Suburban builder adds to the urban trend

Suburban land developer Friendswood Development Co. is planning an urban residential project in the near northside, its latest move into Houston's increasingly crowded urban housing market.

In the last year alone, Friendswood has purchased three close-in sites as it expands toward the inner city.

"We realized some of these other big builders were in the market and performing well and that it was a place we needed to be," senior land analyst Kayla Stewart said.

The company's first urban project was in Spring Branch, an early suburban area starting to have a more urban style. It's where other traditionally suburban-focused builders like Pulte and KB have found success in building small communities of homes on small lots. Many of the homes are in the $300,000 price range and are targeted to millennials who want to be near the city center but can't afford Heights and Montrose prices.

Friendwood's near-northside site is 3.4 acres at the intersection of Fulton and Cavalcade next to a light-rail stop.

"You can see there's some major developments taking place," said Adrian Ramirez, a real estate broker with Waterman Steele Real Estate Advisors who represented the land owner in the Fulton Street sale.

One of the area's biggest changes is expected to come north of Cavalcade just west of Interstate 45, where investors have purchased the Airline Drive farmers market and plan to turn it into a higher-end culinary destination.

Friendswood hopes its Fulton Station project will appeal to buyers wanting to commute via light rail. Houstonians who work downtown, Stewart said, can be at their offices in 15 minutes.

Lennar, which builds homes in Friendswood's land developments, will fill the site with duplexes with 20-foot driveways and 10-foot backyards. The homes will have first-floor living, which buyers have expressed more interest in, Stewart said.

The homes are expected to have prices in the mid-$300,000s.

In addition to its near-northside endeavor, Friendswood has a second project under way in Spring Branch and two on the northern fringes of Oak Forest.

Construction is underway at one of the sites off Shepherd at Lehman Street south of Pinemont.

Two weeks ago, the company purchased 1.6 acres just north of the Lehman site for a future project. The property formerly housed the White Dove Wedding Chapel.