McNair Buys Prime Westchase Tract, Market briefs

In Houston, An entity affiliated with McNair Interests purchased a prime 25-acre tract of vacant land in the Westchase District, a site that has been considered as a promising location for a corporate campus.

The McNair family is well known in its hometown as the ownership of the NFL’s Houston Texans.

The Westchase land, one of the largest vacant tracts in urban West Houston, is located at 400 West Sam Houston Parkway South at Deerwood Road. It has 715 feet on frontage on Beltway 8.

The land’s seller, Cameron International, which was represented by Justin Tunnell of Lee & Associates – Houston, purchased the land about seven years ago. But Cameron never started a development, letting the grassy field to lie fallow.

Cameron is part of Schlumberger now and Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services company, reported earlier this month that is eliminating 21,000 jobs. The layoffs are unpleasant news for Houston’s real estate market.

Developing a new corporate campus is highly unlikely for a Houston energy company for years to come. Over 1.1 million SF of Houston office space went vacant in second quarter negative absorption totals compiled by CBRE.

McNair Interests, which was represented by Dick Glass of CRC Real Estate, did not announce its intentions for the tract. But recognizing an opportunity, the McNair organization may have picked up some well located land at a bargain price.

In the Uptown Galleria area, McNair owns another key site that lies vacant despite its potential, a six acre site at the northwest corner of Richmond Avenue and Post Oak Boulevard,. That land was destined to be a breathtaking southern gateway to the Uptown District. Work start would happen in 2019, McNair Interests said, and completion was slated for 2023. Reported with fanfare, in a press release dated June 4, 2018, the Post Oak site was envisioned as a “transformative mixed-used project in Houston’s Uptown District.” Skidmore Owings & Merrill designed a plan with a major office tower, an upscale 150-room Rosewood Hotel with 80 living units, a multifamily tower, upscale retail and green space. No vertical construction has occurred on the Post Oak tract.