Multifamily Development At 3300 Montrose Blvd.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

3 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

IIRC there were still a few (2 - 4?) houses on this block until the mid-eighties, when they were razed to expand Kroger's parking lot.

I don't remember that at all and I moved to Montrose in January of '79.

CORRECTION: I was thinking of the wrong corner. I don't remember what was there, but the Kroger parking lot was not originally accessible from Yoakum. There must have been something on that corner.

Edited June 26, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[dbigtex56]

41 minutes ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

I don't remember that at all and I moved to Montrose in January of '79.

Anyone have Google Earth Pro? I've been searching for historic aerial or satellite photos of this block with no luck. if someone can provide images of this block from circa 1980 - 1982 it would be appreciated.
It's entirely possible I'm mistaken (the demolitions would have happened more than 35 years ago) but it seems like it may have coincided with the expansion of Disco Kroger.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

I take it back. I was thinking of the Montrose/Hawthorne corner but we're talking about Hawthorne/Yoakum. I do remember the parking lot did not open to Yoakum, so there must have been something there.

[Ross]

That SW corner was bought by David K Gibbs in 1988 from Yolanda Peralta. She bought the property and, I think, the piece to the North owned by SEK, in 1981. There were 4 different transactions, one with H Markley Croswell as the trustee, and 3 with Mark Wise as trustee.

David K Gibbs is an early 70's alum of Rice University, as his his wife. He has a real estate agency on Rice Blvd, and they live in River Oaks.

It appears the houses were gone by the 80's, there is a house looking object on the SW corner in 1978. the Google Earth aerials from then are crap, so there's nothing to see. The 1943 aerials show houses along Yoakum, but the East half of the block looks empty.

[MidCenturyMoldy]

1978

 

[clutchcity94]

2 minutes ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

1978

 

Is that building right above the red circle the Kroger? Was it a Kroger back in ‘78?

[MidCenturyMoldy]

4 minutes ago, clutchcity94 said:

Is that building right above the red circle the Kroger? Was it a Kroger back in ‘78?

I think so. I moved to the neighborhood in January of '79 and I was (until this thread) fairly sure the Kroger was already there. 

Edited June 26, 2021 by MidCenturyMoldy

[dbigtex56]

2 hours ago, MidCenturyMoldy said:

I think so. I moved to the neighborhood in January of '79 and I was (until this thread) fairly sure the Kroger was already there. 

I'm a Johnny-Come-Lately (moved to Montrose in October '81).
At that time a friend told me that the Kroger was only a few years old, and that prior to its construction there had been a large vacant lot where the Montrose Softball League would have their games.
Tempus Fugit

[hindesky]

A Cherry worker confirmed that the slab on the southwest corner is staying, he also said they would finish this week.

[hindesky]

[toxtethogrady]

On 2/10/2021 at 12:02 AM, august948 said:

Yes.  It's special instructions for the demolition crew.

And damned if they didn't take their mission seriously. I liked it better as a building with a giant graffiti swatch across it...

[clutchcity94]

Atlanta’s Disco Kroger is also going down!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/amp/retailers/mirror-ball-wrecking-ball-atlantas-disco-kroger

[kennyc05]

On 7/13/2021 at 1:30 PM, clutchcity94 said:

Atlanta’s Disco Kroger is also going down!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/amp/retailers/mirror-ball-wrecking-ball-atlantas-disco-kroger

Yeah saw I that lol

Edited July 27, 2021 by kennyc05

[hindesky]

This banner is hanging on the fence where the loading dock used to be.

[j_cuevas713]

6 hours ago, hindesky said:

This banner is hanging on the fence where the loading dock used to be.

This is cool! You see things like this in other cities. Having small grassroots organizations develop in your city shows the greater sense of community thats developing. A new generation of Houstonians are making it known that they want to have a say in how our city develops. This is similar to the group fighting the NHHIP. https://instagram.com/stoptxdoti45?utm_medium=copy_link

Edited July 28, 2021 by j_cuevas713

[Texasota]

Eh, I'd like to know more about what exactly this group is. That banner doesn't scream "grassroots" to me.

From their website, it looks like they're operational in Houston and New York so far.

Edited July 28, 2021 by Texasota

[BeerNut]

1 hour ago, Texasota said:

Eh, I'd like to know more about what exactly this group is. That banner doesn't scream "grassroots" to me.

From their website, it looks like they're operational in Houston and New York so far.

I'm with you on this one.  The about just says "We are two artists who believe that civics, freedom, art and ideas are interdependent. Without strong communities, ideas can't flourish."  Seems pretty vague.  Could be a way to generate leads then spam you with very specific content.

[iah77]

8 hours ago, j_cuevas713 said:

This is cool! You see things like this in other cities. Having small grassroots organizations develop in your city shows the greater sense of community thats developing. A new generation of Houstonians are making it known that they want to have a say in how our city develops. This is similar to the group fighting the NHHIP. https://instagram.com/stoptxdoti45?utm_medium=copy_link

You think random people who don't own a property should have specific demands on how a project that is privately financed is developed down to the T? Why don't you share your address to we can evaluate how your garden and siding effect the quality of life of your neighbors lol 

[Montrose1100]

1 hour ago, iah77 said:

You think random people who don't own a property should have specific demands on how a project that is privately financed is developed down to the T? Why don't you share your address to we can evaluate how your garden and siding effect the quality of life of your neighbors lol 

Dang, I didn't get that at all. I think this is more of a marketing thing where if so many people say they want a gym or a bar or whatever, the developer will consider the local audience. 

