Long a bastion of bungalows and two-story apartment complexes, Montrose is getting a luxury residential tower to replace the graying 10-story building known to many as the former home of Scott Gertner's SkyBar.
Houston-based developer Hanover tells CultureMap that it has partnered with noted Chicago firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) to build a rental apartment project rising 30 stories above the intersection of Montrose and Hawthorne, just south of the "Disco" Kroger.
Hanover's David Ott says his company officially closed on the land and that demolition work on the existing 1953 building is underway. Vertical construction on the SCB tower — which will be set back considerably further from the street than its predecessor — begins later this summer with move-ins planned for the end of the summer of 2016.
SCB's John Lahay stresses that the high rise has been designed to let the neighborhood "be what it is."
Aside from variance request regarding a canopy and balcony at the tower's entrance on Hawthorne, Ott expects no other architectural details to slow city approval.
Preliminary renderings submitted to the Houston Planning Commission reveal a building clad in glass and concrete, with balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows on the north and (presumably) the south.
A grid of smaller square windows and white concrete marks the tower on the Montrose Boulevard side, subtly complementing the white-striped '60s apartment tower by Houston architect William R. Jenkins a few blocks south.
In a September interview with the Chicago Architecture Blog, SCB president John Lahay stresses that the high rise has been designed to let the neighborhood "be what it is" — a high-density building type designed for a relatively low-density area known for its walkability.
Meanwhile, across town in the Galleria area, the SCB and Hanover are putting the finishing touches on Hanover Post Oak, a 29-story luxury apartment tower nestled into the ever-growing BLVD Place development.
Houston developer Hanover partner with a noted Chicago architecture firm to build a new 30-story apartment tower.
