Whitestone REIT to Acquire BLVD Place Mixed-Use Development in Uptown Houston

BLVD Place, located on Post Oak Boulevard, near San Felipe, is being purchased by Whitestone REIT.

HOUSTON – Houston-based Whitestone REIT, a community-focused retail real estate investment trust with properties concentrated in growth-oriented markets such as Phoenix, Austin, Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio, has agreed to acquire BLVD Place in Uptown Houston.

Whitestone is purchasing the 216,944-square-foot Class A lifestyle center on Post Oak Boulevard, anchored by Whole Foods, along with 1.43 acres of developable land. That parcel provides the REIT the opportunity to add an estimated 137,000 square feet of leasable space under current plans.

E. D. “Ed” Wulfe of Houston-based Wulfe & Co. originally developed BLVD Place. Ownership was later held by California investment firm Bailard Inc. Wulfe is a local developer with a history of projects in Houston, including the redevelopments of Meyerland Plaza and Gulfgate.

Ed Wulfe, the developer of BLVD Place.

BLVD Place will become Whitestone’s 28th property in the Houston area.

In a news release issued Wednesday, Whitestone reported that as of April 15, 2017, BLVD Place was 99% leased.

Whitestone plans to develop a six-story, 137,000-square-foot mixed-use building on the additional land—referred to as the BLVD Phase II-B development—with an estimated incremental development cost of $45 million. The company has not announced a timetable for construction.

The proposed Phase II-B project is expected to offer roughly 46,000 square feet of retail space across the first two floors and about 91,000 square feet of office space across the upper four floors.

In addition to BLVD Place, Whitestone said it is acquiring Eldorado Plaza in McKinney, Texas. The combined purchase price for Eldorado Plaza and BLVD Place is $204.6 million.

Whitestone did not respond to requests for comment.

The company anticipates closing the pending acquisitions in May 2017, subject to customary closing conditions.

Whitestone indicated it expects to finance part of the BLVD Place purchase with approximately $80 million of asset-level mortgage financing. Negotiations with potential lenders are underway, but no binding commitment letter or final loan documents have been signed.

Whitestone describes itself as a pure-play, community-centered retail REIT that acquires, owns, manages, develops and redevelops high-quality, e-commerce-resistant neighborhood, community and lifestyle retail centers primarily in the largest, fastest-growing, and most affluent Sun Belt markets.