Category: News

Winner: Wortham Theater Center
Developer: Houston First Corp.

General Contractor: Manhattan Construction Co.

Architect: Harrison Kornberg Architects

MEP: ARUP

Interior Designer: Harrison Kornberg Architects

Financier: Houston First Corp.

Attorney: Lisa Hargrove

Though Houston’s Theater District experienced unprecedented damages during Hurricane Harvey, the Wortham suffered the most by far. Houston First Corp. estimates that costs to repair the Wortham totaled over $100 million, excluding efforts to mitigate future flooding or costs to repair the underground parking garages.

Over 12 feet of floodwaters inundated the Wortham’s entire 150,000-square-foot basement, which included performance and rehearsal spaces plus rooms for props, wigs, costumes and more. Floodwaters also damaged one-third of the facility’s 60 air-handling units, and electrical, plumbing and elevator systems below the ground floor all suffered extensive damage.

Houston Grand Opera and Houston First worked together to create a temporary theater in the George R. Brown Convention Center, also operated by Houston First, where the opera performed its entire 2017-2018 season with no cancellations or date changes. The opera’s total Harvey-related losses are expected to be as much as $15 million. The ballet’s total losses are expected to be $14 million over three years. Still, forensic engineers were hired, and a flood mitigation plan was enacted, to ensure the Wortham’s resiliency for years to come.

Size: 437,000 square feet

Project value: $153 million

Finalist: CPT Eldridge Oaks LP
Developer: Transwestern

General Contractor: O’Donnell Snider Construction

Architect: Kirksey Architecture

Structural Engineer: Engineering Diagnostics

Environmental Engineer: EFI Global

MEP: DBR Inc.

Attorney: Thompson & Knight LLP

The remediation and recovery of Eldridge Oaks, an office building in the Energy Corridor, was an $8.3 million project that completely renovated the home of a large undisclosed oil and gas company, as well as several other tenants. Due to Hurricane Harvey, the office building retained reservoir water for 11 days. It flooded after the release of the Addicks Reservoir and retained black water from a neighboring sewage facility.

Eldridge Oaks required significant remediation. To power the generators used during the renovation, Transwestern used LP fuel instead of diesel fuel, which saved the building owner an estimated $800,000 in fuel costs. Additionally, since the building had retained black water, extensive indoor air quality checks were required. Every interior finish and piece of operational equipment had to be replaced.

After the renovation, Eldridge Oaks achieved LEED Gold certification.

Size: 365,591 square feet

Project value: $8.3 million

Finalist: Harbor View by Cortland
Developer: Cortland Build

General Contractor: Cortland Build

After Hurricane Harvey, renovations to the Harbor View multifamily property in Kingwood were required. The storm flooded 67 units, and water rose as high as eight feet in the property. Cortland completed renovations on all 250 units in the property in around a year. Residents whose units were destroyed by Hurricane Harvey were offered transfers to different units with no change in their rent, and their rents were frozen for two weeks in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

Additionally, Cortland completed improvements in many of the units, such as new kitchens, giving some residents an even better quality of life than before Hurricane Harvey hit. During the recovery process, occupancy at the property dipped to roughly 70 percent. Today, Harbor View is 93 percent occupied.

Size: 250 units

Project value: Undisclosed

Finalist: Omni Houston Hotel
Developer: TRT Holdings Inc.

General Contractor: DPR Construction

Architect: Perkins + Will’s Boston Studio

Engineer: Walter P Moore

MEP: Affiliated Engineers

Interior Designer: Ealain Studio

Owner: Omni Houston Hotel

The Omni Houston Hotel on Riverway Drive reopened in November 2018 after suffering significant flooding during Hurricane Harvey and offers a completely reimagined nightclub, spa and wellness center, speakeasy-style whiskey lounge and more.

The 378-room hotel’s multimillion-dollar renovation covered an entire rebuild and redesign of the first floor. The hotel was closed for more than a year following Hurricane Harvey.

Today, guests are greeted in the lobby by an expansive lounge with modern, rustic lounge seating, a $15,000 custom-designed gathering table, a large bookshelf and fireplace and more. The hotel’s main restaurant, Birdies, is a bright, airy restaurant featuring lush greens and décor named after and inspired by Lady Bird Johnson. Black Swan, the hotel’s nightclub in the basement, was also renovated with a modern redesign valued at $2 million. This is the most extensive renovation that’s ever been completed at the Omni Riverway. The hotel also worked with a local civil engineering firm to create a flood-mitigation plan for future flooding events.

Size: 131,000 square feet

Project value: $30 million

Another office building in the Galleria area is preparing for an amenity activation.

1800 West Loop South, a 400K SF office tower at San Felipe and Interstate 610, will add a social hub, a tenant lounge, a private patio and a fitness center, according to a release by Transwestern. Interior renovations are set to wrap up this summer.

“We are focused on delivering well-rounded spaces that elevate and enhance the workday routine,” said Nimble founder and Creative Director Candice Riley Campbell, who will be responsible for project design. “Every detail was consciously considered to ensure it provides value and convenience to the tenants it serves.”

The first-floor social hub will include a large, open service area with complimentary cold brew and sparkling water. The reservable tenant lounge offers Airshare media and a private walk-out patio. Other on-site amenities underway include a 32-person meeting space, amenity-rich public spaces, refreshed lobby and common areas, and a new fitness center with a 20-person studio room for streaming private classes.

Owner Keppel-KBS US REIT tapped O’Donnell Snider Construction to serve as the general contractor, along with CDI Douglass Pye Inc. as the architect for the speculative suite program. Transwestern Commercial Services will provide leasing services.

