Coming soon to the area: Commercial / Office / Industrial Development INEOS Olefins and Polymers USA and Sasol Chemicals North America LLC announced they will form a joint venture to build a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plant in La Porte at INEOS’ Battleground Manufacturing Complex. Plant start-up is expected in 2016. BAHEP, along with other regional partners, has been working on this project since 2011. Read more here: press release Enterprise Products Partners LP announced it will construct the world’s largest refrigerated ethane export facility at Morgan’s Point (La Porte’s neighbor on the bay). The facility is expected to begin operations in the later part of 2016. Enterprise also plans to build a pipeline from its Mont Belvieu natural gas liquids fractionation and storage complex to provide direct access to the ethane supply. Read more here: Houston Chronicle Guidry News A new industrial building is planned at 11804 Fairmont Parkway in La Porte near the intersection of Bay Area Boulevard. The 22,500 SF crane-ready building will be available for occupancy late this year. Specs: 20-ton crane capacity, 28’ clear height, drive-through capability, and overhead doors. The building will be on 1.5 acres and an additional 4.2 acres are available for expansion or build-to-suit. The developer will still have room for three more buildings. An update on 225 RailPort – The master-planned industrial distribution complex is under construction in Pasadena, SH 225 at Beltway 8. The building pad is complete for the 600,000 SF rail-served facility and has an expected completion of Q1 2015. Frontier Logistics will occupy the facility. Friendswood’s Clearwood Business Park, planned on FM 2351 near Beamer Road, has an updated development plan. The first 7,000 SF office/warehouse spec building will be for lease. The front 1.8-acre tract is for sale and can be divided. The developer will also build-to-suit office, retail or other commercial. The acreage in the back is for build-to-suit or spec lease buildings only ... not for sale. Dallas-based Cobalt Medical Development and Houston-based Medistar broke ground for the Webster Rehabilitation Hospital that will be built at 110 East Medical Center Boulevard. The 60,000 SF facility will serve patients with head trauma and other severe disabilities, including those in the Wounded Warrior program. Additionally, a 65,000 SF medical office building and outpatient surgery center will also be built on the 10-acre property. New office building -- Manison Plaza, a new 8,774 SF, two-story office building, is being constructed at 105 Hunters Lane at FM 518 in Friendswood. Three tenants have signed leases. Recent lease transactions …. · 65,950 SF - Elliott Electric Supply leased at Carson Commerce Center, 3700 Highway 225 in Pasadena. The company is a distributor of electrical parts. · 30,236 SF - Inspectorate America Corporation renewed and expanded at 12000 Aerospace in Houston (at Ellington Airport) for its corporate headquarters. The company is a global leader in testing, inspection and certification to help clients meet the challenges of quality, safety, and environmental protection. · 25,578 SF - Jotun Paints leased at 1485 E. Sam Houston Parkway - East Belt Business Park in Pasadena. · 13,500 SF - Ventil USA leased more space at 904 Gemini, Gemini Park in Webster. The company designs high pressure and leakage tests for industrial safety control valves and shutoff valves used in petroleum and chemical businesses. · 9,138 SF - NanoRacks leased at 555 Forge River Road in Webster. · 5,000 SF - Milestone Chemical Tankers relocated its United States office to 455 E. Medical Center Boulevard, Galaxy II, in Webster. · 4,480 SF - A regional retail chain leased space at 926 Gemini, Gemini Park in Webster. · 3,356 SF - Superheat FGH Services, Inc. leased at 2100 Space Park in Nassau Bay. Transwestern - Doug Little, Louann Pereira and Nina Guerre – for the landlord. · 2,127 SF - Guice Engineering leased at 17045 El Camino Real. PM Realty’s Courtney Knightstep represented the landlord. Other real estate transactions …; · Mustang CAT purchased 3 acres in League City’s Brittany Business Park to construct a new facility, approximately 7,500 SF. · Century Elevators has established business at 12130 SH 3, Bldg. #5, across from Ellington Airport. An undisclosed