Sawyer Heights Lofts: Multifamily At 2424 Spring St.

[Boris]

Martin Fein to build four-story loft project

Houston Business Journal - 3:56 PM CDT Fridayby Jennifer DawsonHouston Business Journal

Well-known apartment developer Martin Fein has started construction on a luxury loft development near the new urban Target retail center on Interstate 10.

Houston-based Martin Fein Interests Ltd. is building a 326-unit, four-story project known as Sawyer Heights Lofts, two miles west of downtown. The complex at 2424 Spring St. replaces two older industrial buildings that were recently torn down on the five-acre tract.

The apartments are going up next to the Sawyer Heights Village Shopping Center under development by Houston-based Property Commerce. The Target-anchored center has become a new landmark on the heavily traveled Katy Freeway.

Sawyer Height Lofts will range in size from 683 square feet to 1,344 square feet. The interiors will feature simulated wood flooring in common areas and carpet in the bedrooms. Kitchens will have granite countertops, custom cabinets and upgraded plumbing fixtures.

The complex will have an exercise room, game room, library, party room, conference room and pool.

Exterior architecture was done by the Steinberg Design Collaborative AIA LLP, while interior work was handled by Stacia Brown of Kathy Andrews Interiors.

Dallas-based Sarofim Realty Advisors is the equity partner and Franklin Bank provided construction financing.

A Martin Fein affiliate, Westchase Construction, is acting as general contractor.

Since its formation in 1989, Martin Fein has built thousands of luxury apartments in Houston and the Southwest.

http://houston.bizjournals.com/houston/sto...ml?surround=lfn

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Glad to see the old warehouses torn down. The addition of the lofts will be very welcomed.

[Guest danax]

Hmm. I'd assumed that they were going to build more retail in that spot.

Hopefully Steinberg pulls off a nice design for this one.

[jpf]

Are there any renderings or marketing literature available?

[houstonray]

That's a shame reallly...clearing out that valuable prime piece of land and putting apartments on it. It had so much more potential for retail, restaurants, shops etc. And 326 units? Can you imagine what that's going to do to traffic in that area when it's fully leased out? Oh well, I guess we can just hope for something architecturally pleasing to the eye...

[WesternGulf]

Can anyone now see the full potential with this development? I still have not been out to this place, but this Sawyer Heights development could have done some damage, in a good way.

[TheNiche]

That's a shame reallly...clearing out that valuable prime piece of land and putting apartments on it. It had so much more potential for retail, restaurants, shops etc. And 326 units? Can you imagine what that's going to do to traffic in that area when it's fully leased out? Oh well, I guess we can just hope for something architecturally pleasing to the eye...

Yes, such a shame. The worst thing that could possibly happen for an inner-city site is to have people live there...

...would you prefer that the 362 households be scattered to the winds, plopped down in suburban locations and required to drive much further distances? Or is this just something that's going to adversely impact YOU?

[nmainguy]

That's a shame reallly...clearing out that valuable prime piece of land and putting apartments on it. It had so much more potential for retail, restaurants, shops etc. And 326 units? Can you imagine what that's going to do to traffic in that area when it's fully leased out? Oh well, I guess we can just hope for something architecturally pleasing to the eye...

It's prime for 326+ units of condo/apts we are looking for in this part of town. It's a much greater draw for tax revenue and redevelopment than Rose produced. What are you looking for?

[NYC Texan2]

I like the idea a lot. As a resident of the Heights, new apartment construction just fills in another niche in the full development of the Heights. That new neighborhood can obviously use some new housing within walking distance of the new retail.

I don't understand the traffic concern. We live in the city. There is traffic. With continued development, there will be more of it. Relax and support light rail.

[westguy76]

everyone ignored it when i posted a footprint of the plan in the target post a month ago. it's in there if you want to see it.

[VicMan]

Since construction began, I found where this complex is zoned for school:

* Houston ISD: Crockett Elementary School, Hogg Middle School, Reagan High School

[InTheHeights]

Bringing more residents in the area sounds like a good plan to me - I support a nice complex going in there.

I just wonder...that complex right on I-10 between Studewood and Heights (on the westbound feeder) isn't fully leased I don't think...and it has been there quite some time. I wonder how they will fill this one?

[MiDTOWNeR]

everyone ignored it when i posted a footprint of the plan in the target post a month ago. it's in there if you want to see it.

I saw it!

