Houston’s high-rise craze to outer suburbia?

HOUSTON – More Houstonians are choosing to live in high-rise and mid-rise buildings. Most of the high-rise residential buildings under construction today are located in Houston’s Inner Loop, such as the 40-story 2929 Weslayan at West Alabama St.

However, the trend is about to spread to an unlikely place — outer suburbia. A developer is planning a mid-rise apartment in Pearland, and a high-rise condo is being talked about for The Woodlands.

“In the suburban areas, they are starting to consider plans for development of high-rises in areas where there haven’t been high-rises before,” says Cheri Fama, president of John Daugherty Realtors.

"If people want to travel more or have a second home, they could be attracted to vertical-type living and there’s not a lot of that offered out in the suburban areas.”

Pearland is about get a four-story mid-rise residential building, just west of Hwy. 288, says realty broker Brad LyBrand of NewQuest Properties. “It’s a first for Pearland,” LyBrand says.

The dense urban-like development plan for the Pearland site makes sense because two hospitals are under construction within walking distance, says Houston developer Allen Crosswell, who has owned the acreage for several years.

The bottom line according to Ralph Bivins, editor of Realty News Report: Houston is changing. Houston led the nation in population growth last year. The city is more urban and residential development is more vertical.