HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Two recent land transactions suggest a growing pattern: Highway 290 may be emerging as a major suburban growth corridor in 2021.
Two Land Deals:
ONE: HOUSTON — Reed Vestal and Taylor Schmidt of Lee & Associates – Houston represented 290 Betka, LLC in the acquisition of 265.63 acres at 26103 Betka Road in Hockley. Jeffrey Pittman and Alex Makris of CBRE represented the seller, McAlister Opportunity Fund 2012, LP. The site is situated on the south side of Highway 290, about halfway between the Grand Parkway and Waller.
TWO: Wolff Cos. purchased 43 acres along Highway 290 at James R. Muse Parkway to expand its Beacon Hill development to a total of 564 acres. The Beacon Hill master-planned community, currently under construction, will include light industrial and distribution facilities as well as office and retail space. The northernmost 270 acres of the tract were sold to Long Lake Ltd. for a residential community planned to include 870 homes. Beacon Hill lies within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the city of Waller.
David S. Wolff, chairman and president of Wolff Cos., who launched his first Houston project in 1966, said Highway 290 offers significant potential.
Wolff was a key force in establishing Houston’s Energy Corridor and building it into one of the nation’s best-known submarket identities.
“We see much the same opportunity along 290 that we saw years ago along I‑10 in the Energy Corridor,” Wolff said when Beacon Hill was announced. “With the connectivity created by the Grand Parkway, growth in northwest Houston and expansion in Bryan‑College Station and Austin, Highway 290’s strategic value is increasing for corporations and for Houston. We’ve already seen major investments in the region from companies such as Daikin, Johnson Development and Buc-ee’s.”
The suburban land market around Houston has been especially active, Vestal said in a recent interview.
Homebuilders and residential land developers have been busy assembling future housing projects. Mortgage rates have hovered below 3 percent and buyers have been eager to purchase homes. Houston just completed its best year ever for home sales, with more than 9,000 houses sold in December, according to the Houston Association of Realtors.
Suburbs such as Willis, Conroe, Brookshire, Cypress, Rosenberg and Richmond, along with other outlying areas, have been strong performers for residential sales, Vestal noted.
The work-from-home shift during the coronavirus pandemic has encouraged buyers to consider more distant suburbs. Even after the pandemic recedes, many companies are expected to cut back on in-office days, reducing the need for a daily commute to downtown or other corporate centers. Buyers who commute only a few days a week will be more willing to relocate farther from the city center.
Another major driver of the land market is warehouse and distribution construction, Vestal said. E-commerce growth has created strong demand for industrial space. Approximately 19 million square feet of industrial space is under construction in the Greater Houston area, with northwest Houston among the leading construction zones.
Jan. 17, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
File: The Next Houston Growth Corridor
File: (2) Highway 290. David Wolff. The Next Houston Growth Corridor. Waller. Lee & Associates Houston