Office workers shunned the city’s tallest towers, conventions were unceremoniously canceled, and large-scale sports and entertainment events evaporated. By almost every measure, Downtown Houston was a virtual ghost town in 2020. Though those trends persisted into 2021, Texas’ reopening efforts, vaccine availability and pent-up demand have led to a steep increase in the number of people returning to Downtown Houston. Office occupancy is rising, and with it, positive outcomes for other sectors in the submarket, including retail, hospitality and entertainment. “As we get to the end of the summer and approach Labor Day [and] school starting, we're hearing a lot of folks saying they really would be looking at 100% [office occupancy] at that point,” Houston Downtown Management District Executive Director Bob Eury said. 
During normal times, Downtown Houston’s gleaming office buildings draw tens of thousands of office workers each day. But as concerns around the coronavirus pandemic began to ramp up in mid-March 2020, visitors began to fall sharply.Downtown Houston had 741,328 office visitors in April 2019, according to monthly foot traffic data…  Read the full story here. | 
