Live, work and stay
A first for Houston? Developers vow to save oak trees at Greenway Plaza mixeduse complex
The site is remarkable for its heritage oak trees along its property lines thatborder both Buffalo Speedway and Richmond Avenue.Cushman & Wakefield
An 18-story office building and adjoining garage will comprise the first phaseof the 3333 Richmond Avenue project.Rendering courtesy of PM Realty Group
More development is on the way in the Greenway Plaza area with recent news that PM Realty Group (PMRG) has acquired the property at 3333 Richmond Avenue. The commercial real estate firm has plans for a two-phase development of the 4.97-acre site.
Though the promise of an 18-story, LEED-certified office building and a high-rise hotel with luxury apartments certainly entices, the foremost thought on our minds is the line of heritage oaks that defines the property and lends a green haven to the otherwise heavily-concreted area.
"The plan is in place to keep all of those trees against the northwest side of the street," Roger Gregory, PMRG's EVP and CFO, assured CultureMap during a phone interview, explaining that this plan to preserve the trees helped the company to win its bid for the property.
The 3333 Richmond development will be like an urban village that focuses on "live, work and stay" rather than "live, work and play."
Dan Leverett, EVP and managing director of development, added that some of the trees along the back property line will be retained as well, though transplanted closer to the 400,000 square food office building and adjoining seven-level parking garage on the north end of the property.
Expected amenities include a first-floor restaurant and a green roof over the garage that will serve as a terrace for office tenants. The design team includes Elkus Manfredi, landscape architect Sasaki and locally-based Kendall/Heaton Associates, and construction is slated to begin in late 2013 for a late 2014 or early 2015 completion.
Phase II involves demolishing the existing building and replacing it with a high-rise hotel tower, capped with 250 high-end apartment units. PMRG representatives were hesitant to go into the features of that mixed-use development, which won't begin construction until Phase I is complete, but acknowledged that research conducted for the firm's nearby high-rise at 2929 Weslayan gave them confidence that a market exists in the area.
The 3333 Richmond development, Leverett explained, will be like an urban village that focuses on "live, work and stay" rather than "live, work and play."
"Inside the loop . . . is the area that we are very focused on," said Gregory. The Greenway Plaza area — which is centrally-located, generally walkable and situated along a planned light rail route — is attractive for mixed-use developments that serve an increasingly urban younger population.
