Houston Pavilions
Encyclopedia
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...
Houston, 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...
.
Construction was scheduled to begin in Spring 2006 , with the first developments opening in the fourth quarter of 2007. The project possesses an estimated cost of 200 million United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
s and is expected to contain almost 560000 square feet (52,025.7 m²) of space, including 360000 square feet (33,445.1 m²) of retail space in the first two levels of the development . The project covers three 1.4 acres (5,665.6 m²) city blocks. As of November 16, 2006, 50% of the retail space had been leased. 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) of loft office space will be available on the mid-block between Fannin and San Jacinto Streets. Office parking will be provided in the Houston Pavilions' 1,675 garage located on the corner of Main and Polk.
The project is being developed by Texas Real Estate Trust, Inc. and Entertainment Development Group, who also developed the Denver Pavilions in Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Geoffrey Jones and William Denton served as the co-developers of the project. The designers were Laguarda.Low Architects from Dallas.
To finance the development, developers obtained a construction loan from North Houston Bank, an $8,800,000 development grant for infrastructure improvements from the city of Houston, and $5,500,000 from Harris County
Harris County, Texas
As of the 2010 Census, the population of the county was 4,092,459, White Americans made up 56.6% of Harris County's population; non-Hispanic whites represented 33.0% of the population. Black Americans made up 18.9% of the population. Native Americans made up 0.7% of Harris County's population...
.
The Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
reported that the Pavilions will provide around 1,800 to 2,000 full- and part-time jobs.
The Houston Pavilions office tower, which is 11 stories tall, is named the NRG Tower, after its main tenant.
History
The construction of Houston Pavilions ended in October 2008. The office building originally had no tenants. On June 30, 2009, Reliant EnergyReliant Energy
RRI Energy, Inc. , based in Houston, Texas, United States, was an energy company that provided electricity to wholesale customers in the United States. The company was one of the largest independent power producers in the nation with more than 14,000 megawatts of power generation capacity across...
announced that it will take 10 floors in the Houston Pavilions tower. NRG Energy
NRG Energy
NRG Energy, Inc. is an American energy company headquartered in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, near Princeton.-Electrical Power Generation Operations:...
, which had acquired the retail operations of Reliant Energy, announced that it would take 234000 square foot of space in a 10 year lease. Houston Pavilions redesigned its space to make room for NRG. Geoffrey Jones, the co-developer of Houston Pavilions, stated that the complex administration planned to convert about 62000 square foot of retail and swing space into office space for NRG, and the Houston Pavilions management office decreased the amount of occupied space to make room for NRG.
Prior to January 2011 rumors stated that the 23000 square foot Books-A-Million
Books-A-Million
Books-A-Million, Inc., also known as BAM!, is a company that owns the second largest U.S. bookstore chain and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The company operates over 200 stores in the South, Midwest, Northeast...
location was closing. In January 2011 the management of Houston Pavilions finalized an extension of the lease with Books-A-Million.
David Knox, an NRG spokesperson, said NRG employees and contractors had been moving into the 1201 Fannin St. from other locations since January 2011. Two weeks before March 17, 2011, the employees of NRG finished moved into 1201 Fannin St. Around March 17 the office building was renamed the NRG Tower.
Signed Tenants
In the office space, as of 2011 1,300 NRG EnergyNRG Energy
NRG Energy, Inc. is an American energy company headquartered in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, near Princeton.-Electrical Power Generation Operations:...
employees work in 263000 square foot of office space. To accommodate additional workers, Houston Pavilions converted some of its empty retail space into office space.
Kevin Howell, the president of NRG's Texas operations, said that certain characteristics of the Houston Pavilions office space; the high ceilings and the bright, open spaces; reflect the environment of the NRG corporate headquarters facility near Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
.
Signed retail tenants of the development include:
- Clique Salon
- House of BluesHouse of BluesHouse of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
- Lucky Strike Lanes
- III Forks Steakhouse
- Andalucia Tapas Restaurant & Bar
- Forever 21Forever 21Forever 21 is an American chain of clothing retailers with branches in major cities in The United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East that offers fashion and accessories for young women and men....
- Books-A-MillionBooks-A-MillionBooks-A-Million, Inc., also known as BAM!, is a company that owns the second largest U.S. bookstore chain and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The company operates over 200 stores in the South, Midwest, Northeast...
- Pete's Dueling Piano Bar
- Guadalajara del Centro
- McCormick & Schmick'sMcCormick & Schmick'sMcCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants is an American seafood restaurant chain, based in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1979, the publicly-traded company operates a total of 92 locations in North America under various brands. This includes seven Canadian locations that operate under the Boathouse...
- Yao’s Restaurant and Bar
- Mia Bella
- Lucho Boutique
- Unity National Bank
- BCBG Max Azria
- Marble Slab CreameryMarble Slab CreameryMarble Slab Creamery is a chain of independently owned and operated franchised stores that specialize in serving ice cream and a variety of other desserts. It is a franchise brand in the portfolio of Global Franchise Group LLC...
- Qatar AirwaysQatar AirwaysQatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. , operating as Qatar Airways, is the flag carrier of Qatar. Headquartered in the Qatar Airways Tower in Doha, it operates a hub-and-spoke network, linking over 100 international destinations from its base in Doha, using a fleet of over 100 aircraft...
(ticket office)
External links
- Houston Pavilions Project Page
- Entertainment Development Group
- White, Tara. "Pavilions developers change residential design," Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
. November 16, 2006. - Sarnoff, Nancy and David Kaplan. "Pavilions aims to give downtown a new dimension." Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
. October 11, 2008. - Sarnoff, Nancy. Posted by Purva Patel. "Pavilions developers get advance from city." Houston ChronicleHouston ChronicleThe Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
. May 4, 2011.
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