Emporium Architectural & Antiques At 1800 Westheimer Rd.

[capnmcbarnacle]

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...

[sidegate]

didn't take the taggers long to make their mark on it....

the used car lot building looks like a sturdy little structure - old fashioned style of wall construction. must have been there quite a while.

i heard somewhere that the old Martha Turner property a little futher west on Westheimer is up for redevelopment, thank goodness. I wonder how long the storage place and the 99 cent store will last at this rate....

Edited May 16, 2007 by sidegate

[sidegate]

Update....old car office building razed

[OkieEric]

I'm really liking that stretch of road...hopefully whatever they do there will fit in with the strip. Also very curious to see how the new building next to Empire Cafe turns out - the only problem I'm having are the seemingly longer and longer lines at Empire!

[capnmcbarnacle]

didn't take the taggers long to make their mark on it....

the used car lot building looks like a sturdy little structure - old fashioned style of wall construction. must have been there quite a while.

i heard somewhere that the old Martha Turner property a little futher west on Westheimer is up for redevelopment, thank goodness. I wonder how long the storage place and the 99 cent store will last at this rate....

Saw that. So much for my theory...lol. Hope they do something cool there. Lots of potential.

[capnmcbarnacle]

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?

[sidegate]

Oh dear, please not a parking lot.

[OkieEric]

Oh dear, please not a parking lot.

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?

[capnmcbarnacle]

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.

[sidegate]

that's good to hear. hopefully some more cool retail or eatery.

[OkieEric]

that's good to hear. hopefully some more cool retail or eatery.

Am I that crappy at the permit search, or does it take a while to show up sometimes? I'm not seeing anything... Given the recent development in the area and the proprosed One Origin Center, this could become a very nice stretch of road

[sidegate]

Am I that crappy at the permit search, or does it take a while to show up sometimes? I'm not seeing anything... Given the recent development in the area and the proprosed One Origin Center, this could become a very nice stretch of road

what's that - the development on the Martha Turner site?

[OkieEric]

what's that - the development on the Martha Turner site?

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

[capnmcbarnacle]

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.

[sidegate]

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's weird that they have the shopfronts on a little raised platform. defeats the whole point of walkable access IMO. Still, beats the parking-space-out-front-with-setback-strip-center that is the default development over so much of the city.

Edited February 12, 2008 by sidegate

[OkieEric]

Not a lot of info here, but I ran across this today

Apparently the name of the project is Westheimer Way?

[missmsry]

Estimated cost: $325,000? That's not even a house. So learned folks, what am I missing?

[OkieEric]

Estimated cost: $325,000? That's not even a house. So learned folks, what am I missing?

That's just the structure cost, right? I noticed that there's another one for 1800 Westheimer, which is also at $325K. I don't even know how accurate those $'s are, honestly... I still don't understand why there's nothing for it on the permit search yet

[sevfiv]

A permit posted for 1800 and 1806 Westheimer dated 02/12/08:

Project No:

07071246

Date:

2/12/2008

USE:

NEW SHELL BLDG, FUT. RETAIL (MSTR OF 2) 1-2-5-SHELL-B 2003 IBC

Owner / Occupant:

SHELL ONLY

Job Address:

1800 WESTHEIMER RD

Tax ID:

0400291630000007

Buyer:

MARTEX DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

Address:

5926 BALCONES DR 78731

Phone:

8324258006

____________________

Project No:

07071249

Date:

2/12/2008

USE:

NEW SHELL BLDG, FUT. RETAIL (2 OF 2)

Owner / Occupant:

SHELL ONLY

Job Address:

1806 WESTHEIMER RD

Tax ID:

0400291630000014

Buyer:

MARTEX DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

Address:

5926 BALCOMES DR 78731

Phone:

8324258006

[OkieEric]

A permit posted for 1800 and 1806 Westheimer dated 02/12/08:

Project No:

07071246

Date:

2/12/2008

USE:

NEW SHELL BLDG, FUT. RETAIL (MSTR OF 2) 1-2-5-SHELL-B 2003 IBC

Owner / Occupant:

SHELL ONLY

Job Address:

1800 WESTHEIMER RD

Tax ID:

0400291630000007

Buyer:

MARTEX DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

Address:

5926 BALCONES DR 78731

Phone:

8324258006

____________________

Project No:

07071249

Date:

2/12/2008

USE:

NEW SHELL BLDG, FUT. RETAIL (2 OF 2)

Owner / Occupant:

SHELL ONLY

Job Address:

1806 WESTHEIMER RD

Tax ID:

0400291630000014

Buyer:

MARTEX DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

Address:

5926 BALCOMES DR 78731

Phone:

8324258006

What the heck?? I swear that wasn't on there before

[sidegate]

Phew! When I saw Shell at first I thought it was a gas station (spot the non-architect!).

[capnmcbarnacle]

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.

[OkieEric]

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.

Agreed - kind of concerns me a bit. I've never heard of "Martex Development", either, but apparently it's based out of Austin - their other current projects look like a couple of remodels. Does the code in the permit ("1-2-5-SHELL-B 2003 IBC") mean anything?

I think we were all hoping for something cool there...so I'm going to try to hold off judgment til it starts taking shape. At this rate, that should be fairly soon!

[Dream]

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

[capnmcbarnacle]

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.

[sidegate]

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.

Not $60 ones! With any luck it'll take some business away from the place that opened when Diedrich's was kicked out. That was one of the coolest places to hang out and get some coffee. I personally miss it a lot.

[OkieEric]

Not $60 ones! With any luck it'll take some business away from the place that opened when Diedrich's was kicked out. That was one of the coolest places to hang out and get some coffee. I personally miss it a lot.

LOL, is there really that much of a demand for high-end hair salons along those couple of blocks? That one that took over Diedrich's is enormous now

Since this appears to be 2 structures, surely it won't only be a hair salon...right?

[sidegate]

I'm not in the know on that, but if this is the type of business making its way into the area then you have to wonder how long those little places east of Dunlavy on the south side of Westheimer can hold out.

[Dream]

Not $60 ones! With any luck it'll take some business away from the place that opened when Diedrich's was kicked out. That was one of the coolest places to hang out and get some coffee. I personally miss it a lot.

More like $150 ladies haircuts.

Dream

[capnmcbarnacle]

More like $150 ladies haircuts.

Dream

Dream,

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