COVER STORY, DECEMBER 2007

DEVELOPING INTOWN
Urban residential projects are becoming more and more popular with Texas residents.
Stephen O’Kane

Throughout Texas’ major markets, urban residential living is rapidly growing in popularity. Companies are developing projects that give residents the convenience of living intown, but with all the amenities that go along with a development the consumer might find in the suburbs. Major projects are being developed in all of the Lone Star State’s big cities and are offering state-of-the-art extras to draw the in-town crowd.

The Millennium Greenway
Houston

The Millennium Greenway is being developed by The Dinerstein Companies in Houston’s urban core. It will offer luxury amenities such as a resident lounge with a gourmet coffee bar, a 24-hour athletic center, saunas, gathering areas and a parking garage with remote control access and a freight elevator.

In Houston’s urban core, The Dinerstein Companies is creating an intown living destination sure to meet the needs of the city’s residents. The project, named The Millennium Greenway, is capitalizing on its convenient location and high-class offerings.

“The Millennium Greenway is an infill development strategically located at the heart of Houston’s urban core,” says Brian Dinerstein, a principal with Houston-based The Dinerstein Companies. “Residents at this property will live within walking distance of Greenway Plaza and within close proximity to the Medical Center, downtown and the Galleria.”

Positioned at 4100 Southwest Freeway, The Millennium Greenway will offer a top of the line amenity package including a resident lounge with a gourmet coffee bar and wireless Internet access, a hyperlink Internet service, a 24-hour athletic center, saunas, gathering areas and a parking garage with remote control access and a freight elevator.

The list of community amenities is impressive but the extras continue into the individual units as well. All residential units, which include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, feature a ceiling fan in the bedroom, oversized picture windows, patios/balconies, washer and dryer, European-inspired bathrooms and art deco lighting. The Millennium Greenway also will house urban loft units with 13-foot ceilings, 42-inch plasma televisions, 8-foot doors and stained concrete floors. Plans also include penthouses featuring 10-foot ceilings, 42-inch plasma televisions, 8-foot doors and wood flooring. Planning a development such as this is challenging and executing such plans also are difficult, especially with what the property used to operate as. “Prior to The Millennium Greenway, this location consisted of a ‘red-light’ motel and vacant office building inhabited by vagrants,” says Dinerstein. “Once we are finished, we hope that this property generates continued redevelopment in the area.”

The Dinerstein Companies is leading the way with its Millennium project, but not just in Houston. The company has planned several more Millennium developments in other markets, including Kingwood, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And, according to Dinerstein, these sites are not easy to come by.

“These sites are extremely difficult to locate, the costs are higher due to the complexity of the design and every job is completely different than the previous one,” Dinerstein says. “On the positive side, your customers are renters by choice — they choose a maintenance-free lifestyle and a location close to the employment and cultural centers rather than choosing the hassles commuting and home upkeep.”

Despite the challenges The Dinerstein Companies is experiencing with its newest urban developments, Dinerstein believes the trend will continue as long as companies are able to maximize space in markets where the need is found.

The Millennium Greenway is something special to The Dinerstein Companies. “We are extremely proud of this development and we hope that it contributes to continued revitalization of infill Houston,” says Dinerstein.

Bel Air
Austin, Texas

Approximately 160 miles west of Houston’s downtown, a new development by Interurban Development is taking root. In the same mindset of The Millennium Greenway, the urban project of the Austin-based developer named Bel Air will offer an accommodating location for its residents.

“Quality of life demands are driving residential urban development to provide environments for those who want live, work and play in proximity to entertainment venues, employment opportunities and cultural activities — reducing commutes and increasing community involvement and connection,” says Gary Krieg, managing partner for Interurban Development.

Positioned along the historic South Congress Avenue in south Austin, Bel Air is a member of the United States Green Building Council, an innovative and cutting edge aspect to this type of development. The Bel Air project uses steel made from 80 percent recycled material as well as fiber cement buildings materials, an energy efficient material. The roofing system for the project also contains environmentally-friendly features as it is insulated for energy, waterproofing, durability and structural support.

Bel Air will house 83 one- and two-bedroom townhomes spanning a total of approximately 110,000 square feet. Offering seven floor plans, a rooftop deck and green building technology, Bel Air is planned to be a unique offering in the Austin market. But, as The Dinerstein Companies found with its Millennium projects, developing such intown destinations are not easy.

“The disadvantages to urban development are land scarcity, land costs and the entitlement process including land use approval, zoning approval and building code requirements,” says Krieg.

However, the appeal of this type of project is strong and Interurban Development sees promise for the future. “Demand for urban development will only increase with the widening of the demographic attracted to the urban lifestyle,” Krieg says.

City Lights
Dallas

Margaux Development Company is underway on City Lights, a 1.1 million-square-foot urban development in Dallas.

Construction is set to begin this year on another intown residential development located in Dallas’ urban core. City Lights, a project being developed by Dallas-based Margaux Development Company, is a mixed-use project that is set to break ground next spring. In addition to approximately 800 residential units, City Lights will 250,000 square feet of retail space in this planned 1.1 million square feet development.

According to Donald Silverman, managing principal for Margaux Development Company, the company acquired the property about 3 years ago, but needed an extra piece of land that the city of Dallas owned. After acquiring the property, Margaux Development Company was able to move forward in its plans for the large-scale project.

Silverman says that infill development is a lot more difficult than it seems. Creating new infrastructure in densely populated an occupied areas is one challenge the company had to overcome it its planning for City Lights.” It is a lot harder than paving over a cotton field in the suburbs,” says Silverman.

Despite the difficulties Margaux Development Company has faced thus far, the company is moving forward with the project to satisfy the city’s need for in-town urban development. The outlook is positive for these developments throughout the state’s major markets, and is expected to remain that way through 2008.

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