We are thrilled to share that the repositioning of Houston Center is now complete! Houston Center’s premier location offered the unique opportunity for us to create a connected neighborhood in the heart of downtown Houston.

2 Houston Center exterior, McKinney Street

Announced in January 2019, the repositioning of Houston Center was rooted on revitalizing, amenitizing, and unifying the campus into a best-in-class mixed-use destination. Working closely with the design teams at Gensler and Clark Condon, we made a significant capital investment to raise the bar in the total tenant and visitor experience at Houston Center.

Key elements of the renovation included:

• An entirely new arrival experience through a reimagined central plaza and greenspace along McKinney Street, offering seamless connection to the street-level and nearby attractions;
• A new central plaza featuring a digital water wall, flexible entertainment space, and an iconic monumental stair connection to two landscaped terraces above;
• Renovation of the 2 Houston Center and LyondellBasell Tower lobbies, featuring a three-story glass façade at 2 Houston Center and modernized elevator cabs throughout;
• Completely reclad skybridges connecting the complex to a shopping and retail center;
• A new world-class fitness center;
• Conferencing venues and lobby co-working spaces fostering communication and collaboration, including a new outdoor sky deck;
• New multi-tenant corridor and restroom finish design;
• Creation of a glassbox stair and elevator along Rusk Street; and
• Upgrades to the 4 Houston Center lobby.

 

Aerial shot of the central plaza, image provided by Gensler/Grant Gay

Central plaza featuring the monumental spiral staircase

To unify the campus, Clark Condon prioritized connectivity and circulation in their landscaping plan to create a more walkable, pedestrian-friendly destination. What was previously a passive courtyard is now a vibrant central plaza outfitted with movable furniture for flexibility and programming for both public and tenant-facing events. The new Houston Center also boasts approximately 24,000 square feet of added pedestrian and green space.

Upper Terrace at 2 Houston Center

The Lift Terrace

You will also notice that a new monumental spiral staircase connects the central plaza to the campus. This element of the renovation serves as an identifiable marker for our new neighborhood and creates a connection to the streetscape for tenants and visitors.

Plans for LyondellBasell Tower called for a new world-class fitness center, an adaptive conferencing venue, and social stair. The Exchange Conference Center is home to six conference rooms and an executive level boardroom. In addition to the conference center are two boardroom-style meeting rooms located under the social stair at the lobby.

Social stair at the LyondellBasell Tower lobby

Located at the corner of Fannin and McKinney Streets, the new three-story glass curtain wall at 2 Houston Center creates unobstructed views from inside and out and welcomes an abundance of natural lighting – a stark contrast from its historically dark façade. Additional updates to 2 Houston Center included the creation of a new tenant conferencing center and modernizing lobby and elevator cabs.

The Exchange Conference Center at LyondellBasell Tower

As we commemorate this major milestone, we want to thank everyone for their patience throughout the redevelopment of Houston Center. If you have an opportunity, we encourage you to explore and enjoy the new Houston Center! 

Photography by Peter Molick.

For more information, visit www.HoustonCenter.com. For the latest news on Houston Center and Brookfield Properties’ Houston portfolio, follow our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.