Early local 'skyscraper' purchased

Houston developer Frank Garvey has purchased Houston's "first skyscraper," which will be redeveloped into a loft apartment project.

The eight story Lomas & Nettleton building, 201 Main at Franklin, will be transformed into the Franklin Lofts.

The building, constructed in 1904, has a tan brick and limestone exterior with large lion and eagle ornaments. It was the tallest buiding in town when it opened.

The lobby features a soaring 35-foot-high ceiling, fluted Corinthian columns, marble floors and ornate decorations. The basement has a 700-square-foot bank vault with a thick, round door.

The building is on the northern rim of downtown, where a number of buildings have been transformed into loft apartments, restaurants and nightclubs.

"I think it has great potential for loft apartments," Garvey said.

The Lomas & Nettleton building is located about two blocks south of Buffalo Bayou. The sight is slightly sloped so that the first floor on the Fannin Street side of the building is basement level on the Main Street side.

Garvey acquired the 160,000-square-foot building from Harris County for $4 million in a deal finalized on Friday.

The building was used by the Harris County district attourney at one time. County officials had considered demolishing the building, but they met with opposition from preservationists. The building has been vacant since 1992, Garvey said.

Garvey said construction will begin this summer and the first occupants will move in late in 2000. The redevelopment will be designed by the Aichler & Associates architecture firm. The loft appartments will be offered for rent.

Other Garvey projects in Houston include the Heights Colony apartments and the Yale Street Lofts.

The building originally was constructed as the home for First National Bank at a cost of $228,000. As the tallest building in Houston at the time, it rivaled the Wilson building in Dallas and the Wheat building in Fort Worth as the tallest in Texas.

The Houston building, designed by the Sanguinet & Staats architecture firm of Fort Worth, was expanded in 1909 and again in 1925.

First National Bank occupied the building until 1956, when the bank merged with City National Bank and moved. Then the building was acquired by the T. J. Bettes mortgage company and later by the Lomas & Nettleton mortgage company.