Office Buildings On Grand Pkwy.

[Guest danax]

Houston developer has Grand plan for offices

Jennifer Dawson

Houston Business Journal

October 29, 2004

A local real estate firm has outlined plans for the first-ever office development on the Grand Parkway.

Option 1 Realty Group plans to construct two multitenant, Class A office buildings totaling 100,000 square feet and 60,000 square feet of high-end retail on the Grand Parkway, just south of Interstate 10 near Katy.

The stretch of Grand Parkway between I-10 and Highway 59 has spawned a good deal of residential and retail development, but this is thought to be the first office space along the suburban thoroughfare.

"In terms of office space, there's none. There's nothing on the Grand Parkway," says Kevin Sims, a retail broker with NAI Houston who is familiar with the area.

Option 1 put eight acres under contract two weeks ago for the project, which is on the west side of the Grand Parkway, about a quarter of a mile south of I-10. The firm is buying the land from John Beeson of KNA Springfield Development for $2.7 million, says John Hamilton, owner of Option 1.

The developer is planning two five-story office buildings, each containing 50,000 square feet of space. The proposed buildings will be connected by 60,000 square feet of retail space.

Houston-based Fehr Grossman & Cox is designing the project, which Hamilton says will have a total development cost of $25 million.

Construction is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2005, as soon as the land transaction is finalized. Option 1 executives will not wait for a certain percentage of pre-leasing before beginning construction, but expect the entire project to be 50 percent leased by the time ground is broken.

David Hightower, chief development officer for Wolff Cos., says there is demand for office space in the area, but questions whether it might be more prudent to secure lease commitments on the second building before beginning construction, as the developer has planned.

"I could certainly see building one of them," says Hightower, whose firm developed the Park Ten business complex four miles east of the Grand Parkway. "I think that's a pretty aggressive program."

Option 1, which currently occupies 10,000 square feet at 16325 Westheimer, will move into 15,000 to 18,000 square feet in the first building once it is completed. The growing company is looking to add leasing, engineering and property management professionals as it expands.

Option 1's growth mirrors the sort of activity taking place along the Grand Parkway.

NAI's Sims says office development makes sense near the "white-collar markets" of Katy and the large master-planned community of Cinco Ranch.

"As that area continues to develop, there will be a need for office space," Sims says. "I see the 100,000 square feet as being a realistic amount of office space to be built out there, considering the recent growth."

Hightower adds, "I think there's a demand out there for an office building that would cater to small business. It's no surprise that some office is starting to be considered."

Several other commercial developments have been announced for the area, but have yet to come to fruition.

Three years ago, Trammell Crow Co. bought 120 acres, also from Beeson, on the southwest corner of the Grand Parkway and I-10. When the purchase was finalized in 2001, preliminary plans called for a mixed-use development with residential, retail and office components.

Meanwhile, it has been four years since Simon Property Group Inc. announced plans for a 900,000-square-foot regional mall on the northeast corner of I-10 and the Grand Parkway.

And both Memorial Hermann Healthcare System and The Methodist Health Care System have announced plans for hospitals near the intersection.

Option 1 is no stranger to development in the Katy area. The firm is constructing a 94,000-square-foot retail complex on land adjacent to the proposed office complex. (See "Landmark seafood restaurant set to sail again," July 9, 2004.)

That project, called Times Square Plaza, will include a Toni Angelo's Fisherman's Wharf and a 36-lane, smoke-free bowling center.

[Talbot]

Atleast it has retail on the bottom flor, but eww, I hate office park buildings, they're so unoriginal.

[houstonsemipro]

Houston developer has Grand plan for offices

Jennifer Dawson

Houston Business Journal

October 29, 2004

A local real estate firm has outlined plans for the first-ever office development on the Grand Parkway.

Option 1 Realty Group plans to construct two multitenant, Class A office buildings totaling 100,000 square feet and 60,000 square feet of high-end retail on the Grand Parkway, just south of Interstate 10 near Katy.

The stretch of Grand Parkway between I-10 and Highway 59 has spawned a good deal of residential and retail development, but this is thought to be the first office space along the suburban thoroughfare.

"In terms of office space, there's none. There's nothing on the Grand Parkway," says Kevin Sims, a retail broker with NAI Houston who is familiar with the area.

Option 1 put eight acres under contract two weeks ago for the project, which is on the west side of the Grand Parkway, about a quarter of a mile south of I-10. The firm is buying the land from John Beeson of KNA Springfield Development for $2.7 million, says John Hamilton, owner of Option 1.

The developer is planning two five-story office buildings, each containing 50,000 square feet of space. The proposed buildings will be connected by 60,000 square feet of retail space.

Houston-based Fehr Grossman & Cox is designing the project, which Hamilton says will have a total development cost of $25 million.

Construction is slated to begin in the first quarter of 2005, as soon as the land transaction is finalized. Option 1 executives will not wait for a certain percentage of pre-leasing before beginning construction, but expect the entire project to be 50 percent leased by the time ground is broken.

David Hightower, chief development officer for Wolff Cos., says there is demand for office space in the area, but questions whether it might be more prudent to secure lease commitments on the second building before beginning construction, as the developer has planned.

"I could certainly see building one of them," says Hightower, whose firm developed the Park Ten business complex four miles east of the Grand Parkway. "I think that's a pretty aggressive program."

Option 1, which currently occupies 10,000 square feet at 16325 Westheimer, will move into 15,000 to 18,000 square feet in the first building once it is completed. The growing company is looking to add leasing, engineering and property management professionals as it expands.

Option 1's growth mirrors the sort of activity taking place along the Grand Parkway.

NAI's Sims says office development makes sense near the "white-collar markets" of Katy and the large master-planned community of Cinco Ranch.

"As that area continues to develop, there will be a need for office space," Sims says. "I see the 100,000 square feet as being a realistic amount of office space to be built out there, considering the recent growth."

Hightower adds, "I think there's a demand out there for an office building that would cater to small business. It's no surprise that some office is starting to be considered."

Several other commercial developments have been announced for the area, but have yet to come to fruition.

Three years ago, Trammell Crow Co. bought 120 acres, also from Beeson, on the southwest corner of the Grand Parkway and I-10. When the purchase was finalized in 2001, preliminary plans called for a mixed-use development with residential, retail and office components.

Meanwhile, it has been four years since Simon Property Group Inc. announced plans for a 900,000-square-foot regional mall on the northeast corner of I-10 and the Grand Parkway.

And both Memorial Hermann Healthcare System and The Methodist Health Care System have announced plans for hospitals near the intersection.

Option 1 is no stranger to development in the Katy area. The firm is constructing a 94,000-square-foot retail complex on land adjacent to the proposed office complex. (See "Landmark seafood restaurant set to sail again," July 9, 2004.)

That project, called Times Square Plaza, will include a Toni Angelo's Fisherman's Wharf and a 36-lane, smoke-free bowling center.