Wolf Capital Partners Buys Houston Medical Building

Heights Medical Tower. Image courtesy of Transwestern

Wolf Capital Partners has acquired Heights Medical Tower, a 120,000-square-foot medical office building in Houston’s Heights neighborhood, financing the purchase with a loan from Origin Bank.

Principal Zach Wolf said, in a prepared statement, that the firm wanted to capitalize on the asset’s location in an area with little offer of health-care services.

The new owner rebranded the Class B asset as HeightsMED, with plans to implement a capital improvement program at the property. Construction is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2022, with an estimated completion by mid-2023.

Upon its repositioning, HeightsMED will become a Class A property featuring a new lobby, elevator cabs and spec suites, as well as a refreshed streetscape and widened sidewalks, among other upgrades. Transwestern’s Justin Brasell and Christian Connell will spearhead all leasing efforts at the property.

Poised for upgrading

The seven-story building at 427 W. 20th St. came online in 1974 and underwent a cosmetic renovation in 2013, according to CommercialEdge information. The property offers 16,000-square-foot floorplates and a multi-level parking structure with a ratio of nearly 6 spaces per 1,000 square feet. The facility is some 5 miles northwest of downtown Houston, and less than 1 mile south of Interstate 610.

HeightsMED was 82 percent leased at the time of sale, according to the Houston Chronicle. The tenant roster features a mix of health-care providers, such as Heights Dental Smiles, Houston Medical Imaging and Priority Women’s Health, to name a few.

Anthony Heins of Heins Properties assisted WCP in the purchase. In addition, JLL Managing Director Matthew Putterman secured the buyer with acquisition financing through Origin Bank.

More Class A medical offices underway

CommercialEdge data shows HeightsMED will be one of the three Class A health-care facilities larger than 100,000 square feet to come online across metro Houston in 2023. The largest asset is Horizon Tower, a 511,599-square-foot life science building that is part of the $550 million Texas A&M Innovation Plaza mixed-use development.

The medical office subsector has proven its resiliency to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, remaining a magnet for institutional investors and REITs. In terms of development, more than 16 million square feet of properties under construction are set to include medical office space components, according to a recent CommercialEdge report.