COVER STORY, MARCH 2005

PRIME PROPERTY IN PEARLAND
Houston-based JEFCO Development takes advantage of Pearland Parkway with a new mixed-use development.
Lara Fuller

JEFCO Development Corporation’s Parks at Boulder Creek in Houston is located on Pearland Parkway, which connects Highway 518 and Beltway 8. The parkway eventually will provide direct access to the William P. Hobby Airport, making the area a prime location for JEFCO’s new lifestyle center.

Having an insider’s knowledge of Houston and its surrounding areas has given JEFCO Development Corporation an advantage in its development of the Parks at Boulder Creek, a master-planned lifestyle center on Pearland Parkway in the Houston suburb of Pearland, Texas. “I actually grew up in Pearland and had knowledge of how difficult it was to get there with no direct routes into Houston,” says Jim Fisher, president of Houston-based JEFCO Development Corporation. When the city of Pearland completed the Pearland Parkway to connect Highway 518 and Beltway 8 in December 2003, Fisher realized that the stretch of road was full of potential. Eventually the parkway will continue all the way through to the William P. Hobby Airport. “Knowing about this direct access, I knew immediately this would be a fantastic location, especially when you look at the other shopping centers in this market,” he says.

There are no major power centers located within a 10-mile radius of the Parks at Boulder Creek, which gives it good spacing from surrounding markets.

The Parks at Boulder Creek is located at the entrance to one of Houston’s popular suburbs, Pearland, and is also located directly next to the 360-acre El Franco Lee Park. “It is very rare that one gets both corners at the entrance to a major city and/or master-planned community,” says Fisher. “This gives us a wonderful opportunity to create a fantastic master-planned lifestyle community with apartments, townhomes, retail and commercial offices, along with mid-rise loft living.” The development will feature 600,000 square feet of retail space, 300,000 square feet of office space, 800,000 square feet of multifamily space and 310,000 square feet of single-family homes.

JEFCO hopes to combine traditional discount retailers, such as Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and Old Navy, with a high-end lifestyle center featuring tenants such as Talbot’s, Chico’s and Coldwater Creek. The development will also include a high-energy promenade focused on a younger generation. Stores in this section of the project will be geared towards adolescents, with retailers such as Gap and Hollister’s. “We are creating a truly regional center for all ages and incomes,” says Fisher.

The Parks at Boulder Creek is located at the entrance to one of Houston’s popular suburbs, Pearland, and is also located directly next to the 360-acre El Franco Lee Park. The development will feature 600,000 square feet of retail space, 300,000 square feet of office space, 800,000 square feet of multifamily space and 310,000 square feet of single-family homes.

JEFCO, which recently completed the 500,000-square-foot Portofino project in Shenandoah, Texas, is developing the project along with the Maverick Group. The development is being designed by HTH Group of Beverly Hills, California, known for the Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix. Parks at Boulder Creek will feature hiking trails, bike paths, fountains, waterfalls and pedestrian walkways throughout the property.

“Pearland’s dynamic design and shopping flow can best be described as a fusion of ideas creating a new animal, not a planned community, but more a master-planned lifestyle development,” says Mark Tweed, president and co-founder of HTH Group. “Bisected by Pearland Parkway, a visual and pedestrian connector bridges the development, which situates housing and office around a lake on one side and a high-energy city walk of retail and office on the other, leading to a retail and housing district around another lake. This ‘retail lake’ is characterized by a boardwalk with restaurants and terraced dining, retail, office, and a series of canals and walks leading to townhomes.” In addition, most of the townhomes — which feature outdoor fireplaces — overlook the protected land of the El Franco Park, giving residents serene views and open spaces.

The aesthetic character of the development is also unique. The development will feature a mixture of Texas stone, glass and metal. “The look of the project culturally fuses old and new Texas,” says Tweed. “People in the 21st century will continue to want to live and shop in dynamic environments, and that is certainly what is being created at the Parks at Boulder Creek.”

There are no major power centers located within a 10-mile radius of the Parks at Boulder Creek, which is set to open its first phase in the spring of 2006.

With Fisher’s knowledge of Pearland and the type of project that would appeal to the consumers of the area, the Parks at Boulder Creek will certainly thrive. JEFCO hopes to continue to build quality retail and lifestyle projects in markets throughout Texas and surrounding states. “Our company will continue to expand into other regional markets, such as Texas and Arizona, on the retail side,” says Fisher. In Houston, the company is currently working with AmREIT on the development of the 100,000-square-foot Garden West Green project. Also underway is the 46,500-square-foot Collection at Vintage Lakes, another retail project in Houston.

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