HOUSTON – (By Michelle Leigh Smith for Realty News Report) – Significant growth and development are underway in Montrose, a long-established and vibrant neighborhood on the southwestern edge of downtown Houston.
“This is our little jewel,” said Mark Davis, president of Davis Commercial, a brokerage specializing in Inner Loop properties. “Houston, to a large degree, can be homogenous, but Montrose has the flavor and the funk.”
Davis made his remarks to the Houston City Breakfast Club, the city’s second-oldest professional women’s breakfast organization, which has been meeting for 41 years.
He expressed mixed feelings about the demolition of a 44,000-square-foot shopping center anchored by Spec’s and Half-Price Books at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose Boulevard. The property, described by Davis as the “Main at Main of Montrose,” was purchased by Skanska, a Stockholm-based developer, at a record-setting land price of $230 per square foot.
“It’s bittersweet,” Davis said, speaking just hours after bulldozers moved in. “The good news is it wasn’t the most attractive shopping center. They’ll put a temporary use in there — a drive-in movie concept — for 12 to 24 months while they percolate their master plan.”
Skanska calls that approach “temporary activation.” On weekends the site may host a farmer’s market. “Most likely, ultimately it will become a large mixed-use development with a boutique hotel,” Davis added. “They’ve also discussed office space designed to complement the technology tenants at the new innovation hub, The Ion,” a redevelopment of the old Sears building on Main Street owned by the Rice University endowment.
The Montrose Construction Boom
Davis shared a Google Street View tour highlighting recent demolitions and new projects around Montrose.
“The two-acre Kroger — nicknamed the ‘Disco Kroger’ — next to the Skanska site was bought this year by Southeastern out of Augusta, Georgia,” he said. “They paid $8 million, about $167 per square foot. That isn’t record-setting but it’s a substantial price. Southeastern plans retail on the first floor with a residential tower above, though details and timelines are not yet finalized.”
La Colombe D’or and Hines completed a joint venture on a high-end residential tower: 34 stories and 265 units, with a few floors devoted to mini-hotel suites. Lauren Rottet designed the interiors. Steve Zimmerman will open his revamped hotel concept this week in the former Fondren mansion on Montrose Boulevard.
Steve Radom of Radom Capital developed the four-story Montrose Collective, which offers a couple hundred thousand square feet of office and retail space and includes a lease to concert promoter Live Nation. The first floor features retail tenants. The project should be finished in a few months and represents a notable addition to the neighborhood — Radom also has projects planned in the Heights.
Larry Levine Pays $162 Per SF for a Full Block
“An old one-story church near the Mason Building and the new Glassell School, between Bell Park and 5000 Montrose, was purchased by Larry Levine’s Levcor for $162 per square foot,” Davis said. “It’s a full city block, roughly $8 million. Levine hasn’t announced a specific plan; he’s fond of the site and has mentioned multi-story hotel concepts. When investors pay those prices, the economics typically push toward building up.”
The former El Real, in the old Tower Theater building, will soon reopen as Acme Oyster House from New Orleans. The Tower Theater has long been an entertainment anchor in Montrose, a neighborhood shaped by the LGBTQ+ community, the arts, and a stock of pre-World War II homes and bungalows.
Voodoo Donuts Opens on Lower Westheimer
Voodoo Donuts recently opened at 1214 Westheimer. “It’s not your grandfather’s donut shop,” Davis said. “They offer Montrose-appropriate flavors and a strong focus on art. They commissioned a painting by Houston artist Wes Anderson and created a fun, funky space that should do well. Voodoo had plans to open additional locations in 2021, which could include further expansion in Houston.”
Straight-Razor Shaves at Cutthroat Barber Shop
“A small building at 1508 Westheimer has been completely refurbished as the upscale Cutthroat Barber Shop,” Davis noted. Cutthroat offers traditional straight-razor shaves; a haircut and full shave runs $72, a buzz cut $32, and a standard haircut $37.
Another addition is Café Leonelli, which will open in the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with plans to begin operations on April 16.
On the municipal side, the city plans improvements to Westheimer Road, including Lower Westheimer. “They’ll redo intersections and widen sidewalks to make the area more pedestrian- and bike-friendly,” Davis said. “It will be somewhat similar to improvements made near Lamar High School. The goal is to make intersections safer.”
While Austin has promoted the slogan “Keep Austin Weird,” Montrose has long embodied a distinct, enduring eccentricity. The neighborhood has demonstrated an ability to absorb growth and new development while maintaining the unique character that sets it apart.
April 2, 2021 Realty News Report. Copyright 2021.
File: Keep Montrose Weird: Combining Growth, Flavor and Funk
Photo: La Colombe D’or on Montrose Boulevard. Photo credits: La Colombe D’or and Hines.
For additional reading about Houston development, see the book Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town — An Extreme Close Up by Ralph Bivins.