This Week's Houston Deal Sheet

The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa is prepping for a $45M renovation. The planned upgrades include enhancing the lobby, guest rooms and suites and activating the outdoor spaces. 

“We are fortunate to operate a property with distinctive buildings, abundant trees and open spaces,” Houstonian Campus LLC President and CEO John Durie said. “The master plan confirms our commitment to enhancing our place among the most enduring, luxury properties in Texas.”

The updates will feature a new indoor and outdoor restaurant overlooking the resort and sports areas, redesigned club studios, child care areas and a rooftop event space. The Trellis Spa will receive a touch-up, which will include an outdoor water experience. Construction is set to begin later this year.

“The Houstonian is a place of endearing memories for those we have had the honor of serving over our 40-year history," Durie said. "We are making this investment to ensure this iconic property, which bears the name of our world-class city, may be a part of the life of the next generation of Houstonians and those who visit our city.” 

Huitt-Zollars Inc. will be the architect, and Forney Construction will serve as construction manager and general contractor. Kay Lang & Associates will handle the interior design for the project. Fabiano Designs will consult on the club design.

EXECS

Brett Williams rejoined Transwestern Commercial Services as managing director to expand the company's portfolio throughout Texas. He will also work with leadership to implement national initiatives, drive new business pursuits and ensure operational consistency across the state. Before returning to Transwestern, Williams served as the executive vice president of management services for the Central Region at Madison Marquette, where he oversaw the operations of properties exceeding 40M SF.

SALES

An undisclosed buyer purchased the 28K SF warehouse building at 2121 Gulf Central Drive in Houston. Retail Solutions' Jeff Fralick and Jim Thompson represented the buyer. CBRE's Ed Frantz represented the seller.

***

An LLC acquired Cedar Gate Apartments, a 52-unit apartment property at 1325 Cedar Post in Houston. Marcus & Millichap's Jeffrey Fript and Christian Mazzini represented the seller, an individual/personal trust, and the buyer.

***

An undisclosed buyer purchased Tronewood Apartments, a 24-unit apartment property at 9222 Lockwood Drive in Houston. The asset had a listing price of $1.3M. Marcus & Millichap’s Juan Cuevas represented the seller, a private investor.

***

KB Homes Lone Star Inc. acquired 24 acres for residential development off Ella Boulevard in Houston. The property is adjacent to Eagle Landing Single Family Home Development. Caldwell Brokerage's Keith Edwards and Daniel Greco represented the buyer and the seller. 

***

Jain Society of Houston Inc. purchased an 8-acre tract for commercial development near Highway 59 and Highway 90. Caldwell Brokerage's Keith Grothaus represented the seller. JLL's Ryan Fuselier represented the buyer. 

***

Crossing at Spring Woods LLC acquired a 32.9-acre tract for commercial development in Spring. The property is near The Woodlands and is zoned for Klein ISD. Caldwell Brokerage's Mark Terpstra represented the seller. 

***

An undisclosed buyer purchased a 33K SF industrial building at 6767 North Freeway in Houston. The property is on 23 acres and offers direct access to Interstate 45. Caldwell Brokerage's Keith Edward and Daniel Greco represented the seller. NAI Partners' John Ferruzzo represented the buyer. 

LEASES

French Cuff Boutique and Massage Heights signed leases at Lake Woodlands Crossings in The Woodlands. French Cuff Boutique is set to open in April. Lake Woodlands Crossing is a 60K SF retail center at 1900 Lake Woodlands Drive. Other recently announced retailers include health food restaurant Flower Child, Total Wine & More, ULTA Beauty, Main Squeeze Juice Co. and Stickhouse. 

***

Crazy Boss inked a 26K SF retail lease at 1222 South Shaver St. in Pasadena. NAI Partners’ Lesley Rice and Andy Parrish represented the landlord. Chis Holder represented the tenant. Crazy Boss has plans to open 10 additional locations in the next two to three years. 

***

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP inked a 23K SF office lease at 2 Houston Center at 909 Fannin St. in Downtown Houston. The law firm will lease the 27th floor of the Class-A office tower. Vorys has 28 employees in Houston and will relocate to the property in June. Cushman & Wakefield's Tim Relyea and David Guion represented the tenant. Transwestern's Doug Little, David Baker, Kelli Gault and Jack Scharnberg represented the landlord, Brookfield Properties. Brookfield Properties' Clint Bawcom represented the landlord in-house.  

FINANCING

NorthMarq secured a bridge loan for the acquisition of Terrace Villas, a renovated, 150-unit multifamily property at 17700 El Camino Real in Houston. The property is near  NASA, Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, UH-Clear Lake and Baybrook Mall. NorthMarq's Warren Hitchcock represented the undisclosed buyer.

***

Eastern Union secured a $26M bridge loan for the acquisition and redevelopment of Park Texas Apartment, a 587-unit multifamily property in Houston. A joint venture between the Auerbach Opportunity Fund II L.P. and Blue Magma Residential purchased the two-story, garden-style apartment building at 11911 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The 477K SF property is 50% occupied and is presently undergoing extensive capital improvements. Eastern Union's Michael Wyne and Boruch Mandel represented the buyer. 

DEVELOPMENT

Houston-based Pearl Hospitality is transforming the historic Medical Towers into a 273-room luxury hotel, Westin Houston Medical Center. The 382K SF redevelopment will include a 10K SF meeting space and 8K SF ballroom with pre-function space. On-site amenities will include two stunning outdoor terraces overlooking the treetops of Rice University, an outdoor pool terrace, a health club, a restaurant and bar with outdoor seating and a café. BRR Architects will serve as project architect and Baskervill as the interior design architect. MBCM Inc. will handle the design consultation. Collaborative Engineering Group will serve as the project engineer. Henderson Rogers will be the structural engineer and Texas HRE Construction the general contractor. 

***

Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is constructing a new, 2,200 SF clinic in the underground tunnels in Downtown Houston. The new facility will feature one medical provider and two virtual health exam rooms. It will be at 815 Walker, connected to the Niels and Millie Esperson Buildings and is slated to open this summer. Page was selected as the architect. A general contractor has not yet been selected.