JOINT VENTURE BEGINS CONSTRUCTION ON HOTEL PART OF MIXED-USE REDEVELOPMENT

HOUSTON — Two commercial real estate firms, Houston-based AmREIT and Atlanta-based Songy Partners LLC, have begun construction on a hotel located at the corner of Westheimer Road and Yorktown Street in Houston’s Galleria district. The project, which will be a 153-room Starwood Aloft Hotel built on 3.2 acres, is part of a complete redevelopment on the site that also includes the renovation of 135,000-square-foot office building located at 5433 Westheimer Rd. The office building renovation will begin sometime in 2008. JE Dunn Construction Co. is the contractor for the project. Fruchtman Associates Architects worked with Starwood on the hotel’s architecture, and Ziegler Cooper is the architect for the master planning and the office renovation.