Skintrade72

So I visited the Boulder Creek trailer today. They have a nice model of the whole development there. They told me the reason nothing's been built yet is because last week they just closed on the financing for the East side of Pearland Pkwy, which will have a 16 story office building, commercial space (ice cream shop, coffee shop, deli, etc), lake, and upscale apts. The office building is supposed to be "Class A." Does anyone know what that really means if anything at all? The developer has been delaying construction because he wants to have everything under construction all at once. West of the Pkwy, there will be 1-story buildings with boutique shops. This section of the model reminds me of the Marquee mall on I-10. A Kroger's signature store has signed on here, as well as a CVS Pharmacy and Spec's along the parkway. Next to these is a small lake that will have 4 restaurants (probably like Fountains on the lake on I-59). A Johnny Rockets has already signed on. Behind these is more retail with 2 levels of 2-story lofts above them. Directly behind the lofts is garage parking, and behind that are columns of about 100 brownstones. There are canals leading from the lake around the loft/retail and some of the brownstone columns. The wooded area around Clear Creek is behind the brownstones. A large parking lot will be between the Beltway feeder and the lake with some retail buildings. A Taco Cabana has signed on in one of these. Then at the far west-side of this development there are plans for an outpatient medical clinic building and park in front. The sales rep said there are more letter of intents from other retailers for the project, but she couldn't release that info yet until the hard deals were done. The Kroger's sounds nice, but I'm still waiting for signs of the "upscale" retailers like williams-sonoma, BR, Bombay, etc. As such, I'm still reluctant to put down 350K for one of these loft units. Its an admirable endeavor, but we'll have to see about the execution. This was my first time really checking out Pearland. I was kinda dissappointed. I didn't expect such a lack of current commercial development there. I had a tough time trying to find a place just to have lunch. Had to go to the 518/288 area by Shadow Creek Ranch, and then there was just a Chili's and Panera Bread, which I didn't have the stomach for today. Seems like it might still be a few years before there are decent dining options in Pearland. Johnny Rockets isn't all that either.... When's the Cheesecake Factory or even one of the Pappas chains coming?

Just thought I could be of help here, in case you were still looking at The Mark. We owned a unit there, and its still in the family (sold it to my parents since we were moving out of town). We bought our 2 bedroom unit (6th floor, north side) for the same reason that you are considering it....very affordable. We bought preconstruction there for $210K. For the location, it is a really great deal. The reason for the pricing is that it probably is not quite as luxurious as the $300-500K units in the uptown area. They cost-save in certain areas, for example - granite TILE countertops instead of granite slab, carpet interiors (though slate tile in the foyer and kitchens), no crown molding, basic lighting fixtures (we upgraded alot on the lights). Because of this, the standard, un-upgraded unit would be considered more mid-luxury. Of course, you can upgrade most of these features and make it what you want. Positives - The construction is solid, solid concrete walls and floors with great sound-proofing. - very high ceilings, I think they are 14 feet in the living areas, 10 feet in the bathrooms. - huuuuuge balconies in the center 2 bedroom units - pool and spa are pretty nice (the view on the weekends. I swear some of the pretty young things who live there must work at the gentleman's club across the street. Funny thing, my dad caught Shaq - who owns a unit there - taking in the view from the lobby one day) - awesome location: blocks from the galleria. Convenient access to both 610 and 59. i never found the traffic to be that bad...you are far enough from the Galleria. - Sweet views from the North facing higher floors (though you lose the pool view) Negatives - Smallish exercise facilities - exterior is ok, some don't really like it - as you said, they still have about 30% of the units left for sale so if you expect to live there for a few years and sell, it may be difficult. If you expect to live there for a long time, its probably not too much of a concern, since they'll eventually sell out. - you only get 1 assigned parking space, and if you happen to get one of the floors higher up, its a delicate flower cause there are tons of annoying speed bumps (the car unfriendly type that kills your car). Overall, we really enjoyed staying there....people of all backgrounds live there from empty-nesters to young professionals (not too many families as would be expected from a high-rise condo).

DJ V, where are you currently spinning? Any recommendations on downtown clubs that play house/trance? Been away from Houston for awhile, but used to love Hyperia....many memorable nights (or mornings) there. Shame it got shut down. We need another great "underground" venue like that.

Yeah, I've seen the renderings of the Pearland Town Center, but it seems like the residential will be years away. There's nothing up for sale yet, whereas there are actually MLS listings for the Boulder Creek project. Seems like Pearland Towncenter is building up the retail before the residential, which is probably how it should be. The Sugarland Townsquare condos did the same and have done very well. T-Mac actually bought a unit in there, and can be seen around sometimes. Hope Boulder Creek comes out the same, but from the sound of it, they might be trying the reverse and building the residential before the retail. They are supposedly starting construction on some of the brownstones this month. It would seem like the residential success would ride upon the retail success in these types of developments. So there is some of that risk there if the retail doesn't come through. I'll be coming down to Houston and visitng the site and sales office next week and will provide any updates.

Actually, I was particularly interested in the Parks at Boulder Creek "lifestyle center" development with lofts built above retail that has been discussed in this forum at the entrance of Pearland Pkwy and Beltway8.

My family and I are moving back to Houston next year, following a brief banishment to Cleveland, OH (yes, the mistake by the lake). Looking into Pearland vs Clear lake. The Parks at Boulder Creeks looks pretty interesting...a bit of urban chique in suburbia. The renderings look great, but I'm not sure how well it will be executed. The developer has never done residential before. The development was announced awhile ago, but I've yet to here of any retailers signing on so far. Plus, a development of that magnitude will take quite a few years to complete....not sure if I want to be living in the middle of all that construction. Any update on how the construction is looking so far out there at Beltway and Pearland Pkwy?