Houston's downtown convention center will get a game-changing expansion

Rendering of the expansion project.

Photo provide by Houston First

On Thursday, March 6, Houston First Corporation unveiled a massive expansion and transformation of the area around the George R. Brown Convention Center. At the ceremony, Houston Mayor John Whitmire and other officials spoke about the need for improvements to the facility, including the construction of a new building called GRB Houston South.

“Step one will be the new [George R. Brown Convention Center] South, which we envision as the most flexible and sellable convention building in the United States, allowing us to layer business in a way that we haven’t been able to before,” said Michael Heckman, president and CEO of Houston First. “We’ll be able to host multiple events in our expanded and reimagined building at once. Which in turn will bring more opportunities to Houston, filling more hotel rooms and hospitality businesses, generating millions and millions of dollars in new revenue for our community.”

The dynamic transformation was made possible through Senate Bill 1057, which passed the Texas Legislature in 2023. Championed by then-State Sen. Whitmire, it allows Houston to allocate revenues from the incremental Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) within a three-mile radius of the convention center to the project, estimated to be roughly $2 billion over the next 30 years.

The convention center will receive 700,000 square feet of new space that provides access to the nearby Toyota Center through a 100,000 square foot pedestrian plaza. The goal is to link two of Houston’s major sports venues with the convention center, Discovery Green, and the nearby hotels, creating a walkable center of entertainment.

Plans also call from construction of the largest ballroom in Texas, as well as flexible areas for a variety of events, new restaurant space, green space walkways, and further connections to the separate areas. The Rustic, a live music venue, bar, and restaurant that's located just south of the convention center, is in the path of construction, but Houston First says they are working to find a new home for it within the convention center area.

Phase one of the expansion should be completed in 2028. Whitmire joked that having the project ready by the 2028 Republican National Convention in Houston was a selling point in passing SB 1057 through the legislature.

Whitmire specifically highlighted how the expansion will connect East Downtown (EaDo) to the downtown district. The East End is often segregated from Houston's various improvements, something Whitmire addressed directly.

"The East End has been left out," he said. "[Interstates] 45 and 59 have divided our community. Can you envision what this is going to do?"

It was these remarks that earned Whitmire some praise from the small group of protesters who showed up to the announcement. They were against the loss of Polk Street, which they said was the only two-way road that leads to the convention center from the east. According to spokespeople from Houston First, that change is actually part of a previous TxDOT plan, the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP), and not a direct result of the convention center area reconstruction. Nonetheless, protesters urged the mayor to consider the impact of Polk’s loss.

“It’s an important transit corridor for East End residents as well as residents of Third Ward,” Amy Dinn, an EaDo resident, told CultureMap. “How do we get into downtown with that closed? This project can move forward with a Sky Bridge, so we’d still have connectivity for the events, but allow people to continue to access downtown.”

George R Brown Convention Center expansion project

Courtesy of Houston First

Rendering of the expansion project.

bowled over

Houston artist dishes on Food Bank fundraiser happening this weekend

Picture of several artists at a table with a bunch of handmade ceramic bowls.

Photo courtesy Paula Murphy

Ceramics professor Cori Cryer and her students from Lone Star College Kingwood and the bowls they donated to the 20th Empty Bowls fundraiser

On Saturday, May 16, shoppers have an opportunity to feed those in need by purchasing unique, handcrafted items. The 20th Empty Bowls event takes place at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards from 10 am to 3 pm. A preview party takes place on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm (buy tickets here).

The fundraiser is a collaboration between Houston-area ceramists, woodturners, and artists working in all media and Silver Street Studios.

Shoppers can purchase one-of-a-kind bowls for $25 each (larger bowls are priced accordingly). A simple lunch from Salata, a sweet treat from Ben & Jerry’s, and iced coffee from Katz Coffee is served until it runs out. Every dollar of the purchases goes to the Houston Food Bank, which estimates that for every dollar donated, it’s able to provide three meals to Houstonians in need. Since its inception, Empty Bowls Houston has raised $1,208,959 for the Houston Food Bank, which equates to more than 3.6 million meals.

The event also includes live music and art demos. More than 2,000 bowls will be available for purchase, donated by area artists.

Empty Bowls began as a grassroots effort started many years ago at a high school in Michigan and is now held all over the world. Nearly everything for Empty Bowls events, from the food served to the venues hosting events and the bowls for sale are donated.

Cori Cryer, a professor of ceramics at Lone Star College Kingwood, is one of those who, along with her students, donated bowls for the fundraiser. She’s been involved with the effort for all of its 20 years in Houston, and before that in other cities.

“When I started donating, I didn't have a whole lot of money,” Cryer tells CultureMap. “I was a graduate student, and so this was a way for me to give back to the local community. And I think my students today kind of recognize that same feel. You know, they may not have money to send a check off to someone, [but this is] an easy way for them to be able to contribute to the community.”

Cryer teaches Ceramics I and Ceramics II to a variety of dual-credit high school students, college students, and continuing education students. Those in her Ceramics II classes are required to create five bowls to donate to Empty Bowls. But her students in her introductory class often end up donating as well. This year, she and her students provided approximately 150 bowls for the event.

Cryer said that the style of bowls for sale range from something as small as a condiment bowl to much larger serving bowls As each bowl is an individual work, they represent a variety of styles and themes. One of her students this year designed a glazed, ceramic leaf-shaped bowl with ceramic insects on it.

“There's a ladybug and a caterpillar and a spider,” she says, each created out of clay and positioned around the bowl.

Cryer loves seeing how the artists use their imaginations and abilities.

“Most of my students do throw their bowls on the pottery wheel, but that's not required,” she says. “They can hand-build them. It’s completely up to them what kind of construction technique they use.”

Cryer loves knowing that this event is a way for students to see that their artistic efforts can have lasting impact on the community around them. In addition to being able to support the Houston Food Bank, the bowls her class donates, she knows, take on special meaning for those who purchase them.

“I tell my students there is a pot for every person and a person for every pot,” she says.

In fact, one of her personal favorite bowls is one she purchased from an Empty Bowls sale.

“It's a very small bowl, maybe like three inches in diameter, and two inches tall, and it's a little pink pig that I think an elementary student made,” she said. “He has no tail, and he has no ears, but he has a snout, and it is definitely a pig. And I love that little bowl. I have it sitting on my desk at home.”

Cryer knows shoppers attending the Empty Bowls sale will find similar, soon-to-be-beloved items.

The Saturday event is free. Those wishing to attend the preview party on Friday, May 15 from 6-8 pm, which offers light bites, beer and wine, and the first chance to purchase bowls, can purchase a $50 ticket online. In addition, Archway Gallery is hosting an exhibition of 30 one-of-a-kind bowls that can be purchased as part of the Empty Bowls fundraiser. The exhibit runs through May 30.