Sources have indicated to Swamplot that all 102 separately owned units of a townhome development behind the Park Towers office complex on the West Loop have been sold. The 5.3969-acre site currently occupied by the Post Oak Park Townhomes (shown in the photo above) had been marketed for sale by CBRE. One source tells Swamplot the buyer of the condo development is a “foreign investor,” and that unspecified highrise buildings are reportedly planned for the property.
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The 1975 complex sits at the corner of Post Oak Park Dr. and River Hollow Ln. on the east side of the West Loop, near the southwest corner of Memorial Park. According to the same source, residents will have 60 days to move out of their homes.
- Post Oak Park Dr. & Post Oak Blvd. [LoopNet]
Photos: HAR (parking lot); CBRE (aerial view)
This “foreign” investor must have offered some serious money for all these owners to agree to sell. It’s Prime Property, it will be interesting to see what they build, maybe they’ll beat the bubble, or wait for the next, we shall see.
Asked this in the other post too but I’ll try again here.
Just curious – if one condo owner had decided not to sell (for whatever reason), would the whole project have been held up?
Mike. More than likely. Most older condo complexes have to have 100% owner approval. If you are familiar with the old Park Memorial complex on Memorial near Detering, , four or five owners ruined that property’s initial buyout and it sat tied up in rotting limbo and litagation for three years,
@ Mike Richardson: It depends on what’s written in the covenants or the owners’ association bylaws. Some condo associations have difficulty enough getting a quorum, much less conducting business that requires a majority vote on anything. Other condo complexes are dominated by a single owner that can conduct business at their discretion.
I don’t know how it went for Park Memorial, but with these Post Oak Townhomes only some number deemed the majority had to approve it, and the hearsay is that there was a lot of misery and gnashing of teeth by those who did not want to sell.
I am surprised there was not more media chatter about the sale of this complex. To me, it seemed flat out REMARKABLE that you could get even half to agree in a complex of that size.– a big story + a harbinger of the future for aging condos.
Mike – there is a condo act in Texas. Don’t need 100%. 80% super majority is required. 1 guy can’t stop the show. 82.068 of the Texas Uniform Condo Act. Lemme know if you have any questions.
Took a HUGE dump in the parking lot of this condo development in 1995. Looked like three coke cans with an apple on top.
Smaller condo associations tend to require 100% and most larger ones will take advantage of the condo statute. I was involved in an attempt to buyout a condo association that blew up when one owner did not want to sell. The buyer made a good offer, but had no patience for holdouts. We urged the buyer to ride it out as the hold out was showing signs of cracking. The buyer decided to buy individual units as they came up instead, thinking that everyone would sell after the botched buyout. The buyer indignantly told me that the sellers would never get such a premium as condos in Houston would only depreciate with time. I told the buyer they would never get as good a deal and would probably never get more than 2-3 units on the open market. Flash forward fifteen years and the buyer only holds one unit. Building has held up well and units are now worth $150-200k more per unit on the open market.
Mods? C’mon now. ^^
It may have to do with whether or not it’s what they call a “fee simple” property where the dirt under the building is deeded to the owner along with their unit. If it’s not “fee simple” the association might be able to obtain the consensus to sell by election when they establish a quorum, and the sale can’t be hijacked by a dissenting owner. This was explained to me by a realtor who advised against buying a unit in a multifamily complex due to the “complex” nature of ownership rights with these types of properties. Lenders will typically approve conventional financing but not FHA due to the difficulties of being able to liquidate them if the borrower defaults. Just a thought…
Park Memorial could have been sold based on the number of residents that agreed to the initial sale. It was the buyer who insisted on 100%. It’s a great stalling tactic, giving the developer more time to put his deal together. In this case, the delays lasted until the development market crashed due to the frozen capital markets. Then the whole deal cratered.
Any ideas on what will be built there? I would love to see more affordable bars/restaurants in the area, but I am assuming they will be building luxury apartments/condos.
Methinks the buyer might be planning on a mixed-use development with residential over retail, which is gaining more popularity these days. As the Uptown/Galleria congestion is an omnipresent fact of life and living, employers miss out on talent who refuse to commute to the area.
Rather have an office tower than a 6-story? apartment complex. Boy, would I love to look out at the Park Towers every day. Love those bldgs!
Oh, I will assume this will be a headline for tomorrow. I’m just bumping the topic.
When is anything going to occur with this site besides weeds, tree limbs falling and people throwing garbage out of their car windows?