking for a Saltgrass location downtown. And I'll be moving Willie G's and opening a Mastro's in 2016.
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Q: A recent post on the Houston blog Swamplot said you'd been sighted at the Shiloh Club in the Heights, leading to heavy speculation that you're planning to open a restaurant there. Was that really you at the bar?
A: I was not there.
Q: Are you considering opening a restaurant in the area?
A: No. The way that I'm set up, I have to do a lot of business, and they're more smaller restaurants. Brenner's on the Bayou could be there. But that's probably around here the only (Landry's) restaurant that could be in the Heights. But the Heights is a great treasure. I'm glad they kept the building restrictions there.
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Q: A few details recently came out about a major hotel and conference center project you're planning near your headquarters. If there's so much building going on, why add to it?
A: I haven't 100 percent confirmed it. But I'm very bullish on Houston long-term. I'm a long-term player in Houston. I'm not a seller. I'm building for the next 30 years. I'm not building to flip a property, and I don't put high leverage on my real estate.
Q: What would keep you from starting the project?
A: The only thing that would keep me from building it is if there would be a crash in the economy next 60 days. Oil going to $60 doesn't affect me. This is me doing this project. I look at things from a long-term standpoint.
Q: Willie G's on Post Oak Boulevard?
A: I'll be moving it. I'll disclose that a little bit later.
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Esperson Gallery has joined the roster of tenants at GreenStreet, where it occupies 3,959 square feet of space at the corner of Fannin and Polk in downtown. The gallery is part of Midway’s mixed-use development. Houstonians David Adickes , Kelley Devine, Allison Hunter, Taft McWhorter, Kent Schaffer, Lee Carrier, Willy Gardiner, and GONZO247, are all represented by Esperson Gallery at GreenStreet, along with New York photographer Lyle Owerko, New York painter/scientist Jen Hannaford, L.A. artist Steven Silverstein and Chicago artists Richard Blanco and Tracy Jones.
Founder Tammy Dowe said in an announcement:
We are very excited to have opened the new gallery doors this month at Esperson Gallery at GreenStreet. Houston is a world-class arts city, and Esperson Gallery at GreenStreet will offer an exciting, eclectic program of work at the new space – both inside the gallery and at GreenStreet’s vast green space The Lawn. In addition to visual arts, paintings, charcoals, and sculpture works, visitors and collectors can expect to be treated to culinary arts, cinema, music, spoken word, dance, theatre, literary readings, and much more! The gallery is available for rental for private events, but its first public exhibition,Peep Show, opens on Thursday, November 20, 5 – 8PM, and features works by Museum of Fine Arts Houston permanent collection artist Allison Hunter, sculptor-painter Kelley Devine, and new talent, Willy Gardiner.-
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ocal builder Perry Homes is planning a high-end townhome development east of downtown in a largely industrial area that's being transformed into a more residential neighborhood.
The Houston-based builder is planning 73 homes on two blocks of land just south of Buffalo Bayou along Kennedy Street.
The property, which is owned by Padua Realty, is a few blocks north of a lively stretch of Navigation that's home to the Original Ninfa's restaurant and the new El Tiempo Cantina. Guadalupe Park is also nearby, as are several miles of hike and bike trails that travel along the bayou.
Padua Realty will develop the land and sell lots to Perry Homes. Tony Padua said his group has reached an agreement with officials from area's tax increment reinvestment zone to help bring necessary public infrastructure improvements to the area.
As part of the deal, Padua's company would front the initial improvement costs and be reimbursed when the taxes increase as a result of the project.
"That's going to allow us to really fix up all the roads and utilities necessary to have this development out there," he said.
A number of other residential projects are being planned nearby, according to those familiar with the area, which is north of the popular east of downtown neighborhood referred to as EaDo.
Many are watching to see what happens with a 136-acre tract north of Buffalo Bayou that was acquired more than a year ago by William Harrison of investment firm Cathexis. The company, which has interests in oil and gas, real estate and private equity, has not revealed plans for the site.
The more established single-family neighborhood to the south and east of this area has been attracting young home buyers who like the convenience of being close to downtown and future rail lines, but can't afford places like The Heights or Montrose.
"These modest neighborhoods have bungalows that look so much like West U did 30 years ago and probably the Heights did 20 years ago," said Vikki Evans, an agent with Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty.
Evans listed and recently sold a renovated house with a garage apartment in the Palmer Place subdivision near Harrisburg and Milby.
"We had so many offers," she said. The property sold for 98 percent of its asking price.
Perry Homes expects to start construction during the first quarter of next year on the townhomes, which will be three- and four-stories-tall. The homes will range ranging from 1,700 to 2,400 square feet and the majority of them will have three bedrooms.
The company is primarily a suburban builder, but has developed projects in Midtown and other close-in areas.
Many years ago it developed a project east of downtown at Runnels near South Jensen.
"The revitalization efforts in the East End are a visible commitment to creating a walkable, mixed-use community," the builder said in a statement. The company said it has not finalized its pricing plans for the new homes.
Padua said the builder has committed to construct the homes with "high-quality design standards with back-loaded garages and exteriors exclusively constructed with stucco, stone or brick."
"All the homes will have architectural controls to make sure that they're consistent with the type of quality we want to see in the area," he said.
Padua, who refers to the area as the Bayou District and the new townhome project as East End on the Bayou, said the neighborhood has "tremendous potential."
"It's bounded by the bayou to the north with over three miles of hike and bike trails and the widest part of Buffalo Bayou is there," he said. "It's literally a jungle when you go back there," he said referring to native waterfowl, ospreys and an established colony of beavers that live there.
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Reef owners Bryan Caswell and Bill Floyd certainly think so, which is why they've partnered with Greg Gatlin to launch Jackson Street Barbecue. Set to open in March, the 8,000 square foot restaurant will feature Gatlin's brisket, sausage, ribs and chicken alongside seasonally appropriate seafood from Caswell like barbecue shrimp, crab and crawfish. Burgers and salads will round out the menu. Sides will be developed by both Gatlin and Caswell, but Reef's famous fried mac and cheese will definitely be included "We are totally sold on downtown," Floyd tells CultureMap. "Now with the Super Bowl and the increase in residential property, I think downtown is going to catch on."
Floyd acknowledges that Jackson Street might be a little bit ahead of downtown's current level of development, but he sees that as a plus. "We were early in Midtown with Reef and early in Montrose with El Real, and that's worked out well for us."
The location has another benefit in that will serve as the catering kitchen for the company's stands at Minute Maid Park. "It's right behind the loading dock. It couldn't be any more perfect for us," Floyd explains. Instead of having to load up a van with a bunch of food, they'll be able to roll it across the street to the stadium.
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– Upscale American in a neighborhood tavern setting
Kinder High School For The Performing And Visual Arts At 790 Austin St.
in Downtown
Posted