From Baseball to Realty

Houston Chronicle, April 25, 2008
by Nancy Sarnoff

Three major league ballplayers are taking a swing at real estate.

Houston Astro Roy Oswalt, retired Astro Woody Williams and retired major leaguer Steve Sparks have invested in an upscale condo development on Galveston's West End.

The developer, Houston-based Stonehenge Real Estate Investment Co., is building the 35-unit project, called Laffite's Harbor at Pirate's Cove.

The bay-front development will be built on more than 8 acres near the Galveston Country Club and will have a full-service marina.

Sixteen units have been reserved with $5,000 deposits apiece, said Stephen Dinjar of Barefoot Properties, who is marketing the project.

In the next two months, he said, the deposits will be converted to 10 percent earnest money contracts.

Preconstruction prices have been set at $400 per square foot.

A 1,900-square-foot, three-bedroom unit will sell for $760,000. Penthouses will go for $1.6 million each.

Groundbreaking is expected this summer.

Many of those who have shown interest in the project are energy executives from Houston, Dinjar said.

Some already have second homes in the area but are seeking lower-maintenance properties.

Dinjar said the slowing housing market isn't affecting high-end Galveston properties.

"We don't see foreclosures or have issues with subprime," he said. "It's not that kind of market."

Galveston architecture firm Michael Gaertner & Associates designed the five-story project in a Spanish Colonial style.

Stonehenge owns additional acreage in the area, including the old Stewart Mansion.

Plans for the property are still unknown.