Commercial Real Estate

Site Plan of The Fairmont on San Felipe, Houston

Sure, there’s Post Properties, the Sonoma in the Rice Village and all those tired old buildings downtown, but most Houston developers won’t put apartments on top of retail unless they’re dragged kicking and screaming. And really, the idea of living next to a strip center evokes a much warmer, more folksy feeling. Isn’t that what Houston is all about?

The latest: The Fairmont on San Felipe, on the southeast corner of San Felipe and Winrock. A couple of apartment courtyards, connected by a central garage, behind two strips ready for 41,500 square feet of retail. It’s now under construction, on the site of the old Regency Arms apartments, which burned last year after it had already been vacated for demolition.

Update, 2/14/08: Looks like they have been dragged!

The Fairmont on San Felipe (PDF) [Hunington Properties]
Regency Arms Apartments, @San Felipe and Winrock [HAIF]

77057, Apartments, Briargrove, Commercial Real Estate, Mixed Use, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Retail, Strip Centers

Buying and Selling

11/19/07 11:52am

Metro Chief Very Excited About Sprawl

Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, Freeways and Toll Roads, Katy, Land Development, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Investing, Sprawl, Transportation

Aerial View of Wolff Companies Projects Along I-10

Sure, Metro talks a lot about transportation in this city’s central districts. But a Houston Business Journal profile shows us Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority Chairman David Wolff is also enthusiastic about Houston’s westward spread:

Many developers are building various types of commercial properties west of Houston and beyond.

The city of Katy, with an estimated population of 205,000, sits square in the path of Houston’s westward growth pattern.

“The whole city is going that way,” Wolff says. “I think Katy is going to be the next Sugar Land.”

He recalls the creation of Park 10, and how much the area has grown over the last three decades.

Says Wolff: “It was just rice fields. That was really the edge of the world then.”

After the jump, the METRO Board Chairman’s exciting projects way out west, plus how to get folks in the “next Sugar Land” to build freeway on- and off-ramps for your developments!

Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, Freeways, Katy, Land Development, Metro, Proposed Developments, Real Estate Investing, Sprawl, Transportation

11/19/07 10:04am

New Market on the Market: Super Liquor!

Retail, Third Ward

Super Liquor at 4215 Dowling St., Houston

For sale on Dowling, in the Third Ward: Super Liquor. Super cheap! After the jump, the inside scoop.

77004, Businesses for Sale, Commercial Real Estate, Retail, Third Ward

11/16/07 1:23pm

Sugar Land Whole Foods: Water on the Roof, Sweet Peas Inside

First Colony, Retail, Shopping Centers, Sugar Land, Uncategorized

Whole Foods in First Colony, Sugar Land, Texas

Is all that blue stuff that looks like it’s on the roof of this drawing of the new Whole Foods Market in Sugarland supposed to be water, or are those architects just coloring outside the lines again? The giant leaf-shaped structure in front is part of a rooftop rainwater-collection system, but with gravity and all, you’d expect the water to spill into that non-blue-colored round area of the roof to the left.

Oh, but maybe we’re looking at this picture the wrong way . . . that’s right, the blue stuff isn’t water on the roof, it’s the water in Brooks Lake, right behind the store. D’oh! That’s where rain that misses the roof will go. Brooks Lake is shaped a lot more like a river than a lake, but that sure comes in handy when you’re hawking waterfront property.

The 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods will anchor Planned Community Developers’s Lake Pointe Town Center at the intersection of Highway 59 and Highway 6 in First Colony. The store opens December 5th.

The rain collected from the roof will be used for watering the extensive parking lot and plaza landscaping. The store’s Sweet Peas Clubhouse will take children aged 3 to 7 off your hands while you shop.

Update, 12/5/07: It’s open. Anyone wanna send us a report?

Whole Foods Market to open in Sugar Land [Houston Business Journal]
Retail: Lake Pointe Town Center [Planned Community Developers]

77478, 77479, Commercial Real Estate, First Colony, Openings and Closings, Rainwater-Collection, Retail, Shopping Centers, Sugar-Land, Whole Foods

11/15/07 11:36am

Stuck in Traffic? Pull Over for a Philly Cheesesteak by the Wayside

Development Strategy, East End, New Construction, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers

New Shopping Center at the Northeast Corner of I-45 South and Wayside, Houston

The Lenny’s Sub Shops continue their Houston conquest. The franchise is now up to seventeen stores, with eleven opening soon, including one in this new shopping center about to begin construction on the Gulf Freeway feeder just north of Wayside. That’s almost a third of the way to the company’s goal!

