This Week's Houston Deal Sheet

The Signorelli Co. started Phase 1 of Austin Point, a “regionally transformative” 4,700-acre master-planned town in Fort Bend County, which has a population projected to double by 2040.

Austin Point is on track to be the largest master-planned development announced in the county in 40 years, and The Signorelli Co. said it envisions the town as a series of interconnected districts that will support the residential, commercial, healthcare, educational, entertainment and civic needs of town residents and surrounding communities.

Planned extensions of the Fort Bend Parkway and the Grand Parkway is expected to enable a 25-to-30-minute commute from Austin Point to the Texas Medical Center, The Galleria and Downtown Houston.

Austin Point will encompass more than 14,000 residences and a planned 15M SF of multifamily, office, medical, retail and hospitality space. Austin Point should become home to more than 50,000 residents, making it larger than the nearby city of Rosenberg.

“Austin Point will set the standard for a fully integrated master-planned town that reflects how people live, work, learn, play, innovate, socialize and engage in a modern setting,” Danny Signorelli, president and CEO of The Signorelli Co., said in a release. “It will be a model for mixed-use, multigenerational living where each use brings value to the other.”

The more than 400 homes in the first phase will vary from small lot, alley-loaded 1,300 SF residences to larger estate homes of up to 4,500 SF.

Homebuilders for Phase 1 are Ashton Woods, Beazer Homes, Drees Homes, CastleRock Communities, David Weekley Homes, Newmark Homes, Perry Homes, William David Homes and Westin Homes.

The Signorelli Co. plans to expand Austin Point with active adult, build-to-rent and other specialty residential products in response to consumer demand.

PEOPLE

Foley & Lardner LLP expanded its real estate practice group with the hiring of partner Kevin Garland in Houston. Garland is joined by the hiring of a team from Husch Blackwell that includes partners Tyler Johnson and Sadie Fitzpatrick in Dallas and counsel Alexandra Jashinsky in Austin.

Garland brings experience advising clients entering or expanding their presence in Southern California and southeast Texas, having closed about 100 buy-side and sell-side transactions and 75 lender-side loan transactions over the last five years.

SALES

Wu Properties bought the 103K SF Cypresswood Court Shopping Center at 19507 Interstate 45 N. in Spring. The center is anchored by Target, Best Buy and dd’s Discounts. 

Jason Gaines of Sturbridge Commercial Real Estate will handle landlord representation and leasing services on behalf of Wu Properties. 

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Stockdale Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based real estate firm, acquired The InterContinental Houston hotel at 6750 Main St.

The InterContinental Houston is a 354-key hotel built in 2019. It is in the path of growth of the Texas Medical Center, which is expected to double in size over the next decade. 

Hotel amenities include Safina Restaurant, The Naturalist Café and Lounge, 18K SF of meeting space, a 24-hour fitness center and an outdoor pool.

LEASES

Drive-thru beverage chain Swig signed a ground lease for a 19K SF retail pad site in Grand at Aliana at the intersection of West Grand Parkway S. and West Airport Boulevard in Richmond from NewQuest Properties. Josh Friedlander and David Meyers of NewQuest Properties represented the landlord. Jeffrey Hayes and Travis Waltmon of Palo Duro Commercial Partners represented the tenant.

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Fort Capital leased 15.6K SF at 6825 Theall Road in Houston to Intex Flooring. Caleb Lawson with Flatrock Cos. represented the tenant. The landlord, Fort Capital, was represented by its internal leasing manager, Ryan Young.

CONSTRUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

BeDESIGN, a Houston-based seller of high-end, European décor, quadrupled its showroom footprint to 20K SF. The showroom is in the same location as its original 5K SF showroom, which opened in 2016 at 2016 West Alabama St. in Montrose.

The company was founded by Adrian Dueñas and Marcelo Saenz, both natives of Ecuador. 

Throughout its 10-year history, BeDESIGN has worked on more than 1,000 commercial and residential projects. Its clients include Thompson Hotels, Viking Cruises and Ritz-Carlton Reserve. 

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Greystar Real Estate Partners broke ground on Summerwell Sunterra, a build-for-rent single-family community in Katy. 

Summerwell is Greystar's dedicated BTR platform, focused on developing single-family rental communities across the United States. Greystar manages over 50 single-family rental communities with nearly 10,000 homes. It also has about 2,000 single-family homes and townhomes under development across the country.

Set in the Sunterra master-planned community north of Interstate 10 and west of The Grand Parkway, Summerwell Sunterra will consist of 156 homes, with a mix of three- and four-bedroom detached homes and townhomes. Residents will have access to the community's amenities, including the Crystal Lagoon, a clubhouse and patio, fitness and event lawns, a pool and lazy river, a playground, a park and tennis courts.

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Glenwood Cemetery opened its new welcome and administrative center. The $18M, 14K SF project at 2525 Washington Ave. in Houston was completed this month. 

The center showcases the historical architectural and horticultural assets of Glenwood and provides expanded and improved parking for families and visitors with overflow parking nearby.

The building is organized around a central lobby and an outdoor terrace, which separates public areas from administrative functions. Bellows Construction was the contractor for the project and Dillon Kyle Architects served as the architect. 

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East River announced construction updates on its 26-acre Phase 1. Midway, the project’s developer, has completed construction on all retail/office components of East River Phase 1. Tenants continue to build out their spaces, with the majority slated to open in fall 2023.

Tenant and business updates include: 

• TEAL will open its new 16K SF corporate headquarters in East River 1 this fall. TEAL offers sustainable managed HVAC central plants.
• OBJ, a collective landscape design and urban planning practice, purchased a 10K SF independent office structure within The Studios at East River. 
• Impact Networking opened its new 16K SF sales, service and technology showroom in East River 1. Impact Networking offers cybersecurity, digital transformation, marketing and print services.
• The Laura, the five-story, 359-unit multifamily complex in East River, has begun pre-leasing. It plans to welcome its first residents in December.