New Museum District high-rise lures tenants with events and on-site bar

High-rise apartment living is taking on a new look at Forme, which just opened its doors in the Museum District. Located at 5501 LaBranch Street, the 33-story building boasts urban living centered on wellness, productivity, community, and restoration, with a setup that blends the best of luxury hospitality and amenity-driven living.

Residences range from 500-square-foot studios and efficient junior one-bedrooms and studios to 1,400-square-foot three-bedroom homes with panoramic views stretching across Hermann Park, downtown Houston, and the Museum District skyline. Rents start at $1,750 per month.

Designed by Lamar Johnson Collaborative and operated by Sentral, Forme’s intended residents are young professionals seeking to balance busy personal and professional lives with supersized amenities tailored for recharging, re-focusing, and networking. To that end, the building’s 60,000 square feet of shared space provides a plethora of amenities and gathering spots, including a 20,000-square-foot fitness and recovery area, a 9,000-square-foot outdoor pool deck with pool and expansive hot tub, and 20,000 square feet of flexible coworking space along with a 12th-floor cocktail lounge dubbed The Branch on La Branch.

Apartment interiors emphasize warm modernism and everyday functionality, pairing floor-to-ceiling windows with quartz countertops, gas ranges, soft-close cabinetry, walk-in closets, smart-home technology, and wide-plank flooring.

“Forme was conceived as a living environment where the experience extends far beyond the apartment itself,” said Myron Washington, associate director of portfolio operations for Sentral, in a statement. “Every space inside the building was designed to support the rhythms of modern life – from movement, recovery, and creativity to productivity and social connection. Residents can begin the day with an exercise class, work from a fully serviced coworking floor, attend a wellness lecture or networking mixer in the evening, and end the night poolside with neighbors overlooking the skyline. It creates a completely different relationship between people and where they live.”

Residents can expect sunrise workouts, run-and-brunch gatherings, poolside picnics, wellness activations, social mixers, and professional networking events. When it opens in July, The Branch on La Branch will offer a boutique hotel-style cocktail lounge and raw bar. In the meantime, weekly wine tastings with light bites are available every Thursday from 6-8 pm thru the end of the World Cup, featuring international wines reflective of the countries playing matches in Houston. These events are also open to the public, and reservations can be made through Sentral management at Forme.

Photo courtesy of Sentral

Forme, a new high-rise apartment building in the Museum District, offers amenity-driven living.

The complex’s fitness center offers dedicated spaces for strength training, Pilates, yoga, HIIT, mobility work, cardio conditioning, and recovery, along with hydromassage chairs, luxury locker rooms, personal training services, and scheduled fitness classes led by an onsite fitness director. The 1,200-square-foot pool and 550-square-foot hot tub are surrounded by daybeds and chaise lounges, making the pool deck a natural place for sunset gatherings and other events.

Residents who work remotely can do so in Forme’s flexible coworking space operated by Regus. Spanning 20,000 square feet, the space includes reservable offices, quiet zones, collaborative areas, and meeting rooms designed to support both focus and connection.

In addition to traditional apartments, the high-rise also has furnished residences, extended stays of 30 days or more, and nightly accommodations.

“Every detail — from the way you work and train to how you rest and connect — is designed to meet you where you are and move with you,” according to Forme’s mission statement.

With so many amenities and so much thought given to designing an ecosystem where residents can live, work, and play, Forme should hit a sweet spot for a certain kind of renter. The high-rise’s location, within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, restaurants such as Lucille's and MF Sushi, and Hermann Park, is merely icing on the 33-story cake, giving residents easy access to some of the city’s best cultural, entertainment, dining, and wellness spots.

high-rises openings

The Boom Continues

Booming Houston-area ZIP among 5 fastest-growing new neighborhoods in U.S.

City of Fulshear/Facebook

Fulshear's 77441 ZIP code was the fourth-fastest growing U.S. neighborhood from 2014-2023.

As Texas' ever-growing population generates more demand among regional housing markets, one Houston-area ZIP code has seen more growth than nearly all other ZIPs in the state — and in the country.

Fulshear's 77441 ZIP code ranks No. 4 in RentCafe's new study that analyzed the 50 fastest-growing "new neighborhoods" in America "that barely existed a decade ago." Two more more Houston-area ZIPs in Katy and Richmond also made the cut.

The study reviewed housing inventory and population growth across 32,000 U.S. ZIP codes and narrowed down the search to the top 50 locales that experienced a 51 percent minimum surge in new housing units from 2014-2023.

Overall, Texas dominated the list with 17 of the nation's 50 booming new neighborhoods.

RentCafe determined the 77441 ZIP code in Fulshear saw a 391 percent surge in housing inventory in the last decade to keep up with the area's 482.7 percent population growth over the same period.

In 2014, there were just 5,647 residents living within the bounds of 77441, which stretches across both halves of FM 1093 as far west as Sidmonton and as far east as FM 1463 Rd. During that same year, there were only 2,163 housing units in the area, which has since spiked to 10,615 units as of 2023. The ZIP code now boasts a population of more than 32,900 residents, the study found.

"Fulshear is a good example of exurban spillover as it’s located within proximity of Houston’s major employment centers, like the Energy Corridor and Texas Medical Center," the report said. "In fact, Fulshear is about 30 miles from downtown Houston, which makes it a great living option for commuters."

Fast-growing ZIPs in Houston
77493 in Katy and 77407 in Richmond respectfully ranked as the 25th and 45th fastest-growing ZIPs in the U.S. over the last decade.

The report's findings revealed Katy has more than doubled its housing inventory to 20,552 units, up from about 8,200 units in 2014. The area's population has also more than doubled, from 24,577 to 62,264 residents as of 2023.

Richmond's population has surged 123 percent over the last decade, from 11,350 to 25,284 residents, and housing inventory soared 132.4 percent to keep pace with the growth. A recent boom in apartment construction is a major factor that contributed to the suburb's expansion, the report said.

The top 10 "newest" neighborhoods in the U.S., says RentCafe, are:

No. 1 – Chino, California (91708)
No. 2 – Timnath, Colorado (80547)
No. 3 – Colorado Springs (80927)
No. 4 – Fulshear, Texas (77441)
No. 5 – Ponte Vedra, Florida (32081)
No. 6 – Jersey City, New Jersey (07311)
No. 7 – Fort Worth (76177)
No. 8 – Colorado Springs (80924)
No. 9 – Prosper, Texas (75078)
No. 10 – Melissa, Texas (75454)

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