buyer purchased the 50,000 SF building on 4.8 acres a few months ago. · Electosep, Inc./Ballybeau purchased a 12,688 SF building at 280 Park Avenue in League City. This office/warehouse will serve as the Texas headquarters; the company relocated from Canada to this new facility. Electosep services the petrochemical industry. · Arbor Square, a three-building 56,000 SF business park at 17000 El Camino Real in Houston was purchased by an investor. It’s 91% leased. · 84 Lumber purchased 33 acres on SH 3. · The Richland Cos. purchased Fairmont Business Park, a 66,654 SF property on five acres at the southwest corner of Fairmont Parkway and Bay Area Boulevard in La Porte. It’s 100% leased. · Burke Self Storage, 49,600 SF, at 1009 Burke Road in Pasadena, was recently purchased. · CLCB, Ltd., an affiliate of Wile Interests, Inc., sold a 1.06-acre parcel on John Audubon Parkway in the Clear Lake Crossing mixed-use development at Clear Lake City Boulevard and SH 3. The buyer was AKA Properties, LLC. who plans to build a medical office building on the parcel. · Waterford Enterprises purchased a 6,000 SF building at 631 N. Egret Bay Blvd. in League City. · Houston La Porte Industrial LLC purchased a 7,200 SF property at 1202 West A Street in La Porte. Under Construction Friendswood – First Choice Emergency Room is building a freestanding facility at 255 E. Parkwood Avenue, next to AMOCO Federal Credit Union. Now Open Webster – Heart Physicians of Clear Lake relocated to 17490 Highway 3. Memorial Hermann Medical Group leased space for a primary care and internal medicine practice at 4 Professional Park Drive. Friendswood - Texas Emergency Care Center opened at 1520 S. Friendswood Drive. Open Soon League City – First Choice Emergency Room is renovating a building at 3016 Marina Bay Drive Dickinson – House of File Technology Lounge (technology consultation and training) at Maple St. and FM 517 Retail / Hospitality Development Star Cinema Grill will anchor Baybrook Mall’s 555,000 SF expansion with a 42,147 SF theater expected to open in the fall of 2015. This will be the flagship location for the dine-in theater’s Houston market. Plans include lounge and bar areas to enjoy before and after a movie and the latest technologies such as Sony 4K Digital Projection and RealD 3D. TopGolf plans a 65,000 SF, three-story location in Webster on the east side of the Gulf Freeway, south of Academy Sports + Outdoors. This golfing experience combines a variety of competitive & entertaining games using microchipped golf balls that are fun for experienced and first-time golfers. The company is expected to hire more than 450 permanent employees. It’s scheduled to break ground in August. Before the construction starts, the infrastructure will be put in. The opening is scheduled for summer 2015. Read more here: HBJ Hubcap Grill will open soon in Kemah at 8th and Bradford Avenue. The restaurant, known for great burgers and more, also has locations in the Heights and downtown Houston. The first Houston-area Quaker Steak & Lube at 2502 Gulf Freeway South has opened in League City. Besides the chicken wings and sauces, baby-back ribs and steaks, the restaurant has cool memorabilia hanging on the walls …. high-powered muscle cars, motorcycles, stock cars. The restaurant is hiring approximately 120. Bravo Ranch Supermarket will open a 42,310 SF grocery store in Pasadena at the corner of Fairmont Parkway and Shaver Street. A Kroger store formerly occupied this property at the Fairmont Junction Center. The Dickinson Kroger Signature Store on the Gulf Freeway at FM 517 has submitted plans for a $1.1 million renovation. If you’ve lost sight of your soles at DSW’s former location, that’s because the store just relocated to a new spot in the same center (Baybrook Square) on the other end. Nordstrom Rack will open next spring in the former DSW space after a sizeable renovation including a new two-story plan. Hampton Inn & Suites, four stories, 87 rooms, is under construction just south of the southwest corner of W. Fairmont Parkway and SH 146 in La Porte. Approximately 2.72 acres are available for general commercial development next to this new construction, and the city believes restaurant development would be ideal. A new development -- Westover Park Plaza at 6011 West Main in League City – two retail buildings; one is 30,000 SF