ExxonMobil Corp.’s 385-acre corporate campus north of Houston is expected to fuel commercial and residential development in the surrounding area, and cause some adverse consequences throughout the local real estate market.
The Irving-based energy giant’s complex, acknowledged by the company this week, near the intersection of Interstate 45 and the Hardy Toll Road is expected to create the foundation for Houston’s next energy corridor. Exxon’s impact on The Woodlands will be similar to the effect Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had on its hometown of Bentonville, Ark., said Patrick Duffy, partner and president of Houston’s Colliers International real estate firm.
“Everybody’s been waiting on this announcement,” said L.S. Trey Halberdier, managing principal with HALBERDIER Real Estate. “All the real estate people are happy because we can move forward and conduct business.”
Real estate investors could scurry to snap up available land to hold or flip to developers. Exxon’s deal will prompt a 10 to 20 percent increase in land prices, said Halberdier, who is marketing land in The Woodlands area.
