Taking office design to next level
Hines launches a downtown skyscraper aimed to change the way tenants work
The Hines development firm is starting construction on its newest downtown tower, a 47-story skyscraper on Texas Avenue that the company says represents a revolutionary shift in the way it approaches office building design.
The Houston-based developer, which will move its own global headquarters to the building after more than 45 years in the Galleria area, said the design is laser-focused on the needs of modern office tenants and their desire to attract the best workers in their fields, many of whom fall into the under-40 demographic.
“It’s every firm — energy, finance, legal, accounting — anyone trying to recruit and retain is a candidate for this building,” said John Mooz, senior managing director for Hines’ southwest region.
In addition to the Hines lease, Vinson & Elkins, the largest and one of the oldest law firms in Houston, will occupy the top seven floors. The firm signed a 16-year lease for 212,000 square feet of space.
Hines’ decision to go forward with the new tower, on the site formerly occupied by the Houston Chronicle, represents the developer’s confidence in the downtown office market, which took a hit during the recent oil bust but appears to be on the rebound. Commercial real estate firm CBRE’s latest office report says downtown recently saw positive growth for the first time since early 2015.
“I echo the words of our founder who said, ‘If you build a great project in a great spot it will retain its value in the tough times and be profitable in the good ones,’” Mooz said, referring to Gerald Hines, who turns 93 this year. “We’re building a great building in a great location.”
Visually, the 1 millionsquare-foot tower will be a striking addition to the skyline by rising diagonally from the 800 block of Texas Avenue. Linear “sky atriums”
will run vertically along the tower, a design element that aims to bring a feeling of the outdoors inside.
The building will combine the best elements of Hines’ other projects, the company said, including under-floor air systems, an abundance of natural light, active gathering areas and outdoor spaces.
“It’s intended to capture many of our best practices from around the world,” Mooz said.
The yet-to-be-named building project is a partnership between Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge, a Canadian development and investment firm.
Architecture firm Pelli Clarke Pelli designed the signature tower to the highest standards that Hines has ever built in Houston, the developer said. The two firms have collaborated on buildings in other major cities and were responsible for the recently opened, instantly iconic Salesforce Tower in San Francisco.
Fred Clarke, senior principal with Pelli Clarke Pelli, said in a statement that architects on the Houston project “put ourselves in the mindset of future tenants to create a building that is an exciting, healthy and compelling place to work.”
The building will open in late 2021 as Hines’ 12th ground-up office tower downtown. Its most recent office projects there were 811 Main and 609 Main and the company recently developed a residential tower as well.
Hines had long coveted the Chronicle property, which it purchased in 2015 after the newspaper and media group announced that it would move to a building on the Southwest Freeway.
“We have had our eye on that site for well over 20 years,” Mooz said. “When the site became available we aggressively pursued the opportunity because of its location.”
Hines also owns the former Chronicle parking garage just northwest of its office block. It plans to build a second downtown residential project there, but a timeline has not been set.
The company would not disclose the development cost of the new office tower. Rents are expected to be in the low $40-persquare-foot range.
Mooz also touted the building’s outdoor spaces, which will include three large urban gardens, two of which will be reserved for specific tenants while a third will be open to the entire building. Located on the 12th floor, it will be connected to a 10,000-square-foot conference center.
An elliptical space tentatively being called the Urban Pavilion will face Jones Hall at the corner of Texas and Milam and be used as a gathering place that Hines managing director Philip Croker describes as a “high-end coffee bar by morning, wine bar by evening, and event space as needed.”
Designed for a new generation of office workers, the building’s lobby and common areas will have space for interactions.
The second floor will have a Hines-managed co-working space with about 20,000 square feet. A fitness center will be on the same floor.
The ground floor will have about 20,000 square feet of retail space, mostly with food and beverage options along with perhaps a yoga or fitness studio.
Hines, which signed a 15-year lease for five floors, or 155,000 square feet, in the new building will relocate from its longtime home in Williams Tower.
“This tower promises to be a true ‘next-generation’ office building, drawing from the research and best practices we have learned from our office developments around the world,” president and CEO Jeff Hines said in a statement. “We are excited to not only be building it, but also to move our headquarters there.”
Scott Wulfe, managing partner of Vinson & Elkins, said the move will allow the firm to work in space that fosters “innovation, efficiency and teamwork.”
“This next-generation building will also allow us to continue to attract and retain the best talent and to provide the highest level of client service,” Wulfe said in a statement.
The law firm, a longtime downtown tenant, occupies about 320,000 square feet in the 1001 Fannin.
V&E was represented in lease negotiations by Tim Relyea and a team from Cushman & Wakefield. Michael Anderson of Colvill Office Properties represented Hines. New York Life Real Estate Investors arranged construction financing.