Owner Files Plans to Rezone Wild About Harry’s, Village Baking Co. Properties For Mixed-Use Project

A multi-story, mixed-use development has been proposed for the blocks bordered by Armstrong and Buena Vista avenues and Travis and Knox streets. The parcels, which are inside the boundary of PD-193, include the building that formerly housed Wild About Harry’s, as well as the block that is currently occupied by Village Baking Co. The building that houses Cafe Madrid at the corner of Armstrong Ave. and Travis St. is not included.

The owner of the property is an LLC located in New York and managed by an organization that has several other holdings nearby. It’s represented by Laura Hoffmann, Tommy Mann, and Daniel Box with Winstead, PC.

The 3.876-acre parcel’s owner has requested that a subdistrict within PD-193 be created so that they can construct a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development on the site. While the use is allowed — hotel, office, residential, and ground-floor retail — the owner is asking to bump up the building height on some areas in exchange for lower building heights in other areas. According to paperwork filed with the Department of Sustainable Development, the building height currently allowed in PD-193 (LC) is 240 feet.

Additionally, the owner is requesting an overall height increase and has promised wider sidewalks, open space, and other street-level amenities.

Specifically, the owner says they are offering “urban design standards, including increased sidewalk widths, pedestrian amenities, and publicly accessible open space.”

The vision for the open space is to create a sort of launch point for users of the Katy Trail, which the proposed development would front. While much of the structures will be razed, the owner says they will preserve the facade of the building that houses the Sid Mashburn retail store. There was no plan to preserve the storefronts on Travis Street that include the former location of Wild About Harry’s in the filing.

As part of the rezoning, the owner is also requesting that some public rights of way be abandoned. This includes alleys — one that spans between Armstrong and Knox avenues that runs through the center of the property and another that runs between Travis and Buena Vista streets. The owner has also requested that part of Buena Vista and Travis streets be included in the abandonment.

Several properties within PD-193 have seen height increases recently, though no specific plans for this particular site were filed with the rezoning request.