Houston Chronicle

Ballard Designs expands intoHousto­n with brick-and-mortar store

- By Katherine Feser STAFF WRITER katherine.feser@chron.com twitter.com/kfeser

Ballard Designs, a catalog and online retailer of furniture and home decor, plans to open a store in Weingarten Realty’s River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray near Shepherd Drive in February. The company will take over the 10,000square-foot space previously occupied by Gap Stores. It will be the omnichanne­l retailer’s 16th store since it began opening retail locations in 2007.

World Gym Houston will open in the former Cossaboom Family YMCA building at 7903 South Loop East in early 2021, according to World Gym Internatio­nal. The five-story, 40,000-square-foot gym will be owned by entreprene­ur Jerome Karam and his son Jacob Karam, a local attorney. It will be the second World Gym for Jerome Karam, who converted the Macy's as part of the redevelopm­ent of the former Mall of the Mainland in Texas City in 2015. Early next year, Karam will relocate the Texas City gym to the 100,000square-foot former Sears building in the developmen­t, which is now known as Mainland City Centre. Both gyms will offer reciprocal membership­s. California-based World Gym has more than 200 mostly franchised locations globally.

Sweat 1000 leased 3,000 square feet for a fitness studio at Kirby Collection, a developmen­t of Thor Equities at

3300 Kirby Drive, for its second Houston location. Sweat is an acronym for “Specialize­d Weight Endurance Athletic Training” with the 1000 representi­ng the calories that could be burned in a one-hour workout. Sweat 1000 joins Verandah, Pinstripes, Isabelle Rose Salon, Jianna Jewelers and A Ma Maniere at Kirby Collection, where nearly 13,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space remains available, according to Thor.

Weitzman has been hired by the Houston-based owner

of two urban retail centers as exclusive leasing agent. The properties are 550 Heights Blvd., anchored by the Revival Market craft butcher shop and cafe and Texas State Optical; and 2027 S. Shepherd Drive, a center anchored by Chipotle near River Oaks and Montrose. Walker Kane and Andrew Phelan will handle the leasing.

The Republic Grille

opened a 6,000-square-foot restaurant at 3486 Discovery Creek Blvd. in the Harmony Commons developmen­t in Spring. It is the third location for owner Terry McBurney.

Floyd’s 99 Barbershop leased 1,400 square feet in Vintage Marketplac­e at Louetta Road and Cutten Road in northwest Houston. Jamie Weaver of Arena Realty represente­d the tenant. Jeanie Gibbs, Matt McKinnerne­y and Lane Pleason represente­d the landlord, Read King Commercial Real Estate.

Wells Fargo Bank leased 2,710 square feet at Shoppes at Kingsgate. NAI Partners’ Laura Diggs and Shaffer Braun represente­d the landlord. Rod Scarboroug­h of Rod Scarboroug­h Properties represente­d the tenant.

World Finance Corp. leased 1,134 square feet at 10404 Gulf Freeway. Jason Gibbons of Finial Group represente­d the tenant. Mayur Shah of Matador Realty Group represente­d the landlord.

Citra Endodontic­s leased 2,332 square feet in Brazos Town Center in Rosenberg. Bob Conwell and Austen Baldridge represente­d the landlord, NewQuest Properties. Tiffany La of Alphamax Realty represente­d the tenant.

 ?? Ballard Designs ?? The furniture and decor retailer is opening a store in River Oaks Shopping Center in early 2021.
Ballard Designs The furniture and decor retailer is opening a store in River Oaks Shopping Center in early 2021.

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