2013 Landmark Awards: Central Park

Finalist: Land Deal

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is the first buyer in Central Park, the largest remaining parcel available for development in the Energy Corridor. The hospital contracted 80 acres in 2012, which is located on the north side of Interstate 10 between North Eldridge Parkway and State Highway 6.

Envisioned uses for the entire Central Park site include high-end office, multifamily, hotel, retail and health care facilities. Immediate neighbors include BP Plc (NYSE: BP), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Shell Oil Co., as well as companies like Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY), The Wood Group Mustang Engineering, Sitel Corp., Aker Solutions Inc., Gulf States Toyota, The Methodist Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital. The development is adjacent to a 14,000-acre park on the north and Terry Hershey Park to the east, ensuring that 50 percent of the parcel will be bordered by permanent green space.

For many years, developer David Wolff planned for the vacant land to be the ideal location for a mixed-use project. However, it would take more than three decades to make the vision a reality. The creation of Central Park required the assembly of two entirely separate parcels of land. A family had held the first parcel in multiple separate trusts for more than 35 years. After successfully negotiating the acquisition from the Crowell Family in December 2011, the second parcel was acquired from an investment partnership in 2012. Wolff Cos. has also been working with the city of Houston to extend Park Row, a street which runs along the parcel, through to Eldridge.

DEALMAKERSDeveloper: Wolff Cos.
Architect: TBG Inc.
Engineer: Jones & Carter Inc.
Attorney: Schlanger, Silver, Barg & Paine LLP

For the complete article, please go to:
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/print-edition/2013/04/12/2013-landmark-awards-central-park.html