A recent article speaks to the current state of high rise living in the city that is part of making Houston more walkable and urban. The article, written by Patrick Sisson and originally published in Curbed, was re-published in the Architect’s Newspaper and is titled Houston, famed for sprawl, bets on growing up.
Sisson talks about the lack of zoning, and that in spite of no zoning, has become one of the most affordable high-rise rental markets in the country. According to the article and research by JLL, there are 16,000 units coming online in 2019 with another 23,000 units slated for delivery in 2020 and 2021.
These new units are located on sites near retail and restaurants and are focused on being walkable for the new residents who are moving to Houston where there have been 100,000 new jobs created this year.
According to the current stats, the projects are 90% occupied and that trend will continue as long as the economy stays strong.
Houston is indeed growing up and the high-rise housing both in the CBD and in the suburbs is a strong indicator of the future of this soon-to-be third largest city in the US. As a point of interest, the voters this week passed a $3.5 billion bond issue for a 500-mile improvement and expansion of the bus, rail, bike paths and sidewalks that will make the city more walkable as the high-rise residential housing stock expands.
