Diverse Projects Fill Out Regions Top Starts of 2013

Methanex's Geismar Plant Reassembly Takes Shape — Showtime: The Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center is undergoing a $325-million expansion, increasing contiguous exhibit space to more than 510,000 sq ft.

Rendering courtesy of the City of San Antonio

The big impact of energy work on the Top Starts list will continue, as some other key projects will break ground this year in Louisiana, including Mitsui & Co. Ltd.'s $6-billion Sempra Liquefied Natural Gas Export Terminal in Hackberry and South Louisiana Methanol's new $1.3-billion methanol plant in St. James.

The regional trend toward more project diversity will continue into next year as well. KDC, for instance, is partnering with Karahan Cos. and Columbus Realty Partners on a project for JCPenney called Legacy West, sited on 240 acres in Plano, Texas, which Grove says will be similar to City Line.

"We're lucky to be in Texas. There seems to be more activity here than in a lot of other markets," Grove says. "We see a lot of potential continued growth in the Southeast and Southwest, and we think it bodes well for all of us."