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http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/breaking-ground/2013/02/bhp-billiton-petroleum-announces-plans.html Here we go! It's funny someone said there were rumors in OKC that BHP would relocate there, when in reality they are consolidating their Oklahoma operations here.

Here is a pic I took yesterday. Looks even better in person.

The design is just so bland and underwhelming.

Screenshots from a news video:

Looks like it might be approaching 500 feet which would make a huge impact on the Uptown skyline.

Imagine this with the Astoria and on top of that, all of the BLVD place towers. Very busy neighborhood now and for the next few years.

I think ticket sales for both Angelika and Sundance have shown that Downtown can currently support about one movie theater. The fact that iPic and Sundance are both "premium" style theaters makes it even worse.

The Chron has picked up the story, too... http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2013/02/bhp-billiton-office-tower-to-rise-on-post-oak-boulevard/#comment-21660 BHP Billiton Petroleum said Monday it will hire hundreds of new employees and lease a 30-story office tower to be built at 1500 Post Oak Blvd. to accommodate its expanding shale business and future growth. Construction is expected to start later this year on the new building, which will be connected to the company’s current headquarters at 1360 Post Oak Blvd, creating a two-tower campus. A glass skybridge will connect the structures. The buildings will house several thousand BHP employees, many still to be hired. Some 1,800 existing BHP employees will office there, including workers in other locations. Employees in downtown’s Wells Fargo Tower and a building in Tulsa, Okla. will relocate to the Post Oak headquarters. “We’ll probably be pushing 3,000 when we move into the new building,” CEO J. Micheal Yeager said at a press conference. In total, BHP will occupy about 1 million square feet in both buildings. The new tower will have 560,000 square feet. Transwestern will develop the new building for owner TIAA-CREF. BHP Billiton deals in natural resources ranging from iron ore and uranium to oil and natural gas. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, with a major office in London, but the petroleum division is based in Houston. Architectural firm Pickard Chilton designed the building, which is expected to open in 2016. Gensler also was involved. “We have designed this new building with employee productivity and appeal as top priorities to retain current employees and attract prospective employees,” Yeager said in a statement. “We plan to hire hundreds of new people in the immediate future. To attract the most talent, we believe we need to offer them the best possible work environment.”

Right next to the Continental Club. http://houston.bcycle.com I might never use it because I have an awesome bike but it'll be great when people visit me and want to go for a ride with me.

Taken a few hours ago:

It doesnt really look like the renderings yet... I also dont understand why they bothered preserving the two brick walls (I'm skeptical it saved much manpower/cost in relation to total project). The difference brick colors are kind of... ugly. Hopefully, they paint them to match or something...