The signage affixed to the Houston Public Library branch at 4100 Montrose Blvd. is very clear. “This library and book drop are closed” says one; “Closed effective November 14, 2024.”
Also clear: A clause buried within the deed through which the library was donated to the city, which states that if the property ceases to be used as a public library for more than 30 days before the year 2051, its ownership would revert to neighboring University of St. Thomas.
November 14 was more than 150 days ago. Yet while the university has been “actively attempting to court the city of Houston to purchase the property,” according to a university spokesperson, that spokesperson alleges “the city has not been playing fair.”
Just a few short weeks after the library branch closed, Houston Public Library “shifted” its services at the Montrose Boulevard building, formerly known as the city’s Freed-Montrose Library, according to the public library system’s spokesperson, LaDonna Weems. As of Dec. 3, “service at that location is provided through an outdoor storytime,” Weems said.
That storytime utilizes a traveling book bus, and has been scheduled with precision. According to Weems, the storytimes take place not monthly, but once every 30 days.
According to data from the city’s library system, obtained via public records request, there have been six such storytimes since the program’s launch: two in December, and one every month since.
“Since its inception, there has been one customer in attendance,” Weems noted earlier this month.
The event is hard to find on Houston Public Library’s website. While the library system keeps a calendar of all library programs searchable by location, library patrons won’t find the storytime listed under the Montrose location. Nor is its listed location – 4100 Montrose – featured in the dropdown menu that allows users to choose which site they’d like to explore.
The most recent outdoor storytime was scheduled for 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 15. Houston Landing journalists visited the property at 4100 Montrose at that time; the Sprinter van assigned to the storytime events never arrived.
As of 11:14 a.m. on Tuesday, the storytime was still listed on the library’s website, yet when asked about the van’s absence, Weems told the Landing via email that “today’s storytime event was cancelled.”
While a spokesperson for the university said this latest chapter in the university’s attempt to reclaim the property has been “frustrating”, emails between the university’s legal team and representatives from city hall in 2023, obtained by the Landing through public records requests, show that the city has been evading the topic for years.
On Nov. 20, 2023, the university’s chief legal counsel, Gita Bolt, penned a letter to the city attorney’s office, offering the city $1.25 million to purchase the property.
After more than a week without a response, Bolt followed up on Nov. 29 with what she called “a supplement to the offer” in which she proposed naming the building after Laurence Payne, a St. Thomas alumnus and friend of then-Mayor Sylvester Turner who died just days after Bolt’s first email to the city.
“The University of St. Thomas would be willing to name the Freed Library building after Larry Payne in honor of Mayor Turner’s legacy if the current offer is accepted,” Bolt wrote to a member of the city’s legal department. “This would also be a great opportunity for Mayor Turner to announce at the funeral service.”
Hearing no answer, Bolt wrote again several times over the coming days. On the day of the funeral, Dec. 5, Bolt asked, “Any word?”
Her email, public records show, was forwarded to the city’s economic development office where then-Chief Development Officer Andy Icken replied to a colleague, “Not happening.”
According to public records, the city did not relay this message to Bolt.
Last spring, upon the publication of Houston Landing’s investigation into the library building and its deteriorating condition, the library announced the location’s closure, effective immediately. Mayor John Whitmire, at the time just three months into his term, reversed course days later, announcing it would reopen.
The coming months featured a volley of actions and announcements about the branch. Library officials announced that the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone would fund $11.5 million in renovations to keep the building’s doors open. After the Landing reported that board members of the TIRZ – a special taxing district designed to fund infrastructure improvements within the district’s boundaries – questioned whether they should fund the project given that the library was outside of its boundaries, the mayor relieved the majority of the board’s members from their positions.
The $11.5 million price tag, which would cover the majority of a forecasted $14 million in needed work, remained on the TIRZ’s proposed budget. But no shovels have hit the ground. And at a city council meeting this March, two councilmembers expressed concerns about asking the TIRZ to fund such improvements given that a new library opened down the street in December.
“That’s a big chunk of money,” said Council Member Abbie Kamin, whose district includes the Montrose neighborhood.
“I am also concerned about the $11.5 million for that library, when we have literally a library right down the street now that’s new,” replied Councilmember Sallie Alcorn.
In a subsequent city council meeting, Kamin noted that the TIRZ will bring a corrected budget for the 2025 fiscal year back to council later this month. In response to questions about this budget, which will be discussed at the TIRZ’s next meeting on Monday, April 21, a representative for the TIRZ told the Landing, “The Montrose TIRZ 27 is in the process of evaluating any suggested changes to the existing FY 2025 budget. The Board will review proposed changes at its April Board meeting.” The Landing was told to direct all further questions to the mayor’s office.
The mayor’s office has not responded to several requests for comment over the course of a week. Nor has the legal department.
And officials at the University of St. Thomas say they are sitting in a similar silence. That’s led to a “frustrating” situation at the university, and concerns about the true cost of this lapsed time.
“Obviousy the library is in terrible disrepair,” said a university spokesperson. “The longer the city owns or leases it without making updates or any kind of progress on the renovation, that $14 million is only going to go up each week.”
In the wake of a week’s worth of questions from the Landing about the property and its vacancy, Weems from the city’s library system noted on Tuesday afternoon that “representatives from the General Services Department, Houston Public Library and Interim University of St. Thomas President Dr. Acosta will meet later this month to discuss the acquisition of this property.”
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