and the other is 19,000 SF. Current tenant line-up: day care, pizza restaurant, donut shop, salon and day spa, sushi restaurant and a café. Recent real estate deals –; · Safelite Auto Glass leased 5,585 SF in Webster at 123 West NASA Parkway at Webster Pointe Shopping Center. · Five Below opened a 7,900 SF store in Webster at 1209 West Bay Area Boulevard in the Baybrook Square Shopping Center. This is a new shopping concept where all items are priced at $5 or less. · Thai Stellar Restaurant leased 3,145 SF at 803 East NASA Parkway in Webster’s Challenger Plaza Shopping Center. · Quantum Leaps Gym leased 2,500 SF at 2323 Clear Lake City Blvd. and Space Center Blvd. It offers fitness, development and fun for moms and children, 4 months to 12 years of age. · Diamonds by George leased 1,854 SF at Nassau Bay Town Square. · An investor purchased Kemah Park, a 17,000 SF retail center in Kemah. It sold in 15 days! · An investor group purchased a 37,000 SF building at 144 Park Avenue in League City. The group plans to change the exterior to better fit the city’s historical district and subdivide the building into 3,000 SF retail suites. · A Canadian real estate group purchased the League City Shopping Center, 98,457 SF, at FM 518 and SH 3. Progress continues at Space Center Houston on the Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft and the “Independence,” the full-sized space shuttle mock-up exhibit. The 747 aircraft was successfully moved to Space Center Houston and has been reassembled. Watch the assembly process here: Space Center Houston Galveston County news · USA Today’s readers put Galveston in the No. 6 spot in its online list of “10 Best Summer Weekend Escapes,” Nice! · Buc-ee’s is open! The 60,000 SF MEGA convenience store is located at the Gulf Freeway at Holland Road in Texas City. · Carnival Cruise Lines will add a third year-round ship and extend its commitment to the Port of Galveston by five years to December 2022 with an option for one six-year renewal period. This will bring an additional 190,000 passengers to the island and will generate $1.4 million/year in passenger fees. Carnival Freedom will join the Magic and the Triumph in 2015. In all, more than 600,000 passengers will sail yearly from Galveston on Carnival. Disney Cruise Lines recently announced sailings from Galveston during the holiday season in November and December 2015. The port is investing about $10 million to expand the terminal and increase the seating capacity for passengers. Did you know the Port of Galveston ranks as the fourth busiest cruise port in the U.S.? Just for fun …; · What’s new at Moody Gardens in Galveston? The five-tier Sky Trail® Ropes Course is the tallest steel ropes course on the Gulf Coast! The 71-foot ropes course is filled with 48 fascinating obstacles. Children between the ages of 2 through 7 can take on an adventure of a smaller scale on the Sky Tykes™ Ropes Course that is appropriate for those who are 48 inches and under. Thrill seekers can try out the new Moody Gardens Zip Line … snap into the harness and step to the edge of the zip line platform and glide over Palm Beach and the Lazy River 60 feet in the air for a bird’s eye view of the Moody Gardens pyramids and tropical gardens. · Flare, the new circular roller coaster, opened at the Kemah Boardwalk. The 75-foot tall ride, equipped with 20,000 LED lights, is the only one of its size in Texas and only the third in the world. Let your hair fly at speeds up to 27 miles per hour! Coming Soon Seabrook – Tookie’s Seafood at 1106 Bayport Blvd. (SH 146); Tires By Design at 2801 NASA Pkwy. Houston – Panera Bread (WHEN) Webster – Luby’s/Fuddruckers opens early fall at Baybrook Shopping Center. Jinya Ramen opens in July at Marina Gate shopping center. If you “LIKE” us on Facebook, you’ll get updates and the latest news about restaurants and retail openings in the area. Just a suggestion! J Now Open Houston – Fresh Market at Baybrook Village, 1519 West Bay Area Blvd.; Brooklyn Phil’s Italiano restaurant at 1105 Clear Lake City Blvd.; Star Buffet at 16602 El Camino Real Kemah – Lillie’s (Asian cuisine) restaurant at the Boardwalk, Whataburger on FM 518 next to Wal-Mart Webster – Jack’s Carpet at 1181 West NASA Parkway Seabrook –; Grand Central Station (fashion, décor and gifts) at 1002-A Meyer League City –; Zoyo (yogurt) opened