Plans for a long-awaited mixed-use hub near the heart of Houston’s medical corridor are finally kicking off.
A Houston developer bought a key parcel near the Texas Medical Center, where it’s planning a 280-unit apartment complex set to catalyze one of the area’s last large-scale mixed-use developments, the Houston Business Journal reported.
Winther Investments acquired a 2.1-acre tract at 1500 Old Spanish Trail, near Greenbriar Drive, with plans for a five-story multifamily building above two levels of parking.
The project is expected to include 280 units. It’s being positioned by the sellers as the first phase of a 21-acre mixed-use campus aimed squarely at Houston’s growing life sciences workforce.
The land was sold by 1550 OST LLC, a venture of Allen Crosswell and Darryl Robinson of NewQuest Crosswell. They bought the 21-acre site, a former Shell Oil Company operations facility, in 2018 and demolished the building.
Infrastructure work, including a new road and traffic signal, is underway.
Crosswell described the site as a rare opportunity to build housing and retail right next to the world’s largest medical center.
The broader plan includes future phases of retail, potentially a grocery store, and commercial space meant to appeal to medical or biotech tenants. The property sits adjacent to The Woman’s Hospital of Texas, and within walking distance of Helix Park, UT System Research Park and Baylor College of Medicine, all of which have developments underway themselves.
Demand is surging for housing near the Texas Medical Center amid rapid life sciences real estate expansion in the area. The rise in hybrid work has made proximity to the office more valuable for health care and biotech workers, who are still largely on-site.
Earlier plans for the site were delayed due to pandemic uncertainty, construction costs and broader market shifts. The project had been on hold since at least 2019, and the land’s designation as an Opportunity Zone provided added incentive to stick with the long game, Crosswell said.
— Judah Duke
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