Prime Redevelopment Site Now Available for Major Project
Coca-Cola plant on Bissonnet Street was completed in 1950. It’s across the street from the city limits of the affluent West University Place.
HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – The Coca-Cola bottling facility near West University Place, which is expected to be vacated in a few years when the company moves its operations to the suburbs, represents one of the most significant redevelopment opportunities to reach the market in recent memory.
“The Coca-Cola site will attract the attention of all the quality developers in our market,” says Marshall S. Clinkscales Jr. of Colliers International, a longtime broker active in the area.
“I expect strong interest and competitive bids for the property. The most likely outcome is a mixed-use project combining retail, restaurants and multifamily housing. Current multifamily occupancy in this submarket is around 91 percent, and the area’s strong demographics can easily support retail and dining options. A hotel development is also a plausible use,” Clinkscales adds.
The property’s owner, Arca Continental—one of the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottlers—recently announced that its subsidiary, Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, acquired a large parcel in Hines’ Pinto Business Park. The company plans to invest $250 million to build a one million square foot facility there, which will render the decades-old Bissonnet plant surplus to requirements.
After roughly 70 years of service, the Bissonnet facility will be freed up for redevelopment.
Key characteristics of the site:
Location. The property sits just outside the city limits of the affluent West University Place, about a mile from Greenway Plaza and positioned between Kirby Drive and Buffalo Speedway. It offers convenient access to downtown Houston, the Galleria and the Texas Medical Center. The site is bounded by Westpark to the north and Bissonnet to the south, and is located at the northwest corner of Bissonnet and Wakeforest.
Size. The total site covers 15.57 acres divided into two tracts: a primary 14-acre parcel at 2800 Bissonnet that extends back to Westpark with substantial frontage along Wakeforest, plus a separate 1.6-acre parcel on the east side of Wakeforest near Westpark currently used for parking.
Value. The market will ultimately determine the price. The Harris County Appraisal District currently lists a combined value of $56,620,835 for both parcels. When the property is offered for sale—whether in 2018, 2019 or 2020—its value is likely to exceed that figure because the land will be repositioned from industrial use to higher-value, mixed-use development.
The smaller 1.6-acre parcel east of Wakeforest sits adjacent to Goode Company Seafood and a U.S. Postal Service facility. That site could serve as parking for a new mixed-use project or host a standalone restaurant, Clinkscales suggests.
Developers such as Hanover Company and Martin Fein Interests already operate multifamily projects within a quarter mile of the Coca-Cola site, suggesting the area could support additional mid-rise or high-rise residential buildings. There’s even speculation that a developer who had planned a tower at 1717 Bissonnet may consider shifting to the west side of Kirby Drive to take advantage of this opportunity.
The original Coca-Cola bottling plant opened on Bissonnet in 1950, at a time when the suburb was on Houston’s outskirts and the city’s population totaled about 596,163.
This property is notable because industrial parcels are increasingly rare in this part of Houston, aside from a few remaining sites such as the Houston Chronicle facility.
Environmental concerns appear minimal; there is no indication the site would qualify as a brownfield. Routine, benign operations like minor product spills would not create significant contamination issues.
