West Houston/Energy Corridor Growth Looks to Freeways

HOUSTON—With nearly 1.5 million people living in the area, West Houston has evolved from a bedroom community into a metropolitan area in its own right–including medical facilities Texas Children’s, Houston Methodist and MD Anderson west campuses, educational institutions (Katy ISD and the new UH/HCC West Campus), an employment center, and an entertainment and retail center (Memorial City).

And while the energy industry is not thriving and office vacancies are of concern at the moment, the area is diversifying and will continue to attract employment. This is due to quality schools, affordable housing (Bridgeland, Ellyson and Cross Creek), green spaces (26,000 acres in the Addicks and Barker), health care, retail (including the oft-forgotten automotive sector concentrated along I-10) and other amenities.

Houston real estate veteran, David S. Wolff, founder of Wolff Companies, is credited with the moniker “Energy Corridor” and indeed one of the pioneers of West Houston. Wolff views the Energy Corridor as the downtown of West Houston.

He planted the roots in the Energy Corridor back in 1972 because he felt there was an opportunity to develop a light industrial park along the Katy Freeway. Wolff later helped found the West Houston Association and established the company’s presence in the area with Park Ten and Central Park projects. The company is celebrating 50 years in Houston.

Wolff sees the future of West Houston/Energy Corridor in terms of the next growth areas. He says this growth will be centered around freeways.

“The growth patterns are not radical changes,” Wolff tells GlobeSt.com. “Housing comes first and then jobs second. Employees will move closer to jobs. Housing formation has been key. Houston’s affordability allows people to buy a new house in a good school district in the $200,000 to $250,000 range.”

Carolyn Wolff Dorros, Wolff vice president, says this growth has followed the Northwest Freeway and US 290 Corridor.

“The new freeway 290 is lighting a fire in this strong growth area,” she tells GlobeSt.com. “610, Beltway and Grand Parkway surround Houston to provide great connectivity and reduce drive time to 30 minutes.”

Wolff agrees that this connectivity is key. There will be 200 miles of roadway when all freeways are complete, he points out.

“In these areas, large tracts of land have been acquired by large master-plan developers, resulting in 500 to 12,000 acres of master-planned communities for added growth opportunities,” Wolff says.

The Energy Corridor led all Houston-area submarkets in terms of net absorption last year, a particularly long-awaited sign in a submarket that was one of the hardest-hit during the oil downturn. Last year was the strongest year for the submarket since 2014, according to a submarket report by NAI Partners.

Solid leasing activity has surprisingly continued apace in the Energy Corridor even after the introduction of the coronavirus pandemic and the collapse in oil prices. The dual oil-coronavirus shockwaves are extending economic uncertainty for Houston’s exploration, production and oil field services companies—the submarket’s largest employers. According to its latest short-term energy outlook, the US Energy Information Administration sees West Texas Intermediate oil spot prices averaging $38.50 per barrel in 2020, projected to average $45.53 per barrel in 2021.