Lasco/Hicks works up plans for new Galleria-area office tower

Specifics about a proposed office tower in the Galleria area are slowing leaking out while the developer strives to keep all of the particulars under wraps.
Lasco/Hicks Ventures Ltd. is working on a 400,000-square-foot office building to be constructed on three acres on Post Oak near Richmond, according to a source familiar with the deal.
Information about the project was also included on a general direct-mail piece from Houston-based Michael Berry Properties, which is not involved in the project. The mailing advertises a 26-story office building to be constructed at 3100 Post Oak that will have a ground-floor restaurant overlooking the waters of the Lakes on Post Oak office complex.
Executives with Lasco/Hicks could not be reached for comment.
The site is adjacent to a six-acre parcel acquired earlier this year by a development firm from Dubai (see “Dubai tower looms on horizon,” Feb. 15, 2008).
Deyaar Development, a builder of commercial and residential towers in the Middle East, has not announced plans for its Galleria site.
A source says those details probably won’t be forthcoming because Deyaar agreed not to develop anything on the prime corner until after Lasco/Hicks builds its building.
Lasco/Hicks is a partnership between two Houston firms: Lasco Development Corp. and Hicks Ventures, which was established last year by Patrick Hicks.
Hicks was an executive with Houston-based MetroNational Corp. prior to forming his own firm.
Lasco Development, which has been in business for more than 20 years, specializes in retail development. The firm is involved with the Riverstone Shopping Center and The Shops at Riverstone in Missouri City.
Lasco/Hicks could be in position to develop the first Class A office building to be built in the Galleria area in the last 25 years. However a few other developers have the same idea (see “Office buildings on and off,” Aug. 29, 2008).
Real estate professionals say more office space is needed in the Galleria area to keep up with demand. Second-quarter 2008 information compiled by Grubb & Ellis Co. shows that roughly 90 percent of all office space in the area is occupied. For more information see www.houstonrealtyadvisors.com or www.houstonrealtyadvisors.net