HOUSTON – Brookfield Properties has announced a comprehensive renovation of the 53-story Heritage Plaza, a 1.1 million-square-foot tower at 1111 Bagby in downtown Houston.
This project is part of a larger Brookfield initiative to modernize its downtown holdings, which include two multi-building office campuses: Houston Center and Allen Center.
Kirksey Architecture is leading the design for Heritage Plaza’s upgrades, which encompass both exterior improvements and a full lobby modernization. Brookfield expects the work to be finished in January 2021.
The exterior scope calls for a reimagined arrival experience, including a new exterior glass curtain wall at the corner of Dallas and Brazos streets. The plaza will receive refreshed landscaping, new pavers and integrated seating to create a more welcoming pedestrian environment.
Completed in 1987 near the end of a construction surge that began in the early 1980s, Heritage Plaza represents one of Houston’s landmark office towers from that era. The building’s distinct stepped crown, inspired by Mayan temple architecture, has long been a signature element of the downtown skyline. M. Nasr & Partners served as the original architect, with construction starting in 1984 amid an oversupplied market.
As Houston’s 1980s-vintage office inventory ages, many of those buildings are struggling to match the design and amenity standards of newer towers developed by firms like Hines and Skanska. To remain competitive, landlords across the city are investing heavily in renovations to prevent their properties from falling to Class B status.
Local real estate lore recalls that developer Kenneth Schnitzer criticized the decision to build Heritage Plaza during that period of excess, calling it “the single most irresponsible act” in Houston commercial development at the time. The late 1980s did indeed bring significant pain to the market, with elevated vacancy, foreclosures and bankruptcies.
Brookfield reiterates that work at Heritage Plaza has begun and is slated for completion in January 2021. The building totals 1,106,453 square feet of office space plus 28,535 square feet of retail.
EOG Resources, the Houston-based energy company, is the building’s largest tenant, occupying roughly 350,000 square feet.
In January 2019 Deloitte, the global professional services firm, extended its lease after a 12-year tenancy, committing to 204,210 square feet across the 39th through 45th floors. Deloitte plans interior renovations to its offices starting this fall, with work expected to wrap up in late 2020.
Deloitte’s renewal was a notable win for Brookfield amid market speculation that the firm was considering newer projects downtown, including the Texas Tower by Hines currently under construction on the former Houston Chronicle site.
Earlier in the year, Brookfield launched renovation programs at both Houston Center and Allen Center. According to Brookfield, those efforts will transform the campuses into vibrant destinations that support innovation and productivity for current and future tenants. The Houston Center and Allen Center renovations are expected to be substantially complete by late 2020.
As part of the Allen Center redevelopment, the former DoubleTree is being rebranded as the C. Baldwin Hotel. The hotel will feature a new restaurant from San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino, a new Sloan/Hall retail store off the main lobby and a 1,300-square-foot Paloma salon.
Additionally, Brookfield recently began upgrades at Total Plaza, 1201 Louisiana, named for the French energy and chemicals company. Renovations focused on the tunnel, street-level and second-floor lobby areas began in August 2019 and were scheduled for completion in early 2020.
Oct. 1, 2019 Realty News Report Copyright 2019
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