HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – The new 47-story Texas Tower office project has earned WiredScore’s Certified Platinum designation, a recognition of its advanced internet connectivity and digital infrastructure.
The Texas Tower, a joint development by Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge currently rising on Texas Avenue in downtown Houston, will be the first ground-up building in the city to receive WiredScore Platinum certification.
Fast, secure and reliable internet access is a top priority for tenants and a key element of the overall tenant experience. Texas Tower has been designed to meet a wide range of tenant connectivity requirements, offering robust redundancy to minimize downtime and multiple internet service routes for primary and backup connections, according to Hines.
“Texas Tower delivers on an entirely different level with environments that work as hard—and as smart—as its tenants. The building is designed for robust IT connectivity and redundancy as well as readiness to improve as technology evolves. We believe this differentiates us from other offerings,” said John Mooz, Senior Managing Director at Hines.
Designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners (Pelli Clarke Pelli), Texas Tower aims to reduce energy consumption while preserving occupant comfort and to meet the highest standards in sustainability, connectivity and wellness. The development targets LEED Platinum, WiredScore Platinum and WELL v2 Building Standard certifications. Construction began in July 2018.
The building is already 33 percent leased, with law firm Vinson & Elkins announced as a major tenant, and is scheduled to open in late 2021.
Leasing for the property is handled by Michael Anderson of Colvill Office Properties. Texas Tower is being built on the former site of the Houston Chronicle building at 801 Texas Avenue.
The site, referred to as Block 58, is bounded by Texas Avenue, Travis, Milam and Prairie streets.
In October 2015, a Hines-led group purchased Block 58, plus an adjacent half-block used as the Chronicle parking garage, from Hearst Newspapers for $54 million. The Houston Chronicle subsequently moved its offices out of downtown to a property on the Southwest Freeway at Loop 610 that had previously housed the Houston Post.
Hines, founded in Houston in 1957, will relocate its corporate headquarters to Texas Tower, leaving the Williams Tower (formerly Transco) and occupying approximately 155,000 square feet in the new building.
Sept. 25, 2019 Realty News Report Copyright 2019
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