Texas Tower gives pandemic workers 'something great for them to come back to,' developer says

Real Estate
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Pavilion of the newly opened Texas Tower in downtown Houston | texastower.com/ - Hines

Texas Tower, the new 47-story office building in downtown Houston that opened last week, is a hit with its tenants, a director of one of its developers told a Houston-area newspaper.

Located at 845 Texas Ave., the futuristic workplace building was designed for occupants' health and productivity, was developed by Hines of Houston and Ivanhoe Cambridge of Montreal, the Houston Chronicle reported on Thursday, Dec. 16.

"Tenants are telling us two things: They really want access to as much natural light as they can, and they really want access to outdoor and green space," Hines Senior Managing Director John Mooz said in the Chronicle's news story. "We firmly believe if people are going to get their people back to work, we need to have something great for them to come back to."

Hines, a privately held real estate company, will have its headquarters in the Texas Tower, built on space that once was home to the Houston Chronicle's offices.

Hines and Ivanhoe Cambridge developed the Texas Tower with an eye toward how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped what companies want in an office environment. The Texas Tower was designed by Pelli Clarke and Partners and features flexible workspaces, innovative common-area designs, multiple food offerings, public gardens and a high-performance fitness center.

Texas Tower is already half occupied, KHOU 11 said in its own coverage of the building's opening. Tenants include Vinson and Elkins, one of Houston's oldest and largest law firms. Texas Tower also contracts with global law firms McGuireWoods and DLA Piper.

"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," Mooz said in KHOU 11's news story.

The Square, an 18,000 square-foot area on the mezzanine level that overlooks Texas Tower's lobby, is expected to open early next year.