A “destination development” with 1.6 million square feet of bars, restaurants and retail will be rising from the swampy grounds of one of Houston’s southeast suburbs.
The plan for the 120-acre development — to be called Flyway Webster — includes shopping, nightlife, as well as a signature hotel, an outdoor concert venue and a boardwalk overlooking Clear Creek. The developer behind the project is Houston-based Medistar, according to the Houston Business Journal.
Since buying the land from Exxon in 2016, Medistar has been working with the city of Webster on developing the site. With an original opening date set for 2021, according to the mixed-use development’s CoStar brochure, the project was delayed by pandemic-related troubles.
Though infrastructure work, including for streets, has been underway for more than a year, says Senior VP Avi Elfezouaty, vertical development isn’t expected to start until later this year. Supply chain shortages still threaten to push back Flyway’s expected 2024 completion.
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Before settling on plans for an entertainment complex for the space, the company considered building an Ikea, but the entertainment concept made more sense because of Webster’s location, says Gino Hourani, vice president at Medistar. The project site is right next to the Houston-area Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor water park and resort, he noted to HBJ.
Webster is one of a handful of suburbs along Interstate 45, the only direct route connecting Houston to Galveston. The town is conveniently close to Houston’s Space Center and the many vacation spots surrounding Clear Lake. Its neighbor to the south on I-45 is League City, where several similar developments are also in the works.
The location and timing of the project aim to meet the rising demand for new social spaces in a post-pandemic market. The developers already have several offers for tenants, Hourani said, though he declined to disclose them.
[HBJ] — Maddy Sperling