John Bogna
A two-bedroom unit at the Southmore in downtown Houston’s Museum District will set you back six grand a month.
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That may be why, despite having opened in January, the building is only 39 percent leased, according to the Houston Chronicle. “We’re doing well considering the market’s so slow,” said Kevin Batchelor, senior managing director of the Hines company’s southwest region.
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Hines designed the Southmore to have “the sophistication of a world-class museum.” Fitting, since most of Houston’s museums are right down the street.
“It’s connected to one of the richest locations in Houston,” Batchelor told the Chronicle. The structure cost $93 million to build.
New renters are being offered up to three months of rent free when they move into the Southmore, to combat the building’s slow lease rate.
Rising land prices in the area have driven up the density of businesses, who are building up instead of out. The Southmore was built taller so a small park could be added to the building, according to Batchelor.
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