Real Estate

Once upon a time, a small business or entrepreneur had limited choices when they outgrew their home or garage office. Their only option was to engage a commercial real estate broker or negotiate directly with a landlord to secure office space, leased by the square foot. Triple-net, tenant improvement allowances, access to conference space, setting up an IT infrastructure and other challenges would burden the entrepreneur who really just wanted to operate their dream business.…..Read More

2020 was a year that was anything but ordinary. Apartment community managers and commercial real estate leasing agents found themselves coming up with new and inventive ways to show their empty apartment homes and available spaces in order to stay in business. Tina Hurd is a long-time apartment community manager with Camden, which owns and manages three apartment communities in Westchase District. When the pandemic struck closing apartment community offices to prospective residents, Hurd says…..Read More

A major new gas station and convenience store has emerged from the site of the former Kaleidoscope Center on Westheimer Road at Blue Willow Drive. And, it’s far from what you’d expect from a c-store. Officially opened on December 9, OnCue, a leading c-store operator in Oklahoma, arrived in Houston with a prominent presence for motorists driving through Westchase District or exiting the West Sam Houston Tollway. Located at 10612 Westheimer near Phillips 66’s corporate…..Read More

Comunidad Partners is the new owner of Villas del Paseo apartments at 3030 Elmside Drive. A top priority was to task its management unit, Comuna Property Management, with designing visually appealing upgrades. It chose a new color palette for its property which previously lacked vibrancy. “We wanted to bring a breath of fresh air, like the feeling of Mexican hospitality, to our residents so we had the community painted with loud colors that echo the…..Read More

As leader of Houston’s second-oldest civil engineering firm, Jim Russ is inspired by the past and the future. He is part of a rich legacy linked to the names of EHRA Engineering founders Edminster, Hinshaw, Russ and Associates. Modest about his role as president and CEO in EHRA’s success, Russ wants his associates to feel empowered by their role in the firm’s work. “We don’t use the word employees - our associates are a team,”…..Read More

LYND’s acquisition of Royal Oaks at Westchase is resulting in an eye-grabbing transformation.  Located at 11212 Westpark Drive, Royal Oaks of Westchase is one of three recent acquisitions by Lynd Acquisitions Group (LAG), a San Antonio-based real estate investment firm. A national multifamily management firm, LYND purchased the property early spring and began a rebrand to Apex at Royal Oaks. The property has 282 units, from 1 to 3 bedrooms. LAG immediately invested $5 million…..Read More

This fall, Westchase District celebrates its 25th anniversary. The District was created by an act of the 74th Texas legislature and signed into law by then-Governor George W. Bush on June 12, 1995. The law became effective on August 28, 1995 and the newly-formed board of directors met for the first time on August 29, 1995. But Westchase District’s history hardly begins there. Early days The Westchase Business Council – the District’s predecessor organization –…..Read More

Redevelopment in Westchase District is proof of the area’s solid commercial real estate market. The Tinseltown movie theater, which hosted 24 screens, originally opened on the Beltway at Westpark in 1996. One Westchase District follower on social media recalled seeing Spice World (The Spice Girls movie) there in 1997 while others reminisced about it being the place for youth groups to go after church for a matinee. It was closed and demolished in 2008 to…..Read More

Stressing fun, John Boriack brings leadership skills to HAA and Westchase District John Boriack punched his ticket to commercial real estate success in a very unusual way when, after graduating from high school, he accepted his parents’ offer to take the money they’d saved for college and launch a business instead. “I set out to find an industry where no one in my family had any experience and I found it in commercial real estate,”…..Read More

Jim Russ represents the “R” in EHRA Engineering. As the second generation of his family to be part of EHRA, Russ led the 83-year old engineering company into its biggest transition to date: new offices at 10011 Meadowglen. Having been in a company-owned building on Westoffice Drive for 32 years, EHRA moved into the newly-leased space at the beginning of January. Meanwhile, Kelly Hall, CEO of Harvey Builders, was leading his company on a similar…..Read More