boomtown redux

Hines touts new 41-story skyscraper in downtown Houston as demand for office space grows

Hines, the Houston real estate firm that developed the Galleria and a number of skyscrapers in downtown, is planning and marketing a major new downtown office tower on Main Street that will be at least 41 stories tall and perhaps, even taller.

The building would be located at the southwest corner of Main and Texas Avenue, catty-cornered from the Rice Lofts, which was the historic Rice Hotel at one time. The Hines site is a city block known as Block 69.

“Hines proudly introduces Houston’s next landmark, 609 Main at Texas, a stunning, 41-story 815,000-square-foot office tower soon to be situated in the heart of downtown.”

Hines owns the Block 69 site, which is mostly vacant land. Calling the proposed building “609 Main at Travis” the new Hines marketing brochure says “Hines proudly introduces Houston’s next landmark, 609 Main at Texas, a stunning, 41-story 815,000-square-foot office tower soon to be situated in the heart of downtown.”

Hines says no anchor tenant has been signed and without a major tenant in-tow, the company would not begin construction. But experts in the commercial real estate community believe Hines is close to signing a major corporation to lease a sizable chunk of the building and have the building completed by late 2016. Skyscrapers of this magnitude usually take two years or more to build.

The Hines proposed tower at 609 Main further validates Main Street as a prime business address in today’s market. Over the last 20 or 30 years, Main Street had become dominated by exhaust-spewing buses and low-end retail. But Main Street has been changing for the better in recent years.

Two years ago, Hines completed the BG Group Place tower on Main Street and it is now 96 percent leased.

“Back in 2007, our investment thesis for BG Group Place and the purchase of 609 Main at Texas site centered on Main Street being central to all downtown amenities and transit,” John Mooz, senior managing director in Hines’ Southwest Regional office, told CultureMap.

Experts believe Hines is close to signing a major corporation to lease a sizable chunk of the building and have the building completed by late 2016.

“Over the past four years, the Class AA tenant market has validated BG Group Place as a striking new business address. Additionally, other owners are also voting with significant investments that Main Street is a top of mind location.”

Mooz said Hines has just begun seriously marketing the building to corporations and realty brokers who specialize in office leasing. In the demand for more office space demands it, Hines can adjust and make the building taller than 41 stories, Mooz said.

The office market in downtown is very tight with most major towers having little or no vacant space. Companies that need big blocks of office space have few options.

The proposed Hines tower would have the Metro rail running right by it and the building would be in easy walking distance of the Theater District and Minute Maid Park.

Ralph Bivins, former president of the National Association of Real Estate Editors, is editor-in-chief of RealtyNewsReport.com

Rendering of a new Hines skyscraper at Main and Travis in downtown

Hines Starts Marketing New Skyscraper on Block 69 Tower in Downtown Houston

Rendering courtesy of Hines

Rendering of a new Hines skyscraper at Main and Travis in downtown

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a sweeter future

City of Sugar Land acquires historic 'Char House' for new development

Photo provided by City of Sugar Land

The Char House is one of the most iconic buildings in Southwest Houston

The Imperial Sugar refinery complex has been gently rotting in the heart of Sugar Land, but a formal purchase of the land and building by the city government promises a chance at new life for the historic building.

Built around 1869, the complex was once a state-of-the-art facility that refined sugar and produced molasses. The City of Sugar Land was named for the company, and the company's crown logo is part of the city's official seal. Thousands of workers manned the lines while Houston schoolchildren toured the floor of the factory until it shut its doors in 2002. Now, the only sugar in Sugar Land is found on grocery store shelves, where the Imperial brand is still sold today.

The City of Sugar Land announced on Wednesday that it had finally completed the official purchase of the 40 acres that the refinery stands on, the first time the city has owned it. Previous plans to develop the property haven't come together.

“Redeveloping the Imperial Historic District has been a longstanding priority for both the City Council and our residents,” Mayor Carol McCutcheon said in a statement. “We’re proud to now be in the driver’s seat — ready to preserve our namesake and create the kind of destination the Sugar Land community deserves. With this project, we hope to create a place that past and future generations are proud of for many years to come.”

The $50 million land purchase and renovation plan includes the iconic Char House. The tall, red brick building looms over Sugar Land and is an iconic structure in Fort Bend County. The name comes from the charring process of adding burnt and powdered animal bones to the refining process. The building, completed in 1925, had to be tall as using gravity to filter the liquid sugar as it left the storage tanks on the eighth floor to the bottom.

The City of Sugar Land is in the process of seeking a private development partner to repurpose and renovate the land and buildings. That process should be completed by first quarter of 2026. In the meantime, the sale will be finalized over the coming months, and the city will begin the process of maintenance to prevent further deterioration. Though it is still some ways in the future, it's possible generations of school children will once again have a chance to visit the industrial genesis of Sugar Land.

sugar land