Alabama Theater and Weingarten on the rocks

Now that everyone has had time to marvel at the thought of the River Oaks Shopping Center/theater (a couple of the few remaining art deco structures in this city) on the dark side of the wrecking ball, let Houstonist shift your attention several blocks away to the Alabama Theater. When Weingarten Realty and Pete Kaldis Realty teamed up in the early to mid-'80s to buy the property and adaptively re-use it, the theater, which was turned into a Bookstop, was refurbished so that it could serve as a store now with the capability of being converted back to a theater at a later point in time.

The future of the Alabama Bookstop as a bookstore, let alone the chance of it reliving its glory days as a theater, is bleak these days. This is not only in light of the speculation from the possible closure due to the possibility of a new Barnes & Noble at the River Oaks shopping center, but also because of conversations between Weingarten and a tenant at the Alabama theater center.

The Chronicle's Lisa Gray reports that an owner of Whole Earth Provision Co., a longtime tenant of the Alabama theater complex, said Weingarten associates have approached him about possible redevelopment.

"We've been talking to Weingarten for a long time," he said. "Real estate guys think long-term. With them, the wheel turns real slow. None of this is happening tomorrow." Any change, he said, would be at least two or three years away.

Of course, two to three years is nothing compared to the age of the theater (especially here in tear-down central) or the remaining term of Whole Earth's lease (17 years).

Kaldis Realty, which is known for historical property redevelopment, has since sold its share of the center that houses the theater, saying that Weingarten and Kaldis had different dispositions when it came to the business:

"I have a different mind-set than a developer like Weingarten," explains Andrew Kaldis, who for years managed the property. "We decided to part ways."

This also may seems at odds with the name many Houstonians used to know: Weingarten's Grocery, which was in operation until 1980 when the company shifted from grocery stores to real estate. While Weingarten Realty seems proud of its historic roots in Houston, there is clearly a difference of attitude when it comes to its historical properties.

Don't forget to sign the petition and visit the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance's site and Save the river Oaks for more information.

Photo: Flickr user focalplane