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Houston

Long-awaited mixed-use development to finally touch down in small astronaut town

Low-rise project would span 5.5 acres in Friendswood, 15 miles from Downtown Houston

A photo illustration including a rendering of One Sixty One in Friendswood (bottom) as well as the NASA Space Center in Houston (top right) (Getty Images, Dunham-Bush, Page Southerland Page, City of Friendswood)
A photo illustration including a rendering of One Sixty One in Friendswood (bottom) as well as the NASA Space Center in Houston (top right) (Getty Images, Dunham-Bush, Page Southerland Page, City of Friendswood)

Houston, we have a project.

A long-awaited mixed-use project may finally break ground next year in Friendswood, a town between Houston and Galveston that is mostly home to NASA astronauts, according to the Houston Business Journal.

The project, dubbed One Sixty One, would create a downtown area for the 41,000 person town. Unlike its neighbors Pearland and League City, Friendswood has been a relatively neglected submarket in the region.

The developer, Friendswood-based Banfield Properties, started the process for the development in 2020. The company is currently waiting on the city to approve the final permits for the project later this year.

This shouldn’t be difficult given that, according to his LinkedIn page, Banfield CEO Brett E. Banfield served as both the Planning & Zoning Commissioner and Chairman of the Community & Economic Development Committee in Friendswood, starting in 2007.

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Spanning 5.5 acres at South Friendswood Drive and West Shadowbend Avenue, plans for One Sixty One include a boutique hotel, a 36-unit apartment complex, plus a multi-purpose building with 5,000 square feet of retail, 6,000 square feet of restaurant space and 5,000 square feet of event space. All three projects would be no higher than four stories.

The name is inspired by Banfield’s corporate office, 161 West Shadowbend Avenue, which will also be a part of the development.

The Friendswood community is primarily made up of NASA employees, including its current mayor (and former astronaut) Mike Foreman. However, the town isn’t known for being a destination for people outside the community. In fact, Friendswood has never even had a hotel before.

“We’re just a bedroom community. We’re not located near the freeway or anything like that,” said community development director Aubrey Harbin. “It’ll be nice to have an option for family members to stay close by.”

Friendswood has reportedly been trying to develop a walkable, mixed-use downtown district for 15 years. Harbin says she’s hoping to attract more corporations to “hopefully keep the population there to support restaurants and things like that.”

— Maddy Sperling

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Suburbs