“By providing more amenities in the building, tenants have the flexibility to enjoy a healthy and delicious lunch, work out in a state-of-the-art fitness facility or have an interoffice meeting on-site, which improves productivity and work-life balance,” Transwestern Senior Vice President Louann Pereira said.

Amenity add-ons at office buildings have been a growing trend in Houston recently, primarily focused in Downtown Houston. Completed and in-progress projects include Houston Center, 811 Dallas, 1415 Louisiana and One City Centre.

In the Galleria area, Hicks Ventures and Taconic Capital Advisors are planning the renovation of 1177 West Loop South, which the partnership bought earlier in April.

Braun Enterprises is also redeveloping an office building in the Galleria area. Formerly known as Yorktown Plaza at 5353 and 5373 West Alabama, the plan includes exterior and interior upgrades.

CORRECTION, APRIL 9, 9:30 A.M. CT: A previous story incorrectly identified Louann Pereira’s company. She works for Transwestern.

Houston-based Motiva Enterprises LLC is undergoing a pair of renovations at its headquarters in downtown Houston as it prepares to add 500 employees to its global headcount by the end of next year.

More than half of the new employees will work out of the company’s Allen Center headquarters, which has already seen a substantial increase in manpower since the company started building up its major projects team in 2018, said Ed Haloulos, Motiva’s executive vice president of human resources.

Motiva expanded its lease at One Allen Center in June 2017, adding the third, fourth and fifth floors, according to Motiva spokeswoman Angela Goodwin. Renovations on the fourth and fifth floors of that building are set to complete in April, Goodwin said.

The refining company is in the midst renovating the fourth and fifth floors of both One Allen Center, along with the same floors at Three Allen Center, where it has a gym for employees, Haloulos said. Including the wellness center expansion, Motiva occupies about 250,000 square feet in One and Three Allen Center, along with a sublease of about 170,000 square feet of temporary space in Two Allen.

The four building permits covering renovations at One and Three Allen are for a total of nearly $12.5 million. O’Donnell/Snider Construction is the general contractor, according to the applications.

New kids on the block
The growth comes as Motiva builds up its capabilities after the departure of one of its parent companies in 2017. Royal Dutch Shell and the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., more commonly called Saudi Aramco, were joint owners of Motiva prior to the split. Now Motiva is wholly owned by Saudi Aramco.

“We do feel like we’re the new kids on the block,” Haloulos said. “But we’re excited about the growth opportunities we have ahead of us.”

One example of that is the major projects team, which Haloulos said grew from nothing to about 140 employees during 2018. The major projects team handles organic growth investments like the company’s upcoming expansion into petrochemicals. The team could continue to grow in the near term, depending on how the projects under its management progress, Haloulos said.

Right now, the major projects team works in the Two Allen temporary space alongside employees displaced by work on the One Allen expansion, Goodwin said. When the company has enough space in One Allen for the entire corporate population, it will release the Two Allen space, Goodwin said.

The increase in Motiva’s headcount is also the reason its renovating its wellness center, which was becoming congested during peak hours, Haloulos said.

Motiva employs a total of 2,300 employees right now, 700 of whom work at the headquarters, Goodwin said. Motiva’s Port Arthur, Texas, refinery — the largest such facility in North America — employs 1,500 people, she said.

The company has first right of refusal on more space within the Allen Center buildings, Haloulos said. That gives it some flexibility as it expands, but that depends on the actions of the current occupants of the space, Haloulos said.

“As we look at our needs going forward, we may try to exercise those options,” Haloulos said. “We will be looking at that as time goes on.”

There’s also the possibility that it could pick up space elsewhere in Houston if there isn’t room in the Allen Center when Motiva needs it, “but we like it here in downtown Houston,” Haloulos said. “It’s very convenient for us, and our employees seem to like it.”

Motiva is a finalist in the Houston Business Journal’s 2019 Landmark Awards in the workplace interior category

The Houston District Council of the Urban Land Institute announced the winners of its 2019 Development of Distinction Awards on Jan. 29.

Nearly 200 guests attended the awards event at The Astorian, according to a press release. The awards recognize developments and open spaces that demonstrate best practices in design, construction, economic viability, healthy places, marketing and management.

Click through the slideshow above to see the winners of the 2019 awards and read more about them.

The Star, a historic building redeveloped into a residential tower, beat out a brand-new office tower to win the “For-Profit – Large” category. Heights Mercantile, which was recently sold to an out-of-state investor, beat out another mixed-use redevelopment in East Downtown to win the “For-Profit – Small” category. The large category is for projects over 100,000 square feet, and the small category is for those under 100,000 square feet, per the release.

In the “Not-for-Profit” category, the newly built, sustainability-focused headquarters for a local organization called HARC beat the redevelopment of a well-known aquarium.

The restoration of Houston’s Emancipation Park won the “Open Space” category, beating a waterway project in The Woodlands and a flood-mitigation project in Clear Lake, the latter of which took home the “People’s Choice” award.

“Houston-area developers are creating places for people of all ages to convene, whether for work, entertainment or healthy activity,” Houston District Council Board Chair Abbey Roberson said in a November press release announcing the finalists. “These projects show that Houston is on the leading edge of national building trends.”

Finalists were selected by a nomination panel of Houston real estate leaders that included Acho Azuike, DC Partners; Scott Saenger, Jones|Carter; Sherry Weesner, Scenic Houston; Roger Soto, HOK; and Anissa Sabawala, O’Donnell/Snider.

The following three national real estate experts toured all of the projects in November to select the winners:

• Kim Kacani, president of HHHunt Communities in Virginia;
• Amanda Rhein, executive director of nonprofit Atlanta Land Trust in Georgia;
• Bob Springer, senior vice president of commercial real estate banking for the commercial real estate banking team of Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Colorado.