Building watch: Ben Milam Hotel

The Ben Milam Hotel (Joseph Finger: 1925), located across from Minute Maid Park (and some may know that old place - Union Station), has been vacant for more than two decades and may soon be history. What's with all this speculation, you ask? Well, we recently witnessed the sneaky razing of its neighbor, the William Penn Hotel (which was, indeed, in much better condition), and now its windows are being removed and the interior is being gutted, along with additional asbestos abatement.

After three demolition permits were issued in late January and early February of this year, the hotel's adjoining garage and retail space were demolished. No work permits have been issued since, though, which means that the current work being performed has not been issued a permit, or one of those demolition permits may be for the actual hotel.

The Ben Milam hotel, owned by David M. Smith, has seen it all: early on it was one of Houston's nicest hotels, had a not-so-great shag-carpet era, and now is a dilapidated shell of what it once used to be. Smith, who heads the "Texas Avenue Properties, LP" moniker (which by the way, is not in good standing with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts), recently announced plans to build a train-themed restaurant on the area that the hotel's parking garage once occupied. We wondered, though, how that would fare with a rotting hotel directly next to it. Smith also had voiced plans for revitalization of his property back in 1998:

One property that has been particularly slow to develop is the vacant Ben Milam Hotel, which is across Crawford Avenue from Union Station and the entrance of the ballpark.
The property, which is expected to become apartments, is considered a major linchpin for the area because of its proximity to the park.
But it has been slow to move, partly because of an asbestos problem, downtown sources said.
Property owner David Smith, who is meeting later this month with Astros owner Drayton McLane about the property, did not return calls requesting an interview.
"Something will happen there, it's just a question of when," Eury said.

Remember - this was before the ball park even opened.
So, it's just a matter of time. With yearly taxes of the property at nearly $53,000 and rising, and the value of the property decreasing, it's hard not to be skeptical about what's going to happen next. We just hope it's not another late Sunday night wrecking ball party!