The Dallas Fort Worth investment group that bought up the vacant 104-acre AstroWorld site in 2010, then sold off portions of it — including a 48-acre chunk to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo late last year — is now trying to find a buyer for the last remaining big piece of the former amusement park: 44 acres fronting Reliant Park across the freeway to the north, Sam’s Club and MetroRail’s end-of-the-line Fannin South Station to the east, and West Bellfort to the south. An odd-shaped 6.3-acre bite taken out of the HalfstroWorld property on the southeast corner belongs to Metro, which is reserving the space for future station expansion or relocation for a future rail line along Route 90A.
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HFF started marketing the property for the Mallick Group, which owns the property under an entity named MHB Asset LP, last month. The marketing brochure touts the property’s “unprecedented frontage” on Loop 610 — and its suitability for a Transportation Oriented Development that might make use of the site’s easy access to rail, the freeway, and Texans games:
Before Mallick bought it, a couple of grand plans for the remains of AstroWorld were floated by various entities. But they were for a site more than twice the size, with even more freeway frontage available.
- Offering Overview — AstroWorld Site [HFF]
- AstroWorld coverage [Swamplot]
Images: HFF
My dream scenario:
1.) The Dome referendum passes
2.) Private developer buys said piece of land
3.) Mix-use development placed on land to support conventions / events (adding hotel space, retail, housing etc) as it has access to freeway and rail line
4.) Rodeo / Harris county sees success of such development, converts the parking lots @ Reliant / dome to mix-use retail, parks, hotel and shifts all parking to rodeo site.
That is a great spot for:
(1) a theme park;
(2) a natural coastal prairie preserve;
(3) ground-floor-only retail.
The county should buy it for the future home of The Texans. In less than 20 years they will claim Reliant is passé and demand a new stadium or they’ll move to Beaumont.
CREOLE!!!
What?
It’s my way of saluting your exuberant comments.
I would like the folks to recall that I fired up Edd Hendee to call the House Committee chair, and we got a prohibition into the Development District bill for that tract which prohibited METRO from any financial participation.