Classrooms of the future

Rice University breaks ground on massive business school expansion

Houston’s Rice University already has one of the country’s top business schools, and a new facility could further enhance its lofty reputation. On Thursday, May 9, the school announced it had broken ground on a new, 112,000-square-foot building for the Jones Graduate School of Business.

The still-unnamed building will serve as a compliment to McNair Hall, the business school’s current home that opened in 2002. With the growth in enrollment of both full-time MBA students as well as hybrid programs that include both on campus and remote learning, the Jones School’s faculty has increased by 41 percent, according to a release. The new building will also better help the school host events such as the Rice Business Plan Competition, Rice Energy Finance Summit and the Women in Leadership Conference.

“We are energized by the momentum of our innovative new programs, the addition of new faculty and students and a fresh outlook on the future,” said Peter Rodriguez, dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business. “Our commitment is to attract more talented and innovative students, faculty and staff to Rice, who will further improve our programs and research capabilities. This wonderful new facility is critical to fulfilling that commitment.”

Rice turned to New York City-based Architecture Research Office (ARO) to design the new facility. Built above an existing parking garage to help protect against flooding, the building’s structure will wrap around the south and west sides of McNair Hall to create new outdoor public spaces between the two buildings. By adding a glass facade and a coffered roof, it will transform an outdoor courtyard into an indoor/outdoor atrium with a skylight. Inside, students will have access to two, 120-seat classrooms as well as two, 65-seat classrooms. A dining area will offer both indoor and outdoor seating.

Critically, ARO and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects have taken steps to ensure that the new building doesn’t detract from the Twilight Epiphany Skyspace installation by James Turrell. An angled facade will ensure that the building’s light doesn’t compromise views from within the installation. In addition, large windows in one of the building’s event spaces will provide a clear view of the artwork.

“With the opportunity to design this new building on Rice’s historic — and exceptionally beautiful — campus comes an enormous responsibility,” added Stephen Cassell, ARO’s principal-in-charge for the project. “Our task is to deliver an integrated and contextual yet forward-looking structure that embodies Rice Business’s focus on the future as it continues to grow.”

Along with the groundbreaking, Rice Business announced a $40 million fundraising campaign. The project is expected to be completed in spring 2026.

Courtesy of ARO

Construction is expected to finish in two years.

business school groundbreaking jones graduate school rice-university

rent report

2 Houston suburbs had the priciest rents in the metro in November

Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Unsplash

Asking rent for a single-bedroom apartment in Houston came out to $1,210 in November, Zumper said.

After American shoppers spent $11.5 billion on Black Friday this year, it's safe to say everyone is watching their wallets this holiday season, including renters. And a new Zumper report is shedding light on the Houston-area cities that are shelling out the most for their rent.

The report analyzed active listings from the previous month across all cities in the Houston metro. It tracked the most and least expensive rent prices for one- and two-bedroom apartments, and determines the cities with the fastest growing rents. Listings were aggregated by city to calculate median asking rents.

Sugar Land had the highest rent prices in the Houston area in November, the report found. The median rent price for a single-bedroom apartment came out to $1,480 last month. That's $30 higher than the median asking rent for the same apartment in June.

For two-bedroom units, median rent prices in Sugar Land rose 4.3 percent from October to $1,940.

Pearland had the second-highest rents in the metro last month. Single-bedroom units had a median asking price of $1,370 per month, while two-bedroom units had a $1,700 price tag in November.

Residents in both Pearland and Sugar Land are expected to spend more than $3,100 on their holiday presents this year, a recent WalletHub study revealed, which means they may be keeping a closer eye on their budgets than other Houston-area residents.

Meanwhile, Houston proper had the third-priciest asking rents in the entire metro area in November. Median asking rent for a one-bedroom unit totaled $1,210 in November, and two-bedroom units had a $1,480 price tag.

These are the median rent prices for one- and two-bedroom apartments around Houston:

League City – $1,180 for one-bedroom units; $1,410 for two-bedroom units
Spring – $1,170 for one-bedroom units; $1,530 for two-bedroom units

Houston-area cities with affordable rent compared to the statewide median
Zumper found the statewide median rent for a one bedroom apartment came out to $1,126 last month.

Huntsville, a city 70 miles north of Houston, had the most affordable rent for a one-bedroom unit in the region, with median prices adding up to $880. The report also found that Huntsville's single-bedroom rent costs are surprisingly 6 percent more expensive than they were a year ago. However, the median cost for a two-bedroom unit in Huntsville – $1,000 – is the same asking price as it was in November 2024.

Six more Houston-area cities had more affordable single-bedroom rent prices than the statewide median:

Galveston – $1,110
Conroe – $1,100
Baytown – $1,000
Lake Jackson – $920
Pasadena – $910
Texas City – $890

rent rent prices real estate housing report houston