Steve and Dan Zimmerman
By Jeff Gremillion
Originally published Feb. 8, 2021
As Montrose’s storied La Colombe d'Or hotel readies to reopen after two years of renovation next month, father-son owner-operators Steve and Dan Zimmerman are reflecting on the history of the place, and its future. The Zimmermans partnered with the Hines corp in a massive project that includes revamping of the hotel and building a 32-story luxury high-rise, The Residences at La Colombe d'Or, where the hotel’s back ballroom once stood.
Steve, a New Orleans native, says he came to Montrose in the 1960s as a young lawyer and poli-sci prof at the University of St. Thomas, falling in love with the neighborhood's "a little bit bohemian" vibe. He developed an enthusiasm for real estate and began buying properties around the district — for cheap. "You could buy a home for in the area for $10,000, with $500 down," he says. Through realty channels, he received a curious proposition in 1977.
"I got approached very confidentially about buying an old home in Montrose, which turned out to be the Fondren Mansion," says Steve. Walter Fondren, who built the house in 1923 in a Montrose Boulevard setting that would've been considered a bucolic suburb at the time, was the co-founder of ExxonMobil antecedent Humble Oil. The sellers were the Fondren grandchildren. "They told me you probably can't do anything with the old house, but ... if you're interested, we'll sell it to you for just land value. And if you have to knock the house down, we'll give you the money to [do it].”
The only hitch was Steve wasn’t to take possession, or even tell anybody he'd bought it, till 1979. "They said grandma is still alive. She's 102 years old and lives in the Fondren wing of Methodist hospital, and we don't want her to know that the old homestead is being sold and might be torn down.”
Steve made the deal and spent the next 18 months deciding what to do with the property, which also had a 30-year history as a Red Cross operations center. Inspired by visits to a beloved auberge in the South of France, he decided to try his luck as a hotelier. And for 40 years he ran the place, with Dan at his side for the last decade. Notable guests have included Walter Cronkite, archbishop Desmond Tutu and Madonna. "I had a senator from Louisiana who damn near burned the place down with cigarettes and drinking too much,” says Steve, “and all of a sudden the curtains are on fire!”
Now, after a long closure, La Colombe d'Or will again throw open its doors, on March 29, offering not only a beautifully renovated landmark mansion with five lightened and brightened suites but also 18 new suites in the new modern tower that's been erected in the backyard.
All of it — even the beautiful green spaces between the old and new buildings — are laden with art from the Zimmermans' extensive personal collection, built over decades. More than 350 pieces of artwork and sculpture — new and old, from near and far — are on display from artists including Arik Levy, Christian Rosa, Raoul Dufy, Pasquale Romanelli, Dorothy Hood and Benjamin Robert Haydon.
The new digs, reimagined with help from Rottet Studio, also includes a new full-service all-day restaurant called Tonight & Tomorrow to which one might wear blue jeans, a first for the property which previously tilted to high-elegance, dinner-centric French affairs. Guests may also choose to take their meals in the sculpture garden, which seems destined to be an A-List brunch spot.
The grounds formerly included Le Grand Salon de la Comtesse, which a rep for the Zimmermans describes as "a Rococo ballroom outfitted in English oak, gilded-frame mirrors and chandeliers once built for French royals in the 1730s." The famous setup, moved over in pieces from Europe, kept in storage for years, and eventually secured by the Zimmermans in the '90s, was reassembled carefully in back of the hotel, where it became a go-to location for the weddings of the city's most noted families.
The ballroom, which was taken apart and will be reassembled elsewhere, was removed to make way for the tower, which includes not only the new hotel suites but also luxury apartments. The Residences is a joint project of the Zimmermans and the international developers of Houston's Hines corporation. The high-rise is connected to the old hotel through a series of courtyards, pocket parks and sculpture gardens.
The vast campus of La Colombe d'Or also includes what's known as the Garden Bungalows — a collection of nine suites clustered around a New Orleans-esque courtyard, across the street from the tower. These, too, have been entirely overhauled with an assist from Gin Design Group. Here are the most whimsical and eclectic design ideas, reminding one of Austin's Hotel Saint Cecilia, whose guest quarters each have their own unique personality and charm. Imagine "mod wallpapers, moody lounges and sculptural custom furnishings upholstered in velvet, and boucles of mossy greens and sexy red tones," per the rep.
As the reopening nears, Steve credits Dan for the bold expansion. "This project wouldn't have happened without him and his vision," says the elder Zimmerman.
Dan is an accomplished developer, having recently restored a row of historical buildings Downtown. Still, he plays off the compliment. "Dad had the forethought to take this old mansion and turn it into this fantastic boutique hotel," he says. "My job was easier. I just had to was expound on that. And change the plumbing.”
For Steve’s part, the new twist in the La Colombe d’Or’s story seems well in keeping with its past. “Let’s just say it’s never been boring.”