The Giorgetti is raising the bar on what plush sky-high living will be in Houston.

It’s getting higher — and much grander in scope. Yes, a group of billionaires and mega corporations are raising the ceiling on what sky-high living in Houston will mean — and what it will look like.

The Bayou City’s high-rise building boom may have slowed amid oil uncertainty, but several new showcase projects that will set the new standard for condo living (with a goal of pushing it into the stratosphere) have emerged. Seven projects in particular are rising up as new era city changers.

These include the most ambitious hotel (and luxe apartment) combination ever built in Houston, arguably the city’s first true designer mid-rise and a project that’s destined to alter life on Kirby (maybe H-Town’s most recognizable street) forever. These are the buildings that will be talked about for generations to come — if things go as planned.

THE NEXT WAVE: New Projects That Will Change the City

Giorgetti Houston. This 32-unit, seven-story mid-rise may be the most stylish building of all, thanks to its unique partnership with the venerable Italian furniture maker that shares its name. The first floor will be decked out with Giorgetti furniture, and the company’s handcrafted kitchen and bathroom cabinets and custom closets will finish out each unit.

The setting among the oak trees of Upper Kirby on Steel Street adds another graceful note.

BUY ART NOW Swipe



























Next

Marlowe. The transformation of Houston’s downtown, spurred by the Super Bowl, will get a new stylish jolt when this 20-story condo tower opens down the street from the Toyota Center. In a city obsessed with its cars, Marlowe goes the extra mile: All seven penthouses come with private garages.

The Kirby Collection. This sprawling $125 million, mixed-used complex plans to debut with a mix of luxury apartments and townhomes. Some will boast double master suites; all will be located in one of the most buzzed-about new projects in Houston.

Kirby will suddenly become even more sophisticated — and crowded.

The Post Oak. Restaurant billionaire Tilman Fertitta’s passion project devotes only two of its 38 stories to residences (the tower will also feature a five-star hotel), ensuring these units’ status as some of the most coveted apartments in the entire city. They’ll rent for seemingly crazy amounts — and may just be worth it.

After all, Fertitta’s already vowed to make The Post Oak one of the world’s best hotels on his Billion Dollar Buyer TV show. This doesn’t come out as a Donald Trump-type promise either. Fertitta is known for delivering.

Residences at La Colombe d’Or. A new 34-story tower with 285 luxury apartments will be connected to the original historic La Colombe d’Or hotel. But make no mistake: The new high-rise with Hines’ backing comes from developers who know that modern luxurious touches are destined to define it.

An attached art gallery and 14,000 square feet of outdoor green space represent fine first steps on the path to distinction.

The Revere at River Oaks. Legendary Houston developer Robert Bland of Pelican Builders, envisions this nine-story building as Houston’s version of New York’s Park Avenue. It will sit a stone’s throw from Armandos, near the Huntington tower and its coveted million-dollar-plus condos.

With 11-foot standard ceilings and condos as large as 3,867 square feet, Bland bets that The Revere will be the rare building that current River Oaks residents (those rattling around mansions) will yearn to live in.

Villa Borghese. It’s a new Giorgio Borlenghi building close enough to River Oaks’ official boundaries to blow it a kiss. Yes, this is the high-rise that many of the people whose names regularly show up bold-faced in Houston society columns have dreamed of for years.

No wonder the median condominium price in this 26-story tower comes in at a cool $3.2 million.