Print
E-mail
Comment
WaterLights begins to shine
 |
| As a massive crane continues its digging in the far background, Historical Real Estate executive director David Goswick (standing at podium) joins city officials to detail the WaterLights District project, expected to open in September 2009. |
By TOM JACOBS
Water was already beginning to fill the “Grand Canal” of the WaterLights District last week, as Pearland officials and project designers wielded golden shovels to officially break ground for the latest gem on Pearland’s west side.
Part tourist attraction, part upscale address, part shopping and dining magnet, part cutting-edge research center, WaterLights will be home to both Presidential Park and Nano World Headquarters. Colossal sculpture will share space with laboratories specializing in atomic and molecular construction.
“When we started the plans for the WaterLights District….we started looking down the 288 corridor,” said David Goswick, executive director of developer Historical Real Estate, Inc. “We didn’t have to look any further than the gateway to Pearland.”
Developers see WaterLights as a perfect compliment for the area. Up the road a bit, the Houston Medical Center is looking at $3 billion worth of construction in the works, $5 billion more on the boards, and a potential for 30,000 more employees. It just so happens that Pearland’s Westside Zip code, 77584, is home to the largest concentration of Med Center professionals in the Houston area.
WaterLights is located west of 288 and south of Beltway 8. The $700 million, 1.9 million square foot mix-used development is expected to open in September 2009, according to Goswick.
Until now, about all that could be seen of the project were the six giant presidential heads along the 288 access road. As the canal that one day will float the water taxis to ferry shoppers, diners and workers around WaterLights takes shape, those heads will be moved back to their permanent bases in the waterfront park that will become Presidential Park & Gardens.
Developers are still lining up partners for the project’s “restaurant row” and retail sections.
“It’s a challenge to develop any level of real estate at this time,” Goswick said.
Still, the developers are confident in the WaterLights success because of the factor that’s a constant in any real estate venture – location, location, location.
WaterLights has “unbelievable access” with frontage on 288, Kirby and the proposed Spectrum Boulevard, said Richard brown, a Historic Real Estate principal.
Over the past 50 years, Brown has been involved in real estate ventures such as The Woodlands, and the creation of 14 master planned towns such as Flower Mound. Historic Real Estate Inc. “is dedicated to making this site an exemplary one,” Brown said.
Nano World Headquarters will serve as a research center and meeting point for academia, industry and government to explore and pursue nanotechnology development, as well as an incubator and accelerator for startup companies aiming to commercialize the technology. Nanotechnology involves the control and manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular level. Its potential ranges from health care to electronics and energy.
“To move nanotechnology to the next leel is going to require commercialization,” said. Dr. Valerie Moore, executive director of Nano World Headquarters.
Part tourist attraction, part upscale address, part shopping and dining magnet, part cutting-edge research center, WaterLights will be home to both Presidential Park and Nano World Headquarters. Colossal sculpture will share space with laboratories specializing in atomic and molecular construction.
“When we started the plans for the WaterLights District….we started looking down the 288 corridor,” said David Goswick, executive director of developer Historical Real Estate, Inc. “We didn’t have to look any further than the gateway to Pearland.”
Developers see WaterLights as a perfect compliment for the area. Up the road a bit, the Houston Medical Center is looking at $3 billion worth of construction in the works, $5 billion more on the boards, and a potential for 30,000 more employees. It just so happens that Pearland’s Westside Zip code, 77584, is home to the largest concentration of Med Center professionals in the Houston area.
WaterLights is located west of 288 and south of Beltway 8. The $700 million, 1.9 million square foot mix-used development is expected to open in September 2009, according to Goswick.
Until now, about all that could be seen of the project were the six giant presidential heads along the 288 access road. As the canal that one day will float the water taxis to ferry shoppers, diners and workers around WaterLights takes shape, those heads will be moved back to their permanent bases in the waterfront park that will become Presidential Park & Gardens.
Developers are still lining up partners for the project’s “restaurant row” and retail sections.
“It’s a challenge to develop any level of real estate at this time,” Goswick said.
Still, the developers are confident in the WaterLights success because of the factor that’s a constant in any real estate venture – location, location, location.
WaterLights has “unbelievable access” with frontage on 288, Kirby and the proposed Spectrum Boulevard, said Richard brown, a Historic Real Estate principal.
Over the past 50 years, Brown has been involved in real estate ventures such as The Woodlands, and the creation of 14 master planned towns such as Flower Mound. Historic Real Estate Inc. “is dedicated to making this site an exemplary one,” Brown said.
Nano World Headquarters will serve as a research center and meeting point for academia, industry and government to explore and pursue nanotechnology development, as well as an incubator and accelerator for startup companies aiming to commercialize the technology. Nanotechnology involves the control and manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular level. Its potential ranges from health care to electronics and energy.
“To move nanotechnology to the next leel is going to require commercialization,” said. Dr. Valerie Moore, executive director of Nano World Headquarters.
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. Comments to stories and articles on the Web site are not edited or pre-approved before appearing online. Readers posting comments are solely responsible for those comments. Comments must be germane to the story to which they apply. Online comments that are libelous, profane or personally attack another site participant can be reported as abuse using the link provided on each comment. Comments reported as abusive will be reviewed and may be removed from view, as will off-topic comments. BE CIVIL. Individuals continually posting abusive comments to the site may have their registrations revoked. |
