Developers breaking ground on luxury apartments
The Dallas-based developer behind a new downtown skyscraper is turning its sights to River Oaks-Upper Kirby with a 12-story luxury apartment project replacing a 1960s-era strip center.
High Street Residential, a subsidiary of real estate firm Trammell Crow Co., recently took control of a 1.7-acre site at 2311 Westheimer, where it plans to build 209 apartments and a 2,900-square-foot ground floor cafe. The project is planned for the site of the former Antique Pavilion east of Kirby, near French restaurant a’Bouzy and the French Gourmet Bakery.
Contractors have begun removing hazardous materials from the existing building before clearing the site soon, a High Street Residential spokesperson said. The site has been home to a Randalls’ supermarket, a Hart Galleries auction house and, for the past 30 years, the Antique Pavilion. The collection of antique dealers closed at end of last year, before real estate firm Stanmore Partners transferred its long-term lease on the site to High Street Residential in late January.
High Street Residential and joint venture partner Daiwa House Industry are catering River Oaks on Westheimer to empty-nesters and young professionals seeking spacious units. The first several units will be ready for move in in the first quarter of 2025.
High Street enlisted two Houston companies, architecture firm Ziegler Cooper and interior design firm Rottet Studio, to help envision a new life for the property. Rottet Studio has worked on well-known communities such as La Colombe d’Or.,
while Ziegler Cooper has a roster of projects including High Street’s recent Parkside Residences, a 43-story tower near Discovery Green.
At River Oaks on Westheimer, Ziegler’s team worked to give the smaller project an intimate feel befitting the scale of the garden district neighborhood, with elements such as a residential lobby overlooking a private garden space and an entry surrounded by colorful landscaping, Scott Ziegler, principal at the firm, said in an email.
“Our community is decisively smaller than most typical (new Class A) apartment communities — fostering a more boutique and bespoke look and feel,” added Yewande Fapohunda, principal at High Street Residential.
The project incorporates work-from-home “nooks,” a pool deck and a rooftop lounge offering views of the River Oaks tree canopy, plus a spa-like fitness center on the ground floor, Fapohunda said.
Inside, an architectural stairway will connect a co-working suite to a cafe on the ground level. High Street hasn’t yet secured a tenant yet for the retail space.
River Oaks on Westheimer will feature relatively spacious units for new apartment construction, ranging from 880square-foot one-bedrooms to 2,200-square-foot penthouses. The project’s average unit size of 1,400 square feet is significantly larger than typical Class A apartment sizes in the neighborhood, which average about 1,000 square feet, according to ApartmentData.com of MRI Software.
“We’re thinking we’re targeting working couples and emptynesters or folks who may already live in the Inner Loop and aren’t really looking for something smaller,” Fapohunda said.
The larger luxury designs are expected to fetch average rents of about $4,600 for large two-bedroom units and about $3,000 for one-bedroom units with a den. For comparison, average Class A apartment rents in the neighborhood are about $2,218, according to ApartmentData.com. High Street is counting on the project’s amenities, design and location to help it lease up quickly, though.
“This site has everything going for it — it’s got excellent retail, entertainment and great recreational amenities nearby and is within a short drive to major employment centers in both the Inner Loop and just outside the Loop,” Fapohunda said.