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GHPA is now Preservation Houston

March 12, 2012
GHPA

Greater Houston Preservation Alliance is getting a new name and a new home. After serious consideration, GHPA’s Board of Directors voted to shorten the organization’s name to Preservation Houston; the Texas Secretary of State and Harris County Clerk recently certified the change.
“Our name may be different, but our mission remains the same. Preservation Houston will continue to promote the preservation and appreciation of our shared architectural and cultural historic resources,” said Preservation Houston President Patty Porter. “The organization, the staff, the board and our membership will remain the same.”

On Monday, March 19, Preservation Houston will be in its new office at 3272 Westheimer Road, Suite 2, in the historic Lamar-River Oaks Building. The new contact information will be (713) 510-3990 and contact@preservationhouston.org. Preservation Houston is also in the process of upgrading its website. The new web address is www.preservationhouston.org.

The new name better reflects the organization’s current work.

Lamar-River Oaks Building“When GHPA was incorporated in 1978, Houston did not have a historic preservation ordinance, there were no historic districts and no local landmarks. Everyone had to work to get the fundamental tools in place,” said Preservation Houston Executive Director Ramona Davis. “Now our work is much more nuanced. The interests of the Old Sixth Ward Historic District are not necessarily the same as the Broadacres Historic District.”

“We’ll still form partnerships with other groups, but it’s going to be based on the specific project or program,” Davis said. “Of course, issues like the Alabama Theater and the Astrodome will always require broad-based grassroots support.”

With the new name comes a new image. Preservation Houston’s logo (above) incorporates a traditional key to reflect the organization’s efforts to preserve historic architecture. A leaf element represents preservation’s role in conserving resources by encouraging reuse rather than demolition.

GHPA has been in its current office in the JPMorgan Chase & Co. Building downtown since 1987. The move was precipitated when Chase Bank sold the historic building that many Houstonians know as the Gulf Building.

“We’ll always be grateful to Chase Bank and its predecessor, Texas Commerce Bank, for generously donating GHPA’s office space for more than 20 years,” Davis said. “It’s going to feel strange not coming here, but change is good. We have a new name, a new look and a new home.”

Find Preservation Houston at:
www.preservationhouston.org
facebook.com/preservationhouston
twitter.com/preshou

Lamar-River Oaks Building (1948, Raymond H. Brogniez). Photo by Jim Parsons.

TxDOT ramping up proposed I-45 expansion

November 1, 2011
I-45 Corridor

After several years on hold, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is again scheduling public meetings on the proposed expansion of the North Freeway/I-45 between downtown Houston and The Woodlands. As originally planned, the project would widen the North Freeway to 12 lanes — four northbound, four southbound and four managed lanes — inside Loop 610.

If the original proposals are carried out, the project will have significant impact on several historic neighborhoods, including the Woodland Heights Historic District, Near Northside National Register District and the Grota Homestead addition, which Texas Historical Commission has determined is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

TxDOT has scheduled two public meetings about the project:

Both meetings will have an “open house” format; attendees may come and go during the program. TxDOT will show a 10-minute informational video about the project, maps of the impacted areas will be displayed and TxDOT representatives will be on hand to answer questions.

For more information, please visit the I-45 Coalition’s Facebook page.

City Council creates 3 new historic districts

June 29, 2011
Historic Districts

On June 29, Houston City Council designated three new City of Houston historic districts: Glenbrook Valley, Heights South and Woodland Heights. A majority of homeowners in each of these neighborhoods signed and submitted petitions requesting the district designations.

Glenbrook Valley becomes the only City of Houston historic district outside of Loop 610. The southeast Houston neighborhood is on the west side of the Gulf Freeway and contains an extensive collection of Mid-Century Modern homes, including distinctive houses built for the 1956 Parade of Homes.

Heights South Historic District is south of 11th Street and east of Yale Street in Houston Heights. Woodland Heights Historic District is on the north and south sides of Bayland Street on the west side of Houston Avenue. Historic houses in these two new districts date primarily from the first decades of the 20th century and include a variety of traditional styles.

Congratulations to the homeowners who worked so diligently so that their neighborhoods could share the benefits and protections of historic district designation.

Thanks to Mayor Annise Parker, District H Council Member Ed Gonzalez and District I Council Member James Rodriguez, whose Council districts include the new historic districts, and all of the City Council members who voted to accept the homeowners’ requests and designated the three new districts.