I am very glad that some apts are being developed there. That would be really convenient to have an apt right next door to a target, a bank, and who knows whatever else will get built there. Way to go.

[bachanon]

i was at the sawyer heights target yesterday. i too thought the cleared area was for more retail. residents will certainly not hurt target or the other retail going in. this development is good for this area. i hope they will create pedestrian friendly connections to the target development. if they just wall or fence it in, with only an entrance or two for autos and no pedestrian entrances, it will not be taking advantage of its proximity to retail.

.........

after looking at designs by Steinberg Design Collaborative, i'm not too hopeful about the look of this project. they've created some of my least favorite complexes (s. macgregor, ventana, left bank). it will likely fill the plot to the very edge with little or no nod to its surroundings and no concern for its proximity to retail. i hope they surprise me.

[westguy76]

i was at the sawyer heights target yesterday. i too thought the cleared area was for more retail. residents will certainly not hurt target or the other retail going in. this development is good for this area. i hope they will create pedestrian friendly connections to the target development. if they just wall or fence it in, with only an entrance or two for autos and no pedestrian entrances, it will not be taking advantage of its proximity to retail.

you think they don't have a front door just because they have a parking lot. ?

[Guest danax]

I saw it!

I am very glad that some apts are being developed there. That would be really convenient to have an apt right next door to a target, a bank, and who knows whatever else will get built there. Way to go.

I agree. There's really no reason to knock this just because they're apartments.

If we use our imaginations a bit, these two separate developments could be looked at as a single mixed-use

project, just with separate structures.

[bachanon]

you think they don't have a front door just because they have a parking lot. ?

haven't you been in a non-pedestrian friendly complex after office hours? you want to walk down the street but have to go through the gate meant for autos, or get in your car to exit the complex only to park one block away. pedestrian improvements encourage pedestrian activity for surrounding developments. the front office/front door is not always an easy connection to surrounding businesses. new developments should be in "cahoots" with surrounding businesses in order to enhance the synergistic effect of being near one another. by focusing on "walkers" and creating a safe, easy passage between businesses, "walkers" will be encouraged to spend more time out & about and hopefully spend more money.

[houstonray]

Since I'm the one who said it was a shame, let me clarify....I'm all for more people living here, but I mean come on, it seems every square inch of the inner loop is already filling up with condos/townhomes and apartments. Most of the apartments around here are not even fully leased anyway. We all complained about how we'd love to have had a Whole Foods or a Central Market or just a new grocery store with the Target development and there was plenty of space there to do that and more, but instead it gets more people living there who still will only have the same grocery stores to go to that we have now. It was just a comment about how a great opportunity was missed to bring more retail to this area.

I remember a meeting a couple of years ago where the developers told us this was going to be like Town and Country, a grocery store, several sit down restaurants, several fast food places, of course Target, and lots of other stores, and of course fountains, ponds, gardens and art. I think it will ultimately be a bit less grand than they envisioned. My guess is developers were a little hesitant to come. Original plans showed all retail. But I guess in a way, the upside is that more residents will hopefully bring more development elsewhere around that area...more people will mean better chances for the stuff we want.

Oh, and as for traffic, yes, I know it's Houston, and yes, having lived here since 1976, I've seen lots of change in traffic. I guess I'm just selfish. I love the Taylor/Watson exit to get home it's so quiet now, I guess I just want to keep it that way.

[heights_yankee]

Since I'm the one who said it was a shame, let me clarify....I'm all for more people living here, but I mean come on, it seems every square inch of the inner loop is already filling up with condos/townhomes and apartments. Most of the apartments around here are not even fully leased anyway. We all complained about how we'd love to have had a Whole Foods or a Central Market or just a new grocery store with the Target development and there was plenty of space there to do that and more, but instead it gets more people living there who still will only have the same grocery stores to go to that we have now. It was just a comment about how a great opportunity was missed to bring more retail to this area.

It's too bad they're not considering a more mid-town approach with retail/restaurants on the ground floor and residential above. Midtown is doing very well with this concept. It's done amazingly well in Dallas (not to mention that this is what you find in most major cities outside of Texas). Sawyer Heights would have been prime for this type of development.

[bachanon]

ground floor retail on this loft project would do well with the target draw, lots of parking (assuming they connected visually and pedestrian-wise with the target center) and proximity to the freeway.

[WesternGulf]

It's too bad they're not considering a more mid-town approach with retail/restaurants on the ground floor and residential above. Midtown is doing very well with this concept.

