(HOUSTON) – Co-developers, Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge, international real estate firms, announced today the opening of Texas Tower, the 47-story, one-million-square-foot, Class AA office tower in Downtown Houston.
As the newest addition to the Houston skyline, the building adds a remarkable architectural presence while defining a new approach to the future of office buildings. Texas Tower features a grand, activated and hospitality-centric lobby, flexible workspaces and innovative common-area designs. Designed by Pelli Clarke & Partners, the building is built to the highest standards that Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge have ever developed in Houston, including LEED® Platinum, WiredScore and WELL™ Building Standards.
“Today, we are proud to officially open Texas Tower, delivering a human-centered combination of flexible physical spaces, service-driven amenities, and innovative wellness offerings guided by the highest standards of workplace design,” said John Mooz, senior managing director at Hines. “Texas Tower provides space for work at the intersection of quality, functionality, sustainability, and well-being that focuses on individuals’ desire to work in spaces that maximize their performance, their health and their happiness.”
“For Ivanhoé Cambridge, the opening of Texas Tower embodies years of dedication to reimagining the office workspace experience and how it drives user wellness and productivity – wherever their journey takes them,” said Jonathan Pearce, executive vice president, leasing and development, office and industrial, North America at Ivanhoé Cambridge. “We’re honored to bring this vision to life for our tenant partners in the heart of Houston by leveraging innovation, sustainability and flexibility as accelerators for potential.”
Iconic Design
As Houston’s most advanced new building, Texas Tower features unprecedented amenities in the vertically integrated campus, including: a dramatic lobby with cues from the hospitality sector; multiple food and beverage offerings; abundant spaces for networking; a full-service conference facility; public gardens on level 12; and a high-performance fitness center. Ten-foot, full-height windows will allow for an abundance of natural light across the 30,000-square-foot floor plates and a sophisticated underfloor HVAC system puts comfort choices in the hands of occupants. Cantilevered bays on each face of the floorplate are surrounded by three walls of glass providing opportunities for dramatic internal stairs, atriums and communal spaces, as well as potential access to fresh air and outdoor green space.
The tower is placed diagonally on the site resulting in a powerful civic presence and unparalleled view corridors throughout the tower. The unique site is at the confluence of the CBD, the Theatre District and the Historic District - Houston’s ‘main and main’ location for a lively place to live, work and play. The building’s desirable location leverages the myriad restaurants, bars and entertainment venues, as well as an exploding residential population.
Flexible Workspaces
Texas Tower will feature Hines’ flexible office product, The Square. The newest location known as The Square at Texas Tower is self-managed and a direct extension of Hines’ hallmark property management services. Comprised of 18,000 square feet on the mezzanine level overlooking the activated lobby of Texas Tower, The Square features the highest quality flexible work experience supported by a level of service and amenity offering akin to a hospitality environment. It is scheduled to open in early 2022.
Premier Food and Dining
Led by What If Syndicate partner and two-time Michelin-starred chef, Danny Grant, Texas Tower offers etta as Houston’s newest downtown dining option. etta is best known as a neighborhood restaurant featuring locally sourced, wood-fired dishes. The restaurant will occupy 6,410 square feet on the first floor of Texas Tower and will mark the ninth signed etta location, the fifth to open. The group has also committed to a second concept to be known as Café Sophie that will occupy 2,000 square feet in Texas Tower’s pavilion area.
Innovation in ESG, Wellness and Sustainability
Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge are both committed to delivering future-proofed, sustainable buildings. Texas Tower is an environment built with ambition, dynamism, and with a focus on flexible and customizable workspaces, the project is designed to put people first. It is consciously designed to anticipate and meet tenant needs as they evolve – now, later and next. Guided by our industry leading ESG standards, Texas Tower takes the holistic wellness and experience of its people seriously. Texas Tower will include market-distinguishing green features, such as:
- A centrally located site with community connectivity and easy access to public transit.
- Bike parking and electric vehicle charging stations will be readily available.
- Well thought-out building energy efficiency measures that are predicted to outperform ASHRAE 90.1 by 19%.
- High efficiency chillers, improved curtainwall U-values, and a unique underfloor air delivery system will provide maximum energy savings.
- Lighting will integrate LED fixtures with sophisticated daylight control systems and BMCS monitoring.
- Low-flow water fixtures will reduce potable water use by over 47% compared to code requirements.
- Heat island effect was reduced from parking positioned under the tower and reflective roofing materials.
- Several rooftop terraces will connect the building occupants to nature with all its benefits – fresh air, natural light, etc.
- A rainwater harvesting and condensate recovery system will produce 100% of the irrigation required.
- Will incorporate indoor air quality strategies and quality daylighting and views to building occupants.
- Additionally, as a part of its property management services, Hines offers its proprietary GREEN OFFICE® for Tenants program, which assists in giving tenants options to reduce their carbon footprint.
Headquarters for Hines and Leading Global Legal Firms
Building a robust tenant roster, Texas Tower is nearly 50% leased. Tenants include Hines, Vinson and Elkins, McGuireWoods and DLA Piper law firms. Vinson & Elkins, the largest and one of the oldest law firms in Houston, has signed a 16-year lease for 208,000 square feet over the top seven floors. Hines will also relocate its global headquarters here, signing a 15-year lease for approximately 180,000 square feet covering five floors. McGuireWoods, the international law firm, has signed an 11-year lease for 30,000 square feet and will occupy the 24th floor. DLA Piper, another global law firm, has signed a 14-year lease for over 31,000 square feet and will occupy the 38th floor.
“Texas Tower is emblematic of the values which my father, Gerald Hines, instilled in all of us at Hines and will forever represent the legacy he left behind of pairing best-in-class design and engineering with innovative, sustainable and functional spaces to create remarkable buildings and to continually be raising the bar,” said Jeffrey Hines, Chairman and CEO. “We are so proud to continue his legacy and introduce this next generation workspace to the city of Houston and welcome our Houston workforce into our new headquarters next year.”
For more information, visit https://texastower.com/.
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 255 cities in 27 countries. Hines oversees investment assets under management totaling approximately $83.6 billion¹. In addition, Hines provides third-party property-level services to more than 367 properties totaling 138.3 million square feet. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired approximately 1,486 properties, totaling over 492 million square feet. The firm currently has more than 171 developments underway around the world. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a foundational commitment to ESG, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information. ¹Includes both the global Hines organization as well as RIA AUM as of June 30, 2021.
About Ivanhoé Cambridge
Ivanhoé Cambridge develops and invests in high-quality real estate properties, projects and companies that are shaping the urban fabric in dynamic cities around the world. It does so responsibly, with a long-term view to generate optimal, risk-adjusted returns. Ivanhoé Cambridge is committed to creating living spaces that foster the well-being of people and communities, while reducing its environmental footprint.
Vertically integrated in Canada, Ivanhoé Cambridge invests internationally alongside strategic partners and major real estate funds that are leaders in their markets. Through subsidiaries and partnerships, the Company holds interests in more than 1,100 buildings, primarily in the industrial and logistics, office, residential and retail sectors. Ivanhoé Cambridge held close to C$60.4 billion in real estate assets as of December 31, 2020 and is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (cdpq.com), a global investment group. For more information: ivanhoecambridge.com.
