For Legacy

Building buddies: Movers and shakers collaborate on the perfect $1.5 milliondream home

Monsour Taghdisi, president of Prestige Builders Inc., builds to benefit LegacyCommunity Health Services.
Courtesy Photo
Lucinda Loya of Lucinda Loya Interiors will design the interiors.
A rendering of Prestige Builders' Nantucket Showcase home, designed byMiller/Dahlstrand Architects.

Having prospered in the custom homebuilding business for 15 years, Monsour Taghdisi has decided to build the perfect house, at least perfection as the head of Prestige Builders Inc. interprets it. And in the process, he plans to benefit Legacy Community Health Services.

Work has already begun on the Tanglewood home that will open in the spring of 2013 as Taghdisi's first designer showcase property. Proceeds from the opening party and showcase ticket sales will benefit Legacy, of which Taghdisi is a board member.

"I was just thrilled when Monsour approached me about partnering on a designer showcase," Loya says. "He understands a simple, elegant esthetic . . ."

"It really is my dream house. Thank God, I know other people who share my taste," he quipped of the 5,000 square-foot house that will be priced for purchase at $1.5 million after the charity event. "This project is about elevating the conversation of contemporary home design in Houston, which has been my passion for the past 15 years."

Taghdisi has teamed with Miller Dahlstrand Architects for design of the house that will feature designer kitchen and baths, a swimming pool and a third floor terrace with fireplace. And he has brought Lucinda Loya on board to handle the interior design. The custom home developer and Loya share a crisp contemporary zeal and are on the same wave length in their plans to create a spectacular property.

"I was just thrilled when Monsour approached me about partnering on a designer showcase," Loya says. "He understands a simple, elegant esthetic . . . Finally, we have a very exciting project together showcasing our two worlds in the industry. A perfect collaboration."

The project in the 1300 block of Nantucket actually features two homes, one that has already been sold and the other that Taghdisi has reserved for his showcase.

Dates for the showcase home event will be posted after the start of the new year.

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Houston ranked No. 3 destination for Gen Zers on the move for 2023

Photo by Alexander Londoño on Unsplash

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As Gen Z enters adulthood, many are flocking to the nation's biggest cultural hubs like New York City, Los Angeles, and now Houston, which had the third-highest inflow of Gen Zers in 2023.

H-Town's new reputation as a Gen Z hotspot was unveiled in a recent report by American home improvement brand This Old House, which analyzed migration trends across multiple generations using 2023 U.S. Census Bureau data.

Houston saw an influx of 22,868 Gen Z residents last year to become the generations third most popular city. That's up from ranking as the No. 11 most popular city in 2022. Houston gained fewer than 7,600 new Gen Z residents during that time in comparison to 2023's migration trend.

Houston started gaining traction as an up-and-coming destination for Gen Zers last year, when the "experience-hungry generation" was on the hunt for an affordable place to live with vast opportunities for entertainment, education, or employment.

Real estate marketplace Zillow seems to agree on a statewide scale, declaring Texas as the No. 1 destination for Gen Zers on the move in 2024.

While Houston saw big gains in its Gen Z population last year, many other big cities saw a mass exodus.

"El Paso, Texas, has lost the most residents from this generation, with a drop of 5,607, a sharp turn from 2022 when the city saw an increase," the report said. "Other cities, including Plano, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; McKinney, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas, are seeing similar declines."

The report also surprisingly revealed that Houston is also one of the top destinations for millennials and Gen X, whereas both New York City and Los Angeles lost more residents among those two generations in comparison.

Houston ranked as the No. 1 city for Gen Xers and No. 4 for millennials based on their respective migration trends in 2023. Houston gained 6,312 new Gen X residents last year – the most nationwide – and the fourth-highest amount of millennials (5,301 new residents).

"Gen X, baby boomers, and the Silent Generation are also moving away from major cities, particularly New York City and Washington, D.C.," the report said. "They’re heading to some of the same cities as Gen Z, including Houston and Jacksonville, Florida."

The top 10 cities that gained the most Gen Z residents in 2023 are:

No. 1 – New York City, New York
No. 2 – Los Angeles, California
No. 3 – Houston, Texas
No. 4 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
No. 5 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 6 – San Diego, California
No. 7 – Seattle, Washington
No. 8 – Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 9 – Dallas, Texas
No. 10 – Minneapolis, Minnesota