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A local Houston lawyer and real estate developer, Jerome Karam, has recently acquired two new properties in Galveston with intentions to turn them into shorter-term rentals when the current lease agreements expire.
Already owner of a significant amount of commercial property throughout the county, Jerome Karam’s Houston area projects have been popping up left and right over the last few years.
These new developments, however, show just how bullish Karam is on the local real estate economy, how bullish he is in the short-term rental industry, and how serious real estate developers are looking at platforms like Airbnb to help them expand their cash flow opportunities.
Karam Closes on Sonja and Riviera Properties
The newest additions to the Jerome Karam Houston area portfolio are the Sonja and Riviera apartment complexes in Galveston.
Sonja is a “four-plex” property, while the Riviera is a “twelve-plex,” with both properties having a history that stretches back to the early 1930s. Both of these properties were sold by the DRE Properties LLC organization, a local area real estate development and holding company that had maintained ownership over these properties for a number of decades.
Each of these small apartment buildings is going to be transitioned over into shorter-term rental properties, changing the internal makeup and composition of the buildings into smaller properties with this kind of use in mind.
Karam has been upfront, honest, and totally transparent about the fact that work on these projects will not begin until each of the current leases expire (something set to happen over the next few months) – and that no one will be forcibly removed from the property for these projects to move forward.
The odds are good that area locals are familiar with Jerome Karam Houston real estate projects. Karam has a near-legendary reputation for putting together the Falstaff Brewery scheme a relatively short while ago, totally renovating a deteriorating (yet historic) property into a boutique hotel.
That real estate scheme is going to be expanded in the future with the addition of new apartment complexes, though groundbreaking has not yet begun.
Thanks to the close proximity to the University of Texas Medical Branch (as well as the beach), these short-term rentals Jerome Karam Houston development projects are aimed at families looking for places to stay while they receive medical care (without having to worry about headache, hassle, and fraud dealing with other short-term options in the area).
Pinnacle Park Development Underway, Too
There are also rumors that luxury apartment developments in Pinnacle Park are closer to rolling out than ever before, with the League City Council set to approve this project in conjunction with the Planning Department.
City Street Residential Partners is looking to lead the way on this development, adding mixed-use properties that hopefully will be anchored by Cabela’s as well as the Memorial Hermann Convenient Care Center (located just off of Interstate 45 and the Big League Dreams Parkway).
New Beach in Galveston?
On top of all of that development, there are also talks of a new beach project being put together for Galveston.
Excitement is running high, but the odds are good that the preliminary plans won’t be put before the permitting division until the middle of 2021 (and maybe even later).
These rumors are being sparked by Galveston city officials confirming that a (currently unnamed) developer did, in fact, receive a demolition permit for a property at 1214 32nd St., waterfront property that could turn into a new and exciting beach development.
Stay tuned for more details!
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