Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau moving out of City Hall (but closer to Phoenicia) to 4 Houston Center

Several months ago, the City of Houston asked the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau to pack up and find a new home for its offices. It didn't take long for the organization to sign on a space just across town at 4 Houston Center.

Thankfully, these changes won't affect city visitors, because the storefront won't need to box its tchochkies and pamphlets for the relocation: "The City has asked for us to keep the Visitor Information Center here at City Hall," said Greg Ortale, president and CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Ortale couldn't tell CultureMap what the City plans to do with the offices left vacant by the organization's 89 employees, or whether the 7,700-square-foot Visitor Information Center will be downscaled at all in the process.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau will officially relocate in December. The move is sure to be a boon to productivity, as it will mark the first time in more than 20 years that all the employees will share a floor at the new 29,000-square-foot space.

The new offices will also be within walking distance to important city amenities, including Discovery Green, the George R. Brown Convention Center, hotels, shops and stadiums, and the soon-to-open Phoenicia at One Park Place.