You may not believe it, but the retail corridor at Fairmont Parkway and Beltway 8 is one of the hottest in the Houston metro. We sat down with Colliers principal Marshall Clinkscales (above, sharing some pictures of his Air Force days), who first started working in the area in 1972 when neither road existed. Pasadena was often overlooked by major retailers and restaurants, but it has strong spendable income, and residents are proud to have and are supportive of their own retail hub. Ever since Trammell Crow took a chance on the intersection in '01, building Fairmont Centre, it's been going gangbusters. The pad sites in front of Target get some of the highest rents in the metro area.

Big boxes are well represented, but the area still lacks restaurants. Cheddar's and Olive Garden opened recently, and Marshall's talking to a long list of similar fast food/fast casual restaurants that are suddenly taking notice of the corridor. (Everyone knows shopping is much better on a full stomach.) The intersection of Fairmont and Beltway 8 is filling up, but there are a number of sites still available. Marshall is marketing a 14-acre tract fronting the Beltway at Spencer Highway, an 18-acre site at the Beltway and Vista, and a 13-acre tract at Fairmont and Red Bluff. He also has a few pad sites left at 4949 Fairmont, where three restaurant groups are in discussion for land. There's also land left in front of the new Academy store at the Beltway and Crenshaw (marketed by PM CRE's Peggy Meredith).