Results tagged “development”

If you travel around the south side of the Medical Center area, you may have noticed the derelict midcentury fire station at the corner of Fannin and South Braeswood. Houston Fire Department's Station 33 was built in 1950 but was replaced in 2004 by a new station about a block south down Fannin. According to the current station's web site, the old station was originally a volunteer station that also served as the city hall for unincorporated Braeswood, which was eventually annexed by Houston in 1950. For the past few years the station has been a small homeless camp and a major target for graffiti, and the owner claims to be unaware of that. There is also a City of Houston Neighborhood Protection Corps violation notice placard on the building citing violations of municipal code sections 10-542 and 10-361. 10-542 regards a public nuisance concerning visual blight and 10-361 regards dangerous buildings. The card is dated October 10, 2005, and the corrections to the problem were to be remedied by October 29, 2005. Unfortunately, the three and a half year old sign is in much better condition than the building.

Arguably the "Best Block in Houston", 3700 Main Street, is about to expand to the neighboring block at 3600 Main. The long vacant building occupying the space next to the Continental Club, Sig's Lagoon, The Big Top Lounge, Tacos A Go-Go and The Mink/Backroom has just been purchased by 3700 Main's owners and is currently undergoing renovations.

Washington Avenue runs approximately three miles, a relatively small stretch of road in comparison to the hulking concrete freeways and endless ribbons of asphalt that flow through Houston. But those three miles, stretching parallel along I-10 and dead-ending into downtown, are potent ones. Washington Avenue is a microcosm of Houston's history and future, succinctly merging the two in ways that no other area of town does as successfully. But at its current rate of growth, with all the gentrification and redevelopment that now defines the area, it may not remain that way for much longer.

While the golden days of espresso and gelato with friends on the giant wooden deck at Dolce & Freddo are long behind us, the vacant building at San Felipe and Voss that once housed the popular Italian coffeehouse has stood neglected since its closure several years ago, a sad reminder of days past. Similarly, the wood-paneled, mid-century modern office buildings nestled around the former Dolce & Freddo slowly became abandoned and shuttered, blending into the heavy trees of the bayou around them over time.

The United States was built on a foundation of freedom. Unfortunately for Houston, foundations are freely put anywhere for any purpose thanks to the lack of public zoning. However, the Houston Area Survey says that change may be on the horizon. Richard Dawson would have been so proud.