Luxury condo-hotel redefining skyline
35-story tower near Buffalo Bayou Park nears completion
If you’ve picnicked, played or passed by Buffalo Bayou Park in the past four years, you’ve probably noticed a massive 35-story skyscraper under construction towering over the volleyball players and pedestrians below.
The Residences at the Allen tower has redefined the skyline near one of Houston’s most popular recreational destinations near downtown, and it could begin to redefine the residential and hospitality scene along the bustling Allen Parkway corridor.
Construction on the first $290 million phase of a broader mixed-use development is nearing completion roughly four years after Houston real estate developer DC Partners broke ground. DC Partners is planning more upscale restaurants, retail and greenspaces at the same site in future phases.
The Residences at the Allen is the first luxury condominium-hotel tower built in Houston in years, a high-end high-rise with 99 condominium units paired with a 171-key Thompson Hotel in the same tower.
Most residential projects coming online in the broader downtown and Montrose areas in recent years have been luxury apartment rentals, but DC Partners wagered that Houstonians would pay to own a home in a high-rise with a unique design and hotel amenities overlooking Buffalo Bayou Park. So far, its bet appears to be paying off: Just 20 units are left for sale despite the headwinds of a slower real estate market. Residents are expected to start moving in this fall.
After Houston’s luxury condominium sales volume soared by almost 77 percent in 2021, the broader real estate downturn dragged that segment of the market down
by 13 percent last year, according to Houston Association of Realtors. Luxury condo sales stumbled by 9.5 percent year over year in the first seven months of the year as many would-be buyers sat on the sidelines amid economic uncertainty.
Buyers snapped up The Allen’s one-bedroom condominiums quickly. Remaining nonpenthouse units start at $1.8 million, Samuel Katz, sales director at the project, said. Four remaining penthouses start at $3 million.
The Allen was expected to appeal to affluent transplants from coastal markets accustomed to high-rise homeownership. While those buyers showed up, the tower is drawing more residents from elsewhere in Houston such as River Oaks and Memorial, Katz said.
“More than any projects that we’ve been involved with, (this building) is attracting a little bit more of a local buyer crowd,” Katz said. “This building caters to the buyer who’s ready to put the estate-style home behind them and graduate to a more service experience.”
That service includes access to the same perks as hotel guests, including valet, concierge services, room service and access to a hotel spa, pool and a helipad, once the Thompson opens by the end of the year.
The developer has completed construction on the 62,000square-foot retail building next door. With a design resembling a spaceship, the Pavilion at the Allen is home to a 34,000square-foot gym by EoS Fitness — formerly Texans Fit. Highend Mexican steakhouse Toca Madera is scheduled to open in a roughly 11,000-square-foot space by the end of the year, according to restaurant owner Noble 33. Noble 33 also is designing what it bills as a swanky Mediterranean restaurant, Meduza Mediterrania, in a roughly 11,000-square-foot rooftop space to open next spring.
The developer is still planning the next phase of its mixed-use project, which will no longer feature office space as originally planned. Coming into the pandemic, Houston’s office market already struggled with chronically high vacancy rates, and the shift to hybrid work since the pandemic’s peak is still casting a shadow on the entire office market nationally. “As we continued to work on the site and see how the area evolved, we wanted to make it less dense and create some more green space to better complement Buffalo Bayou Park. Instead of doing more office towers, we wanted to focus more on residential, traditional retail (too),” said Acho Azuike, chief operating officer at DC Partners.