LEADER LISTING The Leader • Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020 • Page 1B
NNMD building itself up with marketing campaign By Betsy Denson
tion project, are the mini murals on area utility boxes. “There are 22 total now,” Egan said. “We just finished the second set of 12.” She said the mini murals along the bike trails reflect the active living options. “We are highlighting things from the area, (like the) Hollister detention wildlife,” Egan said. “We chose from 50 renderings picturing the art from the area.”
betsy@theleadernews.com
Photo by Betsy Denson Billboards such as the one at East T.C. Jester Boulevard and Loop 610, along with radio ads, promote the new “Grow Near, Grow Green” campaign from the Near Northwest Management District.
By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
Emily Moore, who coowns Branché boutique with Lisa Buss, announced on social media that they have closed their physical location at the Ella Oaks Center, 1737 W. 34th St. #600. They opened the location in spring 2018. “While we are sad to say goodbye to the shop we were so proud of, we are happy to say that we are down but not out,” Moore wrote. “We are adjusting to these unprecedented times and will still sell online. We will go back to our roots of hosting home shows once it is safe and comfortable to do so.” Moore said gift cards will still be honored and any store pick-up orders they have will be shipped to customers at the store’s expense. She said further announcements would be forthcoming as they transition to full online sales. “We are so grateful for each and every one of you,” Moore wrote. “Old friends and new, each of you has helped to make our dream a reality.” Ad agency moves to M-K-T development A Connect Texas commercial real estate update reports that Houston-based advertising agency Decode has leased 13,006 square feet at the M-K-T mixed-used development, relocating from its current office location at 3815 Montrose Blvd. The M-K-T development is under construction at the corner of North Shepherd Drive and 6th Street. “We are ecstatic to an-
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Branché’s brick and mortar closes
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Real Estate Roundup
Prep did in Spring Branch,” Egan said. “YES Prep White Oak already opened in (the old) Kroger.” Another branding initiative, which doubles as a beautifica-
1423 Tulane, $1.8 Mil. Amanda Anhorn, 713.256.5123
a
drive by the house a realtor showed them later that day. “She (had) lived there for 40 years (and talked about) how much she loved the neighborhood, how everyone on the street had lived there for a long time (and) how it never flooded even during Alicia,” he said. “I have to admit, I pretty much fell in love with the place right then and there. You can tell that there’s some real history and community in that area.” Egan also noted new developments like the Contempo Builder project, Rio Houston, at West Tidwell Road and Bingle Road. NNMD helped facilitate a partnership between YES Prep and Hoffman Middle School, Eisenhower Ninth Grade School and Eisenhower Senior High in Aldine ISD. It allows the charter school to offer its programming in the public schools. “We got the idea from what Spring Branch, KIPP and YES
P R O P E R T I E S
Norden recently talked to a young husband and father who sold his house in Oak Forest, paid cash for a new one in Inwood Forest and also took care of college loans. “We’re hearing from realtors that homes are holding value,” Egan said. Mel House, another soonto-be resident of Inwood Forest, said it was a draw for many of the reasons Egan and Norden emphasized. “It became very clear that the neighborhood was much more in line with what we were looking for in regards to diversity, location, and getting more house for the money,” House said. “There are also a ton of older houses getting snapped up and renovated, so there are a lot of desirable properties. Inwood Forest in its current state reminds me of what Heights and Oak Forest was like in the late 1990s and early 2000s.” House met his new nextdoor neighbor on a preview
GREENWOOD KING
A prominent billboard at the corner of East T.C. Jester Boulevard and Interstate 610, featuring the tagline “Grow Near, Grow Green,” is just one of the components of a new marketing campaign from the Near Northwest Management District (NNMD). Eileen Egan, vice president of capital projects, is in charge of the new initiative which highlights why the Near Northwest is a good place to live, work, play and invest. Egan said there will be a total of three billboards. Another is already up at Highway 249 and Hollister Road. The “modest” campaign also includes radio spots that will start running in September. “It’s been on the list to do,” NNMD President Wayne Norden said. “We wanted to help individuals who are opening up businesses. It’s the right time in the Northwest area.” The NNMD is bounded on the south by Pinemont Drive, on the west by Hollister, on the north by 249 and on the east by T.C. Jester. Subdivisions include Inwood Forest, Candlelight Oaks and Forest West. Although the area’s growth has been impacted by COVID-19, with the shuttering of some businesses, there are some bright spots. Egan said a shopping center owner in a recent meeting said she had lost 15 tenants but gained 19 new ones. Norden said there has been a steady influx of new residents, including young families and young professionals, for the past seven years. He attributes that in part to the abundance of green space and a central location, close to the Galleria and other business centers. “It’s taken a lot of work to get here,” Norden said. “[With] the new people moving in, the diversity is an advantage.” The affordability of homes is also a big draw. While some neighborhoods in NNMD are now in the $250,000-$450,000 range, they are still more affordable than the Heights, Garden Oaks and Oak Forest.
With the new campaign comes a reactivation of the NNMD Facebook page. Its website is also current, with information on new residential and commercial permits. “We don’t want people to have to poke around a lot of places for information,” Norden said. For more information on the campaign, visit www. nnmd.org.
816 Yale #D, $540s Jason Knebel, 713.232.9712 Contributed photo Branché moved into its location at Ella Oaks in 2018. The boutique has closed but will continue online sales, according to a co-owner.
nounce that Decode, the acclaimed hometown digital marketing firm, has selected M-K-T as its future home,” said Scott Arnoldy, managing partner at Triten Real Estate Partners, which is developing M-K-T with Radom Capital and Long Wharf Capital. The report said that the office portion of M-K-T is now 50 percent leased. Children’s Lighthouse to open by end of year Oak Forest resident Alexis Legg, who is the franchise owner of the Oak Forest location of Children’s Lighthouse, a Fort Worth-based early learning school, says she hopes to be open at 2109 W. 34th St. by the end of the year. “We don’t have a firm opening date yet, since so many of the things we need at the end depend on the city and other entities,” Legg said. “We are on track for a mid-November/early De-
cember opening.” The Oak Forest location will be the school’s 51st franchised campus and its 21st location in the Greater Houston region, serving families with children ages 6 weeks up to 12 years old. In addition to educational child care during traditional school hours, Children’s Lighthouse also offers interactive after-school programs and summer camps. Legg, who has a master’s degree in education and has spent her professional career in early childhood education, said the opportunity to open Children’s Lighthouse was the perfect fit. She purchased the land for the school in 2019. “I look forward to bringing a safe, educational and dependable option to our neighbors in Oak Forest,” Legg said. Visit the early learning school online at childrenslighthouse.com/oakforest.
6007 Pineshade, $520s Kristin Tillman, 281.785.3566
1710 W. 15th, $440s Dena Musfy, 281.935.6993