tilman's big buy

Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta buys River Oaks development for a reported $450 million

Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta has added one of Houston’s most prominent mixed-use developments to his real estate portfolio by purchasing River Oaks District.

The almost 14-acre property, which is located on Westheimer just east of 610, is home to luxury retail boutiques, upscale restaurants, high-end apartments, and office space. In total, it offers more than 300,000-square-feet of retail, over 67,000-square-feet of office space, and 279 apartment units.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed in press materials, but the Houston Chronicle reports that the Rockets owner paid $450 million for the property. JPMorgan Asset Management purchased the property for $550 million in 2016, the paper notes.

Since it opened in 2015, River Oaks District has become one of Houston’s top shopping and dining destinations. Its roster of luxury stores includes Hermes, Cartier, Rolex, Dior, Patek Phillip, and Harry Winston. It's also home to some of the city’s most popular restaurants, including Steak 48, Loch Bar, Toulouse, and Spanish restaurant MAD, which won Best New Restaurant in the 2020 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

River Oaks District is only about a mile from The Post Oak, Fertitta’s hotel, restaurant, and office complex on the West Loop that’s also home to Rolls Royce dealership Post Oak Motor Cars. It’s the only hotel in Houston to earn a 5-star rating from the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide.

“Adding River Oaks District to our Post Oak Hotel family of offerings seamlessly complements the curated experience we have created for the luxury-seeking consumer,” Fertitta said in a statement. “This is the perfect moment in time to add this premier mixed-use development to our luxury portfolio, creating incredible cross-promotional opportunities and elevating the standard for luxury dining and shopping for Houstonians and international travelers alike.”

Fertitta has been on a bit of a real estate shopping spree. In 2022, he purchased the 30-acre Montage Laguna Beach Resort Hotel in Southern California for a reported $660 million. Taken together, the Billion Dollar Buyer has dropped more than $1.1 billion expanding his real estate holdings since 2022.

River Oaks District completed a series of renovations, including the addition of a pocket park that stretches from Westcreek Lane on the district’s western side to its eastern boundary. Fertitta has plans for further changes, promising to “elevate the development to new heights” by attracting even more prominent retail and restaurant tenants.

Commercial real estate and investment management company JLL Capital Markets represented the seller and procured the buyer, Fertitta Entertainment, Inc, according to a release.

"Fertitta Entertainment is acquiring one of the most highly sought-after, trophy mixed-use assets in the U.S., and we are thrilled to have facilitated this transaction,” JLL executive Barry Brown said. “River Oaks District represents an exceptional investment opportunity with its prime location within Houston, as well as its premier luxury offerings. We congratulate Fertitta Entertainment on the acquisition of this distinguished property and look forward to see the continued evolution in the years to come."

Photo by Shannon O'Hara

The development added a pocket park in 2022.

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rent report

New report reveals how many Texans are paying too much for rent

Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash

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Millions of Texas renters, both current residents and new arrivals, suffer from wallet whiplash.

A new report from the Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers shows 45 percent of the state’s renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Renters occupy more than 4.2 million Texas households, representing nearly half of the state’s residents.

Worse yet, 81 percent of extremely low-income households in Texas spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing, the report says. For that income group, Texas has a shortage of 864,000 affordable homes.

Thirty percent is the standard financial benchmark for spending too much income on rent, while 50 percent puts a renter in the “severely cost-burdened” bucket.

“To sustain growth and secure future prosperity, Texas will need more than 320,000 additional affordable homes [rented and owned] to address workforce housing affordability and meet the demands of a growing population,” says the report.

“Today, the state is creating thousands of new jobs,” the report adds, “but housing supply has not kept pace with demand, driving up housing costs and constraining continued economic growth.”

Not surprisingly, people who live in or move to three of Texas’ biggest metro areas get hit with the state’s highest apartment rental rates. Here’s Apartments.com’s list of the 10 most expensive places for renters in Texas, based on apartments whose average size ranges from 713 square feet in Austin to 771 square feet in Plano:

1. Frisco — $1,477 per month
2. Plano — $1,461 per month
3. Austin — $1,417 per month
4. Dallas — $1,413 per month
5. McKinney — $1,363 per month
6. Grand Prairie — $1,327 per month
7. Irving — $1,318 per month
8. Garland — $1,237 per month
9. Fort Worth — $1,217 per month
10. Houston — $1,183 per month

San Antonio boasts some of the lowest average rent among Texas’ 10 most affordable markets: $1,075 per month. Mesquite, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, also fits into that category, with average monthly rent of $1,052.

Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott announced more than $114 million in grants to help develop or rehabilitate properties, providing more than 4,400 affordable rental units.

“As our state grows, we must ensure that Texans have access to the affordable housing they need to thrive,” Abbott says.

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