This Week's Houston Deal Sheet

Houston's Hotel Derek is under new management. California-based Evolution Property is taking over, making its debut in the Bayou City. The evolution of Hotel Derek begins with the hiring of executive team members, starting with hospitality veteran Christi George. 

Hotel Derek joins Evolution's portfolio of 70 hotels in eight states. George brings more than two decades of experience to her new position as director of sales and marketing at the 312-room Uptown landmark, which debuted in 2002. 

“The Derek is one of Houston’s most distinctive hotels, and I’m excited to begin implementing Evolution Hospitality’s vision for making it one of the city’s best," George said in a statement. 

Prior to joining Hotel Derek, George was an area director of sales and marketing for the Hilton Houston North and Houston Marriott North hotels. Before that, she spent more than 15 years with Interstate Hotels & Resorts as director of group sales.

DEVELOPMENT

WeWork opened its 50K SF space at 609 Main, spanning two floors at the Downtown trophy office tower. This is the fourth Houston WeWork and the second in Downtown.

The coworking provider is also expanding its Galleria location at 2700 Post Oak by two floors in early December.

LEASING

Transwestern picked up three healthcare leasing projects: 2900 Richmond, 20207 Chasewood Park and 5314 Dashwood Drive in Houston. Combined, the three projects total 224K SF. All three will be leased by Transwestern’s Ashley Cassel.

SALES

The Welcome Group acquired a three-building industrial complex leased to a subsidiary of Weir Group, totaling 116K SF in Houston. The complex is on approximately 15 acres fronting Highway 288. Welcome Realty Advisors’ Ryan Wasaff and John Wilson represented the buyer.

FINANCING

Cottonwood Group closed a $102M loan to refinance the InterContinental Houston Medical Center.  Cottonwood collaborated with Hana Alternative Asset Management to provide the financing to the luxury hotel developed by Texas developer Medistar Corp.