Search the Community

From Midway Annual Report http://midwaycompanies.com/media/site-media/Publications/160208-Midway-AR-LO.pdf

I recently learned about Harry Reed & Company. Was this a local Houston firm that specialized in building multifamily apartment complexes? Anyone know the history of this company? I noticed they were not as big as the other Houston apartment developers.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities, ARE, is another life science focused real estate developer. Would love for them to make a big "splash" and move into the area. Their website lists all the infamous Bio Tech clusters but does not mention Texas, or Houston. Hopefully once all our brand new life science space fills up we will be considered a cluster. Website. https://www.are.com/ ARE had their sites on developing the former Sam's Club on South Loop West but I believe the market went sour so they backed out? They recently completed a Bio Tech Campus located in The Woodlands. Here's the campus at 8800 Technology Forest Place in The Woodlands.

Beacon Capital Partners is a life-science oriented development company based out of Boston, MA. They do amazing projects. Website: https://beaconcapital.com/ I stopped by TMC Helix Park yesterday and noticed the tower crane base for 2 Dynamic Way (formerly 2 Discovery Way) was removed. This is a bad sign for 2nd tower to go up soon. I thought more rebar was being added for the vertical construction? On the latest TMC Helix Park master plan, it appears at one point, Beacon was going to develop parcels E, A, J, and Dynamic 1/2. Hope they are still able to move forward! I also noticed Beacon Capital Partners dropped out of TMC BioPort. Really unfortunate news! It seems as @H-Town Man was correct about the sluggish Life Science sector right now. Hopefully the market gets a boost soon so some of these projects can move forward! Before: After: The BioPort Development Team was a dream!! All-star lineup! Hopefully someone else provides private equity to fund the project. Alexandria Real Estate Equities?

Thought it was about time to make a thread about AHC. Great multifamily developer!! https://www.allenharrisonco.com/

Chronicle has a good article on him in today's paper. http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4876742.html Just some quotes I found interesting: I wonder what the best "probelm area" is prime for taking on right now? Breath of fresh air. Does anyone know if he's had any recent projects here or if he's currently got one going on?

I was researching the developer of the Willowbend neighborhood of Houston. It looks like Krist Hubert was the developer of the residential subdivision in Southwest Houston. I believe other important figures in the forming of Willowbend were Frank Burkhardt, and Evera West. Krist Hubert also helped Frank Meyer develop the nearby Meyerland neighborhood as well. Appears he also built homes in Bellaire to. In the magazine House & Home dated February 1958 there was a small detail of the Willowbend neighborhood. Medium Priced: Willowbend is a community of 700 houses in the $16,000 to $20,000 class. Sixty different builders have worked here. Its trees are a big feature, were carefully protected because lots with good trees are scarce in Houston and command a good price. Developer Krist Hubert (like many other developers) got his start in the building business. He was a painting contractor, now owns a lumber yard and builds some houses himself. He helps small builders by selling one lot a a time. He also provides some construction funds. Parade plan book by Houston Home Builders Association dated 1950: Burkhardt and Hubert Construction Co. of 5104 Elm Street in Bellaire - MA-0407 built the 1950s Meyerland home at 5107 Jackwood. The home was designed by L.B. Wooters. Engineering News-Record 1960: Hubert Lumber Co., 5104 Elm St., Houston, Texas. Engineering News-Record 1957: Krist Hubert & Assocs., 5107 Jackwood St. The newspaper The Bellaire Texan dated June 29, 1955 it appears Krist Hubert lived at 5300 Aspen Drive in Bellaire, TX. Last night, Krist Hubert, 5300 Aspen, was installed as the new president of the Bellaire Lions Club at John's Restaurant. Mr. Hubert is a native Texas. He migrated from Halletsville to Houston 26 years ago. In 1948 he came to Bellaire and started a successful career in building homes. He owns the Hubert Lumber Company at 5104 Elm. Aside from building nearly 400 homes in Bellaire and neighboring areas, he has been interested in civic affairs and politics--

