Mixed-Use Development with Public Library Planned at Westheimer & Montrose
The Montrose Collective is being built at Westheimer and Grant, across the street from the former Felix Mexican Restaurant, 904 Westheimer.
HOUSTON – Radom Capital and institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management have broken ground on Montrose Collective, a new mixed-use development near the corner of Montrose Boulevard and Westheimer.
The project will deliver more than 100,000 square feet of creative office space, 50,000 square feet of retail, and a 10,000 square-foot public library.
Scheduled for completion in late 2021, Montrose Collective will house six new dining concepts and about 15 boutique retail shops.
Michael Hsu Office of Architecture designed the development to reflect the character and spirit of the Montrose neighborhood.
The site now includes the former Tijerina home on Grant Street, a two-bedroom house built in 1920 that was demolished to make way for the new project.
Across the street from that property, Felix and Janie Tijerina once operated Felix Mexican Restaurant, a long-standing Houston institution celebrated for its cheese enchiladas and chili con queso. The distinctive building that housed Felix is now occupied by Uchi, an upscale Japanese restaurant known for dishes such as thinly sliced flounder, bigeye tuna and candied quinoa.
A historical plaque outside Uchi commemorates Mr. Tijerina’s life and accomplishments. An immigrant who began his career in low-wage restaurant work, he eventually owned a chain of Felix Mexican Restaurants with six Houston locations and one in Beaumont.
In 1956 Tijerina was elected national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a role he held for four years. He founded the Little School of the 400 program to help children learn English before entering elementary school and raised LULAC’s profile nationally through his leadership and philanthropy.
The mature live oaks that once shaded the Tijerina front yard will remain a key landscape feature and provide shade for the new development.
Montrose Collective is the fifth Houston collaboration between Radom Capital and Michael Hsu. The master plan weaves three newly constructed boutique workspace and retail buildings together with two repurposed historic structures.
“We worked to infuse the creative character and energy of the Montrose neighborhood into every aspect of the design,” said Michael Hsu, founder and principal of Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.
The design team emphasized human-centered elements: the site preserves a mature canopy of heritage live oaks, links wide sidewalks to a half-acre public garden room, and introduces shade through canopies and covered walkways. Large balconies and terraces on each level give occupants outdoor access, with views over live oaks, cypress groves and toward downtown.
“Montrose has long been Houston’s center for art, the birthplace of our café and counterculture scenes, and one of the city’s most open, diverse neighborhoods,” said Steve Radom, managing principal. “We envisioned Montrose Collective as a public place that respects context, weaving community gathering areas and porous buildings that welcome neighbors and visitors.”
The project team includes landscape architect OJB (Office of James Burnett), structural engineer HOK, civil engineering firm Kimley-Horn and MEP firm DBR. D.E. Harvey Builders is the general contractor. JLL provided capital markets services and CBRE is handling office leasing.
The new public library within Montrose Collective will replace the city’s Freed-Montrose Library, currently housed in the former sanctuary of the historic Central Church of Christ at 4100 Montrose Boulevard, a building designed by architect William Ward Watkin.
The University of St. Thomas, which has been expanding its Montrose campus in recent years, has been reported to be considering the Church of Christ property for potential future expansion.
