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Energy sector lures California co. to Houston
Geothermal company XGS Energy has opened an office in Houston, its first expansion out of its headquarters in Palo Alto, California. <\p> The company leased over 10,000 square feet in Three Memorial City Plaza at 840 Gessner Road in MetroNational’s Memorial City, a 265-acre planned development in west Houston that contains 9 million square feet of developed real estate. XGS Energy is subleasing its space from Pro Oil and Gas Services LLC.<\p>
Wealth firm to expand space locally
Captrust plans to move to a new office in The Woodlands as the wealth firm expands locally.<\p> The Raleigh, North Carolina-based independent advisory firm will move into new space at Research Forest Lakeside Building 9, which is located at 9709 Lakeside Blvd., said Greg Parker, Captrust’s Houston managing principal. The space is part of the 10-building Research Forest Lakeside complex developed by Warmack Investments. Captrust worked with CBRE for the lease.<\p>
Beyoncé, major co. launch Houston-based whisky
Houston native superstar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Moët Hennessy have teamed up to create a new whisky headquartered in Houston.<\p> Dubbed SirDavis, the Japanese- and Scottish-inspired whisky also is finished, blended and bottled in Texas, according to an Aug. 20 press release. The Houston site is expected to open to visitors in 2025, according to the brand’s website.<\p>
Trail collapses in major mixed-use development
A lengthy section of a trail running between Buffalo Bayou and the East River mixed-use development collapsed this week, marking the second cave-in at a property developed by Houston-based Midway in the past month. <\p> The section of the trail that sank into the ground is several dozen feet behind The Laura, the multifamily component in the first phase of the 150-acre East River development, and essentially runs the entire length of the complex.<\p>
Why IAH feels busier this summer
United Airlines expects strong Labor Day travel, with a record number of passengers traveling on the carrier over the holiday period.<\p> United (Nasdaq: UAL) expects more than 2.9 million passengers to fly the friendly skies for Labor Day — which the carrier defines as the period between Thursday, Aug. 29, and Tuesday, Sept. 3 — up more than 3% over last year, which was also a record.<\p>
Houston's apartment construction boom could slow
With 18,301 new apartment units under construction, Houston currently ranks No. 6 in the country for new apartments set to be completed this year, according to a new report by RentCafe. That figure was also enough to rank Houston at No. 3 in Texas. <\p> However, Houston’s building bonanza might begin to slow in the next few years, the report found. <\p>
Downtown stadium repairs approved
Two of Houston’s professional sports venues downtown will soon undergo maintenance-related renovations.<\p> The Harris County Houston Sports Authority approved various projects for Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center during an Aug. 20 board meeting. Three different repairs totaling $14.8 million were approved for Minute Maid Park, while one project that will cost between $7.5 million and $8 million was approved for Toyota Center.<\p>
UH aims to get students to the moon
As Houston continues to pour funding into a sustainable space economy, the University of Houston is expanding its research and education programs to keep pace.<\p> The details are still in the works, but the university will launch a new undergraduate aerospace program to accompany its existing graduate programs, including its unique space architecture program. And there are plans to boost startup incubation at UH, paralleling efforts and previous investment that the university has made in its energy transition department.<\p>
What's next after LNG facilities lost permits?
