Real estate developer Jerome Karam has acquired the former Cossaboom Family YMCA in Houston, with the intent to convert it into a mixed-use project including a gym and self-storage facility. Maxx Fitness would comprise up to 38,000 square feet, while 45,000 square feet would be allotted for storage units. The complex is scheduled to open in November, according to the source.
Built in the 1950s at 7903 S. Loop E., the structure has sustained damage multiple times from flooding, with the most recent incident stemming from Hurricane Harvey. It isn’t clear how Karam plans to combat future risk.
Karam has a history of including self-storage in mixed-use developments. For example, a recent conversion at the Mall of the Mainland in Texas City, Texas, includes a World Gym paired with an Altitude Trampoline Park, while the former JC Penney will be transformed into 83,000 square feet of climate-controlled storage. He’s also developing a self-storage facility in Galveston, Texas, that will feature a rooftop event center with capacity for 400 guests, the source reported. The event space is being converted from a former tasting room.
Karam is the principal at Jerome Karam Law in Friendswood, Texas. The firm’s website lists several affiliate-led development properties and projects in Louisiana and Texas.
Source:
Chron, Cossaboom Family YMCA to Get New Use as Gym and Self-Storage Project
