The potential sale of the Compaq Center to its current tenant Lakewood Church has been postponed, KHOU reporter Alex Sanz reported via Twitter. When news of the sales agreement first came out, City Council approval was largely assumed to be a given, but the Council decided to put off the vote this morning in favor of further discussion.
The Houston City Council Budget & Fiscal Affairs Committee will now reconvene next week to discuss the sale. Selling Compaq to the church would alleviate some of the city's budget woes, but the $7.5 million price has drawn criticism for being much too low. Lakewood officials — though not celebrity pastor Joel Osteen, who's not made any public comment on the sale — have argued that it's a fair deal because the city will get no money from Compaq for the next 21 years under the current agreement.
Lakewood is likely in no hurry. The church has a prepaid lease until 2031 with an option to extend it for another 30 years after that at around $750,000 per year .
Plus, they've got God on their side.
The building at 4911 will be torn down for the new greenspace. Holland Lodge No. 1, A.F. & A.M./Facebook 