Choose your location
Houston Business Journal
Most expensive home slashes asking price (PHOTOS)
Houston’s most expensive single-family home listing is back on the market — with a steep discount. <\p> The home at 107 Timberwilde Lane, which is being marketed as The Lodge at Hunter’s Creek, has been listed for $49.98 million, down from the $65 million the sellers were asking for when the home was last listed in October. The home was previously put up for sale at $60 million in May 2022.<\p>
Dumpling restaurant's local expansion is on a roll (PHOTOS)
A popular Chinese dumpling restaurant has opened another location in Greater Houston — its third in just eight months.<\p> After launching in Midtown last October and Uptown in January, Dough Zone Dumpling House is now open in the 408,815-square-foot Market at Town Center shopping center, at 2715 Town Center Blvd. N. in Sugar Land.<\p>
Bank eyes more local M&A deals
A Louisiana-based bank is going after more mergers and acquisitions in Houston after first entering the market via a deal two years ago.<\p> Home Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: HBCP), the parent company of Home Bank, closed its acquisition of Friendswood Capital Corp., the parent company of Texan Bank NA, in March 2022. <\p>
WeWork emerges from bankruptcy, appoints new CEO
After filing for bankruptcy protection in November, New York-based WeWork Inc. said Tuesday it has emerged from Chapter 11 and completed its operational and financial restructuring.<\p> The coworking giant's new era will include a new board of directors and a new chief executive. John Santora will become WeWork's new CEO, effective Wednesday. Santora joins WeWork from commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield PLC (NYSE: CWK), where he most recently served as the firm’s Tri-State chairman.<\p>
Returning Comets? Local group wants to bring back pro team
A Houston group is seeking to bring a WNBA franchise back to the market and resurrect the city’s most successful professional sports team, the Houston Comets.<\p> Space City Basketball Club has a plan in place to bring a WNBA franchise back to Houston, but it's missing one key piece: a majority owner. The organization, run by longtime building designer Sean Bolden and Crossover Athletics owner Tee Barefield, has “handshake agreements” with potential minority owners, private equity clients and developers to provide what the WNBA is looking for in terms of capital and infrastructure once that majority owner steps in.<\p>
Equipment rental co. opens largest location yet
Shortly after opening its second Houston-area location, Dallas-based equipment rental company SitePro Rentals has relocated its first to a larger space.<\p> The 38,000-square-foot facility is SitePro’s largest location to date and is part of SitePro's growing plans for Houston. SitePro's rental revenue in Houston grew by more than 50% from 2022 to 2023.<\p>
Steakburger chain doubles down on Houston
Wichita, Kansas-based Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers is set to more than double its presence in the Houston area as it continues to grow across the country.<\p> Established Freddy's franchisees John, Nick and Joe DePinto agreed to not only acquire the franchise ownership rights of the 18 existing Freddy's locations in the Houston area but also add 20 more, the company said last week. <\p>
NRG aims to revive 75-year-old power plant
Nearly halfway between the Interstate 610 Loop and Beltway 8 in Houston’s northeast corner, NRG Energy Inc.’s Greens Bayou Plant is a landmark for post-World War II energy and engineering history. Now, the company hopes a new state program will allow the 75-year-old plant to start its next chapter.<\p> Beginning operations in 1949, the Greens Bayou plant was the first in the U.S. to use a fully outdoor turbine generator, which reduced the cost per kilowatt to build the plant. Originally, the plant was operated by centralized utility company Houston Lighting & Power, which estimated construction costs at the time to be around $60 million. <\p>
Local public co. plans layoffs, some office closures
Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI), one of the largest public companies based in Houston, is laying off 10% of its workforce and closing some of its offices in its latest round of restructuring.<\p> The telecommunications infrastructure company said most of the layoffs would come from its fiber division and corporate department. It wasn't clear which offices that would be, though the company has locations all over the country. Crown Castle didn't immediately respond to a phone call and email seeking more information.<\p>
A key housing metric just fell to its lowest point ever
The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment — a gauge of how good buyers feel about the housing market — fell to its lowest number since the agency began measuring it in 2010.<\p> In May, just 14% of consumers surveyed by the agency said it was a good time to buy a home, down from 20% in April. Those who said it was a bad time to buy increased to 86%. <\p>
Houston doesn't make the cut for foodie awards
Houston came away from the 2024 James Beard Awards — often called the “Oscars of the food world” — empty handed. <\p> Chef Emmanuel Chavez of Tatemó was the only Houston representative who moved on to the final round of the 2024 awards. He was one of five nominees in the "Best Chef: Texas" category, but Ana Liz Pulido of Ana Liz Taqueria in Mission took home the award. <\p>