Thanks also to the members of Greater Houston Preservation Alliance as well as the members of Houston Mod, the Historic Districts Coalition and local members of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Preservation Texas who contacted their Council members in support of the new historic districts.

City Council votes

Glenbrook Valley Historic District

FOR: Mayor Annise Parker, District A Brenda Stardig, District D Wanda Adams, District E Mike Sullivan, District F Al Hoang, District H Ed Gonzales, District I James Rodriguez, At Large 1 Stephen Costello, At Large 2 Sue Lovell, At Large 3 Melissa Noriega

AGAINST: District C Anne Clutterbuck, District G Oliver Pennington, At Large 4 Brad Bradford, At Large 5 Jolanda Jones.

Heights South Historic District

FOR: Parker, Stardig, Adams, Hoang, Gonzales, Rodriguez, Costello, Lovell, Noriega

AGAINST: Clutterbuck, Sullivan, Pennington, Bradford, Jones

Woodland Heights Historic District

FOR: Parker, Stardig, Adams, Hoang, Gonzales, Rodriguez, Costello, Lovell, Noriega

AGAINST: Clutterbuck, Sullivan, Pennington, Bradford, Jones

District B Council Member Jarvis Johnson was absent.

From left, Woodland Heights Historic District, Glenbrook Valley Historic District, Heights South Historic District. Photos by Jim Parsons, Robert Searcy and David Bush.

Pending historic districts go to City Council

June 27, 2011
Historic Districts

This week, Houston City Council will consider the future of three new historic districts: Heights South, Woodland Heights and Glenbrook Valley. A majority of property owners in these three communities have signed petitions requesting to have their neighborhoods designated as City of Houston historic districts.

It is important to contact your district Council member and all of the at-large Council members even if you do not live in a historic district or have historic districts in your area. The at-large Council members are your Council members; they represent the entire city. During the last votes on historic districts, some at-large Council members said they had not received any e-mails from historic district supporters.

Links to the e-mail addresses of all Houston City Council members are below. Please copy and paste the message in this e-mail, send it to your district City Council member and all of the at-large Council members and ask them to vote to protect these historic neighborhoods. If you are a property owner in one of the pending historic districts, please include that information in your messages to City Council.

The three districts are on Houston City Council’s Wednesday, June 29 agenda. If you would like to speak before City Council during the public session at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, please call the City Secretary’s office at 832-393-1100 no later than 1 p.m. June 28.

Use the subject line – Protect Houston’s historic neighborhoods

Copy and paste the following message -

Dear Council Member LAST NAME:

I am writing as one of your constituents to ask you to vote for the Heights South, Woodland Heights and Glenbrook Valley historic districts. [If applicable: I am a property owner in the NAME historic district; designation protects my neighborhood's historic character and my property values.]

YOUR NAME
STREET ADDRESS

Use these links to contact your district Council member and all of the at-large Council members -

District A – Brenda Stardig, districta@houstontx.gov

District B – Jarvis Johnson, districtb@houstontx.gov

District C – Anne Clutterbuck, districtc@houstontx.gov

District D – Wanda Adams, districtd@houstontx.gov

District E – Mike Sullivan, districte@houstontx.gov

District F – Al Hoang, districtf@houstontx.gov

District G – Oliver Pennington, districtg@houstontx.gov

District H – Ed Gonzalez, districth@houstontx.gov

District I – James Rodriguez, districti@houstontx.gov

At-Large 1 – Stephen Costello, atlarge1@houstontx.gov

At-Large 2 – Sue Lovell, atlarge2@houstontx.gov

At-Large 3 – Melissa Noriega, atlarge3@houstontx.gov

At-Large 4 – Brad Bradford, atlarge4@houstontx.gov

At-Large 5 – Jolanda Jones, atlarge5@houstontx.gov

Blast from the past

June 14, 2011
GHPA

A new archive feature on GHPA’s recently redesigned website allows you to research or reminisce about historic preservation in Houston. The archive includes GHPA newsletters dating back to the first edition in 1983. The publications document the evolution of the preservation movement in Houston and are good sources of information on historic buildings.

If you have any issues of the newsletter that are not on the website, please e-mail GHPA and we will make arrangements to scan your copy and add it to the archive.

