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Wilshire Village Apartments At 1701 W. Alabama St.

DJ V Lawrence

By DJ V Lawrence
in Historic Houston

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  • 2 weeks later...
sevfiv

sevfiv

Posted
Posted

Oh, real f@#%ing cute...

Real estate sources, however, told the Examiner the sale will likely not take place, because bankruptcy proceeding will have already been started by the property owner, Alabama & Dunlavy Ltd.

The Amegy notice said the money it is owed dates from a Jan. 31, 2006 agreement, which is now “wholly due and payable.”

A second notice came from lien-holder Wedge Real Estate, relating to $3 million debt, dating back to May 30, 2008.

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LonghornLaw

LonghornLaw

Posted
Posted

They filed bankruptcy on the 3rd. Liabilities of $13MM in secured claims are listed. HCAD appraises the land at $10MM.

I wonder if that means the land will finally change ownership.

Unless Dilick can refinance or put up his own money, I'm guessing Wedge takes a haircut and this gets sold. With the finance market still frozen, I'm not sure what viable plans there are for a near-term redevelopment.

You might see someone land bank until the rail goes in and hopefully redevelopment opportunities improve.

Petition.pdf

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OkieEric

OkieEric

Posted
Posted

Yesterday I noticed "they" had marked up the sidewalk along W Alabama with orange paint and lined it with those little orange flags. All of the trees also had some sort of green string/tape around them... Is this some sort of usual utility stuff on a vacant property? There was also a guy walking around in an orange vest.

I know it probably means absolutely nothing, but the markings on the trees were a little concerning. It could have been that way for weeks, though

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OkieEric

OkieEric

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Yesterday I noticed "they" had marked up the sidewalk along W Alabama with orange paint and lined it with those little orange flags. All of the trees also had some sort of green string/tape around them... Is this some sort of usual utility stuff on a vacant property? There was also a guy walking around in an orange vest.

I know it probably means absolutely nothing, but the markings on the trees were a little concerning. It could have been that way for weeks, though

More details on the ribbons @ swamplot

I can't see an HEB as there already seem to be plenty of grocery options in the area. Plus, how on earth could there already be plans for what to do with the trees? Doesn't HEB already own the somewhat struggling Shepherd Plaza?

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sevfiv

sevfiv

Posted
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Here is the "squatter" reference:

http://img85.yfrog.com/img85/3046/44447324.jpg

And this from today about HEB on the Wilshire Village land:

The "Montrose Land Defense Coalition" is circulating an online petition to gather support to turn the former site of the Wilshire Village Apartments into a park.

The petition, which had 297 signatures as of this afternoon, is addressed to Mayor Annise Parker.

We support the use of the former site of the Wilshire Village Apartments on Dunlavy and W. Alabama for civic spaces in order to enrich the Montrose community. We are opposed to the appropriation of the land for a chain supermarket that will displace existing business and stifle the opportunity to maintain the integrity of the Montrose community, which has been and continues to be a great draw for tourism and gives vitality to the people living therein.

The chain supermarket reference refers to rumors that an H-E-B might be buying the land.

"That is an area we're looking at," said H-E-B spokeswoman Cyndy Garza-Robert.

http://blogs.chron.com/primeproperty/2010/03/montrose_residents_say_wilshir_1.html

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sevfiv

sevfiv

Posted
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H-E-B is under contract to buy nearly eight acres in Montrose that some residents would rather see turned into a park.

The property, which had been the site of a rundown apartment complex built in the 1940s and demolished last year, recently was posted for foreclosure.

It is at the southwest corner of West Alabama and Dunlavy, across from a strip center anchored by a Fiesta grocery store.

Cyndy Garza-Roberts, director of public affairs for H-E-B, said the company is studying the feasibility of the acquisition and didn't have an estimated closing date.

Garza-Roberts also couldn't say when a store might be built on the site, but she said the company has identified a need for one there.

“We feel there are customers in that area that H-E-B can serve,” she said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6896157.html

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sidegate

sidegate

Posted
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A park would be nice but the current economic climate isn't conducive.

I live 5 minutes walk from here. Assuming this jumps all the City hurdles. If HEB wants me to shop there they need to build an interesting, urban structure, keep the perimeter trees and some of the interior ones and make it acccessible to foot traffic. I'm a person of habit and I'm perfectly happy with the Kroger on West Gray. If HEB does all these things and shows me they're serious about fitting into the community, I'll switch allegiance. If not, and it's just another beige stucco River Oaks Shopping Center Barnes and Noble, forget it.

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capnmcbarnacle

capnmcbarnacle

Posted
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A park would be nice but the current economic climate isn't conducive.

I live 5 minutes walk from here. Assuming this jumps all the City hurdles. If HEB wants me to shop there they need to build an interesting, urban structure, keep the perimeter trees and some of the interior ones and make it acccessible to foot traffic. I'm a person of habit and I'm perfectly happy with the Kroger on West Gray. If HEB does all these things and shows me they're serious about fitting into the community, I'll switch allegiance. If not, and it's just another beige stucco River Oaks Shopping Center Barnes and Noble, forget it.

I hear you. If HEB took the time to build the Buffalo Speedway store the way they did, I suspect they'll do something interesting here. The store in the area that appears to be dying on the vine is Randall's, and it is a basic suburban prototype. I think HEB will understand that to come into a saturated market and thrive, they will need to do something different. One thing that has always intrigued me about HEB is their willingness to tailor the size, shape, and style of stores to their market.