Really?

[heights_yankee]

Really?

I would say so. The empty store fronts are filling more slowly than I'm sure the property companies would like, but what goes in is hanging around. You're not seeing the revolving door of small business like you do downtown or even along Westheimer.

[bachanon]

i don't think developers realize the built-in potential of lower floor retail with several hundred customers upstairs. grabbing coffee or a muffin on your way to the car in the am. picking up the dry cleaning after you've had a chance to come home and regroup. it's simply a mindset, not just for the developers, but for the residents as well. it will not come easily to houston. fortunately, there are successful "pockets" of more compacted living that are doing well and more on the boards.

[HeightsGuy]

I fail to see how an apartment complex hurts this area and that it's some kind of golden opprtunity lost. Has anyone driven the area?

For all the lofty talk we have heard regarding Midtown for the past 5+ years, the truth is, getting Midtown filled-in is like hearding cats. Hundreds of owners of 20,000 sq plats all trying to get top dollar for their little slice. Compare that to the area around Sawyer Heights. A much smaller number of land owners holding onto multi-acreage light industrial plats. I'll gaurantee you every business within a mile of Target has completed or is working on studies to see how much cash they can add to their balance sheet next year by pulling up stakes and moving their operation out to the beltway. I personally think the area is poised for a huge turnover of land use to retail/residential. Big developers like big plats of land to play with, and this is one of the few remaining inner-loop areas that fits the bill. All it takes is for the first outpost to prove itself, and I see a full Target parking lot every time I drive by. Wait til other retail companies hear about the sales figures for that Target, they'll be tripping all over themselves to get some of that action.

[TheNiche]

All it takes is for the first outpost to prove itself, and I see a full Target parking lot every time I drive by. Wait til other retail companies hear about the sales figures for that Target, they'll be tripping all over themselves to get some of that action.

Agreed. Before you can bring in the sophisticated mixed-use properties that are able to command the premium rents necessary to justify the new urbanist concept, there has to be a pioneer that proves up the market.

Patience.

[MiDTOWNeR]

Most of the apartments around here are not even fully leased anyway.

Dont worry, with the wave of bankruptcies and foreclosures poised to happen over the next few years as folks default on their ARM and zero interest mortgages, the apts will fill up.

It was just a comment about how a great opportunity was missed to bring more retail to this area.

Don't be down y'all...there are a ton of warehouses in that immediate vicinity that will be torn down before you know it to make way for even more RETAIL!!!

[WesternGulf]

I would say so. The empty store fronts are filling more slowly than I'm sure the property companies would like, but what goes in is hanging around. You're not seeing the revolving door of small business like you do downtown or even along Westheimer.

It just sounds like people think a lot of Midtown represents Gray Street between Bagby and Helena.

[TheNiche]

Dont worry, with the wave of bankruptcies and foreclosures poised to happen over the next few years as folks default on their ARM and zero interest mortgages, the apts will fill up.

Just by eyeballing foreclosure data from over the last several years, it appears that foreclosures are tending to decrease in the Houston area lately. Also, interest rates are hardly poised to increase at any significant rate. As long as energy prices don't plummet too much further, we'll be safe.

Incidentally, occupancy rates among stablized Class A apartment complexes in the urban core actually seem pretty reasonable to me. Its about 92%.

[heights_yankee]

It just sounds like people think a lot of Midtown represents Gray Street between Bagby and Helena.

Well, that's what it's been labelled so for ease of conversation most people call it that. If you call the area between downtown and the Med center "Midtown" no one knows what you're talking about. I don't think we can unring that bell.

[heights_yankee]

I fail to see how an apartment complex hurts this area and that it's some kind of golden opprtunity lost. Has anyone driven the area?

No one should take the conversation wrong. I think an apt complex is great. I think people are just lamenting the could-have-beens. As with most things, the Monday morning QBs have opinions about what they would like to have seen.

[MiDTOWNeR]

Just by eyeballing foreclosure data from over the last several years, it appears that foreclosures are tending to decrease in the Houston area lately. Also, interest rates are hardly poised to increase at any significant rate. As long as energy prices don't plummet too much further, we'll be safe.

Incidentally, occupancy rates among stablized Class A apartment complexes in the urban core actually seem pretty reasonable to me. Its about 92%.

That is so cute, going after me like this. If you disagree with my post, just say so.