New management company selected for Rice Village

July 2019
By Laura Gillespie, Houston Business Journal

Rice Village — a shopping and dining district spanning more than four full blocks west of Rice University — has had a change in management.

Houston-based REIS Associates LLC is the new management company overseeing the property, Rice Management Co. confirmed July 19. REIS is taking the job over from Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co., which has held the title since 2014.

REIS and Trademark declined to comment on the change, which included hiring Aj Coffee as senior general manager of Rice Village. Rice Management Co. said Dallas-based Edge Realty Partners is handling leasing efforts, which Trademark also used to oversee.

“I’ve been in the management industry for over 30 years, and I still get excited at the prospect of a new venture,” Coffee said in a statement. “The Rice Village District is such a special property to Houston, and I love its rich history. I’m so honored to become a part of this iconic community.”

Trademark oversaw a number of changes to Rice Village, implementing a multimillion-dollar plan to spruce up the property and make it a development that "gets people off of their couches." Rice Village has seen a huge change in tenants over the past several years. That includes the addition of restaurants such as Mendocino Farms, Sweetgreen, Shake Shack, Steel City Pops, Sixty Vines and SusieCakes; as well as retailers like Warby Parker, Kendra Scott and Drybar.

“The transformation at Rice Village has repositioned the property for success in its next chapter,” said Terry Montesi, CEO of Trademark, in a statement. “Retail is changing at a fast pace, and properties must evolve, or they will be left behind. When we started at Rice Village, the Rice holdings and common areas were outdated, conventional and in need of attention and capital investment. They now have the character, vibrancy and soul that the community deserves.”

Rice Village will also see the addition of a food hall, Politan Row Houston, from New Orleans-based Politan Group. The food hall will feature 12 dining concepts when it opens at 2445 Times Blvd.

“Over the past five years, together, Trademark and Rice significantly revitalized the retail and (food and beverage) mix at Rice Village and greatly improved the financial performance during this period with new management and fresh retailers and restaurants, including several first-to-market concepts,” Tommy Miller, managing director and chief investment officer of Trademark, said in a statement. “The success of this remerchandising was greatly influenced by a major rebranding, investment in new and existing public space, new parking management system and garage upgrades, new facades and storefronts and the acquisition of additional strategic properties.”