Greenway Plaza
Encyclopedia
Mixed-use development
Mixed-use development is the use of a building, set of buildings, or neighborhood for more than one purpose. Since the 1920s, zoning in some countries has required uses to be separated. However, when jobs, housing, and commercial activities are located close together, a community's transportation...
off U.S. Highway 59 in Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, five miles (8 kilometers) west of Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston is the largest business district of Houston, Texas, United States. Downtown Houston, the city's central business district, contains the headquarters of many prominent companies. There is an extensive network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks connecting the buildings of the district...
and three miles (5 kilometers) east of Uptown Houston
Uptown Houston
The Uptown District of Houston is located 6.2 miles west of downtown and is centered along Post Oak Boulevard, Westheimer Road , and the Galleria...
. Greenway Plaza is Houston's first totally planned business-commercial-residential complex developed by the late Kenneth Schnitzer. Greenway Plaza is owned and operated by subsidiaries of Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. (NYSE: CEI). Most buildings within the Greenway Plaza campus are interconnected by environmentally-controlled bridges, and/or tunnels and covered walkways. The late civil engineer Jack Boyd Buckley
Jack Boyd Buckley
Jack Boyd Buckley was a civil engineer and building consultant based in Houston, Texas...
also worked on the Greenway Plaza design.
The complex, composed of 10 commercial buildings, has more than 4200000 sq ft (390,192.8 m²) of space. Within the complex is the Renaissance Hotel Houston, the Houston City Club, and Tony's - one of Houston's premiere restaurants. The commercial buildings in the complex range from 11 to 31 stories.
Greenway Plaza is located next to the City owned arena occupied by the Lakewood Church
Lakewood Church
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is the largest congregation in the United States, averaging more than 43,500 in attendance per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church Central Campus, home to four English language services and two Spanish...
. This arena was formerly called "The Summit" and later "Compaq Center" and hosted the Houston Rockets, a professional basketball team, as well as other sporting teams, concerts, and events. Privately owned residential condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s are also located near Greenway Plaza, just west of Timmons Lane. The Greenway condominiums consist of two 30-story buildings (14 & 15 Greenway Plaza) located at the southwest periphery of the development.
History
Kenneth L. Schnitzer, the chairperson of the Century Development Corporation, envisioned Greenway Plaza, which became the first mixed-use development in Houston.Century took realtors from outlying towns around Houston and had them buy individual parcels for very inexpensive prices while trying not to attract attention. One homeowner found out about the plan and asked to have the house sold for $350,000. At the time it was a lot of money for a house that was small. The company paid the money so it could secure the tract the house sat on. The grand opening took place in 1973. Schnitzer said that Greenway Plaza would become a "second downtown
Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston is the largest business district of Houston, Texas, United States. Downtown Houston, the city's central business district, contains the headquarters of many prominent companies. There is an extensive network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks connecting the buildings of the district...
." Bill Schadewald of the Houston Press
Houston Press
The Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
said that Greenway Plaza, which housed office towers, retail operations, a basketball arena, a movie theater, and a hotel, "defined the multiuse concept in an original “Edge City
Edge City
"Edge City" is an American newspaper comic strip created by the husband and wife team of Terry LaBan and Patty LaBan. The scripts are written by both of them, with the art being created by Terry LaBan. The strip debuted in 2000 and is syndicated by King Features Syndicate.The main characters in...
.”"
In 1970 the M. W. Kellogg company had moved its headquarters from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Houston. After Kellogg moved its operations into Greenway Plaza, initially Kellogg occupied half of 3 Greenway Plaza and staffed the half with fewer than 600 employees. When the energy industry expanded worldwide, Kellogg occupied all of 3 Greenway Plaza and space in an adjacent building. Kellogg's lease on July 1, 1991 was up for renewal; if Kellogg had renewed the lease, its rent payment would have increased. Instead Kellogg decided to swap office space with its parent company, Dresser Industries. Dresser took over a part of Kellogg's lease and renamed 3 Greenway Plaza to the Dresser Tower. After the swap Dresser occupied 163000 sq ft (15,143.2 m²) of space on eight floors, while Kellogg continued to lease six floors in the building. In exchange Kellogg took space formerly held by Dresser at the M. W. Kellogg Tower
KBR Tower
KBR Tower is a 550 ft tall skyscraper in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States; it is a part of the Cullen Center complex. The KBR Tower has the headquarters of KBR....
in the Cullen Center
Cullen Center
Cullen Center is a skyscraper complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The complex is managed by Brookfield Properties. Trizec Properties owns all four office buildings...
in Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston is the largest business district of Houston, Texas, United States. Downtown Houston, the city's central business district, contains the headquarters of many prominent companies. There is an extensive network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks connecting the buildings of the district...
. The swap satisfied Dresser's need for less space.
In 2004 Crescent attempted to sell a 50% equity position in both Greenway Plaza and Houston Center
Houston Center
Houston Center is a retail and office complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by subsidiaries of Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. .The three towers in Houston Center have almost of Class A office space...
. During that year, El Paso Corp.
El Paso Corp.
El Paso Corporation , provides natural gas and related energy products and is one of North America's largest natural gas producers. It is headquartered in Houston, Texas. United States....
, a major tenant with 912000 sq ft (84,727.6 m²) in Greenway Plaza, announced that it was vacating the property and moving its personnel to its Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston
Downtown Houston is the largest business district of Houston, Texas, United States. Downtown Houston, the city's central business district, contains the headquarters of many prominent companies. There is an extensive network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks connecting the buildings of the district...
headquarters. A Houston Business Journal article stated that El Paso was expected to sublease the space until 2014, when its lease will expire.
