HOUSTON – The Courtyard on St. James Place, a wedding venue and events center, is being torn down and replaced with a 13-story boutique office building west of the Galleria in Houston.
The office building will be developed by 1885 St. James Place Partners, as owner, and Nelson Murphree Legacy Partners as developer.
Construction is expected to kick-off in the first quarter of 2014 with building completion slated for early 2015. Houston-based Jackson & Ryan is the project architect and Tellepsen Builders is the general contractor.
Jones Lang LaSalle Senior Vice President Chrissy Wilson and Vice President Chris Dekker will lease the new building, 1885 St. James Place, which is east of Chimney Rock and south of San Felipe.
“1885 St. James Place is located in a dynamic neighborhood with great energy,” said Wilson. “The need for a niche-type jewel of an office building, combined with existing demand within the area, should result in a substantially committed building prior to construction completion.”
The wedding events center, a 23,000-SF building, sits on a 1.1-acre piece of land in the San Felipe Green business park. John F. Littman, Kelley Parker, Coe Parker and Tim M. Thomas of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, the Courtyard operator, in the negotiations. Bill McDade and Kristen McDade of CBRE represented the buyer. Littman said the San Felipe Green business park was developed many years ago and it it is primarily the site of mid-rise office buildings and multifamily.
The area, which is north of Westheimer, is seeing a revival with lesser commercial buildings being torn down to be replaced by new development.
Houston apartment magnate Marvy Finger is constructing an apartment project adjacent to the new building. Finger is widely respected for his proven ability to identify sites in Houston that have upside potential.
The events center says on its web site that its lush courtyard is “one of the city’s most photographed locations” in Houston because so many wedding pictures have been snapped there.