BP funds electric vehicle education in Houston
With a $200,000 donation, U.K.-based BP PLC (NYSE: BP) helped develop an electric vehicles safety and mechanical training course at Houston Community College.<\p> The course is specifically intended to educate the 250 fleet department employees across the city of Houston and Harris County and is part of BP’s growing involvement in electric vehicles in Houston, specifically through the city and county fleets. The city fleet department is responsible for maintenance and repairs, fueling services, equipment specifications and alternative fuel programs, among other things. It operates 25 maintenance and repair facilities.<\p>
Houston NHL team not imminent
The NHL has had a record-breaking year across multiple categories — but Houston and other cities interested in a professional hockey franchise continue to miss out.<\p> Speaking to the media before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on June 8, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said there is “nothing new to update” in terms of potential expansion, adding that the league is not unveiling “a formal expansion process” at this point. That’s despite interest from “at least half a dozen places,” Bettman said. Bettman previously said Houston is one of those places interested in an NHL team.<\p>
The National Observer: Here's where the money lives
Welcome to The National Observer, a roundup of top business news and actionable insights from across The Business Journals network of publications. Today,y we've got stories on the rising number of towns in which the median home costs more than $1 million; the interest office tenants are taking in their landlords' financial situation; and plans for a multibillion-dollar supercomputer complex by Elon Musk. But first, here's our inaugural list of the ZIP codes with the greatest concentrations of wealth in the U.S.<\p> Get more stories like these every day in your inbox by subscribing to The National Observer newsletter.<\p>
BP's new partnership is a first for the company
U.K.-based BP PLC (NYSE: BP) predicts it will save $40 million in costs over the next two years from a new partnership with Australia-based Worley, which will collaborate deeper with the company's assets in the U.S. and other regions. <\p> Both companies have their U.S. headquarters in Houston. <\p>
Another HQ coming to East River mixed-use project
Houston-based Orion Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ORN) plans to move its global headquarters from its current location near Ellington Airport in southeast Houston to the growing East River mixed-use development near downtown. <\p> Houston-based developer Midway announced June 10 that Orion Group Holdings has leased 63,519 square feet spread across three floors of two buildings in East River’s first phase. <\p>
Public co. CFO resigns after just over a year
Carriage Services Inc. (NYSE: CSV) will soon have another new CFO following the resignation of its current principal financial officer, who has been in the role just over a year.<\p> Kian Granmayeh will resign as the CFO for the Houston-based funeral and cemetery service company effective July 1, Carriage Services wrote in an 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on June 7. Granmayeh first joined the company in March 2023 after serving as CFO for Houston-based liquified natural gas company Tellurian Inc. (NYSE American: TELL). <\p>
Big deadlines loom for Realtors commission lawsuits
The class-action lawsuits that rocked the residential real estate industry over the last year are barreling toward a possible conclusion — and some big changes in the remainder of 2024. <\p> One of the most important deadlines is Aug. 17, 2024, when the NAR has said it would implement a series of changes as part of its own $418 million settlement agreement over buyer commissions. <\p>
Energy giant to partner on solar power projects in Texas
NextEra Energy Resources entered into a five-year partnership with New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. (NYSE: ETR) to develop renewable energy projects in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.<\p> The deal will accelerate the creation of up to 4.5 gigawatts of new solar generation and energy storage projects. For context, 1 gigwatt is enough to power an estimated 750,000 homes. In Texas, solar power generation surpassed coal-fired generation for the first time in March. <\p>
Gen Z cites housing affordability as its top election issue
In the wake of rapid home-price appreciation during the Covid-19 pandemic, housing is playing a bigger role in how Americans vote — among one demographic in particular.<\p> Ninety-one percent of adult Gen Zers said in a recent Redfin Corp. (Nasdaq: RDFN) survey housing affordability is important when considering whom they will vote for in the presidential election this November. Among a list of nine broad political topics, the subject ranked No. 1 for that generation — ranking even higher than the strength of the overall economy, which was the top priority for millennials, Gen Xers and baby boomers. Housing affordability for Gen Z respondents also outranked issues of education, gun rights and abortion rights.<\p>
Houston Business Journal
5K+
Posts
693K+
Views
The Houston region's source for local business news, breaking news alerts, newsletters, business intelligence and local business networking. An American City Business Journals publication.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.