HOUSTON | 800 Bell | 606 FT / 185 M | 44 Floors | Redevelopment

[Urbannizer]

If the City's court system and PD moves in, the exterior will not be redeveloped.

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/b...op.html?page=2

Originally Posted by HBJ

The timeline for a vote on the matter is an extremely tight six weeks, which Griffin hopes to stick to, although he said it may go "a couple weeks" longer. Griffin said Shorenstein needs to know soon because the plan for redevelopment for the city's needs would be quite different than the one planned for other office tenants.

"They were planning on completely redoing the building, taking the fins off," Griffin said, referring to the seven-foot-deep sunshades coming out of the building. "Here, we won't do that."

[Yackemflaber69]

Yessssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[toxteth o'grady]

For the City, that makes a lot of sense - they can move into the building a lot sooner, and they don't have to pay for a whole new exterior. Plus, they may not have needed the additional square footage. Win-win...

[Urbannizer]

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news...al-6115710.php

Originally Posted by Houston Chronicle

Questions surround mayor's lease proposal

Mayor Annise Parker surprised City Council members, downtown boosters and others when she announced several weeks ago that she would consider moving Houston's police and courts operations out of their crumbling facilities and into the Exxon tower on Bell, a major undertaking that could commit city resources for decades.

But Parker downplayed the status of the talks, saying on Feb. 2 that no lease proposal had been discussed "in detail." Her chief development officer, Andy Icken, backed her up then, and again on Feb. 12, saying, "We're not there yet. … We have no dollars for a lease expense."

The Houston Chronicle, however, has obtained a memorandum dated in 2014 showing top city officials discussed cost estimates for the renovation and lease of the tower, contradicting claims that the idea was entirely in its infancy before being announced in late January. The document also renews questions about why Parker did not present leasing space as an option when City Council discussed the future of the city's justice facilities on Jan. 14. The mayor then offered only the options of repairing the city's current buildings or building new ones, saying there was no formal lease proposal to present.

[toxteth o'grady]

This does not strike me as scandalous; the city will spend quite a bit less leasing this building than constructing something new, and a soon-to-be vacant office building gets entirely leased out to a new tenant. Win-win as far as I am concerned.

[Urbannizer]

From the Downtown 2Q Real Estate Update:

http://downtownhouston.org/site_medi...te_2015-2Q.pdf

Shorenstein will redevelop 800 Bell, either as previously planned, or for future City of Houston Police and Courts facilities. Shorenstein is participating in the City's RFI
process, but whether they redevelop the property for the City or for private use, Shorenstein plans to have the building ready for occupancy in 2017.

[Urbannizer]

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-te...to-6529279.php

Originally Posted by Chron

Parker halts plans to turn Exxon tower into police, courts complex
By Mike Morris Published 10:10 am, Friday, September 25, 2015

Mayor Annise Parker's administration will not move forward with renovating the Exxon tower at 800 Bell downtown into a new police and courts complex, citing an uncertain financial outlook and a desire not to bind a new mayor with a pricey, decades-long commitment.

Parker had described the project as one of the most important of her tenure, and had hoped a groundbreaking could come as early as the end of the year to replace the city's current aging complex.

From the start, however, the estimated annual payments fell roughly between $25 million and $40 million, and it was never precisely clear how the city would cover that payment without voter approval or politically unpopular measures, such as cancelling all other capital repairs for years to come.

[Urbannizer]

Shorenstein will move ahead with their plans to redevelop the building.

New construction timeline: Jan. 2016 Start Date - December 2017 Completion

[pacarlson]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Shorenstein will move ahead with their plans to redevelop the building.

New construction timeline: Jan. 2016 Start Date - December 2017 Completion

That's great news! I hope it happens.

[The Lurker]

Why not build a 100,000 square foot building nearby or along a freeway miles from downtown? After all its Houston. I like this building a lot in its current state. Not to say it couldn't use a good renovation.
Maybe it's not historic but its once the tallest. For years it defined the city. One of the few buildings that proves Houston was a big city prior to 1980. This project is a fail.

