Portman Plans 172-Unit Apartment Project in Washington Corridor

Portman Holdings is planning a five-story apartment project in Houston’s Washington Corridor.

The Atlanta-based developer filed plans with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for a 172-unit multifamily development at 3616 Center Street in Houston. The five-story, 96,300-square-foot complex will straddle Harvard Street with two buildings linked by elevated pedestrian bridges, the filing states. The project will cost an estimated $54 million, amounting to about $314,000 per unit, and Portman plans to finish it by October 2028.

Portman Holdings owns about 3 acres at the address listed on the filing, with 2 acres on the east side of Harvard Street and just under an acre on the west side, according to county records. Both plots are vacant.

Portman bought the land from Alsco in February 2022 for an undisclosed price. Portman initially planned to include retail space in the complex, according to early reports, but the TDLR filing only mentions multifamily development.

The multifamily occupancy rate in Houston ticked up throughout 2025, exceeding 90 percent at the end of the year, after a stagnant 2024, when it held flat at about 88.5 percent, according to Colliers. Houston apartments haven’t seen occupancy rise above 91 percent since 2021.

Building activity is also on the rise. Houston ended last year with 789,228 multifamily units, about 11,700 more than in the third quarter of 2024, Colliers found.

Elsewhere in Texas, Portman is developing Dallas Gateway, a three-tower mixed-use complex at the intersection of Ross Avenue and Routh Street in Dallas. The company plans to finish it by 2029.

Portman is also working on a 3.9-acre mixed-use development in Austin near the new Q2 Stadium.

The Washington Corridor is just north of Memorial Drive and the Buffalo Bayou, which define the River Oaks luxury enclave. The most expensive single-family homes sold in Harris County generally cluster in River Oaks and the nearby Memorial Villages neighborhood. The city of Houston considers Washington Corridor and River Oaks to be in the same super neighborhood.