Convenience Key to Houston Development

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

Houston—A new rental development targeted at youthful renters will give residents a chance to live a short commute away from the heart of downtown Houston.

The 246-unit Broadstone West Dallas apartment community from Houston’s Alliance Residential Co. broke ground in October, with initial lease up scheduled to begin late next year and completion slated for spring of 2013.

“The site is a half-mile west of the central business district, a straight shot down West Dallas, a major east-west artery,” Brian Austin, Alliance Residential managing director for development, South Texas, tells MHN. “That corridor has seen quite a bit of development over the last few years, including townhouse development, quite a bit of multifamily and a new Whole Foods supermarket.”

Broadstone West Dallas will be a four-story rental community featuring one- and two-bedroom apartment homes averaging 833 square feet in size. Each apartment will offer a “full stainless-steel appliance package,” featuring side-by-side refrigerators with icemakers and extra-deep stainless sinks with pull-out faucets. Granite countertops, stained-wood cabinets with 42-inch uppers, pantries, washers and dryers, intrusion alarms, 10-foot ceilings, eight-foot entry doors and Berber-style carpet in bedrooms are to be among additional features.

All but ground-floor units will feature Travertine tile in kitchens and simulated hardwood flooring in living and dining rooms. Ground-floor apartments will offer stained concrete flooring in the kitchen, living and dining rooms.

Lifestyle amenities at Broadstone West Dallas will include an expansive swimming pool, stand-alone fitness center, outdoor cooking facilities, central courtyard, 5,000-square-foot clubhouse featuring a demonstration kitchen, massage room and iCafe. A park a short walk north of the development offers hiking and biking trails. Public bus transportation is available along West Dallas. Commuters driving downtown should be able to make the trip in a scant five minutes, Austin reports.

Work on the project thus far has been a relatively straightforward process. “The most challenging aspect was securing an equity partner,” Austin says.

“It was difficult to get the financing. Investors were pretty choosy. Most of the investors had placed one or two bets on development opportunities, and were going to wait to see what the market would do,” he says.

Once complete, Broadstone West Dallas should appeal to a distinct market segment. It will “provide housing to renters, including young singles and young childless couples, who want to live closer to downtown, with close proximity to work, restaurants and entertainment,” Austin says.