I think HEB has had their eye on this location for a long time. I remember hearing rumblings about HEB wanting to get in there back in 2003.

Something tells me that they will want to make this the quintessential Montrose location to win people over. I hope I'm right. Put it this way, I'm more confident that HEB will do something unexpected than I would be if it were Randall's or Kroger.

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kylejack

kylejack

Posted
Posted

That poor little Fiesta. Hang in there little guy!

I hear you. If HEB took the time to build the Buffalo Speedway store the way they did, I suspect they'll do something interesting here. The store in the area that appears to be dying on the vine is Randall's, and it is a basic suburban prototype. I think HEB will understand that to come into a saturated market and thrive, they will need to do something different. One thing that has always intrigued me about HEB is their willingness to tailor the size, shape, and style of stores to their market.

I think HEB has had their eye on this location for a long time. I remember hearing rumblings about HEB wanting to get in there back in 2003.

Something tells me that they will want to make this the quintessential Montrose location to win people over. I hope I'm right. Put it this way, I'm more confident that HEB will do something unexpected than I would be if it were Randall's or Kroger.

Agreed. Hell, some of their stores sell fresh cut nopales and furniture.

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Subdude

Subdude

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It is amazing they would open a supermarket right across the street from Fiesta, but they likely figure the demographics for the two stores are sufficiently different. The likely loser here could well be the rubbishy Randalls at Westheimer and Shepherd.

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sidegate

sidegate

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On the other hand it could be an aggressive move to force Fiesta out of business. Whatever is built I just want it to be everything the Fiesta strip mall isn't - vast featureless parking lot out front, hostile to pedestrians, etc. Much as I like the 50s music in Fiesta I wouldn't be too sad to see it go.

Oh and if they can put proper locks on their trolleys that would be nice too.

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kylejack

kylejack

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Fiesta is a good citizen in that neighborhood. They send a truck around to collect the carts. I doubt they want to prevent their best customers from borrowing a cart to take their groceries home.

I like their pastries, and they have a decent beer and wine selection.

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sidegate

sidegate

Posted
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I think this topic was discussed elsewhere...in my student days when I wasn't fortunate enough to have a car I carried my grocery bags home or balanced them precariously on my bicycle. One store had a home delivery service as well. Seems to me that there are options for people other than stealing trolleys and dumping them at their asses in the street for someone else to deal with when they're finished with them.

Anyway if HEB does open up here I think Fiesta's goose is cooked - but you're right, they do have a good wine selection.

I read about the HEB thing over on Swamplot and everyone seemed to be discussing it as if it were a done deal, but I have to think the city would have serious reservations about this project from the point of view of supporting infrastructure...?

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kdog08

kdog08

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Posted

I work for the HEB at Buffalo Spdwy in the pharmacy and actually talked our unit director about the plans for this Montrose HEB. She said no time table was set, but an opening in late 2011 was her guess. She expected that this HEB would adapt to the neighborhood but really gave no concise information on it, it seemed because HEB itself is still in the very early planning stages.

My two cents:

HEB has shown that it very much focuses on the demographics of the area and tailors the store to it. That's not to say this store will be an "urban" store. I know that the Buffalo store would love to bulldoze the bank and Buffalo grill to have the extra parking space. I wouldn't expect this Montrose store to be anything but a large store (not big box) with lots of surface parking. However, I feel they would try and retain as many of the trees as possible and the building itself to use a lot of natural lighting (lots of glass) and be made of recycled products, like the shipping containers and polished concrete floors (like the Buffalo Spdwy). Hopefully the community can persuade them to include more features that reflect Montrose because HEB really does listen to the customers.

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Subdude

Subdude

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How would HEB be able to focus on the demographics of the area? Do you mean in terms of their product mix?

It seems mad to have another grocery store across the street from Fiesta. I really hope Fiesta survives at that location. Not only do they have a decent selection of things you can't find at the other guys, but their prices often seem noticeably cheaper.

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sidegate

sidegate

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For the sake of the people who live near there (ie me) I hope one of them goes under. Two parking lots vomiting cars on to two lane Dunlavy makes my head hurt.

My money's on Fiesta tanking. If I were to choose between the two to shop it would be HEB. I don't think the shopping trolley-theiving & abandoning demographic is enough to support HEB per se.<br><br>Anyway, I don't even know if this has passed muster with the City. If they have a problem with the Ashby highrise and Bissonnet on the basis of traffic, they must have a problem with this. With a Montrose resident occupying the mayor's chair I'd like to think City Hall would be less tin-earred to the concerns of residents than it has been in the past.<br>

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barracuda

barracuda

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Considering the price of that land, my guess is that H-E-B won't be able to undercut Fiesta on price without losing money on that store, so I'm thinking they may try to cater to upscale shoppers. On the other hand, Whole Foods is not that far away...so I'm kinda wondering how the economics of a store there will work out for them. Either way, I'll be rooting for local underdog Fiesta.

It seems mad to have another grocery store across the street from Fiesta. I really hope Fiesta survives at that location. Not only do they have a decent selection of things you can't find at the other guys, but their prices often seem noticeably cheaper.

I wonder if there is any advantage for supermarkets being near one another. I know that some businesses (fast food restaurants, gas stations, pharmacies) benefit from close proximity to one another, because this creates a draw to the area and increases traffic for all of them.

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