Galveston Investor Buys $50M Shopping Center From Alpine REIT

Galveston County investor Sammy Virani has expanded his real estate portfolio with the acquisition of a 16-acre retail property across from Baybrook Mall.

Virani’s company Ashita Investments closed on the $50 million purchase of 19225 Gulf Freeway Aug. 7, adding to the 33 acres it previously acquired near Baybrook Mall late last year, the Houston Business Journal reported. The properties span more than 320,000 square feet, putting the price at $156 per square foot.

Ashita bought the property, anchored by Lowe’s Home Improvement, from Alpine Income Property Trust, a Florida-based real estate investment trust led by John Albright. The REIT owns 137 properties spanning 3.8 million square feet across 34 states, according to the REIT’s second-quarter report.

Virani’s portfolio now spans nearly 50 acres of retail and restaurant space on both sides of Interstate 45, a key route in the fast-growing Clear Lake market. The properties, all acquired from Alpine, are fully leased by tenants such as The Burger Joint, Crazy Alan’s Swamp Shack, Olive Garden, Ethan Allen, Rooms To Go, Visionworks, Longhorn Steakhouse and Charles Schwab.

Virani previously sought to purchase the portfolio, in 2021, but was outbid by Alpine, which took ownership in December of that year. When Alpine later put the properties back on the market, Virani moved quickly, placing a $1.2 million nonrefundable deposit and closing the transaction within three weeks, he said.

Developer interest has surged in the Baybrook and Clear Lake areas, particularly after the opening of Great Wolf Resorts’ first Houston-area indoor water park and the ongoing development of the Flyway mixed-use district in Webster.

Virani’s investment strategy capitalized on that momentum, as he is already negotiating to acquire an additional 20 acres in the Baybrook area, signaling his intent to further expand his holdings in the submarket.

— Andrew Terrell