Update: After this story published, NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG LLC subsidiary withdrew its FERC application for the proposed carbon capture and storage project at the Rio Grande LNG facility and requested that the FERC terminate the CCS proceeding.<\p> “We appreciate the FERC’s diligence during the review process,” NextDecade Chairman and CEO Matt Schatzman said in a press release. “The CCS project at RGLNG is not sufficiently developed to allow FERC review to continue at this time. We remain committed to advancing and lowering the cost of utilizing carbon capture and storage and helping companies reduce their facility emissions and achieving their clean energy goals.”<\p>
Texas Roadhouse-owned chain enters Houston
Louisville, Kentucky-based Texas Roadhouse Inc.'s (Nasdaq: TXRH) fast-casual chain, Jaggers, is opening its first Houston-area restaurant and may be looking to bring more.<\p> The Katy-area restaurant will open at 2660 W. Grand Parkway N. in the Grand Morton Town Center in front of the Kroger grocery store and next to fellow Texas Roadhouse-owned chain Bubba's 33, which opened in June.<\p>
Houston businessmen launch ticketing app
Two Houston businessmen have launched a new platform aimed at disrupting the sports and entertainment ticket resale market.<\p> Blake Nethery and his father, Scott Nethery — president of Houston-based power technology company Energy Ogre — launched QuickAsyst, an automated mobile ticket resale application. For those planning to sell unused event tickets, QuickAsyst will automatically list and dynamically price their tickets on more than 15 major marketplaces, transfer the tickets to the new owner and release payments to the seller. The app is available on the Apple Store and Google Play Store.<\p>
AI is already fueling layoffs, but there is one silver lining
Employee concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on their career prospects have ramped up as generative AI tools like ChatGPT have taken center stage.<\p> They have good reason to be concerned, according to a new survey of 984 business leaders by ResumeTemplates, which found 3 in 10 companies said they have replaced workers with AI this year. Additionally, 38% of companies that said they will use AI in 2025 will replace workers with the technology next year. <\p>
First-of-its-kind energy storage facility starts up
Austin-based Jupiter Power LLC has launched commercial operations at its Callisto I battery energy storage facility in Houston. <\p> The 200-megawatt, or 400-megawatt-hour, facility is only 5 miles from the Texas Medical Center and 10 miles from the Houston Ship Channel. It will provide dispatchable power to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid. <\p>
7-Eleven could get new owner
The parent company of North Texas-based 7-Eleven has received a takeover bid from a Canadian convenience store chain — setting up a potential blockbuster retail deal.<\p> Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is interested in buying Seven & i Holdings Co. Ltd., the Japanese company said Aug. 19. 7-Eleven, which is headquartered in Irving, has been owned by Seven & i Holdings for nearly two decades.<\p>
Public co. promotes exec to CEO
One of Houston’s publicly traded biotechnology companies promoted a new CEO a year after he joined the company.<\p> Arun Swaminathan will take the reins at Coya Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: COYA) on Nov. 1, succeeding founder Dr. Howard Berman. Berman will transition into the role of executive chair effective Oct. 31, the company said in a filing.<\p>
Dallas restaurant co. picks Rice Village for next expansion
Less than a year after bringing its popular Hudson House Restaurant and Raw Bar concept to River Oaks, Dallas-based Vandelay Hospitality is preparing to open a second Houston location in Rice Village.<\p> Construction crews have already begun the build-out of a 6,077-square-foot space at 2414 University Blvd., the one-time home of Kubo’s Sushi Bar and Grill.<\p>
Major energy co. sells portion of MLP
Houston-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) has sold off $700 million worth of The Woodlands-based master limited partnership Western Midstream Partners LP (NYSE: WES) as part of its massive divestment program.<\p> In a public offering, Occidental sold 19.5 million common units of Western Midstream, raising nearly $700 million and bringing its total divestments in 2024 to about $1.7 billion. <\p>
Oil and gas assets sold for $1.8B
Houston-based private equity firm Quantum Capital Group has made another oil and gas acquisition, this time in the Piceance and Uinta basins.<\p> Quantum acquired the assets from Denver-based Caerus Oil and Gas for approximately $1.8 billion, including the assumption of asset-backed securities and other liabilities. Bloomberg reported in June that Quantum agreed to acquire Caerus, and the companies announced Aug. 19 that the deal has closed.<\p>
Research group outlines policy reforms to unlock housing affordability
Housing affordability is becoming a bigger issue for U.S. voters, spurring policymakers — especially at the state and local levels — to consider new measures aimed at easing the burden facing both renters and prospective homeowners.<\p> While every city, county or region thinks about housing affordability (and potential solutions) differently, several common policy changes are being pursued, especially to ease restrictions around building new housing. New research from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, outlines some of the biggest reforms being adopted across the U.S. today and offers a menu of potential options for policymakers to consider.<\p>
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