A Houston development team known for turning run-down, defunct buildings into hip, bustling projects is planning to transform a historic warehouse complex into a 4.47-acre mixed-use project in the Heights.
Radom Capital and Triten Real Estate are planning to launch construction later this year on an ambitious reimagining of the former Swift and Co. refinery complex at 621 Waverly, along the Heights Hike-and-Bike Trail. The development is directly next to M-K-T, the mixed-use project Triten and Radom redeveloped during the pandemic.
Dubbed the Swift Building, the project will include more than 60,000 square feet of renovated space for retail, small offices and up to six restaurants – all with patios overlooking the popular hike-and-bike trail. As they did at M-K-T, the developers plan to revamp the green space between their property and the trail, adding fresh landscaping and pathways inviting pedestrians into the project.
Swift, M-K-T and Heights Mercantile a half mile a way are transforming deteriorating, forgotten spaces near the trail into a corridor of cultural hubs in one of Houston's most popular neighborhoods.
“Swift is a natural extension of our shared vision for M-K-T. Rather than tear down an important symbol of Houston’s – and the Heights' – past, we instead want to embrace its character and repurpose it into a truly unique community amenity and experience,” said Scott Arnoldy, founder of Triten Real Estate Partners.
Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2024 and wrap in 2025, with restaurants likely moving in 2026.
Unlike the formerly drab retro warehouses the team converted into a colorful, contemporary complex at M-K-T, the existing brick buildings at the Swift site offer a historic character developers want to retain.
“We always had a maximalist approach (at M-K-T) because you were dealing with really ugly precast buildings where you almost have to do these it's really big colors and elements. Here, the beauty lies in preserving what's already interesting and layering in smaller details,” said Steve Radom, managing principal at Radom Capital.
The Swift complex started as a cottonseed oil refinery in 1917, but by the early 1950s Swift and Co. announced plans to convert the site into what was said to be the largest meatpacking facility in the South at the time, capable of processing 1 million pounds of meat weekly, according to National Register of Historic Places documents.
In one buildings where meat factory workers used to render fat, 25-foot-tall ceilings are held up by large concrete columns, creating a grand sense of scale that would otherwise be too costly to replicate today, Radom said. In another building once used for cold storage, thick mustard-colored insulation covers brick developers intend to expose. Broken windows and graffiti-covered walls will be restored throughout. Discarded pieces of insulation littering a roof will be cleaned and converted into a rooftop cocktail lounge.
“You have to look past the rust and the current condition at the bones. We think that there's something that is sort of raw and imperfect that’s hard to replicate,” Radom said.
The developers are pursuing a historic designation for the project, along with federal and state historic tax credits and which they expect to be approved later this year, said Evan Peterson, principal at Radom.
Those expected tax credits add to equity the team already secured for the project, which has an undisclosed cost, said Barton Kelly, principal at Radom. Developers plan to raise construction financing soon.
Kelly said negotiation on a lease with a prospective restaurant were ongoing, as were early talks with other potential retail tenants. An undisclosed family office has signed a 4,600 square-foot office lease, he said.
While it may seem strange to add office amid Houston’s chronically challenged office market, tenants are flocking to newer or renovated offices next to restaurants, amenities and green spaces. The office space at the M-K-T development next door is about 80% leased, and the team even converted some retail space into office to meet demand. Similarly, developers are betting the Swift's location along the trail and the historic character of the site will help it fill both office and retail spaces.