Houston Reality TV Star Washington Ho's Firm Plans First Commercial Real Estate Project
A firm co-founded by Washington Ho, a star of HBO Max reality show House of Ho, has announced plans for multiple Houston-area commercial real estate projects, including an 8-acre restaurant and fun zone in Katy.
WHGP Commercial, the commercial real estate division of Ho’s White House Global Properties, plans to develop an “eater-tainment” district near the Katy Mills Mall, The Houston Chronicle reported. The 200K SF development at Kingsland Boulevard and Katy Fort Bend Road is slated to include a hotel, restaurants and entertainment tenants.
WHGP Commercial launched last month and the Katy project is the first of many the firm hopes to develop, the Chronicle reported.
“We created WHGP Commercial … because of projects like this one, a beautiful, large project in Katy,” Angelica Smart, WHGP’s CEO and designated broker, told the Chronicle.
The firm is actively seeking restaurants that will bring fresh dining experiences, hotels and health-focused grocery concepts as tenants, it said in an Instagram post.
The firm is in talks with a family sports and entertainment business to anchor the development, Ho told the Chronicle. Construction is expected to commence at the end of this year for tenants to move in around late 2026.
House of Ho, which first aired in December 2020, chronicles the lives of Ho’s wealthy Vietnamese-American family in Houston. Ho told the Texas Observer that he believed audiences wanted to see a real-life version of the movie Crazy Rich Asians.
“It is the story of the American dream,” he told the outlet.
Ho is an entrepreneur known for his luxury residential real estate dealings, grabbing headlines for deals like the October sale of a $5.3M mansion in Bellaire dubbed the Luke Skywalker home. He founded the White House Global Properties brokerage with Smart after splitting with eXp Realty in 2023.
Ho’s investments aren’t limited to real estate. He partnered in October with Austin-based company Hometown Hero to develop a low-calorie seltzer infused with hemp-derived THC. Though the Texas hemp industry faces potential existential threat from the state’s upcoming legislative session, the product is expected to become available this month.
WHGP Commercial is also developing a 5-acre "restaurant row" project off of Highway 249 in Northwest Houston, the Chronicle reported. Ho is encouraging his agents to invest in commercial projects and embrace the opportunity to make a greater impact, he told the outlet.
White House Global plans to open an office in Austin this quarter, its first expansion outside of Houston.
