CITE llmiy live CiteSurvey

Lofty Living These range from the rehabilitation of the Union National Bank project eschew the 1-oley Dry Goods Building, an 1889 "loft" label, emphasizing the high-end Victorian survivor near Market Square finishes that will be used in then project. that suffered serious fire damage in 19X9 Other landmarks, the 13-story when it was home to Diverse Works Company Building I Warren tk Wetmore, ArtSpace, to the Commerce Street Lobs, New York, architects, 1915) at San v, hich has been rehabilitated as living and nil Jacinto and Rusk and the nine-story work spaces for artists. Architect and Humble Building (Clinton &: Russell, preservationist Guy Hagstette (who is I I architects. 11'2 11 ai Mam and Polk, have also director of capital projects and plan- Hill been acquired for residential adaptation. ning for the Downtown ULiir** (>ne . stablisht d 1 lousti m di velopet Management District] rehabilitated the i who looked seriousb at converting the Since 1993, one of the hottest Houston three-story Foley Building with two block-square I lumhle Building into apart- real estate trends has been the conversion ground-floor art galleries, a pair ot sec- i ments in the fall of 1995 could not find ond-floor apartments, ami space on the of vacant commercial space into residen- J financing to make the project work eco- tial apartments marketed as "lofts." As third floor for rwo more apartments. nomically. This suggests that developers ! I his misnomer suggests, the loft (a large, Hagstette was an investor in the project must have public financing on the scale ot and is one of the residents. Another I unparritioncd floor area in a commercial i Hotel project. Even with the or manufacturing building) has acquired investor, preservationist Minnctte B. establishment of the Market District Tax high-concept status in Houston real Boesel, has joined developer Doug Increment Reinvestment Zone, which will estate. Invested with the images land (. rosson and Threshold Interests, Hermann l o l l ! condominiums, 204 Travis Street, Gentler, freeze property raxes lor 30 years and prose) nl upscale lifestyle — urban, I louston, to convert the eight-story arrhiletts; restoration will begin this tail. provide for reinvestment of revenue from Hermann Estate Building (P. S. Glover & improvised, glamorous, with a frisson ol responsible for transforming the three- new development inside this district, Son, architects, 1916). next door to the danger — the loft concept has proved a story J. L Jones Warehouse at Commerce making into a Foley Building, into the I Icrmann Lofts winner for developer Randall Davis. In and Jackson into 13 studios. The Stenners thriving residential neighborhood will condominiums [Gensler, architects). 1993. Davis and builder David Weekley rent space only to artists, who use the take a while. converted the four-story James Bute The Hermann bolts at 204 Travis will space as work studios, although several Perhaps to hedge his bets, Randall Building, a 1910 paint-manufacturing have ill units ranging in price from have made their spaces into Davis has announced plans to build a plant at 71 I William Street in the ware- $98,000 to the penthouse price of studio-apartments. brand-new warehouse-loft apartment house district north of Buffalo Bayou, $247,500. Because the Hermann Estate Three historically and architecturally building designed by Page Sotitherland into 53 apartments called the Dakota Building, adjacent to the I louston Cotton significant downtown office buildings Page. Rather than being downtown how- Lofts. TriBeca l u l l s , 25 units at 1210 Exchange, was built for cotton brokers recently have been bought for conversion ever, the four-story, 32-umr building is West Clay in the ex-Clarke tv Courts and traders, large industrial windows, to into apartments. But only at the 12-story slated for construction in the 1700 block printing plain, a 19.14 modernistic one- be retained and restored, were installed Union National Bank Building iMauran, of West Cray ar the corner of Dunlavy, story landmark west of Montrose Boule- across the rear of the building to increase Russell & Croweil, St. Louis, architects, next to the River Oaks Shopping I enter. vard, was Davis's next project. The natural light for cotton grading. Ihe 1912) at 220 Main Street near Market Stephen Fox market response to these new-old lolt front-door facade on Travis Street was Square has work begun (l-'ehr Crossman living spaces was so positive that Davis designed to look more formal. A new- Cox, architects). Asbestos and lead abate- took on conversion of the eight-story rooftop terrace will have a 360-dcgrcc ments have been completed and, accord- 1921 Hogg Building on Market Square view ot I lousron, and parking will be ing to architect Steve Crossman, the downtown into the I logg Palace Lofts, Int.ited in the building's basement. project is moving along rapidly with both comprising 7" apartments (Kirksey frs Architect and artist Jack Srenner and the required presales for final financing Partners, architects), as well as the five- his wife, artist Stephanie Stenner, were and architectural design. Owners of the story Clarke tv Courts Building in the Strand I listoric District in Galveston. In each instance Davis made use ol federal lax credits tor the certified rehabilitation ol a building listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Preservation and rehabilitation have been integral to lH-»'< *f ^ - _ - i *r Davis's financial design.