So it's up to all of us to scan this and spam comment "We'd like a Super-Tall Mixed Use Ritz Carlton Hotel/Condo/Office and I oop slay the house down hunty". I believe in us. 

[j_cuevas713]

3 hours ago, iah77 said:

You think random people who don't own a property should have specific demands on how a project that is privately financed is developed down to the T? Why don't you share your address to we can evaluate how your garden and siding effect the quality of life of your neighbors lol 

This is giving people the ability to voice what they feel a certain piece of property should become. It's not giving any specific group power over the property owner and telling them how they should develop it. It's just a more practical approach to hearing what people have to say. The disconnect between developers and the people who live here has always been an issue, regardless of how many community input meetings a certain project may have. 

And going back to what I was saying earlier. I'm just noticing certain groups/companies/think tanks that seem to be setting up shop here. Concept Neighborhood is another example.

Edited July 28, 2021 by j_cuevas713

[wilcal]

New sidewalks and an entrance going in. From yesterday:

[hindesky]

The city has been rebuilding the sidewalks on both the eastside and westside sides of the Kroger and the Westmont.

[nyc_tex]

On 7/28/2021 at 9:30 AM, iah77 said:

You think random people who don't own a property should have specific demands on how a project that is privately financed is developed down to the T? Why don't you share your address to we can evaluate how your garden and siding effect the quality of life of your neighbors lol 

Only random people who live in the city and pay taxes. No differently than a home owners association in __________ random mass produced suburb tells its folks how, when, and where to build on their property. 

[iah77]

14 hours ago, nyc_tex said:

Only random people who live in the city and pay taxes. No differently than a home owners association in __________ random mass produced suburb tells its folks how, when, and where to build on their property. 

Many people chose to live here specifically because there is no HOA. What does taxes have to do with a private development? 

[hindesky]

The city is repaving and replacing the sidewalks on Yoakum St, they are also replacing the sidewalks on Montrose from the old Kroger to Westheimer.

[Two]

On 7/28/2021 at 8:30 AM, iah77 said:

You think random people who don't own a property should have specific demands on how a project that is privately financed is developed down to the T? Why don't you share your address to we can evaluate how your garden and siding effect the quality of life of your neighbors lol 

It looks too much like on rails pick your template viral marketing for a local group (otherwise it'd be a pic of some angry cartoon tower with some gibberish about traffic) . Most likely the developer is well aware that disco Kroger is something the community had feelings for so they're are getting ahead of bitterness and re-framing the local conversation with 'localist'; 'A marketing automation platform used by businesses to engage communities to achieve your business goals'.

If you're a big dev you're probably paying for market studies, surveys etc. anyway for all sorts of reasons, why not roll a bit of that into a cheap campaign like this?  My take is they (the dev, being strategically ambiguous about it being them) are asking you;

1. do you want an overpriced gym that will take up most the retail space we are talking to

or

2. do you want that same space subdivided into a  bunch of different shops and for us to look for tenets to fit that instead

That was my take anyways.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Two

[Loca local]

Hola, everyone, I’m new to comment here and one of the weirdos behind Localist. I’m a fairly avid reader of HAIF over the years and it actually helped inspire the project. Indeed, Localist is basically an art project between friends in Houston and NYC. We are spending any extra cash we make each month to keep the website going and make posters in an attempt to engage our communities in a discussion about place making. 
 

I’m an urban planner by education, and my friends are retailers and writers in NYC. We’re all pretty tired of our favorite places being torn down or closing, so it hit us that we could make a forum to discuss. 

I’ve read some of the comments here and am actually fairly flattered that some of y’all think we’re some sort of savvy marketing firm! Although, we do hope to actually host honest conversations. 

Anyway, would love any feedback y’all are willing to share. Are our visuals too slick? Are we just too audacious? 
 

Thanks so much! - E

[dbigtex56]

3 hours ago, Loca local said:

Hola, everyone, I’m new to comment here and one of the weirdos behind Localist.

Hi, Loca local and welcome to HAIF.
So far as I'm concerned, there are no visuals too slick, nor goals too audacious. Bring on the rabble rousers  and the Industrial Light and Magic - looking forward to your insights and expertise. 

[j_cuevas713]

On 9/12/2021 at 7:32 PM, Loca local said:

Hola, everyone, I’m new to comment here and one of the weirdos behind Localist. I’m a fairly avid reader of HAIF over the years and it actually helped inspire the project. Indeed, Localist is basically an art project between friends in Houston and NYC. We are spending any extra cash we make each month to keep the website going and make posters in an attempt to engage our communities in a discussion about place making. 
 

I’m an urban planner by education, and my friends are retailers and writers in NYC. We’re all pretty tired of our favorite places being torn down or closing, so it hit us that we could make a forum to discuss. 

I’ve read some of the comments here and am actually fairly flattered that some of y’all think we’re some sort of savvy marketing firm! Although, we do hope to actually host honest conversations. 

Anyway, would love any feedback y’all are willing to share. Are our visuals too slick? Are we just too audacious? 
 

Thanks so much! - E

I love the site and idea behind all of this. Keep up the great work!

[toxtethogrady]

On 7/28/2021 at 9:30 AM, iah77 said:

You think random people who don't own a property should have specific demands on how a project that is privately financed is developed down to the T? Why don't you share your address to we can evaluate how your garden and siding effect the quality of life of your neighbors lol 

Who else gives a damn? And evaluating gardens and sidings is what homeowners' associations are for...