Marvy Mania

Rooms with a ballpark view: New luxury apartments next to Minute Maid to have aOne Park Place feel

The downtown plot includes the historic, long-abandoned Ben Milam Hotel.
HoustonArchitecture.com
Some lucky apartment dwellers may have a veiw of the Minute Maid Park field.
Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

It seems that the city can't escape further development from Marvy Finger, president and CEO of The Finger Companies: The real estate impresario recently revealed he's planning another Downtown Houston apartment complex.

A 2025 Master Plan calling for greater development around the George R. Brown Convention Center district, plus flourishing development in EaDo, bolstered Finger's decision to purchase two downtown blocks between Preston and Texas, La Branch and Crawford — just a stone's throw from the Houston Astros' Minute Maid Park left field.

The historic Ben Milam Hotel, designed in the 1920s by (apparently unrelated) architect Joseph Finger, would be demolished as part of construction.

This comes after Finger signed on two prominent inner Loop properties earlier this year (the Fiesta shopping center at West Alabama and Dulavy and the former Art Institute of Houston office building), made plans to move ahead with a 431-unit apartment project on West Dallas and met unanticipated success at One Park Place, a luxury apartment high-rise across from Discovery Green that opened just three years ago.

Finger tells the Houston Chronicle's Nancy Sarnoff that the future seven-story, 380-unit Minute Maid Park apartments would have the same high-end finishes as its One Park Place counterpart, but unlike that "luxury residential tower," would offer rents starting at an approachable $1,250 per month to attract a "broader mix of residents."

The historic Ben Milam Hotel, designed in the 1920s by (apparently unrelated) architect Joseph Finger, would be demolished as part of construction. The company is also in discussion with the City of Houston to purchase the length of Prairie Street that runs between La Branch and Crawford.

Finger expects to close on the property next month, with construction anticipated to commence next spring.

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rent report

Here's how much Houston rent prices have dropped since last year

Photo by Datingscout on Unsplash

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Rent prices are falling statewide, and Houston's have declined more than nearly all other major cities in Texas, according to a new national rent report from Zumper. Houston also has the fourth-cheapest rents in Texas.

The Zumper National Rent Report tracked year-over-year and month-over-month rent price changes in 100 U.S. cities for both one- and two-bedroom units using the most recent data available from May 2026.

Rent prices for one-bedroom units in Houston have dipped 9.6 percent year-over-year, to $1,130, which is the second-steepest decline in Texas. Two-bedroom rents have dropped nearly 5 percent from last year to $1,430.

The report also revealed that four of the 10 U.S. metros offering the most concessions are located in Texas. Austin leads nationally with more than a third of rental units "dangling incentives to fill space," followed by San Antonio and Houston. A separate rent report from real estate data firm CoStar found Houston had the fourth highest apartment vacancy rate in the U.S. in March, meaning residents may be able to save on their rent depending on the financial incentives offered by landlords.

Additionally, these same markets offering generous rent concessions are also among the 10 U.S. metros with the largest population growth, which Zumper says signals ongoing tension between tenants and their landlords regarding prices.

"So while Texas absorbed a significant share of the 2023-2025 supply wave, inventory still has to lease up before landlords regain pricing power, and the steady inflow of new residents says the demand is there," the report stated. "It’s just a question of when supply stops outrunning it."

From 2023 to 2024, Texas gained nearly 73,000 net new renters, making it the No. 1 magnet for renters nationwide.

Rent prices elsewhere in Texas
San Antonio saw the steepest drop in rent prices statewide, with one-bedroom rents falling by 10.4 percent to $950. Two-bedroom units have declined 6 percent year-over-year to $1,250.

Arlington was the only major Texas city where rent prices increased from May 2025 to May 2026. One-bedroom rent increased nearly 3 percent to $1,090, and two-bedroom rent increased 2.1 percent to $1,480.

Zumper annual rent changes in Texas cities Zumper

These are the rent prices for other Texas cities in May 2026:

Austin: $1,420 for one-bedroom units; $1,860 for two-bedroom units
Dallas: $1,350 for one bedroom; $1,900 for two bedrooms
El Paso: $810 for one bedroom; $1,130 for two bedrooms
Fort Worth: $1,240 for one bedroom; $1,560 for two bedrooms
Irving: $1,280 for one bedroom; $1,610 for two bedrooms
Plano: $1,360 for one bedroom; $1,900 for two bedrooms

rent rent report zumper apartments real estate houston