its first Texas store at 2456 Marina Bay Drive; Ms Monkey’s Emporium (coffee) at 2800 Marina Bay Dr.; I Spy the Perfect Piece (resale) at 916 E. Main St.; Royal Formal at 2047 W. Main Nassau Bay – Vintage Revival at 18073 Upper Bay Road Dickinson – Flooring Source at 2623 Gulf Freeway; Best Rx Pharmacy in the Hughes Court Professional Building on Medical Park Drive just south of FM 517 NOTE: Please feel free to pass this e-newsletter along to others who would enjoy it, and remember to credit Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership for this information. Residential Development · New multi-family project at Baybrook - Sueba USA Corporation purchased 12 acres on the east side of the Gulf Freeway at Baybrook Eastfield. Plans include 347 upscale apartments to start construction in the first quarter of 2015. Near this site is Kelsey Seybold’s new three-story clinic currently under construction and the LongHorn Steakhouse. · New multi-family project in League City - Watermark Apartments, 368 units, will be built at 2200 W. Walker Street in League City. · New homes in League City’s Tuscan Lakes - Builders will begin construction this year on 400 new homes with prices in the $400’s. One of the builders, Westin Homes, announced the construction of 44 luxury homes starting near $440,000 and ranging from 3,200 to 4,500 SF in the Lake Sienna gated neighborhood. The master plan for this community along the League City Parkway/SH 96 and FM 270 calls for 1,800 single-family homes; approximately 900 are already built. The remaining homes are planned for construction in the next five to six years. · New builder in Friendswood - West Ranch has added David Weekley Homes to the builder roster; others are Village Builders, Highland Homes, and Partners in Building. New homes range from the $350’s to $800’s. · New homes in La Porte at Bayside Crossing - Beazer Homes plans to build a 73-lot home subdivision on 17 acres in La Porte, northwest of Sens Road and Spencer Highway. The homes will average 2,200 SF and be priced from the $200’s. · New builders in League City - Cypress Bay waterfront community in League City announced that K. Hovnanian will soon begin construction on waterfront homes ranging from 2,800 to 4,100 SF. The homes will feature stucco exteriors, media rooms, up to 5 bedrooms and outdoor living areas overlooking the water. · New permits in Dickinson - Bayou Lakes Section 3 submitted plans for an additional 82 lots. Infrastructure News and Everything Else! BACPA.org – Bay Area Coastal Protection Alliance - This website is where you will find information about a proposed coastal barrier concept for storm surge protection that features a levee-and-gate system that stops the storm surge along the upper Texas Gulf Coast. The concept proposes utilizing existing storm surge suppression technologies which have functioned successfully in the Netherlands for more than 50 years. The barrier system would protect Galveston and Galveston Bay, Houston, the ports of Houston, Texas City and Galveston, the entire Houston Ship Channel, and communities in Harris, Galveston, Brazoria and Chambers counties. A solution such as this will help safeguard residents, property, businesses, ecosystems and the massive global trade, transportation and energy infrastructure of the entire Houston-Galveston region. The Port of Houston Authority is requesting proposals to lease for a maximum term of 50 years one or both prime unimproved properties encompassing approximately 44.19 acres and 62.75 acres located on the south side of Port Road outside of the Bayport Terminal secured area. Scandinavian Airlines announced new service from Bush Intercontinental Airport to Stavanger, Norway, starting in August – the only airline with nonstop service between Scandinavia and Houston. Did you know this airport had a record 8.9 million international passengers in 2013? City news … NerdWallet, a blog and website that helps consumers make decisions about personal finances, travel and education, ranked Friendswood #2 and League City #19 for U.S. cities that are “Best Small Cities to Live In.” The study compared 924 cities with populations from 25,000 to 100,000. Dickinson - · A developer is looking at two tracts on the east end of FM 517 that are approximately 105 acres for a residential development. · The City of Dickinson is