HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – The 47-story Texas Tower, one of the tallest skyscrapers under construction in the United States, has been topped out.
The 1 million-square-foot downtown tower, developed by Hines in partnership with Ivanhoé Cambridge, is scheduled to open in the fourth quarter.
Global developer Hines will relocate its corporate headquarters to the Texas Tower, leaving the Williams Tower near the Galleria.
As workplace norms evolve in the COVID-19 era, the building will serve as an example for the real estate industry on social distancing, indoor air quality and occupant wellness. Hines said the Texas Tower is being constructed to the highest standards the company has pursued in Houston, targeting LEED Platinum certification and meeting WiredScore and WELL Building Standards, according to a press release marking the topping-out ceremony.
“We are thrilled to announce Texas Tower’s topping-out milestone several weeks ahead of schedule as it coincides with the world beginning to look beyond COVID-19,” said John Mooz, Senior Managing Director at Hines. “We are seeing an uptick in leasing activity as office occupancy increases and retail establishments welcome more patrons. With occupant health and wellness at the forefront, Texas Tower is well positioned to serve our tenants when we welcome them to this innovative new office tower later this year.”
The tower rises on the site of the former Houston Chronicle building, on a downtown block bounded by Texas, Milam, Travis and Prairie streets. Realty News Report previously reported that Hines negotiated to purchase the Chronicle’s downtown property for more than $50 million. After selling the downtown site, the newspaper relocated to the former Houston Post building near Loop 610.
The Chronicle property once included a 10-story office building and a nearby 560-space parking garage on a half-block at Prairie and Milam. Hines is currently building a 46-story residential tower on the former garage site, while the Texas Tower occupies the block where the Chronicle newsroom once stood.
Hines described the tower as “Houston’s most advanced new building,” highlighting a vertically integrated campus with a dramatic lobby inspired by hospitality design, multiple food and beverage offerings, abundant networking spaces, public gardens on level 12 and a high-performance fitness center. Ten-foot, full-height windows will bring natural light into the 30,000-square-foot floor plates, and an underfloor HVAC system will give occupants more control over their thermal comfort. Cantilevered bays on each side of the floorplate are wrapped in three walls of glass, creating opportunities for internal stairways, atriums and shared spaces, along with potential access to fresh air and outdoor green areas.
“Texas Tower fully embodies the next generation of offices as it anticipates our tenant partners’ evolving needs by addressing what their employees are truly looking for in a future work environment,” said Jonathan Pearce, Executive Vice President, Leasing and Development, Office and Industrial, North America, at Ivanhoé Cambridge. “We are proud to be at the forefront of innovation in the built environment to elevate the user experience.”
The tower was designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners (Pelli Clarke Pelli).
Set diagonally on its site, the building creates a strong civic presence and offers exceptional view corridors throughout the tower. It sits across the street from the 75-story JPMorgan Chase tower, another Hines development.
Texas Tower is currently 40 percent leased, with tenants that include Hines and the law firms Vinson & Elkins and DLA Piper.
Editor’s note: Realty News Report editor Ralph Bivins covered real estate for the Houston Chronicle for many years.
March 22, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021
For more about Hines’ development work, see the book Houston 2020: America’s Boom Town – An Extreme Close Up by Ralph Bivins. Available on Amazon.
File: Hines Skyscraper Nears Completion in downtown Houston.
File: LEED Platinum, WiredScore, WELL Building Standards. Hines skyscraper nears completion on Texas Avenue in downtown Houston. John Mooz. Ivanhoé Cambridge.