“Welcome to the Langley!” a concierge said in an English accent as a valet swung open the doors of a lobby that looked part luxury hotel, part boutique condominium. Workers dressed in black buzzed around the building, unloading catering trays, stacking champagne flutes in a pyramid and polishing nearly invisible spots from an already glossy floor.
Upstairs, a real estate agent walked through the new tower’s model unit, moving chairs half an inch to align them with a table before a party debuting the building’s amenities to prospective renters.
The Langley, built on the long-contested former Ashby high-rise site in Boulevard Oaks, is testing the limits of Houston’s ultra-luxury rental market. Owner Hunt Companies and developer StreetLights Residential are courting wealthy residents who could afford to buy a home but chose to rent instead…