Hilton Homewood Suites Hotel Houston Medical Center At 7755 South Main St.

[Guest danax]

Houston Business Journal

From the April 11, 2005 print edition

Atlanta condo converter makes buy near Medical Center

Jennifer Dawson

An Atlanta-based firm that specializes in converting apartments into condominiums has completed the first of three planned deals involving a total investment of $86 million in Houston properties.

Choice Condominiums spent $24 million last month to buy the Braeswood Park apartments from Denver-based Archstone Smith. The property is located near Main and South Braeswood, near the Texas Medical Center. Choice will spend $2.5 million to renovate the apartments and convert them into condos.

The condo converter, which acquires properties through various affiliated companies, is close to buying two additional complexes for $30 million each, says Ron Lozoff, member/manager of Choice Condominiums.

Lozoff would not disclose the properties' names, but acknowledges that Choice Condominiums has another 210-unit property under contract in the Medical Center area. The new four-story building that sits atop a two-story parking garage will be purchased once construction is finished in August, Lozoff says.

One industry expert speculates that the Texas Medical Center property in play is a project from the Dinerstein Cos. that has not yet been announced.

Jack Dinerstein, an executive with the Houston-based apartment development and management company, confirms construction of the new property, but will not say whether it is being purchased for conversion.

The Valencia is coming out of the ground at 1711 Old Spanish Trail. Dinerstein believes the high-end apartment units -- located across the street from Woman's Hospital of Texas -- will be popular because of their proximity to Medical Center institutions and the light rail.

"We're just hundreds of feet from the rail system," Dinerstein says. "We have tremendous visibility. We're 75 feet tall. We have wonderful views of the Medical Center."

Founded in 1955, the family-owned Dinerstein Cos. operates apartment complexes in 27 states, employs more than 400 people and is considered to be the largest builder of off-campus student housing in the country.

Meanwhile, Choice Condominiums also plans to complete a deal in May to purchase an unnamed 27-story tower in the Galleria area that contains close to 100 units, Lozoff says.

Industry speculation points to The Bristol on McCue as the property that Choice Condominiums is buying.

Located at 3350 McCue just south of Richmond, The Bristol was originally constructed as condominiums, but now operates as a full-service apartment building. The 96-unit Bristol was built in 1983 and reportedly has a high occupancy level.

Making a choice

Apartment complexes on the sales block are attracting quite a bit of attention. A few condo converters are competing for the properties, but most potential buyers are institutions looking to place investment capital.

David Mitchell of Apartment Realty Advisors, which represented Archstone Smith in the sale of Braeswood Park, says 30 parties bid on that multifamily complex.

"There is a lot of institutional capital chasing real estate deals in the Medical Center," Mitchell says. "That's why we received so many offers."

Choice Condominiums was the highest of the bidders -- 10 percent to 15 percent of whom were interested in converting the units to condos, Mitchell says.

"Condo converters usually offer a premium versus typical apartment owners," says Mitchell, who brokered the deal with colleague David Oelfke.

Butch Novy of Houston-based Novy Investments Inc. represented Choice Condominiums on the sale, which took about six months to complete. Apartment sales take longer and are more complicated when condo conversion is in the works, Mitchell says.

The Braeswood Park complex consists of 240 units built in 1985 that will be converted into condominiums. Another 36 units were added in 1999, but deed restrictions prevent those from being converted to condos until 2009. Lozoff plans to sell off those apartment units as a group.

Choice Condominiums plans to begin selling units in Braeswood Park in two months for prices between $100,000 and $160,000, Lozoff says. The firm was attracted to the property due to prior accomplishments in the area.

"It's directly across the street from City Plaza, where we had great success," Lozoff says. "We really understand and know the Medical Center."

The new $86 million local investment does not include the firm's property at 2400 McCue in the Galleria area. Choice Condominiums purchased the 200-unit complex last September for more than $30 million.

jdawson@bizjournals.com

[Paco Jones]

Project:

Homewood Suites by Hilton - Houston Medical Center

 

Address:

7755 Main Street

Houston, TX 77030

 

Developer:

HarDam Hotels & Housing

 

Architect:

MCS Architects, LLC

 

Information:

Levels 1 will consist of the hotel lobby, hotel bar, private dinning, and a small retail area.  Levels 2-4 will be parking with levels 5-11 being hotel.  Level 5 will have an outdoor terrace and pool deck.  A total of 187 rooms and approximately 168,000 SF of occupied space.  Braeswood Park Condominiums to be demolished.

 

 

 

[Highrise Tower]

Site visit today.

[hindesky]

[Highrise Tower]

Storm water permit was pulled yesterday. Hydro International 4' First Defense High Capacity (FD-4).

[OkieEric]

Looks like someone else searches permits daily hahaha...

Looking at property records, Vision Hospitality LP purchased the land in June 2021

https://www.vhghotels.com/hotels/

 

[toxtethogrady]

Looks like they are Tennessee-based and operate hotels mostly in the Southeast. I didn't see the Houston property listed, but they've got one other hotel in Houston. 

Edited January 9, 2023 by toxtethogrady

[Highrise Tower]

Project Name: Homewood Suites Medical Center

Location Address: 7755 Main Street

Start Date: 6/1/2023

Estimated Cost: $35,000,000

Scope of Work: New hotel and parking garage integral to the hotel. Includes meeting space and pool deck over parking garage

Square Footage: 255,000 ft 2

Design Firm Name: MCS Architects, LLC

[hindesky]

Architect - https://mcshouston.com

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

They must be waiting out the leases of tenants.