I was researching the developer of the Westbury neighborhood of Houston. It looks like Ira Berne was the developer of the residential subdivision in Southwest Houston. Julian Keither also helped Ira Berne with the Westbury Company. (formally known as Berne Company?) Ira Berne also developed the Westbury Square Shopping Center as well. In the magazine House & Home dated February 1958 there was a small detail of the Westbury neighborhood. Westbury is the most active subdivision in Houston's growing southwest. Photo shows a portion of the first section, where 20 builders have erected houses. The finished development will have 5,000 lots. Most houses here sell for $16,000 to $35,000. His wife, Geral Berne, obituary mentions they lived at the Lamar Tower at 2929 Buffalo Speedway. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/houstonchronicle/name/geral-berne-obituary?id=20774692 A truepeoplesearch result also mentioned Ira Berne lived at 2929 Buffalo Speedway: 2929 Buffalo Speedway #2004 Houston, TX 77098 Harris County (Apr 1993 - Mar 2015) From the newspaper The Bellaire Texan dated August 13, 1958: Westbury Will Be Site Of 1959 Home Builders Parade Of Homes The display of new homes, 1959 style, will be on 35 lots on Warm Springs in Westbury Section 3, adjacent to Parkwest. Julian Keither, of the Westbury Company, said homes on display will include both those of the type being constructed in Parkwest and in Westbury- Westbury addition is being developed by Ira Berne. Started early in 1955, the subdivision now has 1600 homes, and consists of Westbury, Parkwest, and Westbury South. Eventually the developers expect 4800 homes will be built on the 1700 acres included in the addition. The subdivision has two elementary school sites, one of which will be ready for this fall, and a senior high school site at Chimney Rock and Luddington. The new junior high school for the South Post Oak area is located adjacent to Westbury. There are also plans for a 50 acre shopping center to be known as Westbury Square at Bellfort and Chimney Rock. From houstonhistorymagazine.org: As the city’s boom continued through the 1950s and 1960s, other developers followed the same formula. In the mid-1950s Ira Berne’s Westbury Corporation developed the large Westbury neighborhood at the end of South Main. Covering three square miles and containing 5,000 homes. Consistent with the social conformity of the 1950s, all of Westbury’s homes were ranch house designs, but they featured a remarkable amount of stylistic diversity. If you can afford $125 or more a month Your family belongs in this picture.. Just picture your family in these wonderful surroundings... full of the warm satisfaction and pride your first fine home inspires. If you're looking for your first time home, and want to invest shrewdly, we suggest you visit Westbury. Take a leisurely look through the homes...walk through Westbury Square with its fine shops, restaurants and class fountain...drive through the miles of beautifully landscaped boulevards compare it with any community you've ever seen! We're sure you'll agree with the thousands of families who have looked...compared...and bought more homes in Westbury than anywhere else in Houston. So, if you're looking for a home...$17,000 to $52,500... drive out today! We're open from 9 'till 7 seven days a week. If you want any information before coming out call us at PA 3-2600. Westbury Post Oak Road at Willowbend Blvd. A Berne Company

It looks like Camden Securities Company has bought a bunch of Fidelis properties. I am seeing these properties that have recently changed hands. Fairway Center River Oaks Plaza Uptown Collection Retail Center West University Marketplace I wonder if Fidelis is having a hard time these days?

Finger Cos. sells 20 apartment properties to Greystar venture in $2B transaction Katherine Feser, Staff writer Oct. 20, 2021 The Finger Cos., a Houston-based apartment developer and operator founded by Marvy Finger in 1958, said Tuesday it will sell 20 properties from its national portfolio for $2 billion. The sale, to a venture led by the international real estate company Greystar, is expected to close in December. As part of the deal, the Greystar venture will keep Finger’s on-site employees. The locations and number of units were not disclosed, but represent roughly half of the Finger Cos. portfolio. The deal results from strong global demand to invest in apartments, which have fared better than office and retail properties, during the pandemic, according to Finger. Investors spent $134.9 billion on apartments in the United States in the first eight months of 2021 through August, nearly double the amount invested during same period in 2020, according to Real Capital Analytics. “I did not go knocking on doors to sell,” said Finger, the company’s CEO. “It’s a moment in time where values went up 40, 50 percent or greater in a very short period of time.” Finger, 85, is known for holding onto most of the properties he develops since opening Colony Oaks, a 317-unit complex on Chimney Rock in Houston in 1959. His formula includes building in prime neighborhoods — what he calls “Main and Main locations” — that attract residents, even during downturns. These are areas with close easy access to stores, services and amenities. “The fundamentals today are no different than they were early on when I started. I didn’t know the word ‘walkability’ early on,” Finger said. “But I can say I have more apartments that are within one to two blocks of a major food market, and I know that’s one thing that truly creates the beehive.” A JLL Capital Markets investment sales advisory team led by Scott Galloway and Dustin Selzer in Houston and Roberto Casas in Dallas is representing Finger in the transaction. The sale includes garden and mid-rise apartment complexes. “Marvy is one of the true icons of the multi-housing industry,” Scott Galloway, executive managing director of JLL Capital Markets, said in a statement. “These assets not only come with prime locations, but they also come with the highest quality product offerings and the best management team in the business. They perfectly complement Greystar’s national portfolio.” Greystar, based in Charleston, S.C., manages more than 748,000 units in the U.S. alone and has $45.1 billion of assets under management. katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser

