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[Montrose Neighborhood]

Inn at the Ballpark-Houston, Texas
Originally constructed as a commercial office building in the early 1960s, the World Trade Center has been redesigned as a 4-star full service boutique hotel adjacent to Minute Maid Field. The new ballpark hotel will provide 201 keys, ground level meeting spaces and conference areas, and a restaurant. The focal point of the hotel will be a four-story atrium containing lounge seating and a large lobby bar. Initially a glass curtainwall, the exterior façade is being reconstructed with masonry, precast concrete, pre-finished aluminum panels and steel trusses that are characteristic of ballpark architecture.
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Texaco Renaissance Hotel-Houston, Texas
This downtown adaptive use consists of three office buildings constructed in 1915 (with a 1936 addition), 1959, and 1962 for the Texas Company, now known as Texaco. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 1915 and 1959 structures will be rehabilitated as a 370-key, 4-star hotel with apartments on the 15th through 17th floors of the 1959 building. The hotel’s main lobby will feature a bistro-style restaurant, an upscale lounge, and a lobby bar, which will aid the resurgence of activity in downtown Houston.

The 1962 building, which was not historic, has been razed to allow a new porte cochère entry and multipurpose structure that connects the hotel buildings. This 4-story central structure will house a 220-car parking garage, a business center with boardrooms and meeting space, a spa and fitness center with a pool, and a 12,000-sf ballroom with pre-function space.
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Landry's Downtown Aquarium Restaurant & Entertainment Complex-Houston, Texas
Utilizing the shell of the abandoned Fire Station No. 1, the new Aquarium Restaurant Complex significantly adds to downtown Houston’s entertainment activities. Featuring over 500,000 gallons of aquariums, the four-story building houses The Marina Matinee Café with seating for 120, The Dive bar and lounge, and a 15,000-sf public aquarium on the ground level. The 50-ft tall cylindrical fish tank-the world's tallest fish tank and the central focus of the building-extends the full height of the entertainment areas to the third level.

A grand staircase encircles the tank, leading to the 400-seat Aquarium Restaurant on the second level and banquet facilities on the third floor. Both upper dining and banquet levels feature outdoor terraces for magnificent downtown views. Corporate offices and life support services for the aquarium occupy the top level. The surrounding grounds feature fountains, plazas, a ferris wheel and a train that circles the site and takes passengers through a shark tank located within the historic Water Works Building. The new Aquarium opened in April 2003.
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Aug. 16, 2003, 9:55PM
Real estate
Piece of downtown history to bite the dust
By RALPH BIVINS
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

The old San Jacinto building downtown is about to meet its demise. The 12-story building, which has been sitting vacant for a while, will be flattened to make room for a parking lot.

Located at 911 Walker between Travis and Main, the building was originally the site of the Bender Hotel, which opened more than 90 years ago. The 290-room hotel was later renamed the San Jacinto Hotel.

At one time, the hotel housed a "Turkish bath," a millinery shop, and was touted as "the only hotel in the South with an electric grill."

Over the years, the San Jacinto property was an investment play for some of the heaviest hitters in the Houston of a bygone era.

In 1940, an investment group led by George Brown of Brown & Root bought the property for $1.35 million.

The seller was a holding company led by R.L. Blaffer, former chairman of the board of the old Humble Oil and Refining Co.

In 1950, a redevelopment of the hotel became major news in Houston. The interior and exterior of the hotel were stripped away, and architect Kenneth Franzheim redesigned it, and the hotel was transformed into an office building. The building is adjacent to the Battelstein's department store, which closed in 1980.

The current owners, Sunbelt Management, purchased the property in 2001 from the Hines realty firm. Sunbelt also owns a nearby parking lot, called Block 142, which is considered a prime spot for an office tower. But it is unlikely that Houston will need a new office building for a while, Hines executive Mark Cover said.

Sunbelt also owns the Pennzoil Place tower, near the San Jacinto building. Building a parking garage there to serve the Pennzoil building could be an attractive lure to get new tenants to Pennzoil, said Hines' Clark Davis.

