Two real estate firms behind some large Houston-area master-planned communities and luxury condo towers are merging and are poised to bring big residential, commercial and industrial projects to Texas.
Concourse Development, the Houston real estate developer behind the Grand Prairie and Windrose Green master-planned communities, is merging with Maquina Holdings, which has invested in high-rises such as the Wilshire and the Lexington in River Oaks and the Hawthrone in Tanglewood. Run by Vicente Rangel, Maquina will be absorbed into the new firm with Concourse.
The merger, which closed Monday, creates Ember, a name inspired by the spark of something new. Ember’s principals will be Rangel and Concourse’s Harry Masterson and Jordan Mack, overseeing a roster of 11 projects mostly in the Houston region.
“We have a shared vision for where we want to go,” Masterson said. “Something that I would describe as multigenerational.”
Although a merger of Concourse and Maquina seems like an unlikely pairing, the two firms have had a budding relationship for the past few years, and they said their individual expertise complements one another. Concourse has focused on land acquisitions and master-planned communities, while Maquina’s expertise lies in industrial parks, toll roads, transportation and financing residential high-rises.
Ember, for now, would focus on land acquisition and development, industrial and multifamily projects, with the possibility of partnering with other firms.
The new firm is planning future multifamily and rail-served industrial projects in the Houston area, although Ember declined to provide specifics about those projects for now.
The courtship between the firms dates back about five years, when Rangel was introduced to Concourse Development through a mutual relationship with Robert Bland of the Houston real estate firm Pelican Builders.
Concourse Development supported Rangel’s brother in securing entitlements for a property off Interstate 45, and the success of that deal laid the groundwork for Concourse and Maquina to collaborate on future projects.
From there, Masterson and Mack started working with Rangel’s firm on a handful of joint deals, spurring Maquina to become an equity partner in Grand Prairie, a 1,730-acre, 3,500-home community underway in Hockley and Windrose Green, a 154-acre, 650-home community in Angleton.
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Then about 18 months ago, Masterson and Rangel were riding bicycles in the countryside just outside of Houston when an idea struck.
“I just sort of casually turned to Vicente and said, ‘You know, it’s kind of like we’re living together. Why don’t we just go ahead and get married?’” Masterson recalled with a chuckle. “All the apprehensions that one might have about a merger were way behind us because we’ve been working together and we were over in (the Maquina) office regularly.”
Within a year, the planned corporate nuptials seemed to be coming together quite naturally, they said.
Rangel, who moved to Houston in 2011 to set up Maquina here, had established roots in the city. Now a U.S. citizen, Rangel has raised his children here, and was looking for a more permanent way to integrate his business into the U.S.
Concourse moved its offices from Westchase into Maquina’s 5,000-square-foot space at 4444 Westheimer in the River Oaks area. The combined firm has 14 employees, but it plans to add a handful of key positions soon, Mack said.
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Although Ember will start with Houston-area projects, it could expand into other markets. The company will be selective in the projects it chooses, Mack said.
While both firms have flown somewhat under the radar for the past several years, Masterson said he expects the Ember brand to become better known as it takes on more larger projects.
“I expect to be a little more mainstream and I think we will be recognized for the quality of projects that we put on the ground,” Masterson said. “There is no mold for what we’re trying ( to do)… I think all of our projects will be distinct.”
