Fashion Fight

Battle of the luxury titans: Galleria lands hot designer as tussle for top tenants heats up

Perhaps the most heated tussle going on in Houston retail circles right now pits a veteran mall against a newcomer to the scene in a battle to snare luxury tenants. It's a doozie as the established luxury center The Galleria goes head to head with the upstart River Oaks District, which plans a fall opening.

Céline, the French fashion house that has been revitalized under the direction of designer Phoebe Philo, will open an Houston boutique in The Galleria next year.

After the River Oaks District late last year announced a stellar list of tenants headed to the new development on Westheimer just inside the 610 loop, the Galleria has come up with a few wild cards of its own.

On Wednesday, the center, owned by Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, revealed three new tenants have committed to the luxury mall located at Westheimer and Post Oak.

The fashion crowd will likely be the most excited with the news that Céline, the French fashion house that has been revitalized under the direction of designer Phoebe Philo, will open an Houston boutique in The Galleria next year.

The brand, which many look to for the season's inspiration and statement fashion pieces, has recently received a lot of attention for eschewing young models in favor of an ad campaign featuring the noted 80-year-old author Joan Didion.

The Webster, a chic luxury clothing store in Miami Beach and Bal Harbor, plans to open its first store outside of Florida in a free-standing building currently under construction in The Galleria parking lot facing Westheimer. The store, which carries more than 100 designers of luxury sportswear and ready-to-wear, will be the first tenant in the building, with a planned November opening in a 5,000-square-foot space.

Inside the mall, La Perla, the luxury Italian lingerie brand, will open a 885-square-foot store in Level 1 near Neiman Marcus, this spring. As previously announced, Tod's, the Italian luxury shoe and accessories brand, will open a store in The Galleria near Neiman Marcus this summer.

And Topshop/Topman, the British chic casual brand, has announced a late March opening for its two-story store in Galleria II.

Just this week, representatives for the chic health club, Equinox, were in Houston to make plans for an Oct. 1 opening in the River Oaks District.

In December, San Diego-based real estate company OliverMcMillan, which is developing River Oaks District, announced an impressive list of more two dozen upscale retailers for the new development. Top luxury brands include Dolce & Gabbana, Akris, Roberto Cavalli, Etro, Chopard, Brunello Cucinelli, Brioni, Giuseppe Zanotti, John Lobb and Moncler.

They will join previously announced luxury tenants Dior, Hermès, Tom Ford and Cartier, which vacated its longtime space in the Galleria for new digs.

Just this week, representatives for the chic health club, Equinox, were in Houston to make plans for an Oct. 1 opening in the River Oaks District. The 35,000 square-foot facility will offer a new cycling program called The Pursuit, a barre studio, functional movement area featuring the latest cutting-edge exercise equipment and numerous weight training and aerobic areas, along with valet parking.

A sales office is planned to open on the site in mid March.

Houston's luxe rivalry also took on a new dimension recently when Colin Moussa, the former assistant marketing director at The Galleria, was hired as director of marketing at the River Oaks District. The big winners: Luxury shoppers who will have a lot more choices come this fall.

Naomi Campbell recently debuted the La Perla Atelier Collection in Paris. La Perla has plans to open a store in The Galleria.

Photo courtesy of La Perla

Naomi Campbell recently debuted the La Perla Atelier Collection in Paris. La Perla has plans to open a store in The Galleria.

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rustic ranch livin'

17-acre Hill Country ranch with stunning views listed for $3.7M

HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, Spanish-style main house exterior

Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches

The 17-acre ranch is located at 1601 Creek Rd. in Dripping Springs.

A spacious property for sale in the bustling Austin suburb of Dripping Springs is now offering just over 17 acres of land for $3.7 million.

The HC Carter Camphouse, located at 1601 Creek Road, presents a rare opportunity for its next owners to live less than two miles from downtown Dripping Springs. The 17.03-acre ranch was once part of a much larger, 205-acre ranch that contained "one of the finest Longhorn cattle herds in Texas," according to the listing description.

The property features two renovated homes: a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, Spanish-style main house that was originally built in 1956; and a restored "Pioneer Cabin" that was built in the mid-to-late 1800's and currently serves as the guest house.

The primary home has a gated stone courtyard with a water fountain, and a tiled wraparound porch overlooking the front yard and in-ground fire pits. Terracotta tile runs throughout the interior of the home, and rustic wood details cohesively tie the rooms together. The spacious primary bedroom features wide French doors that open to the front porch, a high angled wood panel ceiling, and a Santa Fe-style fireplace.

HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, main house primary bedroom The fire place in the primary bedroom will be very handy during the winter.Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches

The restored cabin maintains its vintage charm with stone flooring, all-wood ceilings, log beams, and antique furnishings. The home contains two bedrooms with window AC units, two fireplaces, "working bathrooms," and a kitchen.

Onion Creek runs through the property to provide stunning Hill Country views and a barrier of separation from Creek Rd. However, it also means a majority of the land south of the creek — including the areas where both homes sit — is in a FEMA 100-year floodplain and a Dripping Springs localized floodplain. The property's survey map fills in the details.

"The property has approximately 1,600 feet of frontage on Onion Creek, providing year-round water, and stunning views of the creek," the listing says. "The creek has never gone dry on this part of the creek since the owners have owned the property."

The ranch first entered the market in late July as a 9.999-acre parcel of land, but the listing has since been updated to add 7.031 more acres in an adjoining lot. The land addition improves the property's privacy, nearly doubles the Onion Creek frontage, and increases the size of the "most probable new home site location," according to the listing. The expansion also effectively reduces the price-per-acre by a third.

Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches

The 17-acre ranch is located at 1601 Creek Rd. in Dripping Springs.

Whoever purchases the ranch will also become the owners of an additional one-acre lot located "outside of, but contiguous to" the 9.999-acre lot. This portion of land is leased to the property's caretaker, who previously managed the original 205-acre ranch for 25 years. The listing specifies that the caretaker "does not have the right to sell this 1 acre, which will revert to the owner in case of his death."

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