HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Southern Land Company, a Nashville-based development firm, will break ground next summer on an office tower In Houston’s Upper Kirby District which has established itself as a bone fide walkable urban neighborhood.
The 83,322-SF Class AA office building will be marketed and leased by Stream Realty Partners.
Located just south of Westheimer Road, the office building will be part of a new mixed-use development that will include a 38-story residential tower that with 312 apartment homes and 18 penthouses. It will be constructed on a two-acre site at the northeast corner of Kirby Drive and Kipling Street.
With the sizable project, Southern Land Company contributes to an urban neighborhood known as the Upper Kirby District.
Upper Kirby has accumulated dense multifamily, multiple high-rises with ground-level retail and restaurants and enough walkability to provide a bona fide live/work/play environment.
Earlier this year veteran Houston architect Scott Ziegler of Ziegler Cooper commented on Southern Land development plan: “What they are doing is very appropriate for that site.” Ziegler Cooper designed the 30-story 2727 Kirby condominium tower next door to the Southern Land property.
However, the office building announcement comes as the Houston market has experienced rising vacancies. Some landlords face financial pressure in this era of high interest rates and constrained access to capital. New office properties have an advantage over older buildings as employers gravitate to top-quality office space to counterbalance employee’s desires to work from home.
Southern Land’s mid-rise office component will be situated over a podium-style garage, providing views of the Kirby Drive corridor.
The project, located at 2811 Kirby Drive, will break ground in summer 2024 with anticipated completion of spring 2027, Stream reported.
The project will offer 16,500 SF of restaurant space including 1,000 SF of outdoor seating.
“We have a considerable footprint in Texas and believe this development will be an outstanding addition to the Houston community,” said Tim Downey, SLC Founder and CEO.
The site had been used for a freestanding Wells Fargo Bank. Later, Houston developer Robert Clay controlled the land. The bank building was demolished and Clay announced plans to build a medical office building there. Then Southern Land arrived and announced this ambitious plan for mixed-use with high-rise residential, which seems to meet expectations for density that comes with an Upper Kirby address today.
“Southern Land Company has a reputation of investing in communities and delivering best-in-class quality paired with thoughtful design,” said Ryan Barbles of Stream. “This development will complement the area and become a highly sought-after work destination. SLC will create an office opportunity that makes future tenants proud.”
Stream’s Ryan Barbles, Matt Asvestas and Matthew Seliger from the Houston office will lead the leasing team.
Elsewhere in Texas, Southern Land is developing Deco 969, the first residential tower in downtown Fort Worth in 30 years, and Lunaroya, a luxury community of 28 intimate homesites in Dripping Springs. SLC is also the developer of Tucker Hill, a master-planned community in McKinney. SLC’s past mixed-use and multifamily projects in Texas include Arthouse in Keller, Junction 15 and Morada in Plano, The Lofts at Watters Creek in Allen, and Novē at Knox in Dallas.
Dec. 15, 2023 Realty News Report Copyright 2023
Rendering Image: Courtesy Southern Land Company
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File: Groundbreaking Set for Office Tower on Kirby Drive