Vacant hotel tower in downtown Houston goes on the market
One of downtown Houston’s most curious buildings is up for sale again.
The downtrodden 30-story property at 801 St. Joseph Parkway that was long ago a Holiday Inn, then a Days Inn and then later owned by a group led by the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is now on the market, according to a real estate listing.
Commercial broker CBRE is handling the sale for SFK Development, which in the past said it was looking to rehab the property. Debris has been removed, as have most of the windows.
SFK Development has owned it since 2012. A representative said in 2016 that a tear-down and brand new construction would be at least $25 million.
Last summer that same owner told KHOU-TV that an $85 million renovation plan was in place.
Since then, nothing has changed.
Vacated in 1998, the property has become a haven for urban explorers and the area’s homeless who took their chances venturing inside.
In its previous life, the hotel had 600 rooms, good enough to be touted as the largest Holiday Inn in the continental United States.
These days crude graffiti (read: not street art) and broken windows can be seen on its north and south sides. The building and parking garage look post-apocalyptic.
Dozens of citations from the Houston Police Department piled up there and at other surrounding vacant buildings.
It’s been called one of the most dangerous buildings in Houston.