Tesla inks lease for a new showroom in The Woodlands

2023-07-28 - Katherine Feser REAL ESTATE

Tesla has signed a lease for a new showroom and service center in The Woodlands in the latest expansion of the electriccarmaker’s footprint in the Houston area.

The Austinbased company has leased 64,000 square feet in Windvale Center at 9420 College Park Drive, a spokesperson for landlord Brixmor Property Group confirmed.

The new facility will occupy the former Randalls grocery store, which closed in 2018, according to Brixmor. The 100,000-square-foot shopping center was 26 percent occupied as of the first quarter, with tenants including Allstate, U.S. Recruiting Office and Herrera’s Mexican Restaurant.

Tesla is expanding its network of sales and service centers as vehicle sales continue to grow. While customers can learn about vehicles in showrooms, buyers must go online to buy a Tesla. Texas law prevents auto manufacturers from selling directly to consumers in person.

The new Woodlands center has an estimated renovation cost of $3.5 million with completion expected in March, according to a project filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Tesla did not respond to inquiries about the center.

The showroom and service center joins four others in the Houston area: 21555 Southwest Freeway in Richmond, 9633 Westheimer in Westchase, 19820 Hempstead Highway in Cypress and 14820 North Freeway in north Houston, according to Tesla’s website. It also has showrooms in The Galleria and Market Street-The Woodlands.

Last year, Tesla signed a lease for more than 1 million square feet for a warehouse at the Empire West Business Park in Brookshire west of Houston. The company also recently opened a battery storage facility in Angleton.

Transwestern taps new HR exec

Allison Allen has been named chief human resources officer for Transwestern, a Houston-based commercial real estate firm with 2,100 employees across 33 cities. Allen, who will work from the Houston headquarters, joins as the firm rolls out a transformation plan designed to expand the company’s scale around the country.

Previous experience at asset management firm Orchard Global and professional services firm Ernst & Young posi

tions Allen to establish and implement strategies to support Transwestern’s goals across five integrated companies.

“Because we have services, development and investment management capabilities in our five Transwestern companies, we needed that expertise in the HR role to cover our broad offerings,” CEO Larry Heard said.

Founded in 1978, Transwestern has expanded in the past two years with the addition of ROH, a hospitality company, and Transwestern Ventures, which focuses on opportunistic investment. The company also recently acquired three companies and opened an office in the Carolinas.

Allen succeeds former Colleen Dolan, who retired from Transwestern’s Chicago office after serving in the role since 2000.

“As we scale, we enjoy the opportunity to consolidate a number of our leadership positions back to Houston,” Heard said, noting that the company plans to add about 10 senior level executives across its companies and other team members in some of the largest markets.

Community’s name is revealed

Shea Homes has selected the name Wildtree for a community planned to bring 1,000 single-family homes to western Montgomery County starting in 2025.

The name was inspired by the rolling hills and a forested creek bed that runs through the 430acre project, according to the developer. The community near Texas 249 is west of FM 1486, just north of Crown Ranch Boulevard.

“We wanted a community name that evokes a sense of freedom and discovery and portrays the community as a place where residents can explore and find their inner child,” Keith Luechtefeld, Houston division president for Shea Homes, said in an announcement. “Being one word and relatively unique when it comes to names of residential communities is a bonus.”

Construction of Wildtree is slated to begin this year. The community will offer single-family homes with lots ranging from 40 to 70 feet wide.

The Walnut, Calif.based developer and homebuilder also is developing Woodhavyn in the Magnolia area and Evergreen in Conroe in Montgomery County.