Three-Story Structure Part of The RO Rising Near River Oaks

Transwestern is pushing forward on the next piece of its ambitious mixed-use project known as The RO in Houston’s Upper Kirby, filing plans for a retail building expected to cost at least $34 million.

The Houston-based developer submitted a filing to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation outlining plans for a three-story, 108,576-square-foot retail building and parking structure at 3080 Buffalo Speedway. The filing shows work began in October and is scheduled for completion in March 2028, though TDLR filings are preliminary and subject to change.

The project marks a major step in the buildout of The RO, a 17-acre mixed-use campus rising at the intersection of West Alabama Street and Buffalo Speedway just south of River Oaks, the Houston Business Journal reported.

The new structure will anchor the project’s retail village, part of a broader phase that includes the luxury condo-hotel tower The Birdsall, a multifamily property called The Clayton and additional office space.

Los Angeles-based House & Robertson Architects’ Houston office is designing the retail building.

Transwestern broke ground on the latest phase of The RO last fall, advancing a development that will ultimately total about 740,000 square feet. The retail component is expected to include roughly 80,000 square feet of space across multiple buildings housing up to eight restaurants alongside boutique retail.

The project’s centerpiece is The Birdsall, a 34-story luxury tower that will include a 105-room boutique hotel and 44 condos. The building will mark the first Houston property for Auberge Collection, the high-end hospitality brand tied to billionaire Dan Friedkin’s Houston-based Friedkin Group, the outlet reported.

Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, the tower aims to draw architectural cues from the surrounding River Oaks neighborhood, including references to historic homes and buildings. According to the publication, the development’s name honors Birdsall Briscoe, the architect behind many of River Oaks’ earliest homes in the 1920s.

Across the campus, Transwestern is aiming for a cohesive design anchored by brick facades, sweeping arches and pedestrian-friendly cobblestone pathways, according to a news release.

Retail and restaurant visitors will park in an expansive underground garage spanning much of the retail district and central green spaces, while the hotel, apartments and office tower will each have their own private parking structures, according to the release. The campus will also include valet drop-off points and landscaped walkways shaded by heritage oak trees preserved on the site.

The Clayton, a 317-unit luxury apartment building designed by Pickard Chilton, will target the upper end of Houston’s multifamily market, with two additional apartment buildings nearby expected to bring another 400 units at more varied rents.

The RO’s first phase — a 145,000-square-foot Class AA office building — is already fully leased to energy trading giant Vitol and is expected to welcome tenants in June.

Transwestern first unveiled The RO in 2018 after acquiring the former ExxonMobil Upstream campus site a year earlier through a joint venture with Spear Street Capital. Exxon had occupied the property since the 1950s before consolidating its Houston operations at its newer campus in Springwoods Village.

— Eric Weilbacher