Did Guefen change names or merge with someone else? Ascendant was announced this week as a new developer but no mention if they were Guefen. They share the same address and suite. https://www.ascendantdevco.com https://guefen.com

Via Swamplot - What are your feelings on this situation regarding stock offerings, prospectuses, Wachovia, and Weingarten? http://swamplot.com/issuing-stock-and-favo...ingarten-realty http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/04/open...rding-wall.html http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/04/gue...-regarding.html

This Transwestern flyer says this tower is 1.2 million, but Brookfields site says 1.1 still. http://www.transwestern.net/Flyers/Houston/retail/flyers/712_Main/712_Main_Marketing_Package.pdf

Hines has a topic, so I figured Hanover deserves one too Hanover has been my favorite lately, as you might notice. https://www.hanoverco.com/

Pardon my ignorance, but what and who is the Wulfe Company? Who are these people. I see their signs on almost every downtown/midtown vacant lot. What are they supposed to be?

I have been trying to drum up any info on a developer in Galveston in the 70's and 80's (more '80s I'm thinking) that was building those high rises out on East Beach, was incarcerated for some reason (tax evasion?? Investor Fraud??) and ended up commiting suicide via electricution in his cell. Any info?? or is this another urban myth? Thanks.

I just need a little over $9.5 mill and I would buy it. http://search.har.com/engine/2307-River-Oaks-Bl-Houston-TX-77019_HAR17501491.htm The county records show a major renovation was done in 2007 so I doubt it looked exactly like that in the days he was there but still kind of a cool part of history to own. He actually died in the house in 1993. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/1993_1121241/frank-sharp-dies-in-sleep-at-age-87-success-scanda.html

Are those properties still around Houston under that name?

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headli...12747.html'

I guess Randall Davis isn't getting the hang of this newfangled internet thang. If you try to sign up for the company's mailing list on its web site, you'll get a nice error bounced into your e-mail about how the Randall Davis mailbox is full. I wonder how many messages are backed up in there, and for how long. Hundreds? Thousands? You can't even send mail to the general e-mail address (info@randalldavis.com). Note to RD folk: Splashing out on a very slow, very loud Flash web site does not an internet presence make. (Disclosure: I'm a former RD renter)

I nominate NewQuest Properties for Idiot Developer of the Year. Their penchant for clearcutting and tossing up cheap-looking strip centers is unrivalled. They're developing a heavily wooded parcel behind a neighborhood with million dollar homes over near Grant Rd. & Louetta. It's a nicely wooded parcel and there's really absolutely NO need for any more strip centers as there are numerous brand new centers that lie mostly vacant. So I asked them what they were planning on building at that location..they said "they didn't know"..."not sure yet"..."but we're clearcutting that land"...."you see, the beauty of Texas, rather the beauty of Harris County is that we can do anything we want with the land" Even if that means pissing off the communities you develop in? Pissing off the very customers they ultimately hope to serve by trashing their community with more junk they don't want? Brilliant strategy NewQuest. Brilliant. Good developers create lasting value, and are welcome in the community. NewQuest isn't one of them.

What is the history of the Houston-based company called Martin Fein Interests? The company specializes in multifamily apartment complexes around town. From what I can gather: For nearly 30 years, Martin Fein has been involved in the development and acquisition of more than 30,000 units. He established Fein in May 1989. In 1996, he began Westchase Construction for the construction of high-end apartment developments, and he continues to serve as its President. Previously, he served as President of the Farb Companies.

Theodore “Ted” Dinerstein, a co-founder of The Dinerstein Companies. He co-founded Houston-based Dinerstein Cos. in 1955 with his brother, Bill. The company, which develops multifamily and student housing communities. In 1959, they began building and developing multifamily units and have constructed more than 30,000 such units to date. The business also has been involved in the building and management of mini-warehouses, small strip shopping centers and office buildings throughout the years.

I'm trying to find a website online via search for the Woodlands Planning Commission (formerly Woodlands Operating Commission), but I can't find anything. Maybe it's just not searchable, or do they even have any online information about the WOC/WPC? I'm interested in getting a temp job or internship with them and hopefully a permament job after I finish my MPA.

http://www.medistarcorp.com/developments.shtml