Located south of US 59 on Beltway 8 and West Airport Boulevardthe office/service center project has been developed inback-to-back phases in 1998, 1999 and now this one. Each of thethree phases contains a single building containing approximately52,500 sf. When the third phase is completed later this year, thebusiness center will contain a total of 157,500 sf.

"Houston's strong economy is much more diverse than it was 10years ago, and Houston is a big distribution market," says DrewAlexander, president of WRI, a REIT. "Houston has a huge port, oneof the largest in terms of tonnage in the country. And Houstoncontinues to receive the benefits from NAFTA. Trade with Mexicocontinues to increase and probably will do so in the future."

Because of the city's strong economic base, WRI has begunadditional industrial construction to serve tenants in areas wherethere is a lack of space. "We believe the Houston industrial marketwill be good for the rest of this year and probably next year too,if the economy remains stable," says Alexander. "The first twobuildings in our Beltway Southwest Business Center are alreadyleased and we are having discussions with potential tenants for thethird building."