West Houston Strengthens its Position in Houston Real Estate Market
Houston, TX – May 14, 2024
For more than 50 years, Wolff Companies has developed thousands of acres of high-quality, master-planned mixed-use business environments. Following our philosophy of developing strategic tracts along major growth corridors, Wolff Companies is recognized as a West Houston pioneer and originator of The Energy Corridor. Today, Greater West Houston is one of the fastest growing communities in the United States with its own “urban core” at the intersection of I-10 and Beltway 8, which supports over 150,000 employees and 37 million square feet of office space, rivaling Houston’s Downtown Central Business District and the Galleria. By 2030, almost 2.6 million people or 21.6% of Houston’s population will call West Houston home.[1]
West Houston is attractive to employers. In Q1 of 2024, the Energy Corridor/Katy Freeway West submarket has been a top performer in office leasing activity with 214,480 square feet (sf) total net absorption. Combined with Westchase and Katy Freeway East/Memorial, the region saw nearly 250,000 sf net absorption – 32 percent more than the Central Business District (188,577 sf) and 276 percent more than the overall Houston net absorption (66,292 sf).[2] This accounted for approximately 50 percent of the leasing activity in the total Houston office market in the beginning of 2024, as companies look to relocate to be closer to their workforces.[3]
Some of Houston’s largest office leasing transactions in Q1 2024 occurred in West Houston, including:
- Dow: 308,000 sf at the under-construction CityCentre Six
- Noble Corporation: 110,000 sf at CityWest Place
- Fluor: 104,000 sf at Two Eldridge
- BMC Software: 77,200 sf CityWest Place
- Enstor: 43,000 sf at CityWest Place
- Kraken Oil & Gas:48,080 sf at 945 Bunker Hill
- RG Miller: 28,971 sf at Eldridge Oaks
With its recent lease expansion, Fluor will occupy all of Three Eldridge and part of Two Eldridge in The Energy Corridor. The expansion gives Fluor 412, 853 square feet in Granite Properties’ Eldridge office complex.
Noble Corporation plans to move its global headquarters from Sugar Land into CityWestPlace in early 2025. Image: Parkway.
Other recent significant activity includes:
- Bechtel finalizing their relocation from the Galleria area to CityWest Place
- Dow Jones opening a hub for chemical markets analysis at Town Centre One
- Kiewit’s expanding to 277,105 sf in Energy Center I
- Fugro’s relocating to 75,000 square feet at Republic Square
Dow will occupy nearly two-thirds of the 308,000 square feet of office space at the 19-story CityCentre Six, slated to open in City Centre in 2026. Midway’s CityCentre Seven, a six-story office building and future AC Hotel by Marriott, is also under construction. Image: Midway
As the population grows, West Houston has become home to world-class healthcare facilities, including MD Anderson West Houston in Wolff Companies’ Central Park as well as The Texas Medical Center – West Campus in Wolff Companies’ Ten Oaks, with Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Houston Methodist West Hospital. As part of a $65 million expansion, Houston Methodist recently opened the 150,000 square foot Medical Office Building 3 in Ten Oaks. Image: Houston Methodist.
Population and jobs growth are driving mixed-use development, including:
- At Watermark District at Woodcreek, Midway is redeveloping the former Conoco Phillips campus to include restaurants, cafes, a boutique hotel, and apartments, in addition to a 100,000 square-foot fitness facility and 650,000 square feet of office space.
- MetroNational announced plans for a 27-acre mixed-use town center west of Memorial City Mall, called Memorial Town Square.
- In August 2023, Moody Rambin broke ground on an 8-story office tower – Town Centre Two – within the 41-acre Town & Country Village mixed-use development.
Midway is redeveloping the former ConocoPhillips’ campus into Watermark District at Woodcreek. Upon completion, Watermark will feature office space, luxury multifamily apartments, a boutique hotel, as well as waterfront restaurants, cafes, and bars. Modernized 100,000 square-foot fitness facility, including an Olympic-size saltwater swimming pool, will add to the district’s recreation offerings, such as walking and biking paths, as well as access to Terry Hershey Park’s 12.5-mile network of trails along Buffalo Bayou. Image: Midway.
The single and multi-family markets are also flourishing in West Houston: West Houston contains more than 1,160,000 single-family homes, which account for more than 25 percent of all homes in Greater Houston. 139 new neighborhoods and communities are planned within the region, with anticipated 60,000 additional new homes at buildout.
Multi-family inventory in the region accounts for approximately 26.7 percent of the entire apartment inventory in Greater Houston. In Wolff Companies’ Ten Oaks, two new developments include:
- The Vic at Park Row: Residents began moving in to the 363-unitapartment community developed by Hunington Residential in late March 2024. In-demand amenities include extensive fitness offerings, such as the yoga lounge overlooking the pool and the zen courtyard; co-working spaces for those working from home; resident sky lounge; and more.
- Resia Ten Oaks: The soon-to-open three 12-story apartment towers will have a combined 576 units and community amenities such as a pool, a multi-purpose clubhouse with a 24-hour, state-of-the-art fitness center, complimentary Wi-Fi in common areas, and private parking. Leasing is now available for the first tower.
Since opening on March 29, 2024, The Vic at Park Row has already leased 21 percent of the community. Each unit comes with internet access and streaming included in rent. Modern community amenities include multiple co-working areas for those working from home, a bowling alley, direct access to a 22-mile hike-and-bike trail, and an expansive dog recreation area.
Two parcels remain in Wolff Companies’ Central Park, a 78-acre Energy Corridor deed-restricted business park – home to MD Anderson Cancer Center’s West Houston campus and a 342-unit multi-family development, the Vista at Park Row. The remaining parcels in Central Park are ideal for office, multifamily, hospitality, and healthcare uses given the excellent visibility and freeway access.
In the heart of The Energy Corridor, Central Park is the ideal location for land buyers looking for unparalleled access, visibility, and proximity to green space near West Houston’s largest employers.
“West Houston continues to attract new residents to the area with its employment opportunities, quality school districts, the variety and quality of amenities in the area which include entertainment, dining and retail in City Centre and Town and Country, and world-class healthcare in Texas Medical Center West Campus,” said David S. Wolff, Chairman and President of Wolff Companies. “Our Central Park is a master-planned development that offers an ideal location for commercial and residential projects of high caliber, due to our stringent development standards, excellent access, and location in The Energy Corridor – the ‘downtown’ of West Houston.”
Wolff Companies’ Beacon Hill is a master-planned project in Waller County that is suitable for uses ranging from light industrial and office to retail, multifamily and hospitality. With major residential and commercial developments underway, the US 290 Corridor continues to strengthen its status as the next major growth corridor in Houston, offering the same opportunity Wolff Companies first recognized years ago along I-10 in what would become The Energy Corridor.
[1] West Houston Association, Economic and Demographic Profile, 2022.
[2] Avison Young, Houston Office Market Report 1Q 2024
[3] Savills, 1Q 2024 Houston Office Market.