Bellaire Residents Challenge City Plan to Acquire 30-Acre Chevron Site
Chevron is selling this prime tract in Bellaire, which could be developed as a mixed-use development. HFF is marketing the property, which is about a mile from the Galleria in Houston.
BELLAIRE – (By Michelle Leigh Smith for Realty News Report) – The purchaser of the former Chevron campus in Bellaire told the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission that the existing buildings will be repositioned and leased as multi-tenant office space.
SLS Properties, which is expected to complete the acquisition this fall, is proposing a four-level parking garage on the 30.5-acre campus at Loop 610 and Fournace Place. Chevron has already vacated the site.
At last week’s zoning commission meeting, SLS Properties’ representative Danny Sheena emphasized that his plans hinge on approval of the parking structure. He said the remainder of his redevelopment strategy is currently under confidentiality. “I must have a parking garage to operate,” he said. “Without a parking garage this would not be a high-quality building.”
The Chevron property includes two vacant office buildings: a 10-story, 452,000-square-foot tower designed by S.I. Morris and a six-story building totaling 95,000 square feet.
SLS has applied for permission to build a four-level parking garage that would add roughly 600 spaces to the existing capacity of about 1,400 parking spaces.
Members of the Bellaire Planning and Zoning Commission grilled Sheena about renovation plans and how the buildings would be improved to attract tenants.
“Do you think you can attract the same quality tenant with it currently looking as it does?” Commissioner Jonathan Saikin asked. “Do you think an accounting firm will find it attractive?”
Saikin also inquired about the level of investment Sheena plans to make in the property.
“There’s not much I can do — it’s brick,” Sheena replied. “Converting it to glass would be very expensive.”
“Have you worked on any property similar to this?” Saikin continued. “Yes, but not this big,” Sheena answered. “I did one with Washington Mutual on West Gray for 20- or 30,000 square feet.”
“This is seven or eight times that size,” Saikin noted. “Have you started pre-leasing?”
“Yes, we’ve spoken with many prospective tenants, but I don’t own the property yet,” Sheena said. “We have ample generator capacity — far more than typically required — so tenants would not experience outages.”
Commissioner John Klug asked whether the site’s power could be tied into the City of Bellaire grid in the event of a city outage. Currently there is no conduit or infrastructure to support such a transfer.
“What other options have you considered?” Commissioner Mike Baker asked. “I’m sure you have evaluated the highest and best use of the property.”
“I am under confidentiality,” Sheena said.
Residents noted that the area north of the Chevron site has been used by drivers seeking shortcuts.
Bellaire citizen Ed Umbricht raised concerns about daily traffic and asked that the gate to Anderson Street be permanently closed. “I want the gate gone — for what it’s worth, Chevron never opened the gate. They placed planters on the other side for security to prevent break-ins,” he said.
Sheena clarified that he intends to erect a fence and has no plans to open access toward Joe Gaither Park.
Elm Street resident Michele Arnold warned the commission that the decision would have a lasting impact on Bellaire’s quality of life. “It’s bad enough that Bellaire residents have had to look at the Chevron office buildings for decades,” she said.
“Now a parking garage for 2,000 cars would further mar the view for Bellaire taxpayers,” Arnold added. “A garage of that size would bring heavy traffic on Fournace, create safety concerns, and generate noise from hundreds of car radios and motorcycles. Commuters will speed down Anderson and Elm trying to get to and from work during the week. Will we see increased traffic on Saturdays, too?”
Arnold also questioned the terms of the sale, which was marketed by brokers from HFF. “Was this the only offer Chevron received? Wouldn’t it have been nice to create another Shadyside-style enclave with twenty high-end homes on the acreage?”
Other residents who spoke at the meeting asked about ongoing maintenance, stormwater drainage, sidewalks, and the overall appearance of the property under new ownership.
Commissioner Baker asked if the single-family homes on Mayfair Street that Chevron owns were part of Sheena’s plan. Sheena replied, “No.”
P&Z Chairman Ross Gordon raised a procedural concern about the timing of the traffic study’s delivery. The study apparently arrived from Sheena one day before the commission packets were distributed, meaning commissioners did not have sufficient time to review it in advance. “I’m concerned about the completeness of the application. Has the city reviewed this traffic study?” Gordon asked. “Without being fully informed, is it sound traffic policy to leave only a two-way stop on Fournace?” he added, referencing one of the proposed exits.
SLS Properties also owns two six-story buildings in Bellaire located near the Chevron campus.
