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Tuesday
March 16, 2010 Since 1922 |
Dining, venues could help Texas Avenue
By Jessica Robertson
Baytown Sun Published July 28, 2006 Although the downtown area is not likely to return to its former position as a retail destination, market analysts predict that with a little attention and funding, it could become a specialty dining or arts and entertainment location.
A Maryland-based company specializing in downtown revitalization, Hunter Interests Inc., released the findings this week of its study on the potential for redevelopment along Texas Avenue. In a work session Thursday night, Baytown City Council discussed the study.
“We’re never going to see Texas Avenue as the general merchandise retail destination it once was,” urban economist and Hunter Interests President Don Hunter said. “We’ve got to get over this notion that we can go back to downtown as a place for shopping trips on Saturday. What we need to see downtown are specialty shops that can attract a broader range of people.”
Retail and dining establishments would be more successful in the area than real estate ventures, he said.
“The good news is we’re in a growth situation,” Hunter said. “The economy is growing and diversifying — becoming less dependent on the petrochemical industry. However, the bad news is the real estate market downtown is weak. That’s why you see a lot of buildings abandoned and a lot of tax delinquency situations.”
Real estate markets are likely to remain weak until residents see tangible evidence of revitalization, he said.
“Once there is a positive sense of change that the downtown area is coming back, people are going to respond,” Hunter said. “There will be a snowball effect and greater propensity to invest in the area if people see that the area as a whole is coming back.”
The city has several options to revitalize Texas Avenue, Hunter said, including the creation of a “restaurant row” or performance venue area.
“Restaurants like to be in a competitive market situation,” he said. “It could be a place where people eat, have a drink and go to a show. The collection of establishments creates the attraction.”
The study found that the success of two restaurants — Rooster’s Steakhouse and Dawg House Café — on the eastern edge of Texas Avenue indicates the potential for a boardwalk concept in the area.
Reestablishing the abandoned Brunson Theater building as a live performance venue could bring other artistic attractions to the area, Hunter said.
“We could establish a college of the arts or a dance school nearby,” he said. “Performing arts would become an attraction to bring people to the area. If you get two, three or four of these things going, you’ve got a performance center in downtown Baytown.”
Art League of Baytown member Bobby Sutphin said a permanent home for the league might be the artistic boots downtown needs. The league has been looking to lease a building to showcase members’ work and to teach art classes, she said.
“An art league building will draw people to the area and be a great start for a performing arts center downtown,” she said. “Part of our proposal is to be a Mecca for artisans in the craft area and artists.”
The city’s next step in revitalizing Texas Avenue, Hunter said, is to use the study, as well as the Downtown Master Plan, to form an action plan for seven to 10 years and then to select a team of city officials and private citizens to spearhead the project.
Several Council members discussed the city’s role in funding the revitalization. Hunter said his firm wouldn’t recommend investing any public funds unless private investors come forward.
“The concept of ‘build it and they will come’ is great for a movie and a baseball field but not for revitalizing a downtown area,” District 4 Councilman Don Murray said.
District 2 Councilman Scott Sheley, who also serves as president of the Baytown Downtown Association, said because several new businesses have recently come to or are planning to come to the area, the city should be ready to do its part.
“I think we already match really well with exactly what’s being said here (in the study),” he said. “I’ve got to count those new businesses as successes. We’ve got to make the playing field level.”
In its regular meeting Thursday following the work session, Council approved the decision to apply for a grant program to improve public spaces downtown. The program, sponsored by the Houston-Galveston Area Council, would provide the city with up to $25,000 and require an equal local match. If the grant is received, it will likely be used for installing antique street signs downtown, City Manager Gary Jackson said.
Earlier this month, the Municipal Development District also set aside $140,000 for the first phase of a streetscape project downtown. The plan separates downtown revitalization into three areas — Texas Avenue, Market Street and Alexander Drive. The first phase of the project will be focused on Texas Avenue.
The money will be used as a local match for a $700,000 federally funded grant that Congressman Gene Green earmarked in last year’s Texas Department of Transportation budget. The efforts of publicly funded grants will only be successful, Hunter said, if private investors show similar interest.
He said downtown revitalization can only work if citizen investors rehabilitate a few key buildings while the city completes streetscape beautification, one block at a time.
In a speech to the Baytown Lions Club earlier this week, DonCarlos addressed citizen comments that Texas Avenue should be bulldozed.
“There are a lot of good people who have invested time and money in the revitalization of Texas Avenue,” he said. “I think we have a lot of potential downtown that we have not tapped.”
The best way to tap that potential, he said, would be to concentrate initial efforts on a demonstration block with repaired streets, sidewalks and benches that would serve as a model for the project.
DonCarlos said he has also been discussing possibilities for the downtown area with private developers.
“I could see multi-family housing units near Lee College for students and others who want to live in the heart of the city,” he said. “That could bring in other businesses because realistically, there are not many businesses around the campus that cater to college students.”
Creating a “main street” for Lee College would also be an appropriate use for Texas Avenue, Hunter said.
“We already have a college,” he said. “Bookstores, coffee shops and Internet cafes will bring Lee College students and staff to the area.”
Hunter and his team began their work in November and visited the area four times to inventory buildings and to conduct interviews with residents, business owners and city staff. Nearly 50 percent of stores along Texas Avenue are vacant and boarded, Hunter said.
“It’s going to take thinking outside the box and a lot of hard work,” DonCarlos said to the Lions Club. “But I am not willing to write Texas Avenue off yet. I think we owe it to our city to turn Texas Avenue into an asset rather than a liability, as it is now.”
