[TowerSpotter]

Marquette Cos. planning "a couple of highrise's in downtown", totaling more than 350 unit's. The firm will also be selling bit's of land in Galveston to developers.

http://www.bisnow.com/commercial-rea...ave-in-common/

Managing director Darren Sloniger tells us Downtown feels like Chicago (where he's based) did 20 years ago. (We just wish the city had a winning basketball team like Chicago did 20 years ago.) The City's new retail strategy, focus on parks, and residential incentive all point to a submarket about to take off. He's doing due diligence on a few sites, and tells us he'd like to develop a couple high-rise projects totaling about 350 units Downtown.

And the firm is gearing up its 1,000-acre Preserve at West Beach project (site plan above). The development's first sale closes in a few weeks, 157 acres to Artist's Boat. The site will be preserved and used to teach kids about nature. Darren tells us the rest of the project will be sold in manageable bites to developers, including two beachfront tracts (one for single family and one for a hotel).