SLS Properties Restructures Plans for Bellaire Place

SLS Properties’ mixed-use development Bellaire Place is undergoing a 140,000-square-foot change of plans, according to a Feb. 22 Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing.

The project will feature office, dining and retail space in addition to entertainment venues. It is one of three phases for the 30-acre tract at 4800 Fournace Place, expected to revitalize Bellaire.

About 75,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space had been planned for the site west of Interstate 610 and south of Interstate 69. But the new plans call for the first phase of development to expand, with the construction of five shell buildings.

The development, expected to begin construction in June, opts for 142,000 square feet of shell buildings estimated to cost $15 million, according to the filing, though estimates are subject to change. The first phase will also include 1,600 square feet of parking and 450,000 square feet of office space, according to the development’s website. Construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2023.

A second phase of development will include the construction of a park to increase walkability in the busy southwest Houston suburb. The Houston Business Journal previously reported that SLS Properties founder Danny Sheena expects the first two phases to comprise less than 70 percent of the overall project. Sheena did not immediately respond to The Real Deal’s request for comment.

Bellaire Place spent years in limbo before finally being approved by city officials in 2022. The site is the former location of a Chevron office campus, which closed when the company relocated to downtown Houston. Sheena bought the property in 2018, when the Harris County Appraisal District appraised the tract for $24 million. Its taxable value was estimated at $3.7 million in 2022.

Bellaire, known as “the City of Homes,” is cautious about overdevelopment in its small slice of the Greater Houston area. While some of its 18,000 residents worry about increased traffic and lower property values that could come with the construction of Bellaire Place, others believe it will bring value to the city, particularly in the office sector. The suburb ranks third-lowest for office inventory, out of the Greater Houston area’s 22 submarkets, with 3.1 million square feet, according to a Q4 2022 office market report from real estate research company Avison Young.