Changing Houston

New restaurants and sidewalk cafes to transform Houston's convention center: A Super vision?

About 30,000 square feet in new commercial space is in the works for the George R. Brown Convention Center to help attract as many as seven new retail, restaurant, sidewalk cafe and entertainment tenants in a "bold streetscape makeover" in the area — just in time for Super Bowl LI in 2017.

Fred Griffin, chairman and CEO of Griffin Partners, and Ed Wulfe, chairman and CEO of Wulfe & Co., revealed the development plan accompanied by new renderings of the finished projects. Houston First Corp., which manages the GRB, joins Griffin Partners and Wulfe & Co. searching for new tenants.

The restaurants and other venue spaces will face Avenida de las Americas with large patios out front and range in size from about 1,500 square feet to more than 10,000 square feet. Houston First is also developing an office building at the north end of the GRB to include some of the retail space. The goal is to redesign Avenida de las Americas into a "high-energy gathering spot that focuses on pedestrian mobility."

"These people places will be major amenities."

As well, ongoing renovations to the convention center facade will create "an appealing grand entryway," according to officials.

In a statement, Houston First chairman Ric Campo said getting the "right mix of private-sector development is crucial in the overall growth of the area and helps fulfill the convention center master plan."

"These people places will be major amenities for the Avenida de las Americas — the boulevard in front of the GRB — the Houston Americas-Houston Hotel, Discovery Green, the new Marriott Marquis and the new offices and parking garage included in the master plan," Campo added.

Shopping and dining venues are in the latest plans.

George R. Brown Convention Center upgrades along Avienda de las Americas Street rendering February 2015

Rendering courtesy of Marie Hoke

Shopping and dining venues are in the latest plans.

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blasting off

Houston company wins NASA contract for fifth private mission to ISS

Courtesy of Axiom Space

Axiom will send another mission to the International Space Station.

Axiom Space, a Houston-based space infrastructure company that’s developing the first commercial space station, has forged a deal with NASA to carry out the fifth civilian-staffed mission to the International Space Station.

Axiom Mission 5 is scheduled to launch in January 2027, at the earliest, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew of non-government astronauts is expected to spend up to 14 days docked at the International Space Station (ISS). Various science and research activities will take place during the mission.

The crew for the upcoming mission hasn’t been announced. Previous Axiom missions were commanded by retired NASA astronauts Michael López-Alegría, the company’s chief astronaut, and Peggy Whitson, the company’s vice president of human spaceflight.

“All four previous [Axiom] missions have expanded the global community of space explorers, diversifying scientific investigations in microgravity, and providing significant insight that is benefiting the development of our next-generation space station, Axiom Station,” Jonathan Cirtain, president and CEO of Axiom, said in a news release.

As part of Axiom’s new contract with NASA, Voyager Technologies will provide payload services for Axiom’s fifth mission. Voyager, a defense, national security, and space technology company, recently announced a four-year, $24.5 million contract with NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to provide mission management services for the ISS.

On February 12, Axiom also announced on that it has secured $350 million in a financing round led by Type One Ventures and Qatar Investment Authority.

The company shared in a news release that the funding will support the continued development of its commercial space station, known as Axiom Station, and the production of its Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) under its NASA spacesuit contract.

NASA awarded Axiom a contract in January 2020 to create Axiom Station. The project is currently underway.

"Axiom Space isn’t just building hardware, it’s building the backbone of humanity’s next era in orbit," Tarek Waked, Founding General Partner at Type One Ventures, said in a news release. "Their rare combination of execution, government trust, and global partnerships positions them as the clear successor-architect for life after the ISS. This is how the United States continues to lead in space.”

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This story was originally published on our sister site, InnovationMap.