Feb 22, 2019

Braun Enterprises Looks To Long Point For Next Retail Project

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Braun Enterprises will launch a redevelopment of a 1960s era shopping on Long Point Drive aimed at bringing new retail and creative offices suites to the Spring Branch neighborhood.

The Houston company purchased the 70,000-square-foot shopping center at 8141 Long Point from Long Point Partners and renamed it Spring Branch Village. The planned redevelopment is to include a mix of restaurants, fitness, salon and other tenants.

The first tenant to sign after the acquisition was Slowpokes, a Houston coffee shop, wine bar and restaurant in the Garden Oaks neighborhood that recently opened a second location in Levy Park. Opening is planned in three or four months.

The center is Braun’s third investment in Spring Branch, following the Branch Craft Beer & Foodery location at 7710 Long Point and a shopping center at 8700 Long Point at Bingle.

Zach Wolf, director of leasing, said the Spring Branch Village project is similar to the redevelopment of Ella Plaza in Garden Oaks in 2013, but Spring Branch has even stronger demographics.

High-end homes are just behind the center, and David Weekley Homes recently built more than 100 homes starting at $435,000 next door, Wolf said.

“Shortly after our redevelopment of Ella Plaza, new retail development popped up all around the area,” Wolf said. “We expect the same will happen here on Long Point.”

Older shopping centers are candidates for revitalization in Spring Branch, a region west of Loop 610 and north of Interstate 10 where builders such as Weekley, InTown Homes and Pulte Homes have carved out spots for upscale residential developments.

Spring Branch Village is more than 90 percent occupied, with King Dollar as the largest tenant. Several tenants will remain, Wolf said.

Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen has leased a commissary kitchen for catering and baked goods, and may eventually open a sandwich shop after the renovations, Wolf said. Braun is finalizing a lease with a local yoga group.

The work on Spring Branch Village will begin in 60 to 90 days with completion planned at the end of 2019. The purchase price and redevelopment costs were not disclosed.

Braun Enterprises has redeveloped a number of properties in the Heights, Montrose and Midtown areas. The company has acquired and developed more than 3 million square feet of commercial real estate since 1989.

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