The Arabs are buying up our old age homes and the Japs are opening supermarkets in Houston. According to BisNow:
"SEDCO Capital, a Saudi Arabian investor, partnered up with Kensington Realty Advisors to purchase Village at The Woodlands Waterway. That 207-unit assisted living/independent living/memory care facility is just the first of many senior housing acquisitions across the country, according to the Realty News Report. SEDCO head of real estate Samer Shaaban says the asset class fits into the Islamic teachings of being Shariah compliant, or investing ethically. Bulking up on senior housing (it says it will buy "a sizable portfolio" in the US) will also diversify its portfolio, he adds. The Village at The Woodlands Waterway was delivered in '07, sits along the water and is serviced by The Woodlands Trolley...."
"Japanese Grocer to Open First Houston Store
Watch out, 99 Ranch Market; another Asian grocer is coming to Houston. Marukai Corp will open an 11k SF store in Ashford Village. The grocer is yet unnamed and will be the first major Japanese supermarket in the metro. Susan Kwok Annoura is repping Marukai, and David Z. Mafridge Interests' David Mafridge, Andrew Clark and George Harsh repped the landlord, the Houston Business Journal reports. Marukai Corp owned nine Marukai Markets throughout California, such as the one in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, pictured. The HBJ reports that Houston's Japanese population has boomed in the last few year—Susan says membership to the Japanese Business Association of Houston has leapt 50% in the last two years..."