River Oaks Center changes compromise Art Deco design

April 27, 2011
River Oaks

Weingarten Realty Investors is installing corner turrets, taller parapets, sandstone elements and larger signs on the historic River Oaks Shopping Center (1937, 1948) on West Gray at South Shepherd. The alterations, pictured at left, are changing the profile of the Art Deco landmark and compromising its low, streamlined design. The work is being carried out on all of the historic buildings in the center except the River Oaks Theater (1939).

In 2007, Weingarten Realty demolished one of the distinctive curved sections of the original shopping center. The extended height, new signs and, particularly, the sandstone detailing are in keeping with the appearance of the new Barnes & Noble wing built on the site of the demolished historic building.

River Oaks Shopping Center is a designated City of Houston historic landmark. Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission denied a Certificate of Appropriateness for this project, but Houston’s historic preservation ordinance allowed the City to issue permits for the work after a 90-day waiting period.

Amendments to the preservation ordinance eliminated the 90-day waiver in designated City of Houston historic districts. Individually designated landmarks that are not in historic districts can still be altered or demolished after 90 days. River Oaks Shopping Center is not located in a City of Houston historic district.

See photos of the River Oaks Shopping Center before the alterations.

Photos: April 2011 alterations to River Oaks Shopping Center (1948 expansion, Raymond H. Brogniez), 1953-1993 W. Gray Avenue. (photos by Jim Parsons)

Meetings, surveys begin for 7 Houston historic districts

December 4, 2010
Preservation Ordinance

The City of Houston Planning and Development Department has scheduled public meetings for five of the seven city historic districts being considered for repeal. The owners of at least 10 percent of the tracts in each of these districts signed petitions to begin the process that could result in the loss of all preservation protections for every homeowner in each of the affected districts.

GHPA received notice on Friday (December 3) that the meeting for property owners in the Avondale West and Boulevard Oaks historic districts will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, December 7, at Montrose Counseling Center, 401 Branard Street.

The meeting for property owners in the Heights East, West and South historic districts will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, December 8, at Reagan High School, 413 East 13th Street.

The meetings for property owners in the First Montrose Commons and Norhill historic districts have not been scheduled.

It is very important for property owners in each of the affected historic districts to watch their mail in the next several days. The City of Houston will be sending property owners letters regarding their districts’ repeal surveys. Property owners who complete and return the letters will be voting to dissolve their historic districts and remove all preservation protections for themselves and their neighbors.

If you live in one of the affected historic districts, please do not complete and return these letters. If you know property owners in the affected districts, please forward this information to them.

For more information, contact the City of Houston Planning & Development Department at (713) 837-7701 or historicpreservation@houstontx.gov.

Photo: Heights East Historic District (photo by David Bush)

Fact: You can enlarge historic houses under Houston’s preservation ordinance

November 6, 2010
Preservation Ordinance

There is a lot of conflicting information going around about the recent changes to the historic preservation ordinance. GHPA is producing these messages to help you learn the facts about historic preservation in Houston.

Fiction: Homeowners in designated historic districts will not be allowed to enlarge their houses.

Fact: The preservation ordinance does not prohibit the expansion of contributing houses in City of Houston historic districts.

Both of the houses pictured here are contributing structures in the Old Sixth Ward Protected Historic District. Both houses were substantially enlarged in a manner that preserves the architectural character of the original houses and enhances the historic character of the neighborhood.

2012 Kane Street (above) was almost doubled in size with a two-story addition of all new construction at the rear of the original house. 705-707 Sabine Street (below) was more than doubled in size with a two-story side addition next to the original house; the addition is all new construction and is connected to the historic house at the rear.

Both projects were approved by Houston Archeological and Historical Commission. Both projects have been recognized with Good Brick Awards from Greater Houston Preservation Alliance.

Preservation opponents are circulating petitions that could lead to the dissolution of Houston’s designated historic districts and the loss of preservation protections for your and your neighbors’ properties. Do not sign these petitions.

The City of Houston has posted a summary of the amendments and what they mean on the Planning & Development Department website. If you have any questions regarding the preservation ordinance, please get your answers from the people responsible for administering the ordinance by e-mailing Planning & Development Department staff or calling them at (713) 837-7701.

