Historic Montrose Building Reborn as Reve Office and Retail Development
Quality Laundry, built in 1932, is being redeveloped.
HOUSTON – Urban developer Oxberry Group, known for its commitment to historic preservation, is redeveloping a prominent property at 1110 West Gray. The company has researched the building’s past and is transforming it into Rêve at Montrose, a project that blends the site’s history with contemporary urban needs.
Many Houstonians who moved to the city after 1958 recognize the property at Montrose Boulevard and West Gray as the former Gibbs Boat Company showroom.
Historical records show the structure began life as Quality Laundry, built in 1932.
Oxberry Group, which focuses on renovating venerable inner-loop buildings in dense urban neighborhoods, recently won approval from the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission to designate the building as a Houston Landmark.
“We are restoring the exterior of this building to its original Art Deco design,” said Pejman “PJ” Jamea, principal of Oxberry Group. The redevelopment will create a two-story office and retail building anchored by a clock tower that marks the transition between the original and new sections. The project will offer approximately 17,000 square feet on the ground floor and 6,500 square feet on the second floor. A reproduction of the 1932 Quality Laundry marquee will be reinstalled above the original West Gray entrance.
The original Quality Laundry occupied an 11,700-square-foot brick building in the Art Deco style, finished with stucco cladding. Its design reflected the architectural transition from pre-war to post-war styles and trends.
After the Gibbs family acquired the property in 1958 and converted it to a boat showroom, the building was altered to reflect the architectural tastes common in Houston during the 1960s. Extensive renovations from that era removed or obscured most of the original stylistic details. Gibbs Boat Showroom became one of the largest Grady-White dealers in the country, sold its final boat in 2012, and closed the showroom in 2014.
Oxberry Group purchased the property in 2017 and set out to uncover and restore the building’s original character.
Arch-Con Corp. is general contractor for the transformation of the building into office and retail space. Oxberry Group is the developer. Rendering by Tipps Architecture. Leasing by Edge Realty. Financing: Wallis State Bank.
“Our first priority in redeveloping historic inner-city structures is to find a way to resurrect the building,” PJ said. During initial work, Oxberry removed a section of the 1968 slipcover and revealed a decorative fan above the main entry, flanked by fluted pilasters and portions of the original stucco finish. “When we saw these elements on the south elevation facing West Gray, we knew we had to bring them back to life.” The restoration is complex; Oxberry has assembled a team committed to quality, timeless design, and the careful challenges that accompany a project of this nature.
Those collaborators include Tipps Architecture and general contractor Arch-Con Corporation. Tipps Architecture recently completed the restoration of 1000 West Gray, a retail building across the street from Rêve at Montrose.
Arch-Con has an established record restoring historic structures, including the nationally registered Stowers Furniture building into the Aloft Houston Downtown, and is currently transforming the Palace Bowling Lanes into Southside Commons on Bellaire Boulevard.
The project’s first floor is fully leased, while the second floor remains available for medical, professional, or service-oriented tenants. Josh Jacobs and Brooks Shanklin with Edge Realty are handling leasing, and Wallis State Bank provided project financing.
The building shell was expected to be complete in early summer 2019.