Baytown Sun Published July 28, 2006 Although the downtown area is not likely to return to its former position as a retail destination, market analysts predict that with a little attention and funding, it could become a specialty dining or arts and entertainment location.
A Maryland-based company specializing in downtown revitalization, Hunter Interests Inc., released the findings this week of its study on the potential for redevelopment along Texas Avenue. In a work session Thursday night, Baytown City Council discussed the study.
“We’re never going to see Texas Avenue as the general merchandise retail destination it once was,” urban economist and Hunter Interests President Don Hunter said. “We’ve got to get over this notion that we can go back to downtown as a place for shopping trips on Saturday. What we need to see downtown are specialty shops that can attract a broader range of people.”
Retail and dining establishments would be more successful in the area than real estate ventures, he said.
“The good news is we’re in a growth situation,” Hunter said. “The economy is growing and diversifying — becoming less dependent on the petrochemical industry. However, the bad news is the real estate market downtown is weak. That’s why you see a lot of buildings abandoned and a lot of tax delinquency situations.”
Real estate markets are likely to remain weak until residents see tangible evidence of revitalization, he said.
“Once there is a positive sense of change that the downtown area is coming back, people are going to respond,” Hunter said. “There will be a snowball effect and greater propensity to invest in the area if people see that the area as a whole is coming back.”
The city has several options to revitalize Texas Avenue, Hunter said, including the creation of a “restaurant row” or performance venue area.
“Restaurants like to be in a competitive market situation,” he said. “It could be a place where people eat, have a drink and go to a show. The collection of establishments creates the attraction.”
The study found that the success of two restaurants — Rooster’s Steakhouse and Dawg House Café — on the eastern edge of Texas Avenue indicates the potential for a boardwalk concept in the area.
Reestablishing the abandoned Brunson Theater building as a live performance venue could bring other artistic attractions to the area, Hunter said.
“We could establish a college of the arts or a dance school nearby,” he said. “Performing arts would become an attraction to bring people to the area. If you get two, three or four of these things going, you’ve got a performance center in downtown Baytown.”
Art League of Baytown member Bobby Sutphin said a permanent home for the league might be the artistic boots downtown needs. The league has been looking to lease a building to showcase members’ work and to teach art classes, she said.
“An art league building will draw people to the area and be a great start for a performing arts center downtown,” she said. “Part of our proposal is to be a Mecca for artisans in the craft area and artists.”
The city’s next step in revitalizing Texas Avenue, Hunter said, is to use the study, as well as the Downtown Master Plan, to form an action plan for seven to 10 years and then to select a team of city officials and private citizens to spearhead the project.
Several Council members discussed the city’s role in funding the revitalization. Hunter said his firm wouldn’t recommend investing any public funds unless private investors come forward.
“The concept of ‘build it and they will come’ is great for a movie and a baseball field but not for revitalizing a downtown area,” District 4 Councilman Don Murray said.
District 2 Councilman Scott Sheley, who also serves as president of the Baytown Downtown Association, said because several new businesses have recently come to or are planning to come to the area, the city should be ready to do its part.
“I think we already match really well with exactly what’s being said here (in the study),” he said. “I’ve got to count those new businesses as successes. We’ve got to make the playing field level.”
In its regular meeting Thursday following the work session, Council approved the decision to apply for a grant program to improve public spaces downtown. The program, sponsored by the Houston-Galveston Area Council, would provide the city with up to $25,000 and require an equal local match. If the grant is received, it will likely be used for installing antique street signs downtown, City Manager Gary Jackson said.
Earlier this month, the Municipal Development District also set aside $140,000 for the first phase of a streetscape project downtown. The plan separates downtown revitalization into three areas — Texas Avenue, Market Street and Alexander Drive. The first phase of the project will be focused on Texas Avenue.
The money will be used as a local match for a $700,000 federally funded grant that Congressman Gene Green earmarked in last year’s Texas Department of Transportation budget. The efforts of publicly funded grants will only be successful, Hunter said, if private investors show similar interest.
He said downtown revitalization can only work if citizen investors rehabilitate a few key buildings while the city completes streetscape beautification, one block at a time.
In a speech to the Baytown Lions Club earlier this week, DonCarlos addressed citizen comments that Texas Avenue should be bulldozed.
“There are a lot of good people who have invested time and money in the revitalization of Texas Avenue,” he said. “I think we have a lot of potential downtown that we have not tapped.”
The best way to tap that potential, he said, would be to concentrate initial efforts on a demonstration block with repaired streets, sidewalks and benches that would serve as a model for the project.
DonCarlos said he has also been discussing possibilities for the downtown area with private developers.
“I could see multi-family housing units near Lee College for students and others who want to live in the heart of the city,” he said. “That could bring in other businesses because realistically, there are not many businesses around the campus that cater to college students.”
Creating a “main street” for Lee College would also be an appropriate use for Texas Avenue, Hunter said.
“We already have a college,” he said. “Bookstores, coffee shops and Internet cafes will bring Lee College students and staff to the area.”
Hunter and his team began their work in November and visited the area four times to inventory buildings and to conduct interviews with residents, business owners and city staff. Nearly 50 percent of stores along Texas Avenue are vacant and boarded, Hunter said.
“It’s going to take thinking outside the box and a lot of hard work,” DonCarlos said to the Lions Club. “But I am not willing to write Texas Avenue off yet. I think we owe it to our city to turn Texas Avenue into an asset rather than a liability, as it is now.”