Pagewood, Wile to convert old Houston warehouses to mixed-use

Local real estate firms Pagewood and Wile Interests plan to redevelop several East Downtown mid-century warehouses into an expansive mixed-use project. 

East Blocks, the joint venture’s project, will span 10 contiguous blocks within walking distance of  the House of Blues, Minute Maid Park and the George R. Brown Convention Center. Redevelopment is expected to unfold over multiple phases through 2027. 

The first phase will begin in the second quarter of next year and will span approximately 513,000 square feet at 908 Live Oak, 1005 Hutchins, 2105 McKinney and 2215 McKinney. About 196,000 square feet of that will be dedicated to retail and 112,000 square feet to offices. The remaining 205,000 square feet will be designated for parking. Four city blocks will encompass green space. Project costs haven’t been disclosed. The properties are valued for tax purposes at $14.7 million.

Pagewood is set to oversee office leasing plans while Blue Ox Group will manage retail and restaurant leasing. Drinking establishments Pitch 25 and 8th Wonder Brewery are the first tenants to sign on to East Blocks. 

“By almost every measure, it would be easier to demolish and redevelop these blocks from a clean slate. However, the decision was made to retain the authenticity of EaDo by adapting the 80-year-old warehouses to meet modern requirements,” said Wile Interests president Randolph Wile.  

Gensler will spearhead the design, while SWA will lead landscaping. East Blocks will feature a dedicated walking and biking loop connecting the district to downtown and the Colombia Tap Trails. 

Fourteen properties, predominantly warehouses, were acquired in June 2022 under an LLC linked to Pagewood founder Paul Coonrod, property records show. They include the locations of East Block’s first phase. Most of them were acquired from the now-defunct Houston-based firm HBS Warehouses Texas. Their combined appraisal value is about $17 million. 

Pagewood and Wile Interests have worked together on a previous Houston-area project; the four-building, 40,000-square-foot creative workspace community the Quad, at 1410 Brittmoore Road. 

Pagewood also recently built a 500,000-square-foot speculative industrial building in Waller off the 290 corridor. Daikin, a Japanese air conditioning and refrigeration manufacturer, signed a multiyear lease for the entire warehouse. 

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