working with a developer who is conducting a feasibility study on the property formerly known as Arcadia Station. The 350-acre tract is along FM 517 adjacent to Cemetery Road on the west side of the Gulf Freeway. Houston - Exploration Green, a 200-acre storm water retention, recreation and conservation space in Clear Lake, is waiting on final permits to begin the project. The first phase involves the conversion of the area surrounding the Clear Lake Recreation Center and includes the removal of 400,000 yards of soil to create the flood detention zone. Expected completion is two to three years for this phase which includes an eight-acre lake, a one-mile hike-and-bike trail, a walking path, forested areas, athletic fields and parking lot. This site was formerly a golf course. Kemah – The city has approved a 380 Agreement with Kemah Marketplace, LLC, pending action by the Kemah Community Development Corporation, which will include infrastructure on the first segment of a new road alignment south of FM 518. La Porte – Fifteen acres of land between the Bay Forest Golf Course and Galveston Bay in La Porte are available for development. While the current zoning is for “Low Density/Single Family Residential” development, the property owner is optimistic that the City of La Porte will seriously consider a petition to rezone the property for a high quality development with higher density residential use. The proposed development is an upscale residential development that takes advantage of both the waterfront and the golf course. ( example: class A multi-family, townhomes, condo’s, vacation villas) Another idea that could work with the residential aspect and take advantage of the proximity to the Bay Forest Golf Course, Houston Bayport Cruise Terminal, and Galveston Bay is a resort hotel and conference center. Seabrook – Runners, walkers, bikers and nature enthusiasts rave about the Seabrook Hike and Bike Trail system which interconnects several city parks and is just over 10 miles. The city just received a grant that will allow it to add an additional one mile of trail that will connect Wildlife Park to Friendship Park. The long-term goal will be to eventually connect the Seabrook Trail System with the Armand Bayou Trail. The Armand Bayou Trail is a 7.3-mile loop that runs through Pasadena just east of Clear Lake Park and then up Space Center Blvd twisting through the Armand Bayou Nature Center. It is also connected to the Pasadena Bayou Hike and Bike Trail that is 4.65 miles. Education news ….. · Voters approved a $260 million bond package for La Porte ISD designed to last over a period of 10 years. Construction could begin this October on two schools to be rebuilt – Lomax Elementary and Baker’s sixth grade school. Planning has already started on the major rebuild of La Porte High School, expected to cost approximately $78 million. Other projects include upgrades for La Porte Junior High, La Porte Elementary, Lomax Junior High and College Park Elementary. The district has more than 7,600 students. · Dickinson ISD’s welding program has the ability to graduate high school students with up to 13 certifications. Students could go directly into the work force and make $75 an hour. Students receive their certifications from the American Welding Society. The different types of welds taught in the advanced class are important to the oil and gas and pipeline industries. Welding, cosmetology, agricultural technology education, business education and automotive service are just a few of the CTE programs offered at Dickinson High School. · Voters approved a $56 million bond package for Dickinson ISD that will build the district’s seventh elementary and third intermediate school on the west side of the district – on FM 517 between Calder Road and Cemetery Road. Many of the fastest growing neighborhoods are in the west side of the district such as Bay Colony around Calder Road and the Lago Mar subdivision near Tanger Outlets. The district is larger than most realize – it covers 61 square miles and is the fastest growing school district in Galveston County. Enrollment was approximately 6,500 in the 2003-04 school year but is expected to surpass 10,000 by the start of the next school year. Read more here: Houston Chronicle · University of Houston-Clear Lake news: o UHCL has implemented a Bachelor of Science in