Randall Davis is the sort of high

1 r profile developer who captures the atten- M~A*Lrnr*-.n.*A< i^yf *? * * tion of I loustonians. He has astutely capi- talized on the appeal of the loft lifestj le to reach out and identify a market ready to pay for a downtown alternative to ranch houses, townhouses, ,\\K\ a double-car garage ot one's own. f£tFVn£ Davis took another giant step forward ,yK. n ' K , r j in June 1996, when the city's I louston 1 lousing finance Corporation agreed io buy the Rice I lotel and lease it to Davis for conversion into 350 apartments. The $3 million purchase price, with an addi- ,f°*r* tional %~ million in bonds to be sold by iANM" , a tax-increment-financmg district autho-

rized b\ cin c icil to benefit the H ' - » S--I Dun't f-tfu project, represents just under one-third PMU A 1 A*, il- I • , !• I . of the reported S >2 million cost of r>ji iift-tAT** the conversion. Such a generous subsidy from the city was not available to the early entrepreneurs responsible for smaller- Popular English ait i n Darek Bo shier lived in Houston lor 15 years (1980-95) and was a member of the art depot -muni fatuity ol the University ol Houston. In 1995 the Contemporary Arts iMosuem scale residential and studio Conversions. presented o respective of Boshier's paintings mode during his years in Texas, fleshier created this cartoon for Cite magazine in 1995, CITE i h 11 iv - five ClteSurvey Fall! HE 5

Georgia on My Mind Code Blue The Powell Group

The Center for Historic Architecture at Chapter 42 of the Municipal Code of the University of Houston College of Ordinances (a.k.a. the subdivision ordi- Architecture has completed documenta- nance) has been .in integi d pan «»t devel- I) t B i g n Installation tion of ihe Georgia O'Keeffe House opment in Houston since 1 982. Houston Space Planning Inventory Evaluation & and Studio in Abiquiu, New Mexico, and its extraterritorial jurisdiction Management Computer-Aided Design & for the Historic American Kuilding (beyond the city limits] have changed Drafting Installation Documentation Survey (HABS). dramatically since 1982, while Chapter 42 has changed minimally, In light of Furniture Specifications Installation Coordination The team of 1 I graduate students and QUALITY three instructors, under the leadership of Mayor Bob Lanier's focus on redevelop- Finish Selections Refurbishment & Repair Barry Moore, incorporated new comput- ing the center city, the Houston Planning Warehousing erized surveying technology, photography, t ommission has embarked on the first EXPERIENCE historical research, and traditional mea- major retooling of Chapter 42 in order to surement techniques to record the com- L reate a document that no longer solely plex of adobe structures occupied In focuses on suburban-oriented develop- RELIABILITY O'Keeffe from 1946 until her death in ment. This past May, policy committees 1986. Many of her most famous works were formed to address specific issues were painted at the site. The project was that affect both urban and suburb,in undertaken in partnership with the development. They will determine how Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation, headed by Chapter 42 is to be modified to provide former Houstonian Elizabeth Classman, clear, user-friendly policies that THK POWELL CrHot'i', INC., SPECIALIZING IN SALES AND SERVICE OF and was made possible by the generous encourage center-city along with whole- OUTSTANDING FURNITURE FOR THE WORKPLACE. support of many friends and the Susan city development. Vaughan Foundation of Houston. The Urban Policy Committee is cur- The Powell Group, Inc. • 5599 San Felipe * Suite 555 • Houston, Tx 77056 The O'Keeffe Foundation is in the rently addressing setbacks, rights-of-way, Telephone: 713. 629. 5599 • Fax: 713. 629. 4600 process of building an $N to S10 million lot size, and compensating open space. endowment for the artist's house, which The Suburban Policy Committee is inves- is open to the public by appointment tigating development access, compensat- The O'Keeffe House will eventually be ing open space, utility easement transferred to the National Trtisi for requirements, and design standards for f listoric Preservation. major thoroughfares. Other issues to be addressed are review of technical stan- dards; incorporation of current planning commission policies; elimination or stan- Arteaks^In£. dardization of differences between subdi- UniQue Home Furnishing From the Pacific Rim Area f«">Hij-T *—i \ ision .mil Jr\ elopment plats and processes; moving technical engineering requirements to more appropriate venues; planned unit developments; variances; definitions; reconstruction after casualty; From A to minor plats and site plans; and standard- ctojs • Cjiutlid * Horses rotkinr, * tkais • |agU9r$ • k.iliiii.in tmliiiv*. • I J,VJ reliefs • Masks • Novel;, ization of all development-related codes. This ambitious undertaking, scheduled for completion at the end of 1996, should c provide the drastic resuscitation Houston development codes need STAT. joe Douglas Webb I C g o uk I CO

!

5UJ ) 1 ,n *'•TfJMr Z • ' I P A • Arc"!piopj|x • sSunin prow • ™EA • »M)d anoiup . jjnnujrij ^raj . sSm'

2703 Bammel Lane off of Westhcimer Tuesday thru Saturday 10:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. 713-521-5985