Another amenity-rich development has entered the Houston multifamily pipeline.
Define Living, a fitness-focused multifamily developer based in Houston, bought a 10.4-acre parcel from Wolff Companies last week with plans for a 388-unit project called Define Living: Park Row.
The four-story apartment complex will have one- and two-bedroom units, with amenities including a gym, infrared sauna, cold plunge, bicycle spa and “a personal wellbeing coach for every resident.” Developer Henry Richardson said he chose the site for its proximity to Terry Hershey Park and access to the Bayou Greenways, a city project that’s expected to link Houston’s major parks with trails.
Construction on the apartments will begin this year. Richardson’s construction company, Blazer Building, expects to finish the apartment clubhouse by the end of next year, with the residential buildings coming later.
Richardson, a yoga studio owner and former athlete, has developed about two dozen properties in Houston; however, this is only the second Define Living concept. The first opened at 1888 Brittmoore last year, and all 260 units were leased in 10 months, Richardson said.
This development has 4.4 acres more than the first, so it will give the company “the ability to build a little more expensive with our amenities,” Richardson said.
Carolyn Wolff Dorros of Wolff Companies, said Richardson snapped up the penultimate parcel available for development in the Energy Corridor, a business district in West Houston home to several major energy companies. The last undeveloped parcel is a 15.2-acre tract south of Richardson’s purchase. So far, it’s attracted the attention of entertainment and hospitality concepts, Dorros said.
Cheaper land in the exurbs is driving many multifamily developers outward, Dorros said.
“Some of the multifamily market has almost leapfrogged us,” Dorros said. “Apartment developers are getting quite aggressive in terms of going further out, especially if there’s good school districts.”
Relatively slower multifamily construction has helped the Houston market avoid rent declines that hit other Texas metros last year, especially Austin. However, Houston apartments below Class A have been losing occupants for the past year.
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