A downtown implosion is a real estate rarity

The 80-year-old Ben Milam Hotel across from Minute Maid Park will be demolished on Dec. 9. The 80-year-old Ben Milam Hotel across from Minute Maid Park will be demolished on Dec. 9. Photo: Cody Duty, Staff Photo: Cody Duty, Staff Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close A downtown implosion is a real estate rarity 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Three weeks from Sunday, a 10-story building across from Minute Maid Park is set to be imploded - a rare occurrence in downtown Houston.

The last structure to be felled by dynamite was the Montagu Hotel at Fannin and Rusk.

That was in 2008, and part of a 46-story skyscraper now sits in its place.

The previous implosion was more than 20 years earlier, said Bob Eury, president of Central Houston.

The Lamar Hotel and adjoining C&I Building along Main Street between Lamar and McKinney were taken down by developer Hines.

The company never developed the site, but sold it 15 years later to Century Development, which built 1000 Main there.

On Dec. 9, the Ben Milam Hotel is scheduled to be taken down. The Finger Cos. is planning luxury apartments on two downtown blocks - one of which includes the old hotel.

The implosion for that type of building could cost as much as $200,000, said Larry Grisham, senior vice president of demolition firm JTB Services. That's just for the implosion. Prep work and clearing the property could more than double the price, he said.

Eury said he had mixed emotions over seeing the more than 80-year-old property demolished.

"Obviously that building represents a certain type of hotel. It's another one of those railroad, itinerant businesspersons hotels," he said. "On the other hand, I'm painfully aware that a number of people have looked at that building and tried to make economic sense. I don't think they've ever been able to make it go together."

Weekley community

David Weekley Homes is preparing to start on its largest inner-city community yet.

The company's central living division is under contract to buy the recently closed Stevenson Elementary School in the Cottage Grove area. The builder was the high bidder on the property during an auction held by the Houston Independent School District. Closing is scheduled for the end of the month.

The new community will have 68 single-family homes ranging from 2,000 square feet to 2,600 square feet.

The site is just 2.7 acres, so the density will be high. The homes will be three and four stories and start at around $400,000. Many of them will have skyline views and there will be a community pool.

The site is near the corner of TC Jester and Interstate 10. InTown Homes also has a large residential development in the area.

HISD closed Stevenson Elementary as part of a cost-cutting plan. The school was built in 1914.

Chris Weekley, who runs the central living division, said he hopes to honor Stevenson by saving a cast stone accent piece over the school's front doors and reusing it in the project. The company also plans to donate some of the playground equipment to the KIPP chain of charter schools.

TSU student housing

Student housing at Texas Southern University is about to get an upgrade.

A $41.5 million dormitory, the first new dorm to be built there in decades, is set to break ground next May. The seven-story, 215,000-square-foot structure will have 800 beds on the eastern edge of campus. It will have street-level retail and a rooftop terrace.

HarrisonKornberg Architects, is designing the complex in collaboration with Lord, Aeck & Sargent.

Over the last two years, the university has been working on a pilot program in which freshmen live on campus and participate in community, cultural and educational events.

"We're seeing the difference this concept makes in our retention rates and student successes in class," TSU President John M. Rudley said in a statement. "On-campus housing can result in an increase in our graduation rates and keep students focused on graduating on time."

The facility will allow the university to house nearly all of its incoming freshmen on campus. Today, 1,300 students live in six campus housing complexes.

TSU has 9,500 students and is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year. The 150-acre campus is in the Third Ward at Cleburne and Ennis.