JW Marriott At 806 Main St. & Expansion Into Battlestein’s - 812 Main St.

[flatline]

Good news, but too bad they couldn't have gotten it while they were doing the JW construction.  I seem to recall media reports indicating that the hotel developers made offers but couldn't reach a deal.  My own wild speculation is that they have some contingencies drawn up for back-of-the-house uses for it.  Agree parking seems like an impossibility.  If nothing else,  a refresh of street-side face should be on the way, and  long overdue.

[downtownian]

$8 million to bring it up to code and $17 million to make it OK for office occupancy. The JW Marriott cost $80 million with $12 million in city subsidies provided. 

[UtterlyUrban]

I hope that they make it an urban Target.

 

well, at least I can hope.

[CaptainJilliams]

2 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:

I hope that they make it an urban Target.

 

well, at least I can hope.

 

^ This. Yes please.

[Urbannizer]

I can see this being renovated to condominiums for the JW Marriott.

[UtterlyUrban]

16 minutes ago, Urbannizer said:

I can see this being renovated to condominiums for the JW Marriott.

What an interesting thought!

 

would it not be difficult for residential given that there isn’t much natural light inside?  I.e. long and narrow building with no windows on either side.

[Houston19514]

16 minutes ago, UtterlyUrban said:

What an interesting thought!

 

would it not be difficult for residential given that there isn’t much natural light inside?  I.e. long and narrow building with no windows on either side.

 

Yeah, It seems you'd almost be limited to one unit per floor.

[H-Town Man]

Would make a pretty good hostel.

[Texasota]

Assuming it's 50' wide, I'd think you could do 2 units per floor. They'd need to be lofts so natural light could get to the back, but that's not a particularly unusual floor plan. 

[Houston19514]

27 minutes ago, Texasota said:

Assuming it's 50' wide, I'd think you could do 2 units per floor. They'd need to be lofts so natural light could get to the back, but that's not a particularly unusual floor plan. 

 

Yes, I suppose you could.  But lofts don't match up very well with the product offered by the JWMarriott.  I suspect they will go a different route with this building.

[Sanjorade]

A restaurant on every floor. 

[UtterlyUrban]

Meeting rooms, ball room, restaurant, expanded spa, gym, indoor pool, .......

 

I am thinking that this might be a way to expand “infrastructure” .... not “additional guest rooms”

[cspwal]

On 12/15/2018 at 0:23 PM, UtterlyUrban said:

Meeting rooms, ball room, restaurant, expanded spa, gym, indoor pool, .......

 

I am thinking that this might be a way to expand “infrastructure” .... not “additional guest rooms”

Why not both?  More infrastructure towards the back, but have the front where the windows are be more guest rooms

[Avossos]

This will likely be a hotel of its own... Think a more affordable Marriott flag...

 

There is nothing that states this will be a JW Marriott expansion. Pearl does many hotels.

[Houston19514]

2 hours ago, Avossos said:

This will likely be a hotel of its own... Think a more affordable Marriott flag...

 

There is nothing that states this will be a JW Marriott expansion. Pearl does many hotels.

 

I don't see how they could get enough windows in the building to create a stand-alone hotel, unless it's a very specialized boutique... maybe 50 rooms?

Edited December 17, 2018 by Houston19514

[mollusk]

There are windows on the back, with a glorious view of the air shaft.  Perhaps they could market those rooms as having an "authentic urban vibe."

[Avossos]

32 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

 

I don't see how they could get enough windows in the building to create a stand-alone hotel, unless it's a very specialized boutique... maybe 50 rooms?

 

13 minutes ago, mollusk said:

There are windows on the back, with a glorious view of the air shaft.  Perhaps they could market those rooms as having an "authentic urban vibe."

 

I don’t see how it is much different than the Hyatt place hotel going in on Texas Ave. that too has limited front windows and difficult or no light on the side.

[Houston19514]

17 minutes ago, Avossos said:

 

 

I don’t see how it is much different than the Hyatt place hotel going in on Texas Ave. that too has limited front windows and difficult or no light on the side.

 

It's actually quite different from the Hyatt Place.  That building has windows on the front, the vast majority of the east side, at least half of the west side and part of the south side.  The subject building has windows on the front and maybe an opportunity to add a few windows on the part of the north side. That's it.

[Avossos]

20 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

 

It's actually quite different from the Hyatt Place.  That building has windows on the front, the vast majority of the east side, at least half of the west side and part of the south side.  The subject building has windows on the front and maybe an opportunity to add a few windows on the part of the north side. That's it.

 

I desperately want an Ace Hotel in Houston. Those are my favorite.

[kbates2]

Don't Capitol Lofts and Kirby Lofts have many units with only one wall of windows that are fairly deep?

[downtownian]

2 hours ago, Avossos said:

 

I desperately want an Ace Hotel in Houston. Those are my favorite.

 

Same. If a city has an Ace, I stay there.

 

31 minutes ago, kbates2 said:

Don't Capitol Lofts and Kirby Lofts have many units with only one wall of windows that are fairly deep?

 

For Capitol, the entire front of the building is floor to ceiling windows. The sides of Capitol Lofts actually open to interior courtyards (you can see it on google maps satellite view). One of the courtyards is bounded by Club Quarters and the soon to be open AC Hotel and you can see the top of BG Group Place from it. There are balconies both over main street and one of the courtyards which makes it a lot less claustrophobic.

 

Looks like there is a courtyard between Battlestein and the JW.

 

Note: I'm using courtyard loosely here. More like spaces between buildings.

[Houston19514]

2 hours ago, kbates2 said:

Don't Capitol Lofts and Kirby Lofts have many units with only one wall of windows that are fairly deep?

 

The Kirby Lofts building has windows on the west, north and east sides 

Edited December 18, 2018 by Houston19514

[kbates2]

Right but not all of the way up right?  I looked at 4 units there and none had windows on more than one side and all would fit well in the footprint of this building.

[(Otto Mation)]

elnina999 has added a photo to the pool:

Throughout the lobby, hallways, and even inside some guest rooms, the original iron support beams have been uncovered and made a central design feature as a nod to the hotel’s history. Made by the same workers who built the Brooklyn Bridge, the workers’ original stamp is still visible on some of the supports.
JW Marriott, Houston Downtown

View the full article

[Avossos]

I am curious to hear a plan or proposal for this building. Anyone heard anything on this?

[Avossos]

It has been a year and still no word. Does anyone have any information on this?

[Nate99]

Looks quite dormant, there is no activity that you can see from the street. 

[Texasota]

Battelstein's was just listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

That seems like a *very* good sign, and might also explain the delay.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Texasota

[Avossos]

24 minutes ago, Texasota said:

Battelstein's was just listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

That seems like a *very* good sign, and might also explain the delay.

 

That means they will seek historic restoration tax credits... good.

 

How did you find this out?

[Texasota]

It's a weirdly unreliable website, but the Park Service posts an updated list every Friday: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/weekly-list.htm

Today is not showing up right now though.