Rice invests in more Village property

By Ellen Trinklein     2/24/15 1:59pm

Rice recently closed on its third Rice Village purchase within the last year. In February, Rice acquired the 7,500-square-foot retail building on the corner of Kelvin Drive and Times Boulevard that holds stores such as Miss Saigon Cafe, Yum Yum Cha Cafe and GraceAnne’s Boutique. The Houston real estate website Swamplot estimates the building sold for a little under $4 million.

The Rice Management Company, the group responsible for the management of the Rice endowment, bought two other Rice Village properties in the past year. The first was the multi-building, 193,000-square-foot Village Arcade for an estimated $55 to $60 million, according to the Houston Chronicle. The second was the 15,273-square-foot Urban Outfitters store.

The Rice Management Company has partnered with Trademark to increase their Village properties’ values. Trademark is a real estate development firm that focuses on outdoor retail and regional malls. In the past, this company has worked on project such as that of Market Street in The Woodlands, TX.

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Rice has not yet made any statements on intentions for the purchased properties. In an email statement to the Thresher, the Rice Management Company stated it made real estate investments to benefit the university’s endowment.

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