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Crews begin to knock down doomed 2100 Memorial building ravaged by Hurricane Harvey
Workers are finally razing the empty and rotting high rise at 2100 Memorial Drive years after floodwater from Hurricane Harvey permanently damaged the structure and displaced hundreds of seniors.
Demolition equipment was spotted Tuesday atop the 14-story building chipping away at the upper floors. A multi-level garage on the property has already been dismantled. The ultimate destruction of the 52-year-old structure will last into February, according to the Houston Housing Authority.
The building at 2100 Memorial was originally a Holiday Inn, seen here in November 1969.
Houston Chronicle
Built in 1969, the tower was originally a Holiday Inn on Houston’s west side with spectacular views of Buffalo Bayou and downtown. In 1986, Holiday Inn vacated the building, leaving it empty for over a decade until Houston Housing Authority took over the property and transitioned the hotel into a senior living center. The center offered housing for upwards of 200 seniors through low-income housing tax credits at any given time.
The high rise was badly damaged by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 when overflow from Buffalo Bayou spilled over Memorial Drive onto the site, flooding common areas on the lowest floor. It was later determined that the damage extended to crucial electrical infrastructure within the building. Three weeks after the hurricane the HHA declared the space uninhabitable and sent eviction notices notifying residents they had five days to leave the property.
Peg Sauter and her husband, Ron Sauter, talk about having to move from their apartment in 2100 Memorial, a building for seniors that’s flooded numerous times, shown Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017, in Houston. (Melissa Phillip | Houston Chronicle)
Melissa Phillip | Houston ChronicleA handful of tenants sued the Houston Housing Authority for the ability to stay, according to Florian Martin in Houston Public Media. For nearly two years after the hurricane, some seniors were still living in the complex. A judge eventually ordered the housing authority to offer vouchers to remaining seniors to find a new facility.
The Houston Housing Authority has since obtained $62 million in funding for the construct a new, five-story senior living center in the old building’s place. Construction on that building will likely begin in April.