The I-45 (northbound) and Wayside property developer is Bobby Orr, who complained to the Chronicle‘s Nancy Sarnoff about the glut of suburban strip centers back in June: “We’re going urban,” he said. And really, the Orr Commercial properties are all over the map. But don’t be fooled by the side-of-the-freeway location and strip-center layout on this one: Luring hungry drivers out of inner-loop freeway traffic jams is an important part of Houston’s urban spirit.

NEC I-45 at S. Wayside [Orr Commercial]
Franchise Sub Leases To Blanket Houston [Swamplot]
Shopping Center Update: Franchises, Anchors, and All Those Nail Salons [Swamplot]

77023, Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, East End, Fast Food, Franchises, New Construction, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Traffic

11/08/07 1:49pm

High on Westheimer?

Commercial Real Estate, Highland Village, Mixed Use, Office Buildings, Proposed Developments, Retail, Shopping Centers

Drawing of Proposed High Street Development at 4410 Westheimer, Houston, near Highland Village

Trademark Property has released this new image of its High Street development, slated for the site of the demolished Central Ford dealership at 4410 Westheimer, just west of Highland Village. So . . . is it really gonna happen?

The project had been on hold. It’s now described as “a 6-acre, pedestrian-oriented urban village featuring 93,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space combined with Class A offices and urban residences.” The Fort Worth developer — who also developed Market Street in the Woodlands — had planned to break ground this past spring. Instead, the company has leased part of the site to the sales trailer for the Highland Tower, and politely thrown a picture of that condo building into the background of the new drawing as well.

Don’t confuse High Street with the River Oaks District, a similar but larger project planned for next door.

Continue reading for a site plan and lots more images!

77027, Apartments, Commercial Real Estate, Highland Village, Mixed Use, Office Space, Proposed Developments, Retail, Shopping Centers, Westheimer

Attractions

11/06/07 11:38am

I-10: The New Route Beer?

Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Fifth Ward

Current St. Arnold Brewery on Fairway Park, Houston

In a comment on Off the Kuff, Christof sends us a bird’s-eye view of the (unconfirmed) new site for the Saint Arnold Brewery:

As far as I can tell, this is the building in question.

It’s visible from I-10, so there’s some good signage potential (as a counterpoint to the big Budweiser signs at I-10/east loop and I-10 Washington).

New Digs for St. Arnold’s Located? [Off the Kuff]
Move may be brewing [Houston Chronicle]

Photo of current Saint Arnold brewery: Gary Hunt

77020, Attractions, Breweries, Commercial Real Estate, Fifth Ward

Chinatown

10/30/07 2:51pm

Park 8: The Land of Oz Comes to Houston

Commercial Real Estate, Condos, Highrises, Medical Buildings, Mixed Use, Parks, Proposed Developments, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers

CEO David Wu told the Houston Business Journal last year, “It’s the sort of thing you’d see in Taiwan or Hong Kong, but we’re putting it here in the U.S.”

That’s a good description of Park 8: The Land of Oz. Here’s another one, from the project website:

The Park8 is carefully designed over and over again, improving to its perfect design today. More important, it nicely put urban life and nature together with equal force. With itâ€™s high quality exterior finish, and itâ€™s splendidly designed floor plans, the Land of Oz emphasis on unrestrained openness and convenience. Every penny is well worth for its consideration on security and safety issues, recreational areas, leisure activity clubhouses and beautiful landscaping design.

Wow.

How about a third try: three 26-story condo towers and a couple of parking garages on 17 acres next to Beltway 8, south of Bellaire Blvd., bounded by Arthur Storey Park on one side and parking lots for two two-story retail strips on the other. Also part of the project, but not shown on the plans: a new Chinatown General Hospital.

The first phase is under construction. And condos are for sale! All come with good Feng Shui and karaoke, courtesy of the 3CmyBox included in every unit. If you like the project video above, you’re going to love the development’s website, which includes a “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” soundtrack and prominently features six videos for the feature-packed 3CmyBox in the Photo Gallery section.

The project’s tagline:

A union of Western an Chinese Culture. A combination of fantasy and reality.

After the jump, off to see the Wizard!

77072, Chinatown, Commercial Real Estate, Condos, Highrises, Hospitals, Medical Buildings, Mixed Use, Parks, Proposed Developments, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers

Buying and Selling

10/30/07 10:03am

Sugar Land: New O.J. H.Q.

Commercial Real Estate, Fort Bend County, Leasing, New Construction, Office Buildings, Sugar Land

Minute Maid is moving to Sugar Land. The Minute Maid Building near the Galleria has been sold.

