introducing block 14

Stylish new neighborhood center sets up shop in Garden Oaks

Block 14 at Garden Oaks will house restaurants and retail.

Rendering courtesy of Gulf Coast Commercial Group

As those in the bustling neighborhood are aware, Garden Oaks is buzzing with new development and growth. To that end, the area will see a stylish new neighborhood lifestyle center in a buzzy locale.

Block 14 at Garden Oaks, the new center, will house seven retail spaces at 3201 N. Shepherd Dr. Locals can expect Southern sandwich chain, McAlister’s Deli, as well as Houston salad shop, Salata, which have already signed on.

Construction has started on the 1.74-acre site just north of Loop 610 and immediately south of W. 34th Street; look for an 18,000-square-foot, one-story building. Tenant delivery is anticipated by this July, according to a press release.

Developer Gulf Coast Commercial Group and leasing partner Capital Retail Properties are targeting a variety of daily need convenience tenants, per a statement. A draw for tenants, they say, is a “high-traffic location serving a rapidly gentrifying corridor, a short distance from the recently opened Heights H-E-B and destination retail clusters encompassing businesses such as Snooze, Tarka, and Ford Fry’s Superica and La Lucha.”

Design on Block 14 will hark to the neighborhood’s midcentury beginnings and comes courtesy of Cisneros Design Studio Architects. The award-winning firm is responsible for projects spanning from Upper Kirby’s Kirby Towers buildings and Midtown’s Webster Lofts to Southern Goods (now Squable) in The Heights.

With Block 14, Gulf Coast Commercial Group looks to enhance its portfolio with urban infill projects that include Lower Heights, a 24-acre, mixed-use district under construction at the axis of downtown, The Heights, and Arts District Houston on the south side of Interstate 10 between Sawyer and Studemont streets.

“After many years of quiet growth in the suburbs, we’re excited to raise our visibility in two of central Houston’s most exciting and rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods,” said Tom Lile, Gulf Coast Commercial Group president, in a statement.

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property tax news

Harris County property taxes have skyrocketed 25 percent since 2019

Houston home sales once again made history.

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It's time for the dreaded tax season, and Houston homeowners may be getting sticker shock looking at their property tax bills in 2025: Harris County property taxes have skyrocketed among the highest levels in the U.S., according to a recent report by information services provider CoreLogic.

The property tax report analyzed the growth in tax rates and housing prices across all 50 states and the most populous U.S. counties.

From 2019 to 2024, Harris County taxes increased 25.4 percent, or 5.1 percent year-over-year. That places Houston 12th on the list of the top 15 counties with the highest five-year property tax increases nationwide.

Property tax hikes follow a similar rise in housing prices, thus putting more pressure on homeowners and first-time homebuyers. The report's findings revealed Texas housing prices have ballooned by 42 percent over the last five years. And there's no sign of relief without changes on the federal level, the report adds.

"While some areas of the country will always be more expensive than others, the national trend toward more expensive properties and greater property tax liabilities is clear," the report said. "Already, the [nation's] tax bills climbed an average of 27 percent from 2019 to 2024. Short of government-led changes, homeowners will continue to contend with rising property taxes year after year."

Higher taxes also have ramifications for renters, who see these costs passed down from landlords in the form of higher rent prices, which may send more renters outside the city in search of more affordable areas.

No. 1 on the list was Broward County in Florida, home to cities such as Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach, which had the biggest increase in taxes at 56.8 percent. No. 2 was also in Florida: Miami-Dade County, which endured a 49.5 percent hike in property taxes.

Elsewhere in Texas, Dallas County tied for the No. 3 with San Bernardino County in California, which also had a 32.7 percent increase. Tarrant County was not far behind, coming in at No. 11 on the list with a startling 29.3 percent tax hike during the five-year period, the report found.

Property taxes in 2024
In 2024 alone, Harris County residents paid a median $5,721 in property taxes, which is the seventh most expensive property tax among the most populous U.S. counties. Fort Worth residents in Tarrant counties paid the second most expensive taxes last year, at $6,633, while Dallas County residents paid the third priciest median taxes ($6,409).

According to a state-by-state analysis, Texans paid a median $5,105 in property taxes last year, reflecting a 35.3 percent increase from 2019. Texas' median property tax is far higher than the national median, which came out to $3,018.

As many Texans are aware, it's a high price to pay for not having any income tax and no annual vehicle taxes.

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