Nursing partnership with San Jacinto College for the fall of 2014. o University of Houston Clear Lake has established a Veterans Services Office in response to the growing number of veterans moving to the Houston area. o UHCL graduated more than 2,300 students last year. · Four high schools in the Clear Creek ISD were recently included in the U. S. News and World Report’s Best High Schools list for 2014. Clear Brook High School, Clear Lake High School, Clear Horizons Early College High School and Clear Springs High School were recognized on the list. The rankings factor in a variety of academic performance and teaching indicators to measure schools’ educational excellence. · Two Galveston County school districts – Friendswood ISD and Clear Creek ISD – are among the top five in the Houston area, ranked by the Children at Risk organization. Since 2006, the group has ranked campuses and districts across the state using standardized test scores and demographic data. Of the 58 school districts on the list, Friendswood was ranked third and Clear Creek in fourth place. · At the world’s largest high school science research competition, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, six students from Clear Creek ISD were top winners! The competition was held in Los Angeles; more than 1,700 young scientists were selected to participate from hundreds of affiliated fairs throughout the world. Their projects were evaluated onsite by more than 1,200 judges from nearly every scientific disciple. Congratulations! More here: CCISD · A recent study found that San Jacinto College’s economic impact in the region continues to grow, totaling $813.4 million. Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI) reported an approximate 14.77 percent growth in 2012-2013 over the most recent economic impact report conducted in 2010, which showed an annual economic impact of $708.7 million. The study also found that students receive a 19.7 percent annual return on their investment in a San Jacinto College education, while taxpayers see an average annual return on investment of 8.1 percent. Read more: Guidry News · College of the Mainland has implemented a one-year medical assistant program that will provide a quick transition into the medical profession. Medical assistants are allied health professionals who assist physicians and perform the routine administrative and clinical tasks that keep the physician’s office running smoothly and efficiently. Students may sit for certifications after completing their course. Applications for the fall 2014 semester are currently being accepted. Read more here: Guidry News Road news …; League City – · An agreement was approved for the extension of Brookport Drive through the 100-acre Pinnacle Park development. The street will be extended from Marble Cove Drive to Big League Dreams Parkway offering an additional north/south thoroughfare in the Gulf Freeway/FM 646 area. Construction on the four-lane project may begin this month with completion scheduled for this November. · TxDOT has begun a $2.2 million ramp reversal project on the Gulf Freeway. The on ramp closest to SH 96 will become an off ramp and the off ramp closer to FM 646 will become an on ramp. Costs are being shared by League City and the Galveston County Management District No.1. Work should be complete later this year. BAHEP is now part of the Facebook and Twitter network providing its members and followers yet another way to keep up with its activities. Like us on Facebook at: https://facebook/BayAreaHoustonEcon Check out our tweets at https://twitter/BAHEP. Economic development doesn’t happen by itself! If you would like to know more about how you can support our economic development initiatives and have the opportunity to work with the region’s business leaders, please contact Membership Director Harriet Lukee at 832.536.3255 or Harriet@bayareahouston. - Description: Parchment Clear Lake Shores • Dickinson • El Lago • Friendswood • Houston • Kemah • La Porte League City • Nassau Bay • Pasadena • Seabrook • Taylor Lake Village • Webster Copyright 2008 Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership P.O. Box 58724 • Bay Area Houston, Texas 77258-8724 18045 Saturn Lane • Bay Area Houston, Texas 77058 (832)536.3255 Contact Us
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 21:36:30 +0000