Borlenghi to build luxe tower inside the loop

A rendering of Villa Borghese to be developed by Interfin Cos. on...

Giorgio Borlenghi, known for building Four-Leaf Towers, Villa d'Este, Montebello and Belfiore, is developing his first luxury residential tower inside the 610 Loop.

It will also be one of the -- if not the -- most expensive buildings in Houston.

The 26-story Villa Borghese, named after a park in Rome, will be built on Bammel Lane between Westheimer and West Alabama.

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less Houston's skyline will be a bit more cluttered in a few years with more than a dozen high-rise building under construction, both commercial and residential. There's so much construction that Emporis ranked the city seventh among North American Cities with Most Number of Highrise Developments last year. See which developments are happening right now in our gallery.(h/t SkyscraperPage.com Houston's skyline will be a bit more cluttered in a few years with more than a dozen high-rise building under construction, both commercial and residential. There's so much construction that Emporis ranked the ... more Photo: Smiley N. Pool Photo: Smiley N. Pool Image 1 of / 54 Caption Close Borlenghi to build luxe tower inside the loop 1 / 54 Back to Gallery

The average unit will be priced at nearly $3.3 million. Most will fill 4,820 square feet and have two corner terraces.

Borlenghi, founder of Houston based Interfin Cos., said construction will start after half the 46 units are pre-sold, which he remains confident about even amid a stubborn oil price decline.

"The home market in River Oaks and the home market in west Houston are two completely different markets," Borlenghi said Wednesday. "We believe the people interested in these kinds of homes are less affected than people who are buying tract homes on the west side of Houston."

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The tower, which was designed by the Kirksey architecture firm, will be similar to Borlenghi's recent Belfiore project, but slightly more contemporary with more glass and iluminum.

Borlenghi said he hopes to be under construction a year from now. Thee tower would take two years to build.

Interfin's financial partners on the project are the McNair Group and the Hudson Brothers Real Estate Group.