Photos courtesy of FRAMEwork Design, LLC

UH/GHPA study confirms value of historic district designation

November 5, 2010
Historic Districts

The University of Houston’s Hobby Center for Public Policy (HCPP) has released the results of a study that clearly illustrates the positive impact historic district designation has on property values in Houston. Greater Houston Preservation Alliance commissioned the study to illustrate the value of historic district designation in dollars and cents.

Similar studies have been conducted in other cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Galveston, but comparisons to Houston were difficult because those communities have much stronger preservation protections. The HCPP findings show that Houston’s results are in line with those for other cities: Historic properties in designated historic districts have higher appraised values and maintain those values better than those in comparable adjacent neighborhoods that are not designated historic districts.

Methods
HCPP conducted a comparative analysis of Harris County Appraisal District records from the past ten years. Appraised values in three designated City of Houston historic districts were measured against values of comparable properties in adjacent historic neighborhoods that are not designated historic districts. Separate analyses were conducted for land values and improvement values. To ensure the analysis compared like properties, the improvements studied were historic houses with similar construction dates. Values for more than 1,500 separate properties were analyzed.

The study compared appraised values in the Old Sixth Ward Historic District on the south side of Washington Avenue to those in the First Ward on the north side of Washington. Property values in the Westmoreland Historic District on the north side of West Alabama Street were compared to those in the Bute Addition on the south side of West Alabama. Values in the Norhill Historic District were compared to those in the southern section of Norhill that is not part of the historic district.

Results
Among HCPP’s findings:

• From 2001 to 2007, appraised values of historic houses in the Old Sixth Ward Historic District more than doubled. Properties in the historic district generally maintained those new higher values until 2010. From 2005 to 2010, appraised values for historic houses in First Ward were in consistent decline.

• From 2001 to 2010, appraised land values in Old Sixth Ward Historic District remained consistently higher than appraised land values in First Ward.

• From 2001 to 2010, houses in the Westmoreland Historic District had substantially higher appraised values than those in Bute Addition.

• The appraised values of houses in both areas of Norhill decreased beginning in 2005; however, Norhill Historic District began a four-year rebound in 2006. The appraised values of houses in Norhill Historic District increased rapidly enough to surpass Norhill South in 2007 and stay above Norhill South from that point forward.

• HCPP also projected that historic houses in the Norhill Historic District are much more likely to increase in value in the future than those in the non-designated neighborhood.

Download a pdf of the complete analysis of the study’s results from the UH Hobby Center for Public Policy website.

Greater Houston Preservation Alliance has provided HCPP’s findings to the mayor, City Council and local media.

Photo: Old Sixth Ward Protected Historic District (photo by Jim Parsons)

What’s next for Houston historic districts?

October 14, 2010
Preservation Ordinance

In the coming weeks, property owners in existing City of Houston historic districts may be asked to sign petitions to repeal their neighborhoods’ historical designations. Please do not sign these petitions and ask your neighbors not to sign these petitions. If you do, you could remove all preservation protections for your neighborhood.

GHPA will e-mail a copy of the repeal petition as soon as it is available so that property owners will recognize it. If you have any questions regarding the petition process, please e-mail GHPA or call us at (713) 216-5000.

As Houston enters the transitional period for instituting the new protections for local historic districts,  opponents to the measure have already begun the onslaught of misinformation and scare tactics regarding the preservation ordinance and what it means to property owners in City of Houston historic districts.

The preservation ordinance was written to help Houstonians preserve the character of their historic neighborhoods and protect property values.

No matter what you might hear from preservation opponents, please remember and please tell your neighbors that City Council has included specific provisions stating that the preservation ordinance does not regulate:

• Interior alterations

• Paint colors

• Light fixtures, mailboxes and ceiling fans

• Air conditioning and heating units

• Landscaping and fences

• Uses for historic properties or land in historic districts

Historical Commission approval is only required for demolitions, relocations, and alterations to exterior features visible from the public right-of-way. For the purposes of this ordinance, alleys are not considered part of the public right-of-way. Property owners may appeal Historical Commission decisions to the Planning Commission and City Council.

The preservation ordinance does not require property owners in City of Houston historic districts to restore or renovate their houses or commercial buildings. Religious sanctuaries are exempt from the provisions of the preservation ordinance.

The amended ordinance offers significant opportunities and challenges. Working together, we can assure the future of Houston’s historic neighborhoods.

Photo: Westmoreland Historic District (photo by Jim Parsons)