3 apartment towers to be built at Ten Oaks development in Energy Corridor
By Florian Martin, Houston Business Journal
A master-planned development at the Texas Medical Center’s West Campus in the Energy Corridor will be gaining a second apartment complex to accommodate a growing workforce in that area.
Miami-based AHS Residential acquired a 6.6-acre parcel in the Ten Oaks property from Houston-based Wolff Cos. last month and plans to build three 12-story apartment towers with a total of 576 units.
The towers will be right next to another future multifamily complex, The Vic on Park Row, for which development hasn’t started yet.
The yet-to-be-named AHS complex will have one- to three-bedroom units with open-concept kitchens with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, in-unit washers and dryers, and central air conditioning. Amenities will include a pool, a multipurpose clubhouse with a 24-hour fitness center, complimentary Wi-Fi in common areas and private parking.
Construction is estimated to start in April, and the apartments are expected to be ready for move-in in February 2024, said Juan Fernandez, director of real estate development at AHS Residential.
Rents will be determined by the market at the time of delivery, Fernandez said, but probably be upward of $1,300 for a one-bedroom and $1,900 for a three-bedroom.
The company is fully vertically integrated and will develop, build and manage the project, he said. San Francisco-based Gensler is the architect.
This will be AHS Residential’s second project in Texas and first in Houston.
This was the last parcel Wolff Cos. sold after acquiring the 83-acre land for Ten Oaks in 1998, said Executive Vice President David Lane.
Over time, the company sold parcels to Texas Children’s Hospital; Houston-based Hunington Properties, which has developed The Shops at Ten Oaks strip center and plans to build The Vic on Park Row apartment complex; and Dallas-based Western International, which developed a Courtyard by Marriott and a Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton on the site.
Wolff Cos. continues to manage the Ten Oaks property.
Next to Ten Oaks and part of the TMC West Campus is the Houston Methodist West Hospital.
Lane said while Wolff Cos. has been heavily invested in the Energy Corridor since its inception in the 1970s, continued industry diversification ensures that it remains a fast-growing area.
“A lot of the vacancy caused by the disruption in the energy market has begun to be absorbed by related and even unrelated technology companies,” he said. “You see that impact in the kinds of development that are coming out to places like Ten Oaks.”
However, the fact that Hunington Properties still hasn’t started construction of The Vic on Park Row — after acquiring the property in 2014 and planning to break ground that same year — speaks to a volatile multifamily market prior to 2020, Lane said.
With the pandemic contributing to a strengthening of the market, Lane expects for The Vic to get underway soon as well.
“I suspect this may give them the impetus they need to do so,” Lane said.
When contacted by the Houston Business Journal, Hunington Properties said they in fact plan to break ground on Dec. 1.
Kate Good, principal for multifamily development and operations at Hunington, said the design took eight to 10 months and obtaining permits added several more months, so the expected groundbreaking date was changed to the first quarter of 2016.
“Then various economic events took place in the city of Houston and we felt it would be wise to wait for the strength of the apartment market to grow,” Good said.
The Vic on Park Row will have 363 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment homes on 7.58 acres. Amenities will include personal office space, smart locks, a pool, bowling alley, fitness center and a pet park.
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