This article originally appeared on the Houston Business Journal.
A high-profile mixed-use development in Upper Kirby has broken ground on its second phase, which will include the city’s first property from The Friedkin Group’s Auberge Collection.
Transwestern announced Nov. 4 that it is moving forward with the next stage of The RO, a 17-acre development pronounced “row” at the intersection of West Alabama Street and Buffalo Speedway, south of River Oaks.
The second phase includes The Birdsall, Auberge Collection, a luxury hotel and condominium tower; a sprawling retail village with 80,000 square feet of space devoted to up to eight restaurants; The Clayton, a luxury multifamily community with 317 apartment units; and high-end office space.
The RO’s first phase includes a 145,000-square-foot Class AA office building that is preparing to top out and scheduled for tenant occupancy in June 2026. The office tower already is fully leased to Geneva, Switzerland-based energy company Vitol Inc.
In all, the project will encompass about 740,000 square feet.
The Birdsall, the retail village and The Clayton are scheduled to deliver in late 2027.
The RO’s players
Connecticut-based Pickard Chilton is overseeing the master plan. Transwestern tapped New York-based Kohn Pederson Fox to design The Birdsall hotel and condo building, with Houston-based Dillon Kyle Architects overseeing the condo interiors and New York-based Roman & Williams designing the hotel’s interiors. Los Angeles-based House & Robertson Architects was tapped to serve as architect of record for the hotel and condos.
Auberge Collection has collaborated with Transwestern’s development and hospitality teams on the planning, design and placemaking of The Birdsall and will manage and operate the completed hotel and residences.
House & Robertson Architects also is serving as architect of record for the retail portion of the project, while Austin-based Michael Hsu Office of Architecture is the retail design architect.
For the multifamily and office component, Transwestern again hired Pickard Chilton as design architect.
Houston-based MaRS Culture is overseeing the multifamily interiors. Atlanta-based Preston Partnership is the architect of record for the multifamily component, and Houston-based Kendall Heaton Associates is the architect of record for the office component.
OJB Landscape Architecture, based in Houston, is the landscape architect, while Houston-based Tellepsen and Alabama-based Hoar Construction are serving as general contractors.
The Birdsall has been capitalized by Transwestern and private investor partners with a construction loan from New York-based Madison Realty Capital. The RO’s retail village was capitalized by Transwestern and private investor partners with a construction loan from Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank and Houston-based Amegy Bank. The Clayton was capitalized by Transwestern in partnership with Tokyo-based Nomura Real Estate Asset Management with a construction loan from Citizens, Amegy Bank and Dallas-based Texas Capital.
The RO’s design
The RO’s buildings will have brick exteriors with sweeping arches sitting above brick and cobblestone pathways.
The Birdsall, the multifamily buildings and the office building will have their own private parking garages. Retail and restaurant visitors will be able to park in an expansive underground garage, which will extend under nearly all of the retail spaces and the central green spaces. The campus will also have two valet drop-off locations.
The Birdsall will include 44 private condos above a 105-room boutique, luxury hotel. The 34-story tower was designed by Kohn Pederson Fox to include architectural references to River Oaks homes and buildings.
The Birdsall drew its name from Birdsall Briscoe, the legendary architect who designed many of River Oaks’ earliest homes in the 1920s.
“Houston is a particularly meaningful city for Auberge Collection and for me personally,” Auberge Collection Chairman Dan Friedkin — one of Houston’s wealthiest billionaires — said in a news release. “As we continue Auberge’s strategic expansion into key urban markets, we are thrilled to add a new city property on The Friedkin Group’s home soil and pleased for this opportunity to celebrate what makes Houston such a wonderful destination with every touchpoint of our extraordinary new hotel, residences, and private members’ club.”
The design of the 34-story hotel-condo tower emphasizes privacy for residents and guests while also placing a priority on natural light and materials you would expect to find in a high-end custom home.
Resident-only amenities will include a covered, open-air swimming pool, an outdoor entertainment deck, a summer kitchen, a game room and areas dedicated to wellness and fitness.
The Birdsall’s residents also will have access to a private members’ club; a destination Auberge restaurant; event spaces; a resort-style wellbeing destination; pool and fitness facilities; and dining and social spaces, including a European-style café and private garden.
The combination hotel-condo tower was designed to offer hotel guests access to an amenity deck and private gathering areas, while the private residences will have their own amenity deck, Transwestern Regional Partner Sean Suffel told the Houston Business Journal last year.
Sales for The Birdsall Residences are being overseen by Compass’ development marketing group in collaboration with Laura Sweeney of Compass and William Wheless of Wheless Realty.
