A 10-acre parcel will be transformed with places to live and dine.
Demolition of the shopping center at the southwest corner of Stella Link Road and South Braeswood Boulevard is under way. Houston-based Barvin plans to develop Stella & Braes, a 10-acre mixed-use project with apartments and specialty food and beverage focused retail. Construction on the first phase, a 310-unit apartment building, is planned to begin in fall 2022.
Katherine Feser / Houston Chronicle
Plans to transform a 10-acre parcel on Stella Link Road inside Loop 610 into a new place for the community are starting to materialize.
Barvin, a Houston-based investment and development firm focused on multifamily, revealed details for Stella & Braes, a mixed-use project that will bring apartments and food and beverage options to a long neglected corner in the Braes Heights and Linkwood area.
Located amid 1950s-era neighborhoods across from the Brays Bayou trail network, it will be the first mixed-use project for Barvin, a company founded by Eric Barvin in 2009. Barvin aims to fill a void of new high-end apartments and retail in the area, while creating a gathering place that serves as a “living room” for the greater Braes Heights community with a nod to its mid-century roots.
The 10-acre master-planned development, located at the southwest corner of Stella Link Road and South Braeswood Boulevard, is planned for a 310-unit apartment property in the first phase, approximately 25,000 square-feet of dining and retail tenants across several buildings in the second phase, and another 350 apartment units in the third phase.
Barvin began tearing down a portion of the shopping center last week and expects to break ground on the apartments this fall, the company said. The center was acquired from Weingarten Realty in 2019.
The five-story apartments will have units ranging from 600 to 1,500 square feet and up to three bedrooms. Opening is planned in summer of 2024.
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Some smaller buildings on the site were previously demolished at the mostly vacant center, where Spec’s Wines, Spirits & Finer Foods remains as the only tenant. Spec’s is staying put until the second quarter of 2024, according to Barvin.
Next, the retail phase in 2023 proposes four standalone buildings wrapping around multiple public plazas and expansive green spaces. The retail buildings will accommodate a total of six to eight operators.
Phase three construction, which will begin as early as spring of 2024 after Spec’s’ lease ends, will also be five levels of multifamily, according to Barvin. Delivery expected in spring 2026.
“I’m thrilled to bring new energy and life into an area that has been so important to my upbringing and now my own family’s day-to-day life,” Eric Barvin, president and CEO of Barvin, said in a statement. “As Braes Heights residents, we look forward to continuing to contribute to our own backyard for years to come and we’re confident Stella & Braes will do just that, becoming a true community space.”
The project joins more than 50 apartment communities under construction across the Houston region totaling more than 13,000 units, according to Houston-based research firm ApartmentData.com. Rents in Houston are up 13.4 percent over the year to an average of $1,212 per month in April.
Stella & Braes will be funded by private investors, including a significant co-investment from Eric Barvin. Dallas-based GFF is the project architect and Houston-based Brownstone serves as the general contractor.
With a current portfolio valued at $950 million, Barvin has acquired or developed 6,500 units across six markets. The company is also developing a 281-unit apartment community on Knight Road, on the southern edge of the Texas Medical Center.