Naree DISPATCH: Mayor Sees Houston Revitalization as Model for Other US Cities

HOUSTON-What do synchronized traffic lights have to do with commercial real estate growth? They’re a small contributor to a larger picture, a tiny piece of the quality of life that separates a city’s success from its failure. That was the message more than 100 reporters heard here recently at the National Association of Real Estate Editors convention.

The vehicles of that message were Houston Mayor Bill White and a subsequent panel of experts who addressed the city’s rebirth. White, for his part, told the crowd that the city over which he presides has enjoyed a record-breaking 700% growth in population since the 1930s. Clearly, he noted, “people are voting with their feet.” He added that, of the population’s current 60% immigration rate, three-quarters of those are foreign immigrants.

Houston has had its problems, including a weighty 20% office vacancy rate, but answers are still coming from both the private and the public sides, speakers stated. In addition, both the mayor and the subsequent panel enumerated the woes of the early ’90s recession. But Houston has rebounded with a vigor based on key areas of focus, White said. These included economic development, quality of life and efficiency of government operation.