RICHMOND – (Realty News Report) – Two suburban medical projects near the Grand Parkway in Fort Bend County are preparing to break ground, reflecting continued interest from developers in Houston’s rapidly growing suburbs.
Both projects are planned within Grand Center at Long Meadow Farms, a 58-acre mixed-use development in west Houston. The site’s proximity to major roadways and surrounding residential growth make it an attractive location for new healthcare facilities.
Dynamite Investments LLC has acquired a parcel for a 6,500-square-foot medical office building, with construction slated to begin by the end of summer. A separate developer will build a 9,000-square-foot medical office on an adjacent tract, according to NewQuest Properties. Both sites provide direct access to the Grand Parkway/TX 99 feeder road at its intersection with West Bellfort Street in Richmond.
Ashley Strickland, vice president of NewQuest Properties’ Healthcare & Wellness Division and broker for property owner CJ Development, noted the scarcity of regional land offerings. “Land is a hot commodity everywhere. The Grand Center at Long Meadow Farms just happens to be one of the last regional land listings available for sale or lease in the Aliana submarket,” she said.
Grand Center at Long Meadow Farms also has additional activity underway. NewQuest reports a multifamily developer has 15 acres under contract, and several potential buyers are pursuing five acres designated for retail and service projects. The development’s three-mile trade area encompasses nearly 80,000 residents with an average annual household income of $104,666, and demographic measures rise further beyond that radius.
“It’s surrounded by mature communities, and there is so much pent-up demand,” Strickland added.
CJ Development’s approach emphasizes ground-up construction. This year the firm delivered an 8,000-square-foot retail building anchored by a BBVA branch, plus two two-story medical office buildings, each approximately 23,000 square feet. “The developer had the right timing and the right place for the Grand Center at Long Meadow Farms,” Strickland said.
Medical development has also been active in Houston’s north and northwest suburbs.
Tomball Medical Project
In northwest Houston, general contractor Arch-Con Corporation has broken ground on the first phase of the Medical Center of Tomball. The project, located off Highway 249, is developed by Bryant + Stacy Group in partnership with Global Healthcare Partners.
Phase I consists of a three-story, 64,395-square-foot medical office building that is 97 percent pre-leased. Evan Alford, senior vice president of Arch-Con’s Healthcare Division, emphasized the importance of early collaboration in managing costs and materials. “Arch-Con’s volume share in the construction of medical office buildings, real-time information on market pricing and coming in early in the development process allowed us to collaborate on the best materials and construction methods,” he said. “This was particularly important right now with construction prices and material delays a creative puzzle to sort.”
May 17, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
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File: Two Medical Projects Underway in Richmond
Photo: Courtesy NewQuest