The Houston First Corporation is offering a premier downtown block next to the planned hotel development near the George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB) for residential and retail use.
Houston First has hired the marketing firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler to sell the site that is zoned for residential and commercial use. Houston First, which manages the convention center and several other downtown properties owned by the City of Houston, has control of the 110,000-square-foot tract bounded by Capitol, Rusk and Crawford streets and Avenida de las Americas.
“This is a rare development opportunity for Houston, one that will bring even more life to our Convention District,” said Dawn Ullrich, president and CEO, Houston First. “This project represents what ‘Live, Work and Play’ means because of its ideal location near the GRB, the new hotel, Discovery Green, the Nau Center, Minute Maid Park and BBVA Compass Stadium, not to mention the new light rail line now under construction on both sides of this site.”
The strategically positioned tract is two blocks from Minute Maid Park and next to the future site of a second convention center hotel, which is in the early planning stages. Houston First is negotiating with RIDA Development Corporation as developer of the hotel. Two historic houses sat on the property until November 2011, when they were moved across the street to become part of the recently announced Nau Center for Texas Cultural Heritage. The light-rail project, which will run along Capitol and Rusk, is due for completion in August 2014.
The recent GRB 2025 Master Plan, the Urban Land Institute’s “Discovery District” report and the Houston-Galveston Area Council’s Livable Centers study envision retail and residential development in this portion of the Convention District. The property qualifies for the Downtown Living Initiative, a recently adopted incentive that offers up to a $15,000-per-unit tax rebate to developers over the next four years capped at 2,500 residential units in the eastern side of downtown.
The Houston First Corporation facilitates the city’s economic growth through the business of conventions and the arts. Houston First is responsible for management of more than 10 city-owned properties, including the GRB and the Hilton Americas-Houston hotel.
