Alliance Residential Group, the anticipated buyer of the historic Heights waterworks, is holding a public meeting on Tuesday evening, November 29, to give interested individuals the opportunity to hear advance proposals for the site's development. Alliance submitted the highest cash offer out of 19 bids received by the City of Houston, which, by statute, much accept the highest offer.
City Council approves historic landmark designations
Houston has two new designated historic landmarks and one new protected landmark through the assistance of Preservation Houston's Historic Neighborhood Resources Program. Houston City Council has approved landmark designations for the Elwyn & Imola Carroll House in River Oaks and the Frank H. Roberts House in Riverside Terrace as well as protected landmark status for the Hirzel-von Haxthausen House in First Ward.
Historic Heights waterworks available for redevelopment
The City of Houston has placed the historic Heights waterworks on the market. The two-acre site between West 19th and West 20th streets at Nicholson contains a 750,000-gallon brick reservoir building from 1928 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a 1939 Art Deco pumping station built by the Works Progress Administration and a 1949 pumping station. The property anchors the west end of the shopping district along West 19th Street, the main commercial street in Houston Heights, which is experiencing significant retail redevelopment.
Protected landmark designation for Mecom Fountain moves forward
The City of Houston is proceeding with its designation of the Mecom Fountain as a protected historic landmark. Architect Eugene Werlin designed the fountain, which was built in 1964 in the traffic circle where Montrose Boulevard meets Main Street at the entrance to Hermann Park. Houston oilman John Mecom funded the project after he bought the former Warwick Hotel (now Hotel ZaZa) across the street from the fountain's site.