Should we expect added sweeteners in our O.J.?

Cameron Management, Wachovia Bank and a group of local investors recently purchased the 351,000-square-foot office building at 2000 St. James Place for an undisclosed amount.

Minute Maid, a Houston-based division of Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, will lease back 150,000 square feet of space until its new home is ready in late 2008. Coca-Cola is negotiating a lease for 120,000 square feet in an office building that Planned Community Developers Ltd. began constructing last July in Sugar Land Town Square at U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 6.

Why not . . . Pearland? Probably less appealing.

And what will happen to the empty building on St. James after the juice is gone?

In preparation for Minute Maid’s move-out, Cameron is marketing the 12-story building, located between Westheimer and San Felipe, as the largest block of contiguous office space in the Galleria area.

Sweet.

Coca-Cola sells Minute Maid Building [Houston Business Journal]
Cameron, Coca-Cola Bless 350,899-SF Leaseback [Globe St.]

77056, 77479, Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Fort Bend County, Leasing, New Construction, Office Buildings, Office Space, Sugar-Land

10/29/07 12:30pm

Demolition Watch: Greenbriar Chateau Apartments

Boulevard Oaks, Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Financing, Real Estate Investing

Greenbriar Chateau Apartments, 4100 Greenbriar St., Houston First, they came for Maryland Manor. And then: the Greenbriar Chateau apartments? Just what is happening to the great Mansard apartments of Houston? And what will be next on the chopping block: that birthing place of Bushitude, Chateau Dijon?

No 23-story tower has been proposed for the Greenbriar Chateau site—yet. But think of the stylistic possibilities: a Tuscan shopping center . . . or taller, vaguely turn-of-the-century New York-ish apartments. Sure, it’s more than three-and-a-half acres at the northern edge of Boulevard Oaks, but really, it’s those mansards that have to go.

A local investment group has obtained a $10-million loan to buy the 145-unit Greenbriar Chateau in the near southwest submarket. Given the location, it could end up as a conversion into a higher-density project.

Bammelbelt LP bought the complex, built nearly 40 years ago at 4100 Greenbriar St., a prime infill location within minutes of Rice University, Hermann Park and the Texas Medical Center. Sources familiar with the area say rising land costs for infill sites could prompt similar deals by investors buying aging properties as land plays.

Swamplot readers: is this your home? When you get that little slip in your mailbox, let us know.

Pre-Emptive Strike Takes 145-Unit Infill Asset [Globe St.]
Home builder tries commercial [Houston Chronicle]

77098, Apartments, Boulevard-Oaks, Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Financing, George W. Bush, Real Estate Investing, Style

10/29/07 10:02am

Know Your Tuscan-Themed Shopping Centers, Part One: Villagio Vs. Villaggio

League City, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Tuscan Lakes

Tuscan Villaggio Shopping Center in Tuscan Lakes

There’s so much of that Tuscan charm in Houston, sometimes it’s hard to keep the new developments straight. Maybe this will help:

Villagio, you’ll remember, is the “boutique life-style center” opening in Cinco Ranch, but also planned for the Woodlands and north Austin, and later . . . Round Rock, San Marcos, New Braunfels, and Dallas. Tuscan Villaggio, on the other hand, is the 30,000-square-foot Tuscan strip planned for the corner of League City Parkway and Tuscan Lakes Boulevard. It’s pictured above, and planned for only 15 tenants. The first phase will open next year adjacent to Tuscan Lakes, the 840-acre uh, Tuscan development in League City also developed by Johnson Development Corp.

Villagio in Cinco Ranch has Bookworm and Network Funding Mortgage. But you’ll be able to identify Tuscan Villaggio because a new 31,310-square-foot Tuscan-themed Kiddie Academy will be nearby.

Got it? Which one more convincingly conveys that authentic feeling of historic Italian drive-up retail?

Shopping center to take on Tuscan style [Houston Chronicle]
WestPoint to leave; plaza to court grocer [Galveston County Daily News]
Developer To Take â€œTuscany in a Parking Lotâ€ Concept Nationwide [Swamplot]

Drawing of Tuscan Villaggio: Slattery Tackett Architects

77573, League City, New Construction, Proposed Developments, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Style, Theming, Tuscan Lakes

10/25/07 8:00am

The Strip Center Apartments on O.S.T.

Commercial Real Estate, Mixed Use, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Parking, Retail, Strip Centers, Texas Medical Center

Kirby Old Spanish Trail Apartments

Isn’t mixed use great? On Old Spanish Trail at Kirby, where Target and Garden Ridge used to be, Simmons Vedder is ready to go with this exciting version of a retail-and-residences mix. They company is leasing the land back from the Texas General Land Office.

