Bus Station Departure Could Transform Midtown, Market briefs

In Houston, Can the removal of one building change an entire district? Could it change both Midtown and Downtown Houston?

If you’re talking about the Greyhound Bus Station, the answer is yes.

The transit facility is located on Main Street, just south of the Pierce Elevated. For years, it was a key drop-off point for the Texas Department of Corrections. Many prisoners, after completing aa period of incarceration with the TDC, were dropped at the urban bus station, the point of reentry into the civilized world. The TDC procedures reportedly have been changed, but the ongoing vagrant situation in the area can emit an unwelcoming vibe, as stated by people in the real estate community.

The bus station property, 2121 Main, is now for sale. It’s 1.4 acres on a block bounded by Main, Fannin, Gray and Webster streets, a half-block south of the Pierce Elevated.

The site offers “a unique opportunity to be part of a major Midtown upgrade,” says a sales brochure from Cushman & Wakefield. The firm’s Kristen McDade is leading the marketing effort.

“The Greyhound Bus Station, originally built in 1979, is now available. Located where Midtown and Downtown Houston intersect, the site has excellent access by way of the METRO Rail Red Line connecting all the way to the Texas Medical Center,” the brochure says.

The potential extends beyond the 33,000-SF bus station. The nearby Pierce Elevated freeway is slated to be re-routed and removed someday, as stated by the controversial Texas Department of Transportation plan for Interstate 45 and the downtown freeway network.

The Pierce Elevated freeway (about 100 feet from the bus station) serves as the boundary between downtown and Midtown. Like the Berlin Wall, the Pierce Elevated has been almost an impenetrable barrier blocking corporate growth and commerce from downtown from jumping into Midtown.

When the Pierce is removed and the Midtown/Downtown border fades, the stage is set for quality redevelopment of the long stretch of land that is now a grotesque wasteland under a freeway.

Houston needs the highest quality redevelopment of the Greyhound Station site and the Pierce Elevated right-of-way.