ICOnic News | Houston Office Condos On the Rise | June 2023
HOUSTON OFFICE CONDOS ON THE RISE
Office condo projects were introduced to the Houston market about 15 years ago. The concept got off to a slow start, but over the years they have grown quite popular with both users and investors. Most condo projects today are comprised of wood-frame buildings that are divided into separate suites, usually ranging from 1,200 SF to 1,500 SF per unit. The suites all have similar floor plans usually with 3-4 offices, a reception area, restroom, and kitchenette. The exterior façade varies with mixed uses of stucco, stone and brick.
In addition to the owners paying the mortgage and utilities, monthly dues are paid to the Condo Association that manages the Property for the Owners. These dues cover the insurance on the structure, the roof and the common area maintenance.
After years of the same generic office condo model, a client of ICO’s decided to offer something unique to the industry. 7103 South Peek Road and Grand Park West are both located near the Grand Parkway (99) and the Westpark Toll Road area serving the far west submarket. These two projects offer custom designed and steel-framed condo units with a brick façade, which will wear well with time. The developer has an architect that helps owners to design their own suite to meet their own specific company needs and to select their choice of commercial grade interior finishes which include flooring, cabinetry, countertops, and color schemes.
This type of condo is rare in the Houston market and offers the advantage of having a well utilized floor plan that works for your business and with the look and appearance the buyer chooses. Because of increased values in commercial real estate, this not only allows smaller businesses to invest instead of lease, but they can also serve those that need more space (such as an entire building usually 5,000-7,000 SF).
7103 South Peek has started Phase II and will be for medical use only. The project is already more than 50% pre-sold. 21611 FM 1093 (Westpark Toll Road) is for general office use and is scheduled to break ground in 4Q2023, with several units already pre-sold.
As companies continue to evaluate lease vs. purchase strategies and what benefits their business best, suburban office condo projects will continue to meet the needs of businesses where residential growth continues.
- Tawnya Dornak and Danna Sossen, Office Advisors
ICO MENTORING PROGRAM
We believe there is something really special about ICO Commercial….Our People!
ICO recently introduced a reciprocal mentoring program to provide an opportunity where our team members could intentionally invest in each other and share about their professional knowledge, as well as, about their personal life experiences and lessons learned. The goal of the mentoring program is to help our ICO Team to sharpen each other! Each quarter ICO pairs each team member with another ICO team member so that they can learn from one another and help each other become better at all aspects of their professional growth and development.
“A lot of life is based on relationships, so I always try to relish the chance to build on and strengthen one. Our mentoring program has been a great opportunity to get to know my coworkers on a deeper level and learn from their life and work experiences.”
