This Week's Houston Deal Sheet

National nonprofit affordable housing provider The NHP Foundation opened its newly constructed 74-unit affordable housing development The Citadel at Elgin. The development in Houston’s historic Third Ward will support lower-income seniors. The independent living community is managed by Change Happens CDC, a Houston nonprofit community development corporation. 

“The city welcomes this beautiful property to the community, and we are proud to be a partner,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a news release. “It furthers the goal of adding 7,000 new affordable apartment homes in Houston by the end of 2023.” 

Change Happens CDC purchases and renovates dilapidated homes and purchases vacant lots to develop affordable single-family and multifamily housing. The organization has bought and renovated over 50 homes and lots in the Third Ward. 

At Elgin and Tierwester streets, the gated community is built for people who are 55 and older and includes 11 studio apartments and 63 one-bedroom apartments. Each unit comes with energy-efficient stainless steel appliances, washers and dryers, balconies, granite countertops and vinyl plank flooring. 

More than 20 apartment homes have been pre-leased. The property is within walking distance of a light rail stop and three bus lines. Property amenities include a courtyard on the second-floor deck with shade trees, an outdoor TV, a grilling area and lounge chairs, a covered garage parking, a great room with a kitchen, and a multipurpose room. 

The development is funded in part by $10.25M in federal disaster relief funds administered by the Houston Department of Housing and Community Development. Additional funds for the project were secured through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and tax-exempt bonds. 

PEOPLE

The Westchase District Board of Directors hired Charly Weldon as the organization's president and CEO. Weldon takes over the position from Jim Murphy, who is retiring after 28 years.

For the past seven years, Weldon has led Family Houston, a nonprofit connecting families to community resources, including food, shelter, employment assistance, and mental health and financial counseling. Prior to that, she served as executive director of The Beacon, which works to meet the needs of Houston’s homeless population. She will start May 30. 

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Zeva Perkins joined Keen Realty’s team as a property manager. She will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management and operations of several office and industrial properties. 

Perkins is experienced in management and operations of office, industrial/office warehouse and mixed-use throughout the Greater Houston area.

SALES

USS Transportation Inc. purchased 5.55 acres at 30151 Highway Blvd. in Katy. Transwestern's John Ferruzzo represented the seller, Lewis Katy LLC, in the transaction.

LEASES

Three businesses leased space within NewQuest Properties’ Katy Grand retail center:

• Uncle Tetsu, specializing in signature Japanese cheesecakes, leased 1K SF.
• Wushiland Boba, featuring hand-shaken teas, leased 1K SF.
• 8 oz. Korean Steak House & Bar, offering an authentic ethnic barbecue experience, leased 5K SF.

Also coming soon will be Patis & Toyo (1,500 SF), a brand-new Filipino concept by Houstonian restaurateurs Mike and Marit Gabriel, and Fat Boys Pizza (4K SF), which tapped Katy Grand for its second pizzeria in Texas. Katy Grand, totaling 945K SF, is a 21.7-acre dining and entertainment destination anchored by PopStroke and a 19-screen HD Cinemark.

NewQuest’s Heather Nguyen and Rebecca Le are the driving force behind Katy Grand’s tenant lineup.

NewQuest’s John Nguyen was the tenant representative for the 8 oz. Steak House deal. He and NewQuest’s Holly Nguyen were tenant representatives on the Uncle Tetsu deal. 

CBRE’s Bryan Ashby and Thomas Nguyen represented Fat Boys Pizza. Albert Hu of NextGen Real Estate represented Patis & Toyo.

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Verlo Mattress leased 10K SF in a rare freestanding building in Champions Shopping Plaza in the heart of Willowbrook. Transwestern's Loch Cook represented the landlord of 6911 FM 1960 in the transaction.

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Lee & Associates – Houston announced the lease of 75K SF at Republic Square at 13501 Katy Freeway. The renovated and upgraded corporate campus sits on 35 wooded acres overlooking a central lake and Terry Hershey Park.

Bill Insull and Blake R. Virgilio of Lee & Associates handled the lease transaction for the landlord, Houston EC Development. Bob Cromwell and Bob Gulley with Moody Rambin and Zack Taylor with Colliers International represented the tenant, Fugro, a global geodata leader.

CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Pelican Builders completed construction on its 33-residence luxury Upper Kirby mid-rise Westmore at 2323 West Main St. The project broke ground in February 2021.

Designed by Mirador Group, Westmore’s midcentury modern architectural style complements the surrounding neighborhood. Westmore has immediate occupancy available, with residences starting at $995K. 

FINANCING

Northmarq’s Warren Hitchcock and Emily Zarcaro secured an equity capitalization for the Port 99 industrial project to be built on a 1.2M SF site at the Grand Parkway 99 on FM 2354 Road in Baytown. Northmarq arranged the equity through a discretionary private equity fund that specializes in joint ventures and preferred equity across North America in industrial, multifamily and life sciences.

The industrial development site is situated in southeast Houston near the Port of Houston. Port 99 will consist of a large cross-dock facility with the ability to expand as well as a smaller front-load building. The buildings will have 437 parking stalls, 1,184 trailer parking stalls and a clearance height of 32 to 40 feet. 

THIS & THAT

Kids R Kids plans to open its largest location in The Howard Hughes Corp.'s Bridgeland. At the corner of Tuckerton Road and Westgreen Boulevard in Parkland Village, Kids R Kids’ two-story, 20K SF facility will be the largest location in the nation and among the largest preschools in Texas. Applications are being accepted for Kids R Kids in Bridgeland, which is expected to open in summer 2024.