Plans announced this week for a new condominium project would carry a 118-year-old Italian furniture maker's name and will emulate the look of art galleries, boutiques and restaurants abroad that carry the luxury brand.

Giorgetti, a renowned furniture maker that has worked on hotels, yachts and royal palaces around the world with its unique shapes and maple, oak and marble accents, is lending its century-old brand to the project by Stolz Parnters, Mirador Group and Sudhoff Companies.

"Art and architecture are coming together," said Jacob Sudhoff, of Sudhoff Co.

The 7-story mid-rise site will be in Upper Kirby's Steel Street, known for its canopy of oak trees down the quiet road, where an older apartment complex was razed. A long-time Houston family previously owned the land.

The project will have 32 residences ranges from 2,400 square feet to 4,500 square feet. Ceilings will range in height from 10 to 12 feet, with balconies from 500 to 2,000 square feet. Giorgetti touches will be apparent throughout the design from the kitchen and outdoor cabinetry to paneling, lighting, carpets, closets, woodwork and furnishings.

Pre-sales for the condominiums are scheduled to begin in September. Construction is set to begin with 50 percent of the homes are pre-sold with an expected start date in the third quarter next year.

This mid-rise condominium project is being announced at a time when the outlook is increasingly uncertain for the multimillion condos and high-end market in Houston. Several mid-rise condo projects that were announced during the real estate boom have scuttled or shelved plans.

Meanwhile, construction is ongoing for a number of high-rise condo projects around the city, also marketing a new kind of lifestyle for Houston.

Giorgetti designs have been featured in $24 million penthouse at New York's Plaza Hotel, the Shangri-La Hotel in Toronto, Fontainebleau Chateau Suites in Miami, Four Seasons Residences in Austin, Torch Doha and The Reverie Saigon in Ho Chi Minh.

"For us, beauty is the first source of inspiration, including and above all, for the contribution it can make to improving the quality of where we live," said Giovanni del Vecchio, managing director of Giorgetti. "With our partners, we share the same passion, vision and love for the brand and for the lifestyle that we are able to create and express. The result is very special—a remarkable living space, imbued with the spirit of modern elegance."

Jerry Hooker, Principal of Mirador Group and Jacob Sudhoff of Sudhoff Co. said their idea to bring the luxury brand to Houston dovetailed with Giorgetti's expansion into an expanding lifestyle brand. They eventually flew to Italy to pitch the idea for a luxury-branded condo building in Houston.

"It was a perfect marriage," Hooker said. "What we had envisioned and where their company was going....We are bringing in Italian culture and quality in to the building."
Hooker said the project will be the first of its kind in the United States.

By Erin Mulvaney, Chron