In 2005 the internet service provider Internet America
Internet America
Internet America is an American Internet service provider headquartered in northwest unincorporated Harris County, Texas, near Houston.-History:...
had offices in Greenway Plaza.
Commercial Office Buildings in Greenway Plaza Complex
- One Greenway Plaza
- Two Greenway Plaza
- When CompuBankCompuBankCompuBank, N.A. was a financial company engaged primarily in retail banking, mortgage banking, business finance and providing ATM and merchant processing services. CompuBank was founded in 1998 by banking veteran Frank Goldberg and launched on the internet in early October the same year...
existed, its headquarters was in Suite 215 of 2 Greenway Plaza East.
- When CompuBank
- Three Greenway Plaza
- United States Postal ServiceUnited States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
: Greenway Post Office - Camden Property TrustCamden Property TrustCamden Property Trust is a Houston, TX based Real Estate Investment Trust that owns and operates apartment communities in the United States. According to the company's website, it owns 196 apartment communities made up of 67,212 units.- Management :...
:
- United States Postal Service
- Four Greenway Plaza
- TransoceanTransoceanTransocean Ltd. is one of the world's largest offshore drilling contractors. The company rents floating mobile drill rigs, along with the equipment and personnel for operations, to oil and gas companies at an average daily rate of US$282,700...
's Houston offices are in this building. At one time Transocean's headquarters were considered to be in this complex.
- Transocean
- Five Greenway Plaza
- Eight Greenway Plaza
- FlightAwareFlightAwareFlightAware is an aviation software and data services company. Based in Houston, Texas, it is best known for the flightaware.com web site, the first to offer free flight tracking of both private and commercial aircraft in the United States...
world headquarters is located in Suite 1300. Previously it was in Suite 1150. - Previously China AirlinesChina AirlinesChina Airlines is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of Republic of China . Although not directly state-owned, the airline is owned by China Airlines Group, which is owned by the China Aviation Development Foundation...
maintained an office in 8 Greenway Plaza. It served as the Dallas Mini Office for the Dallas/Fort Worth region. The China AirlinesChina AirlinesChina Airlines is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of Republic of China . Although not directly state-owned, the airline is owned by China Airlines Group, which is owned by the China Aviation Development Foundation...
Houston Mini Office (Chinese: 休士頓營業所 Xiūshìdùn Yíngyèsuǒ) was formerly located in Suite 824. In 2007 Crescent honored China Airlines as a tenant that had occupied a suite in Greenway Plaza for 20–29 years. As of 2010 the Greater HoustonGreater HoustonHouston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
functions had moved to the Arena PlaceArena PlaceArena Place is a complex including two office towers and a theater located in Greater Sharpstown, Houston, Texas.The complex, located on U.S. Route 59 , includes One & Two Arena Place, two 19-story towers each with about of space, the Arena Theatre, a live performance theater with a 2,850 seats,...
complex in Greater Sharpstown. The Dallas office is now on the property of Dallas-Fort Worth International AirportDallas-Fort Worth International AirportDallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas...
.
- FlightAware
- Nine Greenway Plaza
- United States headquarters of Mitsui Oil Exploration Co.Mitsui Oil Exploration Co.is an oil exploration subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. that specializes in natural gas. It has its headquarters in the Hibiya Central Building in Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato, Tokyo.It was one of 17 Mitsui companies that were spun off on July 19, 1969....
(Suite 1220) - The building once served as the headquarters of the Coastal Corporation, and it was called the Coastal Tower
- United States headquarters of Mitsui Oil Exploration Co.
- Eleven Greenway Plaza
- Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in HoustonTaipei Economic and Cultural Office in HoustonTaipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston is the Republic of China's diplomatic facility in Houston, Texas, United States. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office is on the 20th Floor in 11 Greenway Plaza...
, an office of the Republic of ChinaRepublic of ChinaThe Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
, is in Suite 2012. In 2007 Crescent honored the consulate's information division as a tenant that had occupied a suite in Greenway Plaza for 20–29 years.
- China Airlines previously had its office, then the Houston Sales Office, at Suite 2714 in 11 Greenway, before moving it to 8 Greenway Plaza.
- Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Houston
- Twelve Greenway Plaza
- 3800 Buffalo SpeedwayBuffalo SpeedwayBuffalo Speedway is a street in Houston, Texas. It starts in the upper class River Oaks neighborhood on the west side of Houston at an with Westheimer Road. It ends at West Bellfort Street on the southwest side...
Retail tenants
- 12 Greenway Plaza
- Suite 102: Amegy BankAmegy BankAmegy Bank NA, operating as Amegy Bank of Texas and formerly known as the Southwest Bank of Texas, is a bank with headquarters in the Five Post Oak Park building in the Post Oak Park business park in Houston, Texas...
- Suite 102: Amegy Bank
- The Shops at Greenway
- Bango Burgers
- Alonti Cafe
- Teppanyaki
- Texas Chicken
- Eats
- Village BBQ
Prior to January 1, 2008, Landmark Theatres
Landmark Theatres
Landmark Theatres is the largest art house movie theater chain in the United States. It is owned by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner through their 2929 Entertainment. The chain shows mostly first run independent, foreign film, and restored classics though some Landmark theaters also show more mainstream...
operated the Landmark Greenway, an "arthouse
Art film
An art film is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience...
" theater inside 5 Greenway. Landmark's leased expired and the Greenway Plaza did not renew the lease. December 31, 2007 was the final day of operation for the theater.