New shops bring occupancy rate to 75 percent

Construction is ongoing at Vintage Park, with 10 new businesses poised to open in the center throughout the next few months. Nearby developments have also sprouted up due in part to the center's growth, including a mix of health care, residential and commercial properties.

The beginning stages of new restaurant Allo French Rotisserie are coming together in the center. Owner Eric Goldner said he chose the location because of the area's balance between residential and business outlets, which he hopes will make for a balanced flow of customers throughout the day.

"[Vintage Park] is in a growth mode, and I think it's where The Woodlands was 10 or 12 years ago," Goldner said. "There's a lot of movement in the area, and I think it's a great time to be here."

New choices

Ten new businesses have signed leases in Vintage Park, which will bring the center's occupancy rate close to 75 percent.

Another Broken Egg, Evaley Lingerie, Kahanu Yoga, GNC Nutrition, Mo's Irish Grill, Allo French Rotisserie, the Potter's Wheel, Art Class Wine Glass, a high-end Brazilian steakhouse and the Fuzzy Peach Frozen Yogurt will open in the shopping center this year.

The Potter's Wheel is expected to open within 30 days, and Allo, Kahanu Yoga and Another Broken Egg will open in about the next 90 days. The remaining businesses are expected to open after 120 days.

"I would say the shopping center speaks for itself," said Ben White, vice president of Dunhill Partners, the center's developer. "There's not a place like it nearby, and it serves the community well."

Located off Louetta Road near Hwy. 249, the 342,000-square-foot shopping center is one portion of The Vintage mixed-use community, a 630-acre development formerly owned by Hewlitt-Packard featuring retail, residential, medical and green space.

In the spring of 2012 when Dunhill took ownership of Vintage Park—one retail portion of the community—the company announced Alamo Drafthouse as one of the first new tenants. Since the movie theater opened in February, it has been positive for the shopping center, White said. Additionally, the shopping center's occupancy rate has increased from about 32 percent to nearly 75 percent in the little more than a year since Dunhill acquired the center.

"Vintage Park is a great site for us with its terrific design, ample parking, easy access to many of the great Northwest Houston communities and proximity to area businesses such as HP, Lone Star College–University Park, Noble Energy and the ExxonMobil campus that is underway," said Neil Billingsley-Michaelsen, CEO and president of Triple Tap Ventures, the owner of Alamo Drafthouse.

Since the theater opened, the response from the community has been welcoming and exciting, Billingsley-Michaelsen said.

"We have been working hard to become the neighborhood theater and have been really fortunate to have forged great partnerships within the community," he said.

Nearby growth

As Vintage Park has grown throughout the past six years, it has spurred several adjacent new developments, ranging from grocery stores to health care facilities to apartment complexes.

Located within The Vintage at Louetta and Cutten roads, another new shopping center is under construction in the area. It will be anchored by the first Whole Foods in northern Houston. The 18-acre commercial development will also feature about 30,000 square feet of additional retail space, which will be managed by LCSE Limited Partnership.

Vintage Park is surrounded by several hospitals and physicians offices, including Kelsey-Seybold, St. Luke's at the Vintage and Houston Methodist Willowbrook. The Solana at Vintage Park, which offers personalized assisted living and cares for residents with memory loss, opened in late April in response to a need from the surrounding community. The large amount of other health care facilities was one reason the company decided to locate in the area.

"[There] was just a real need, looking at the number of how many people are aging and the location of the hospitals, plus being around these health care facilities," executive director Chuck Lalonde said.

A new 323-unit apartment complex—the Retreat at Vintage Park—is also under construction near the shopping center, adjacent from Vintage Park at Chasewood Drive near Louetta Road. Slated to open in 2014, the residential development will feature amenities such as a resort-style swimming pool, detached garages, a fitness center, activity center and a clubhouse.

"We love this location where residents can walk to the shops and restaurants in Vintage Park and because of all the employment recently announced in the immediate area," said Matthew Akin, president of McCann Realty Partners, which is developing the complex. "We see Houston as a solid market that is driven by strong population and employment growth."