Yes, that’s three stories of apartments above a brand new strip center facing O.S.T. No need for fake towers at the corners on this one!

Residents won’t have far to travel for shopping: just walk to your car in the seven-level garage, then pull out and park in front!

Not pictured: the drug store with drive-thru next door. See the full site plan after the jump.

77054, Apartments, Commercial Real Estate, Leasebacks, Mixed Use, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Parking, Retail, Strip Centers, Texas Medical Center

10/22/07 8:02am

Big! Lots for Small! Fry

For Sale by Owner, Real Estate Investing, Shopping Centers, Sprawl, Strip Centers

Firewheel Village Shopping Center, Garland, Texas

Worried that all those big-money real-estate investors have turned the Texas landscape into an unending sprawl of soulless shopping centers populated by the same boring chain stores?

Well, worry no longer! That’s right: Now even small investors can get in on the act!

As of this month, a new company called Nexregen will let even grumpy, middle-income sprawl curmudgeons put their money where their mouth is—by investing in shopping centers, strip malls, and other commercial real estate with as little as $2500.

For now, the options are limited: Nexregen is for Texas investors only, and there’s only one property available so far: the 14.5-acre, 148,870-square-foot Firewheel Village Shopping Center in the sprawling Dallas satellite of Garland, Texas, pictured above.

Yes, it’s a REIT, but you’re investing in a single property at a time. And that’s a pretty small minimum investment. If you think Houstonians aren’t proud enough of their commercial strips—or that there aren’t enough of them—just wait until Nexregen sells property here!

For Ray Wirta, Thinking Small May Be Next Big Thing [CoStar Group]
Nexregen

Commercial Real Estate, For Sale by Owner, Garland, Real Estate Investing, REITs, Shopping Centers, Sprawl, Strip Centers

10/17/07 9:41am

The Luxury Highrise and the Drive-Thru: They’re Lovin’ It!

Condos, Development Strategy, Galleria, Highrises, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Proposed Developments, Restaurants

Future Site of the Titan on Post Oak Blvd., with the Cosmopolitan Tower in the Background

Future residents of the Titan, the latest cartoon-themed condo to be announced by Randall Davis, will be pleased to learn that the two-story McDonald’s currently sitting on the tower’s proposed site on Post Oak Blvd. is not going away. It’ll just scoot over slightly—so that the 26-story, 80-unit luxury highrise can share the 50,000-square-foot site.

And just how prominent will those golden arches be at the Titan’s entrance?

Sure, it’s easy to poke fun of the luxury highrise next to the Mickey D’s, but think about it: If McDonald’s hadn’t been willing to risk its reputation by redeveloping next to a Randall Davis project, the Titan would never have had a chance:

The prime real estate, located across Garrettson from Willie G’s Seafood & Steak House, has been sought-after by developers for more than a year.

“We’re approached every day of the week,” says Kathy Burns, McDonald’s regional real estate manager in Houston. “We have brokers calling us all the time.”

Davis — who is replacing the former James Coney Island restaurant a block away with the Cosmopolitan high-rise — was able to strike a deal with McDonald’s because he was not set on a super-sized development.

“I was like everybody else. I wanted to buy the whole site,” Davis says. “But they didn’t want to give up the store.

“I figured out how to divide the site,” he adds. “I managed to fit my building on there, and leave them enough room for their prototype new store.”

Davis has once again demonstrated a remarkable talent for negotiating with fast-food restaurants. Only a few years ago, he was able to convince the owners of the lot across the street that his 20-story hot-dog Cosmopolitan tower (now under construction) would be a worthy successor to the James Coney Island that stood there. Of course, turning over a big bite of the development to the James Coney Island folks didn’t hurt his prospects either.

Expect the cars to be lining up in front of the newly recycled Titan sales trailer already on the McDonald’s lot. Okay, so maybe they’ll just be battling to get to the drive-thru, but there’ll be traffic!

Developer drives through with condo deal on McDonald’s land [Houston Business Journal]
Cosmopolitan condos to replace coney islands [Houston Business Journal]
The Cosmopolitan Houston [Randall Davis Company]

77056, Commercial Real Estate, Condos, Development Strategy, Fast Food, Galleria, Highrises, New Construction, New Construction: Residential, Proposed Developments, Randall Davis, Restaurants, Titan

10/02/07 10:30am

Ghost of Ghost of Katrina Haunts Apartments

Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Crime, Cypress Station