Wellby Financial's new Baybrook headquarters registers at $42.5M

Wellby Financial’s planned headquarters near Baybrook Mall is registered with the state at $42.5 million in construction cost. That is about $9.5 million below the $52 million total project cost the Houston Business Journal reported Oct. 30.

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation registration, filed Aug. 7 as “Wellby Financial BTS Office Building,” lists the site at 19130 Gulfbrook Drive, a Friendswood address in Harris County. Wellby is named as owner, with its current office on Gemini Street in the Clear Lake area. For builders and subcontractors, the filing gives the first record-level scope: a five-story tilt-wall building with tenant build-out and site work.

Why it matters

The two figures measure different things, and neither source reconciles them. The state filing reports an estimated construction cost, while the Business Journal described $52 million as the total project cost. The filing does not cover land or other soft costs, and Wellby has not publicly broken down the difference. Powers Brown Architecture is the design firm of record.

The numbers

The TDLR registration lists an estimated construction cost of $42,533,000 for 102,246 sq ft, a start date of Oct. 1, 2026 and an estimated completion date of Oct. 30, 2028. The Business Journal reported the $52 million total project figure and that Wellby acquired the Baybrook Center site in 2024.

What’s next

The registration points to a roughly two-year build toward an October 2028 completion, and the Business Journal reported the groundbreaking Oct. 30. Contractors bidding Baybrook-area work should expect the headquarters to be an active jobsite through 2027 and 2028. More Houston coverage: /markets/houston/.