The long-quiet Folgers and Farmer Brothers coffee plant at 235 N. Norwood in Houston's East End is about to perk back up. An entity tied to Lovett Commercial is planning to turn the historic industrial site into roughly 255,000 square feet of adaptive reuse space, anchored by the Frank Liu Jr. Academy of Music and Arts. Construction is expected to kick off in March, with core-and-shell work targeted for completion by the end of 2026 on a project budgeted at about $10 million.
Those timeline and budget figures come from a project filing. According to Houston Chronicle coverage of the filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the work is listed as a 254,808-square-foot adaptive reuse project. The filing shows an expectation to bring the building up to code by December 2026 and a current budget of roughly $10 million. The Chronicle notes the filing is subject to change as plans are finalized.
Frank Liu Jr. Academy Will Anchor The Campus
The site is already spoken for as a public charter campus. The Frank Liu Jr. Academy of Music and Arts was granted state approval this year and is listed among schools scheduled to begin operations in the 2026–27 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency. That approval moves the operator into a contingency phase with TEA while contracts and final conditions are hammered out. If everything stays on track, the school opening would line up neatly with the developer's construction timeline.
The academy's own site identifies the former coffee plant at 235 N. Norwood St. at Navigation as its planned campus and describes FLAMA as a Pre-K–8, arts-focused, open-enrollment charter intended to serve Houston's 2nd, 3rd and 5th Wards, as per FLAMA. The materials emphasize music instruction, community partnerships, and a phased growth plan that adds grades over time. The website features local arts and education leaders on its governing board and encourages the community to stay engaged as planning progresses.
Site History And Ownership
The roughly five-acre plant dates back to the late 1930s and operated for decades under the Folgers name before later users, including Continental Coffee Products and Farmer Brothers, took over the property, as noted by The Real Deal. Lovett Commercial bought the site from Farmer Brothers in 2019 for about $10 million, and Farmer Brothers then entered into a leaseback arrangement before winding down operations, the same report states. The Houston Chronicle also notes that the property has been documented on historic registers and that the developer did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the new filing.
Lovett's Track Record With Adaptive Reuse
Lovett Commercial is no stranger to turning hulking industrial buildings into places people actually want to hang out. The firm converted the former Barbara Jordan Post Office into POST Houston, a mixed-use campus that includes a food hall, rooftop park and concert venue, as described by Downtown Houston. That high-profile project showcases Lovett's playbook of pairing heritage structures with entertainment and dining options to pull people back into old buildings. For observers, those past conversions are a reason to think the Norwood project could work, provided the financing and permitting stay on course.
How This Fits Into Bayou Plans
The Norwood site sits just south of Turkey Bend on Buffalo Bayou, a former barge terminal that the Buffalo Bayou Partnership is working to reimagine as a recreational and cultural hub, as detailed by Buffalo Bayou Partnership. The group's East master plan calls for new trails, event spaces and better waterfront access, changes that could boost the impact of the coffee plant redevelopment. Together, the bayou master plan and the Norwood conversion signal a stretch of the Second Ward that is shifting from heavy industry toward parks, culture and community uses.
For now, the filing and the school approval are still preliminary, and the project timetable could shift as the developer finishes design work and navigates the permit process. Local residents, preservation groups and city officials are likely to watch how permitting and community engagement unfold as plans move forward, and we will update as details solidify.
