Biz Buzz: His heros have always been cowboys

Home on the range: You’ve seen the bumper sticker: “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could.”

That about sums up the philosophy of Austrian-born Johann Sitter, cowboy wannabe with a Bavarian accent and love for all things western. Sitter is behind League City’s 19,000-square foot retail project Perkin’s Station and the 832-acre equestrian-themed community in League City dubbed Oak Ridge Stables & Country Club.

Last month, workers turned dirt on the $4 million, first phase of the project, which will rise on a four-acre parcel at the intersection of FM 518 and Perkin’s Avenue.

Memo to job seekers: In Sitter’s world, only bulls sport nose rings. Look for strictly enforced employee dress codes to include everything from cowboy hats to boots, chaps and spurs. Sitter has roped Hawthorne Architects to create a frontier look.

An avid horseman, Sitter drives a Ford 350 pick-up truck, sports cowboy boots and aims to leave his brand on League City. “I should have been a cowboy,” said Sitter, 49, who moved from Vienna to the United States six years ago.

Don’t tell image boosters in Houston, (they’re still stinging from the 2012 Olympic Games snub) but Sitter envisioned some Texas towns to have a frontier flair. Sitter, who owns a 120-acre ranch in Rosharon, searched for western towns, something along the lines of say, Tombstone, Ariz. When he couldn’t find it here, the former Vienna restaurateur and businessman decided to build it.

Larry Corona, of League City-based Oak Realty, is the broker. The retail center is about 60 percent leased and will include Butler’s Road House & Saloon and banquet facilities, Wild West Photos and More, Strudel’s Café and Bakery and The Antique Shop. Recent rains have slowed construction, Corona said. Workers are shooting for a February or March completion date.

Sitter also is behind an 832-acre, equestrian-themed community in League City. Oak Ridge Stables & Country Club will include 1,200 homes, 80 acres of lakes and 100 acres of trails and pastures. The land is located north of FM 517, about halfway between Interstate 45 and State Highway 35. One section of the subdivision will include log homes. “I’m a Texan with all my heart,” Sitter said. “I want to die here.”


Tears in their beer: It was just two weeks ago when Lew Dickey said: “I don’t think you’ll see any changes,” after Cumulus Broadcasting bought out local radio station KSTB Star of the Bay. Maybe no one saw it, but they could hear it; and there was a distinct twang. Cumulus replaced the contemporary rock format at the Crystal Beach station with classic country and loyal Star of the Bay listeners have the honky-tonk blues.

“I probably got 20 calls from people today who said they were really upset it happened,” said Al Mainwaring, KSTB’s operation manager. “There’s not much I can do.”

Dickey was unavailable for comment Friday. Earlier this month, Cumulus paid station founder Irvin Davis $2.5 million for station. KSTB at 101.5 FM is being simulcast with Beaumont country music station KAYD on neighboring FM frequency 101.7 FM — another Cumulus-owned station. Star of the Bay began broadcasting in 1995.


Move adds up: Certified public accounting firm Null-Lairson has snapped up two loft condominiums in the century-old Kress Building at 2117 Postoffice.

The two units, each with 2,400 square feet, will house the Galveston/Gulf Coast operation of the company, said Janet Hill, firm administrator. The 54-employee Null-Lairson is headquartered in Houston and also has a Sugar Land office.

In renovations, the firm will keep with the historic theme of the building and will use modular offices rather than floor-to-ceiling partitions. The firm will maintain the loft concept.

In charge of the office is Lydia I. Cook, CPA and partner who currently works at 420 20th Street. Cook operated her own island practice before joining the Null-Lairson firm in 2001 as a principal.

The Kress building was built in 1898. A variety of businesses operated out of the building, including a candy maker, milliner and a photo studio. S.H. Kress bought the building in 1924. The Kress store closed in 1980 and the building remained vacant until 1994, when it was purchased and redeveloped.