HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – The Star, a multifamily community created with the conversion of the 110-year-old Texaco building in downtown Houston, has been sold to Hasta Capital, a Florida-based apartment investor.
The Star redevelopment, which was part of a residential rebirth era in downtown Houston, opened its 286 units to renters in 2017.
The Star, originally designed in Renaissance Revival style with Beaux-Arts accents, is located at 1111 Rusk on a block bounded by San Jacinto, Fannin and Capitol streets. The Star incorporates the initial 13-story structure that opened in 1915 with an addition added in 1938 and a 16-story addition completed in 1958.
For many years, a star-shaped logo was the advertising symbol for Texaco company, which operated gas stations across the nation. The Texaco oil firm occupied the historic Houston building until 1989.
The 410,000-SF building was acquired about 12 years ago by Provident Realty Advisors, a Dallas-based firm led by Leon Backes. The redevelopment plan called for the office building to be converted into 207 one-bedroom units, 79 two-bedroom units and retail space.
A Houston-based CBRE team including Jock Naponic, Clint Duncan, Nolan Mainguy, and Philip Kerr marketed The Star to investors on behalf of Provident.
The Star’s new owner, Hasta Capital, has high-rise and mid-rise multifamily investments in Texas and other states, in addition to Latin America. Hasta Capital CEO Mark Hafner was a Greystar executive earlier in his career.
The Star, a former Texaco building is not the only former energy company tower that has been considered for conversion to residential.
The 45-story former headquarters of Humble Oil, a predecessor to Exxon, was sold in 2023 to New York-based CMI Developers, which eyed plans to convert the tower to residential. But no groundbreaking has been announced. The 1.2 million-SF Exxon building, located at 800 Bell, has been empty since the oil company relocated to its new campus about 10 years ago. The Humble Oil/Exxon tower was completed in 1962.
July 22, 2025 Realty News Report Copyright 2025
Photos credit: Ralph Bivins, Realty News Report, Copyright 2025
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