WaterWall Place part of liquidation
Hines selling flagship property and others that are part of REIT
Hines has put its WaterWall Place apartments near the Galleria up for sale as part of the liquidation of Hines Global REIT.
The flagship property, which launched the locally based developer’s entry into the multifamily market four years ago, will be sold separately from the multibillion-dollar package of properties.
“WaterWall Place is a very special project for us,” Gerald D. Hines, founder and chairman of Hines, said in an announcement. “It was the anchor project for our new multifamily platform; so we worked hard to make it timeless and appealing to discerning renters.”
HFF has been hired to market the seven-story property, which has 322 units with an average monthly rent of nearly $2,400. The project, completed in 2013 at 2801 WaterWallDrive, is among 27 apartment projects the company has developed in recent years across the U.S. It is 94 percent leased.
WaterWall Place is next to Williams Tower, another Hines development, and the Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park, a place for residents to walk their dogs or picnic on the lawn.
“It’s adjacent to the Waterwall Park, which Hines donated to the city,” said Todd Marix, senior managing director of HFF.
“It’s rare to have an in-fill location with the green space that adjoins the property.”
The construction method, which used a steel frame rather than wood, is also rare in Houston, Marix said.
The buyer will likely be an institutional investor such as a pension fund adviser or a life insurance company or a local high-net-worth investor, Marix said.
There is no set asking price.
Investment in the Houston multifamily market so far this year is about the same as during the same period last year, Marix said, but down about 20 percent from 2014.
Most of the sales this year have been of suburban Class A buildings, and Class B and C deals, which are older properties, Marix said.
WaterWall Place is near Post Oak Boulevard and Hidalgo Street, south of the Galleria, also a Hines development.