Camden to begin work on delayed 20-story apartment tower downtown

Camden Property Trust plans to begin construction on a downtown residential tower late this year. The project had previously been delayed as the market slumped. Camden Property Trust plans to begin construction on a downtown residential tower late this year. The project had previously been delayed as the market slumped. Photo: Ziegler Cooper Photo: Ziegler Cooper Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Camden to begin work on delayed 20-story apartment tower downtown 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Camden Property Trust will soon begin construction on a 20-story, 550-unit residential tower downtown delayed by Houston's recent real estate market slump.

Camden CEO Ric Campo announced the plans in a quarterly earnings call Friday. Construction on Camden Downtown will begin in the fourth quarter, with leasing beginning at the end of 2019. The project, at La Branch and Bell streets, next to the Toyota Center, was scheduled to begin in spring 2015.

Campo said he expected Houston's excess apartment inventory to clear up in 2018 and set the stage for rising rents. He cited the area's "long history of strong recoveries following market weakness."

RENT: Camden apartment rents fall in Houston

"Based on our view that there will be limited completions and competition from new developments in 2019 and 2020, we've decided to go forward with the construction of our Downtown Houston project, Camden Downtown," Campo said. "Camden Downtown represents a counter-cyclical opportunity to lock in construction costs at a time when it's difficult for developers to get equity or construction financing."

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A second phase of the project is planned for an adjacent block but hasn't been scheduled.