That being said the design isn't half bad I'd just rather not essentially erase another beatiful bilding in the process.

[Urbannizer]

http://swamplot.com/descend-into-the...wn/2015-12-22/

Originally Posted by Swamplot

PERMITS WERE ISSUED yesterday for construction of a new tunnel concourse below 800 Bell St. — the Louisiana tunnel will be tied into the new digs planned beneath the former ExxonMobil building, at the corner of Bell and Milam downtown.

[Urbannizer]

Now a tenant needs to sign on for renovations to begins.

Redevelopment plans for downtown tower on hold

The fate of 800 Bell has been up in the air for some time now, but a spokesperson for California-based Shorenstein Properties, which owns the downtown building, said any planned renovations for the 45-story office tower are on hold.

To move forward, the project requires "a significant sized user to prelease the building in order to commence reconstruction," Transwestern's Eric Anderson told the Houston Business Journal. Transwestern is marketing the 1.3 million-square-foot building, which makes it the most available contiguous space in Houston.

[pacarlson]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Now a tenant needs to sign on for renovations to begins.

Redevelopment plans for downtown tower on hold

No big surprise given the low oil price environment, but dang! :-(

[kingkirbythe....]

Good. This redevelopment is a travesty.

[shakman]

This really sucks but expected.

[The Best Forumer]

so still sitting there?

[Urbannizer]

Originally Posted by The Best Forumer

so still sitting there?

Yep. See post #32

[The Best Forumer]

At this rate i dont think it will ever get renovated.

[Wattleigh]

I had been looking to see if a thread had been created for this and somehow and missed this one.

Near the end of last year, there was a fair amount of interest in the building locally as a photographer named Leonid Furmansky had captured the many "moods" of the structure and it's surroundings.

https://magazine.texasarchitects.org...century-tower/

https://apalmanac.com/potw/check-out...o-years-179187

https://www.ricedesignalliance.org/800bell-lf

The photographer's section of their website on the tower: http://leonidfurmansky.com/800-bell-...crane-anderson

It seems that there is even more positive news for this tower as of the start of this year.

Shorenstein sold the property recently and the new owners will likely keep the 60's era exterior and will convert the tower from office to residential.

Given the proximity of this location to the rail line and more recent residential developments as well as the activity to redevelop the other side of the Pierce Elevated freeway before it is likely to be decommissioned, there are expectations the surrounding blocks will also benefit from what happens here.

https://realtynewsreport.com/exxon-s...nt-conversion/

Exxon Skyscraper Sold for Apartment Conversion

by Realty News Report
January 17, 2023

HOUSTON – (Exclusive Story from Realty News Report) – The 45-story former headquarters of Humble Oil, a predecessor to Exxon, has been sold to a developer that plans to convert the vacant office building to residential units – a redevelopment that could supercharge downtown revitalization.

The 1.2 million-SF building, located at 800 Bell, has been empty since the oil company relocated to its new campus about eight years ago.

The buyer, a New York investment group affiliated with CMI Developers, has experience in historic redevelopment and apartment conversions. The tower was completed in 1962. The age and prominence of the Exxon building might enable the developers to obtain tax credits designated for redeveloping historic buildings.

When the Exxon tower opened it was considered the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. At one time the top two floors of the building were the home of the Petroleum Club, a place where thousands of oil and gas plays were discussed and deals were struck.

The large scale of the Exxon tower raises the opportunity for placing a significant amount of retail or restaurants in the lower levels of the building, located between Milam and Travis. The old Exxon parking garage, located nearby, comes with the deal. A number of surface parking lots, owned by others, are located in the area, carrying the potential for new development in the neighborhood.

[Wattleigh]

The residential conversion plan has gained the approval of the Archaelogical & Historical Commission. This was from their August meeting.

c/o hindesky on HAIF