HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) The Ion, the redevelopment of the historic Sears building in Houston’s Midtown, has named the co-working operator Common Desk and commercial real estate firm Transwestern to lead major roles at the innovation hub.
Common Desk will manage more than 58,000 square feet of experiential, flexible office space on The Ion’s second floor. The space will include coworking areas, private offices, team suites and a dedicated training room designed to serve entrepreneurs, startups, and small teams.
Rice Management Company, affiliated with Rice University, is the developer of The Ion and the surrounding 16-acre innovation district.
The Ion is planned to become the epicenter of Houston’s innovation ecosystem—an inclusive, dynamic and dense hub fostering collaboration among entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, corporations, academics and the wider Houston community. When complete, the 288,000-square-foot building will support a mix of uses, including shared workspaces, prototyping and maker facilities, event venues, classrooms, food and beverage options, and indoor and outdoor communal areas with shared amenities.
The project reimagines the multi-story former Sears store at 4201 Main Street near the old Delman Theater site at Wheeler Street.
Hines is overseeing the redevelopment, with design by architects Gensler and James Carpenter. Commercial real estate veteran Drew Morris of Savills is handling leasing for the project.
Significant construction milestones have already been achieved. The redevelopment opens the former department store by removing large portions of interior floors to create a central atrium and bring natural light into the core of the building.
Work on the exterior removed a metal sheath that had been added during a 1960s remodel and obscured the building’s original Art Deco character, restoring the exterior’s historic geometry and detailing.
Rice Management said Common Desk and Transwestern will work closely with Rice to fully realize The Ion as an innovation hub and to ensure it provides a lively, engaging environment for tenants, startups and community members.
“Transwestern is excited to work alongside Rice Management Company as property and facilities manager for The Ion while supporting its mission of innovation, collaboration and inclusion,” said Kevin Roberts, Southwest President at Transwestern. “As Transwestern advances its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, we are proud to support minority- and women-owned businesses and promote innovation that will shape the future of Houston.”
The Midtown Sears store closed in 2018, the year Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11. Nationwide, fewer than 100 Sears locations remain in operation.
Common Desk, based in Dallas, already operates three locations in Houston: at the 2500 CityWest building in Westchase; in the East End at 2339 Commerce Street; and at 3040 Post Oak in the Uptown/Galleria area. The company also runs multiple sites across Dallas and Austin.
Nov. 17, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
File: The Ion Innovation Hub
File: (2) Rice Management. Sears. Midtown.
Caption: Rendering of the renovated Sears building in Midtown — The Ion Innovation Hub