Historic Montrose Building To Be Reborn as Reve Office/Retail Development

HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Urban developer Oxberry Group, with a passion for historical preservation, is tackling a significant slice of Houston real estate at 1110 West Gray, gleaned the building’s past and transforming it into Rêve at Montrose for the city’s future.

Unless you lived in Houston prior to 1958, you most likely know this property at the intersection of Montrose Boulevard and West Gray as Gibbs Boat Company.

Historical research shows it was originally Quality Laundry built 1932.

Oxberry Group, which has demonstrated an affection for venerable inner loop buildings in high-density urban settings, recently received approval by the Houston Archeological and Historical Commission for the building to be designated a Houston Landmark.

“We are restoring the exterior of this building to its original Art Deco design,” Pejman “PJ” Jamea, principal of Oxberry Group said. The building will be a two-story office/retail structure with a clock tower dividing the old and the new structures with 17,000 square feet on the ground level and 6,500 square feet on the second. A replica of the 1932 Quality Laundry marquee will be installed at the original building’s entrance facing West Gray.

Quality Laundry’s original footprint was an 11,700-SF brick Art Deco-style building, enveloped in stucco cladding and skillfully demonstrated the architectural shift from pre-war to post-war design styles and trends.

After the Gibbs family bought the building in 1958 for their boat business, they adapted the building for their needs and to an architectural style which was common in Houston in the 1960s. But many of the extensive 1960s renovations removed or hid nearly all of the original stylistic details during the conversion process. Once the largest Grady-White dealer in the country, Gibbs Boat Showroom sold its last boat in 2012 and the showroom closed in 2014.

Oxberry Group purchased the building in 2017.

“Our first approach when it comes to redeveloping historic, inner-city structures is figuring out how to resurrect the building.” PJ said. Oxberry removed a section of the 1968 slipcover revealing the original fan above the front entry as well as the flanking fluted pilasters and remnants of the original stucco finish. “When we saw this on the south elevation facing West Gray, we knew we needed to bring this back to life.” This project is not for the faint of heart. “We are partnering with a team who has a passion for quality and timeless design and development and welcome the challenges that this time-honored building brings.”

Those partners are Tipps Architecture and general contractor Arch-Con Corporation. Tipps Architecture recently designed the restoration of 1000 West Gray, the retail building across the street from the Rêve at Montrose.

Arch-Con has restored the nationally registered Stowers Furniture building into the Aloft Houston Downtown and is currently revitalizing the storied Palace Bowling Lanes into Southside Commons on Bellaire Boulevard.

The first floor is fully leased with the second floor available for medical or professional, service-oriented tenants. Josh Jacobs and Brooks Shanklin with Edge Realty are the leasing agents. Wallis State Bank provided financing.

The building shell is expected to be complete early summer 2019.

Feb. 26, 2019 Realty News Report Copyright 2019