Steve Wu’s Wu Properties specializes in Houston retail real estate, but its latest purchase is an office it plans to occupy.
The local firm bought Woodlake Plaza, a 106,000-square-foot office building at 2600 South Gessner Road, according to a release from JLL, which brokered the sale. The seller is Whitestone REIT.
Wu bought the building with a $3.15 million mortgage from American First National Bank, loan documents show. The price wasn’t disclosed, but the loan amounts to $30 per square foot. The six-story office was built in 1974. It’s located in Houston’s Westchase neighborhood.
Wu purchased the shopping center across the street from Woodlake Plaza in December. Woodlake Square, a 157,000-square-foot strip at 9600 Westheimer Road, is anchored by Randalls and Walgreens.
Beyond Woodlake Square, the firm has purchased at least half a million square feet of retail space since late 2022, the Houston Business Journal reported, including:
- A 139,000-square-foot former Sam’s Club at 13331 Westheimer Road;
- The 189,000-square-foot, H-E-B-anchored Presidio Square at 14416 Bellaire Boulevard;
- The 106,000-square-foot Shops at Cypresswood at 19507 North Freeway;
- The 182,000-square-foot Northwest Crossing Centre at 13101 Northwest Freeway; and
- The 43,000-square-foot Stables 1 at 18425 Champion Forest Drive.
Balanced supply and demand kept Houston’s retail market stable in the first quarter, according to Partners Real Estate.
Vacancy increased slightly from 5.1 to 5.4 percent between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025. In the same time period, average asking rent also increased from already record highs. It was $20.72 per square foot last year and $20.87 per square foot this year, according to Partners.
Meanwhile, the Bayou City’s office market is struggling with high vacancy rates after remote work norms and aging buildings made a segment of the market obsolete. The city’s office vacancy rate is 26.1 percent, according to the Greater Houston Partnership.
