Leading Real Estate Company Announces Over $1 Billion in New Developments

Historic Real Estate Inc. Gets Aggressive Despite National Slowdown in Real Estate Development

HOUSTON, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Historic Real Estate Inc. is a leading real estate and economic development company based in Houston, Texas. Despite the severe national downturn in real estate development, causing many large-scale projects to halt or slow operations, Historic Real Estate is forging ahead with a multitude of high-profile economic and real estate development projects.

The company's principals have over 200 years of combined experience in creating top notch real estate developments and their experience is serving them well during the current global economic crisis. The company takes pride in a counter intuitive approach to real estate development and recently announced over $1 billion in new developments.

"The time to create innovative developments is when everyone else is on the sidelines," explained Richard Browne, Principal with Houston-based Historic Real Estate Inc. "Our number one criterion for developing is proximity to predictable job growth. Therefore, we have focused our new developments on the multi-billion dollar expansion of the world's largest medical and research center in Houston - the Texas Medical Center."

Browne, one of the world's most respected master planners, takes pride in seeing what others cannot see. He has created visionary communities for real estate legends Jim Rouse and George Mitchell including Columbia, Maryland and The Woodlands, Texas.

"The best is yet to come," added Browne. "The WaterLights District will offer a superior quality of life and will raise the bar on being environmentally friendly, technologically advanced and energy efficient."

Specifically, Historic Real Estate's landmark projects include the WaterLights District, a $700 million, 1.9 million square foot mixed-use community in Pearland, Texas, just minutes from downtown Houston. The planned community will feature residential condos, brownstones, luxury apartments, office buildings, retail boutiques, a fresh market, restaurants and wine bars, three luxury hotels, a conference facility, a water wall and a public park along a Grand Canal waterway. WaterLights is strategically located near the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical and research center. Employment in the area is projected to grow by 30,000 within the next six years and the resulting demand for housing, retail, and other community amenities will be met predominantly by the WaterLights District.

Within the WaterLights District, the Presidential Park and Gardens is underway. This new multi-million dollar destination will feature 44 larger than life 17-foot statues of all the United States Presidents and will be situated in a wooded park setting. It is scheduled to open in 2009.

The Nano World Headquarters, located in Houston, Texas, is also being spearheaded by Historic Real Estate. Nano World Headquarters is a $350 million project. It will serve as the leading center for scientific nanotechnology collaboration world-wide and as an accelerator for start-up companies, offering a centralized intellectual hub and a state-of-the-art shared equipment facility. The headquarters will be a point of intersection where private sector, government and academic institutions will come together to create new opportunities for high salaried, high tech jobs and increase the economic development throughout the region.

Additionally, Historic Real Estate is introducing the Texas Gulf Coast's only private, 100% waterfront community, The Peninsula on Clear Lake. The gated community is located only 30 minutes from downtown Houston and is a highly exclusive community featuring 37 waterfront estates and four family compounds with direct channel access to Clear Lake, Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The Peninsula, a $90 million project, will host "The Showcase of Homes on the Water" event next March. The event is projected to attract over 15,000 home and boating enthusiasts during the three weekend event.

"Historic Real Estate is committed to creating the best places for people to live, work, play, stay, learn and be entertained," explained Historic Real Estate's Executive Director, David Goswick. "We are dedicated not only to designing and developing these locations but also to understanding the human landscape of the communities we seek to enrich."

If you would like any additional information about Historic Real Estate please contact Christina Daigneault at 212-710-9397.