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Renderings show what Bellaire’s old Chevron HQ will look like as the mixed-use venue Bellaire Place
Bellaire is finally moving forward on a large plat of land in the city, announcing the approved plans for the development of Bellaire Place.Located where Chevron at one time employed more than 900 people, Bellaire Place will be a mixed-use office, dining, retail and entertainment site found in other developments around the greater Houston area. The process to decide what to do at the Bellaire property has been an on-going issue for more than five years.
“The road to Bellaire Place, at the site of the former Chevron campus, has been a long and often arduous one,” Bellaire Mayor Andrew Friedberg said in a blog post. “Which is as it should be; for the project to be a success it must be mutually beneficial for both the developer and the community.”
SLS Properties will develop the 30-acre property located at 4800 Fournace Place along the West Loop. SLS purchased the campus in September of 2018.
“Aside from the obvious shot in the arm to our tax base, which will ease the burden on residential taxpayers, it’ll be nice to have more options to keep our local spending dollars right here in Bellaire,” Friedberg said. “It’s a big step forward in fulfilling the commercial redevelopment objectives emphasized in our Comprehensive Plan, and will feature new businesses and amenities more compatible with our community character than the technical research park that preceded it.”
Danny M. Sheena of SLS Properties is looking forward to developing the property.
“It has been a long road to obtain Bellaire zoning approval for the new development,” Sheena said. “We are very excited to now have the ability to attract amazing tenants.
“It will take a few months to obtain and finalize tenant leases. It will take additional months to prepare construction plans and obtain Bellaire building permits.”
Groundbreaking is anticipated for the first or second quarter of 2023, Sheena said.
“We look forward to bringing an exciting new destination for family fun to the Bellaire community and surrounding areas,” he said.
The two existing building on the site are already occupied, Sheena said.
“We obtained zoning for a new parking garage back in November 2018 to support the two existing office buildings,” he said. “We completed construction of the new L parking garage in April 2021.”
The existing 10- and six-story office buildings and the new parking garage sit on approximately a 10-acre area.
According to Sheena, the recently approved zoning (Phases I, II and III) are for development of the remaining 20-acre vacant land area.
Harris County Appraisal District valued the property at $24.1 million in 2018 and upped the property value at $37.8 million in 2021. The property value appraisal is pending for 2022.
In a previous statement, Friedberg said, “Redevelopment of the former Chevron property, the only contiguous open parcel of its size in our landlocked city, is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for positive and beneficial growth. It’s rife with possibilities for exciting new amenities that will enhance our quality of life and reinvigorate our economic base.”
“The office buildings are designed to never go down,” SLS Properties reported. “The office buildings also have a state-of-the-art fitness center, a full-service cafeteria, an auditorium and numerous conference rooms.”
For more information about the Bellaire Place property, go to www.slsproperties.net.
rkent@hcnonline.com