Wolf Capital Partners begins renovations to Heights medical office building

Houston-based Wolf Capital Partners has kicked off renovations of a 120,000-square-foot medical office building in the Heights that the company acquired last year.

Construction crews began updating the newly rebranded HeightsMED building at 427 W. 20th St. on Jan. 9. The building was previously known as Heights Medical Tower.

Wolf Capital Partners said the renovations began with the demolition of vacant spaces in the building. Construction crews have also begun building out spec suites and upgrading the building’s HVAC and plumbing systems. Work is also underway to improve the building’s exterior, improve the streetscape with wider sidewalks and refurbish its lobby.

The planned renovations also include redesigning entry/exit routes and replacing upper-floor common spaces, elevator cabs, restrooms and MEP systems.

The renovations were designed by Houston-based Heights Venture, and the construction work is being overseen by CTC Contractors, also based in Houston.

Wolf Capital Partners said the renovations are expected to be completed later this year.

When the company acquired the building last year, Zach Wolf, principal at Wolf Capital Partners, said the renovations to HeightsMED provided an opportunity to “transform a well-located medical office building with great bones into a best-in-class facility in a neighborhood where there is a massive void for health care services.”

Wolf left Houston-based Braun Enterprises in 2019 to start Wolf Capital Partners.

Wolf Capital Partners paid an undisclosed amount to acquire HeightsMED last March from an unnamed seller.

The company tapped Transwestern Real Estate Services’ Justin Brasell and Christian Connell to provide agency leasing services for the property.

Brasell, an executive vice president and managing director of health care advisory services at Transwestern, said last year that HeightsMED benefitted from the neighborhood’s strong payer mix and high income.

“Barriers to entry in the Heights are extremely high given the submarket’s very limited supply of quality medical office space,” Brasell said. “HeightsMED is an excellent opportunity for specialty practices seeking reasonably priced Class A space in an in-demand submarket.”

Demand for medical office space in and around Houston has been on the rise in recent years as a growing number of patients seek out physicians with offices closer to their homes. Developers have rushed to keep up by building more medical office buildings closer to residential neighborhoods.

A report released by Houston-based Partners last year found that the average asking full-service price per square foot among medical office buildings jumped 3.1% year over year in January 2022.