The destruction of the San Jacinto building means a little piece of my family history is being erased. At one time, the San Jacinto building housed the L-C Cafeteria, a gigantic eatery. My long-departed grandfather visited the L-C most mornings, meeting old cronies for discussions on world affairs, domestic politics and the best methods for appraising cattle.
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HOUSTON – June 03, 2003
The first phase of the new 23-gate, 600,000 square-foot, Terminal E, opened today during a ceremony that included a ribbon-cutting by Houston Mayor Lee P. Brown, Gordon Bethune, chairman and CEO, Continental Airline, Inc. and Larry Kellner, president, Continental Airlines, Inc. The new $225 million terminal, the airport's fifth, will be used exclusively by Continental Airlines. The facility features a spacious, modern design and conveniences for travelers, while giving Continental a platform for growing domestic and international service. “Terminal E provides the infrastructure needed to provide the type of international gateway this community needs, making it easier, more convenient and faster for people to fly. The airport’s growth and renovation will help lead the way for continued economic expansion for the Houston area,” expressed Mayor Brown. “This airport terminal and airline personify the word global,” continued Mayor Brown. Seven gates on the west concourse go into operation immediately. The central building and east concourse is scheduled for completion by December, offering the full complement of 23 gates as well as the ticket counter check-in positions. The terminal is currently used for domestic flights by Continental Airlines. When the new Federal Inspection Services Building is completed in early 2005, Continental Airlines will use terminal E for international flights. Travelers using Terminal E will notice the feeling of spaciousness throughout the u-shaped facility. Soaring ceilings, wide concourses, large seating areas and huge glass window-walls combine to make the 600,000 square-foot building seem even bigger. Continental adopted architectural design elements from its recent terminal expansion at Newark Liberty International Airport, which lends consistency to the travel experience of Continental’s frequent flyers. Electronic gear brings Terminal E into the Digital Age with flat-screen monitors displaying flight information, automatically adjusting volume on paging announcements to compensate for ambient noise, and the latest-generation eService terminals for self check-in at every gate. Popular artist Peter Max is commissioned to add artistry to the building’s interior, and “The Art Guys” of Houston is installing an 80-screen video wall to capture the attention of passersby. The center of the building will be capped by the world’s largest Presidents Club lounge (two levels and 25,000 square feet), which will open by year-end along with the east concourse. The Presidents Club has expansive views of airport operations from its floor-to-ceiling windows, 60 private carrels for business, and showers for customers arriving from overseas in BusinessFirst. Westfield Concession Management will manage the restaurants and retail concessions in Terminal E, building on the success this partnership has achieved at Newark Terminal C, winner of the Airport Council International’s “Best Retail/Specialty Program” award. Food court dining options opening this month are: Famous Famiglia, Blue Bell Ice Cream, Coca Moka Café, Le Petit Bistro, Pappasito’s, Panda Express and Starbucks. In addition, a Pappadeaux full-service restaurant will open this month. Retail stores opening in the first phase include:, Sunshade Optique, Brookstone, Hudson News, Landau Jewelry, Weitnauer Duty Free, In Celebration of Golf, Space Trader-NASA, Swatch, Johnston & Murphy, and a Freshëns Smoöthie kiosk. Expected in later phases of Terminal E development are 15 additional concessions including a second full-service restaurant. Terminal E is accessible from the parking garage attached to the east side of Terminal C, and will soon be connected to the South Concourse of Terminal C. Gates and loading bridges are designed to accommodate aircraft large and small, giving Continental maximum flexibility to handle a 50-seat regional jet arriving from Mexico or a 283-seat Boeing 777 departing for Tokyo. - ### -

The Houston Airport System is a major factor in the southeast Texas economy. It is estimated that HAS is responsible for over 8 billion dollars in economic activity annually in the Houston area, and generates over 90,000 jobs for the region. The Houston Airport System is the fourth largest multi-airport system in the United States and the sixth largest in the world. George Bush Intercontinental Airport is the nation's eight largest passenger airport and 11th largest in the world. In 2002, HAS served over 42 million passengers.
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YEA HOUSTON