Clay Developing Kirby Drive Medical Mixed-Use, Market briefs

In Houston, Clay Development & Construction is planning to develop a multi-use medical office development with retail space on Kirby Drive near Westheimer, a significant intersection in Houston’s Inner Loop.

The project, a five-story 100,000-SF building will have Class A medical office space and ground-level retail, as stated by the Newmark real estate firm, which is marketing the development to be built at 2801 Kirby Drive at Kipling Street.

Formerly the site of a Wells Fargo branch, the property is a block north of Whole Foods, across from the West Ave development.

Houston-based Clay Development, led by Robert Clay, has been a strong force in industrial real estate and warehouses for many years. However, Clay recently formed Clay Residential, which plans to build 1,000 single-family build-to-rent dwellings in major Texas markets in 2022.

Rendering of Clay Development & Construction building to be builtat 2801 Kirby Dr.

Clay’s new medical project is being developed in an upscale location, next door to the 30-story condominium at 2727 Kirby, and just south of the affluent River Oaks community with its mansions and estate homes.

The project is slated for completion in the third quarter of 2023. Newmark Director Richard Barbles and Associate Director Noelle Hsieh—whose focus is the growing medical office market in Houston—have been tapped to represent the project on behalf of Clay Development.

“There is an ongoing trend in the medical industry toward convenience of care, with patients seeking healthcare in retail or medical office settings close to home,” said Barbles. “As the healthcare industry continues to evolve and grow, we are excited to extend Newmark’s service offerings even further into Houston medical office real estate.”

“Supporting Clay Development & Construction in their first-class medical office development in the River Oaks neighborhood is incredibly exciting and we look forward to generating future synergies with healthcare tenants,” Hsieh added.

The building is set to feature two pad sites for backup generators, 11-foot ceiling heights, garage parking at a ratio of four spaces per 1,000 rentable SF, after-hours cardkey access and an on-site full-service restaurant.

As stated by Newmark Research, sales volume for U.S. medical office properties totaled nearly $16 billion during the fourth quarter of 2021, nearly matching the pre-pandemic high set in the first quarter of 2020. Medical office sales volume for the U.S. totaled $54 billion for all of 2021, just short of 2020’s total of $56 billion.