Placing a bet on U.S. 290
Wolff Cos. has bought 521 acres in Waller for a business park and a residential development.
Houston-based Wolff Cos. has acquired 521 acres along U.S. 290 in Waller for a business park and residential development.
The farm and pasture land, on the north side of U.S. 290 between FM 362 and James Muse Parkway, was purchased from the Schild family, which had owned it for generations.
The property, 44 miles northwest of downtown, has more than three-quarters of a mile of frontage along U.S. 290. Wolff Cos. will develop the Beacon Hill business park on 251 acres with uses ranging from light industrial and distribution to office and retail. It sold the northern 270 acres, bordering Owens Road, to Houstonbased Long Lake Ltd. for a master-planned community that will contain 1,000 homes.
Wolff Cos. paid between $15 million and $20 million for the land in a cash deal that closed on June 30, the company said.
David S. Wolff, chairman and president of Wolff Cos., sees the upcoming completion of major improvements to U.S. 290 as a catalyst for more developments northwest of Houston. The acreage, near a Buc-ee’s convenience store, is 6 miles past the 4 million-square-foot Daikin Texas Technology Park.
“The freeway had been such an inhibitor because it was torn up,” Wolff said. “People didn’t pay as much attention to it as I think they will now.”
Major construction along U.S. 290 is on track for completion next year. It will have 11 lanes, including a reversible HOV lane, from Loop 610 to Texas 6/FM 1960, and nine lanes from there to Waller County.
The Beacon Hill land, which is 250 to 300 feet above sea level, will be annexed by the city of Waller, Wolff said. The city plans to bring utilities and city services to the property.
Wolff Cos. will likely sell sites within Beacon Hill to other developers as it has done at its other projects, although joint-venture build-to-suits are an option for the right opportunity, Wolff said. Initial sites could be ready for new buildings in nine to 12 months.
The property is suitable for a large scale distribution center such as the Amazon and Rooms To Go facilities in the Katy and Brookshire areas, Wolff said.
Wolff Cos. has pioneered developments along growth corridors such as the Katy Freeway and Beltway 8 for more than 50 years. Its projects contain hospitals, office buildings, hotels and light industrial buildings.
Long Lake, which develops and builds homes in more than 30 Houston-area neighborhoods, is on track to complete its 750-acre Villages of Cypress Lakes community on U.S. 290 near Fairfield within 18 months. The company, which builds under a variety of brands, aims to deliver the initial lots in the new Waller community by January 2020 and start building soon after.
Alex Makris and Jeff Pittman of CBRE and Candy Schild of Yellow Rose Realty represented the seller. Kirk Laguarta and Duane Heckmann of Land Advisors represented Long Lake Ltd.
“The freeway had been such an inhibitor because it was torn up.” David S. Wolff, chairman and president of Wolff Cos.