Located south of US 59 on Beltway 8 and West Airport Boulevard the office/service center project has been developed in back-to-back phases in 1998, 1999 and now this one. Each of the three phases contains a single building containing approximately 52,500 sf. When the third phase is completed later this year, the business center will contain a total of 157,500 sf.

"Houston's strong economy is much more diverse than it was 10 years ago, and Houston is a big distribution market," says Drew Alexander, president of WRI, a REIT. "Houston has a huge port, one of the largest in terms of tonnage in the country. And Houston continues to receive the benefits from NAFTA. Trade with Mexico continues to increase and probably will do so in the future."

Because of the city's strong economic base, WRI has begun additional industrial construction to serve tenants in areas where there is a lack of space. "We believe the Houston industrial market will be good for the rest of this year and probably next year too, if the economy remains stable," says Alexander. "The first two buildings in our Beltway Southwest Business Center are already leased and we are having discussions with potential tenants for the third building."