THE LEGENDS OF REAL ESTATE AWARDS 2016 – Ralph Bivins, editor of Realty News Report, has identified the people, projects, deals and ideas that most shaped Houston’s real estate market in 2016. These selections aren’t always the largest or the first, but they highlight trends, promising opportunities and noteworthy achievements that point to the city’s future.
LEGEND: REDEVELOPMENT OF THE YEAR – Allen Center, Paul Frazier of Brookfield Property Partners. Brookfield Property Partners is investing $50 million to revitalize the three-tower Allen Center office complex, originally constructed in downtown Houston in the 1970s. A key element of the plan is removing a skybridge that currently spans the complex, which will open the seven-acre site to the street and create visible, accessible public space. An existing earthen berm beneath the skybridge will be removed, freeing up roughly one acre to become contiguous green space between the towers.
The park-like landscape will be designed by the Office of James Burnett, a landscape architecture firm known for thoughtful, human-centered public spaces. Inside the buildings, Morris Dilworth and Walls architecture will lead extensive interior renovations aimed at modernizing common areas and creating collaborative, Millennial-friendly work environments that appeal to today’s tenants.
Allen Center’s three office buildings, near the corner of Smith and Dallas, comprise about 3.1 million square feet of office space. In late 2016 Brookfield also acquired an important outparcel: the 350-room DoubleTree Houston Hotel at 400 Dallas Street. The 20-story hotel sits within the Allen Center footprint, so securing the property was a strategic move. Brookfield plans to renovate the hotel and may reposition it under a new, higher-tier Hilton affiliation.
With one of its office towers dating back nearly 50 years, Allen Center stands at a pivotal moment. By removing the skybridge, adding green space, integrating the newly acquired hotel and modernizing building interiors, Brookfield—led locally by Paul Frazier—is repositioning Allen Center to remain vibrant for decades to come. These changes demonstrate a long-term vision for urban renewal and tenant-focused design, earning the project Realty News Report’s Legends of Real Estate Award for Redevelopment of the Year.
Coming tomorrow: Realty News Report’s Legends of Real Estate Award for Texan of the Year.
Jan. 4, 2017 Realty News Report Copyright 2017