The Future of Downtown
All eyes are on Downtown these days, as it blossoms from merely a central business district to a hotbed of top-of-the-line multifamily living and unique hotels. That's why we're thrilled to be holding our Future of Downtown summit there Aug. 27 to delve into the details. In anticipation, we have a bird's-eye rundown of everything under construction.
SkyHouse Houston’s construction cam in 1301 Fannin caught this happenin’ corner. Residents started moving into SkyHouse last month—we don’t see anyone on that rooftop tennis court just yet, but Novare tells us it's ahead of schedule on leasing and meeting rent projections. (We hear it's asking about $2.50/SF.) In the foreground is Block 334, where Alliance Residential is building a five-story, 207-unit multifamily building. As you can see, it’s in early stages, and estimated completion is Q2 ’15. Next to SkyHouse, K&K Hotel Group is renovating the former Savoy Hotel into a 215-key Holiday Inn. That’s slated to wrap up next quarter.
Minute Maid regulars know that 500 Crawford (1) broke ground in December, and Finger Cos expects to deliver 397 multifamily units mid-2015. The adjacent block (2) is also being developed residential—Marquette is planning a 28-story, 361-unit tower with ground-level retail. It's hoping to break ground this quarter and deliver in Q4 ’16. Trammell Crow Residential (3) is also hoping to break ground this quarter on a six-story, 267-unit multifamily community. It will deliver in Q1 ’17. Also launching soon: The Nau Center for Texas Cultural Heritage, a two-story, 60k SF cultural center.
Of course, Downtown hasn’t abandoned its office roots—here’s 609 Main at Texas (1), Hines’ 1M SF, 48-story tower. It’s well underway with planned occupancy in January 2017. It was designed by Pickard Chilton and Colvill’s handling leasing. The Old Texaco Building at 1111 Rusk (2) is being converted into a 323-unit residential project with adjacent garage. Provident Realty Advisors is estimating occupancy in Q4 of next year. Maybe some of those residents will work at 6 Houston Center (3), which Crescent hopes to have in the dirt in the next month or so. That 30-story, 600k SF building will deliver in 2016.
GreenStreet is nearing the end of its renovations—the team tells us the last finishing details are the large fountains that will anchor each side of the property (Main/Dallas and Caroline/Dallas). The Lawn is complete—pictured, it will soon house events like outdoor movies. Midway also plans to break ground on the stylish Hotel Alessandra (225 keys, 25 stories) this fall. Across the street at the site of the old Macy’s building, 1111 Travis is chugging along vertically. That 23-story, 475k SF office project will open in early 2016.
The GRB itself is getting some work done, and projects are springing up around it. The Marriott Marquis broke ground in April (that big dirt pit), and Rida hopes to deliver 1,000 rooms in Q3 ’16. Trammell Crow has announced its intention to build a highrise next door. It’s planning a 39-story, 314-unit tower to break ground in early 2015.
On the other end of the spectrum, the JW Marriott (328 rooms) is celebrating its opening in mid-September. (Here's a pic of a completed room there.) With everything underway, the CBD is leaping from 16 hotels and 5,000 rooms to 25 hotels totaling 8,000 rooms by 2017. We didn't get a photo of it, but Market Square Tower (BMS' 463-unit residential highrise) has broken ground and is expected to deliver in Q1 2017. And let's not leave out Skanska—although it hasn’t announced a groundbreaking date for Capitol Tower (750k SF, 35 stories), it's deep into preparation work, including demolition for a new garage. Hear even more at our event: Sign up now!
