Ley-Wilson Development and H5 Ventures have broken ground on the Market at Crenshaw, a 169k SF two-phase retail development on Beltway 8 between Crenshaw Road and Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena. H5 Ventures principal and Transwestern managing director Nick Hernandez tells us he was working on a small development deal across the street and kept looking at the new Academy and Olive Garden on Beltway 8 and thinking that the property surrounding them shouldn’t just be sitting there. It took a year to get the 24-acre site under contract, but he says that was actually a benefit; the retail market just kept improving and more retailers kept flocking back to Houston.

Nick says the minute the deal went under contract, Burlington showed interest. Leasing just took off after that (limited development lately has led to pent-up demand), and Market at Crenshaw’s first phase (109k SF) broke ground at 90% pre-leased. Transwestern VPs Grant Walker and Crystal Allen already have deals working on the balance of the space, and also have deals working on 70% of Phase 2. (That 60k SF should break ground within 90 days.) Nick says the only real challenge is the rain—the site has gotten 16 inches in the last two months. Phase 1 will deliver in Q3, with Phase 2 following in Q2 ’16.

The first wave of tenants: Burlington, Party City, Tuesday Morning (one of its first new prototype locations), Mattress One, Xfinity by Comcast and MOD Pizza. The development is one of long-standing relationships—Nick and development partner David Ley were fraternity brothers at SMU, and GC Sundance Construction’s Craig Varney used to work in Transwestern’s retail team. Transwestern is also handling property and construction management.