Chevron Tower For Downtown: 58-Stories At 1600 Louisiana St.

[tangledwoods]

Where did people get the 60 floors number from?  Everything that I have heard has placed it between 40-50 floors....

[jt16]

It was a guess based on a rendering someone saw. I was told it looked significantly higher than the other two. And I have not personally seen a rendering.

[wxman]

I think the Enron Towers (Chevron) are sexy buildings. Not too outlandish but modern. I think a 3rd building of the same look would be a nice addition. 

[ArchFan]

From following this thread, it seems that Chevron would generate a lot of local love if they built a supertall (or at least over 50 floor) building in downtown H-town.  I'm not holding my breath on it, but I admit I would love to see it.  Perhaps it would rejuvenate our mojo.  I'm glad Hines is active here again, but they don't seem to be in the supertall biz anymore, at least here.

[Houston19514]

Lat news feed I read was dated march 2013 , and hey had decided that instead of moving 800, they would move only 400, dont know if thats big enough to justify a new tower, but like someone said if they do  build a new tower it would mean they are planning bigger things than a office for  400. just not ready to talk about.. remember when exxon was planning to build the woodlands campus they denied the rumors at first, then they would,nt comment, they they finally came clean.

 

I think you might be reading too much into the latest news feed.  The latest news indeed was that Chevron plans to relocate 400 people beginning in August.  BUT that was based entirely on a filing with the California state labor officials.  (They are required to notify the state any time they are relocating more than 50 people within a 30 day period.) 

 

I don't believe Chevron has ever been quoted as saying they have changed their plans that were announced back in December.  The announced plans were that they plan to relocate 800 jobs/employees over a two-year period.  This latest news is in keeping with that plan and is likely just the first of 2 or more required notices to the State labor officials, as they determine the exact jobs and timing of the transfers.

[bachanon]

heard a rumor that that of the boy scouts' five offers for camp strake in conroe, just north of 1488, that two of the offers are from shell and chevron.  minor league baseball has been publicly reported as having made an offer as well.  although shell and chevron have popped up in rumors about a woodlands tower, downtown towers, and i think something was in the paper about shell expanding at a current location, they must be reviewing many options.  a second large energy company just north of the woodlands would make the woodlands town center "bookended" and the center of a growing new city center.

 

has anyone else heard the same?

[Fortune]

heard a rumor that that of the boy scouts' five offers for camp strake in conroe, just north of 1488, that two of the offers are from shell and chevron. minor league baseball has been publicly reported as having made an offer as well. although shell and chevron have popped up in rumors about a woodlands tower, downtown towers, and i think something was in the paper about shell expanding at a current location, they must be reviewing many options. a second large energy company just north of the woodlands would make the woodlands town center "bookended" and the center of a growing new city center.

has anyone else heard the same?

What would a oil/gas company do with 2,175 acres ?

[bachanon]

oil/gas companies owned the land that became the woodlands (mitchell energy) and kingwood (exxon i think).  exxonmobil needed the infrastructure that springwoods developed in order for exxon's new campus to get off the ground.  the same could be true of 2,175 acres;  2,175 acres which is just down the street from where a planned extension of the hardy toll road will come out (south loop 336 in conroe).

[LarryDierker]

God I hope they don't build in the woodlands instead of DT. I'll never buy their gas again.

[jt16]

God I hope they don't build in the woodlands instead of DT. I'll never buy their gas again.

That has no impact on their financials. Only some poor franchisee who owns the store

[Ross]

oil/gas companies owned the land that became the woodlands (mitchell energy) and kingwood (exxon i think).  exxonmobil needed the infrastructure that springwoods developed in order for exxon's new campus to get off the ground.  the same could be true of 2,175 acres;  2,175 acres which is just down the street from where a planned extension of the hardy toll road will come out (south loop 336 in conroe).

 

I think the King Ranch owned the Kingwood land. I think the Woodlands wasn't part of Mitchell Energy, just another George Mitchell project.

 

Much of the Camp Strake land is in the flood plain, and not very useful. The City of Conroe will probably end up with 300+ acres to expand the sewer plant.

[LarryDierker]

That has no impact on their financials. Only some poor franchisee who owns the store

 

well, then I'll get real pissy and talk a lot of trash about them on the internet.

[Ross]

God I hope they don't build in the woodlands instead of DT. I'll never buy their gas again.

 

You don't know whose gas you are buying at any given store. All gas is pretty much the same, other than the additives put in at the terminal, or distribution point. Since the nearest Chevron refinery is in Mississippi, the Chevron gasoline sold here is likely refined by a competitor, with Chevron additives added at the last minute before delivery.

[Fortune]

oil/gas companies owned the land that became the woodlands (mitchell energy) and kingwood (exxon i think). exxonmobil needed the infrastructure that springwoods developed in order for exxon's new campus to get off the ground. the same could be true of 2,175 acres; 2,175 acres which is just down the street from where a planned extension of the hardy toll road will come out (south loop 336 in conroe).

Oh ok so it would be more of a investment, like them developing it into a master planned community. Not necessarily just a campus head quarters.

If this is true, that they are trying to purchase the site, I wish they would have purchased the KBR site or the Hardy yards site.

[bachanon]

I think the King Ranch owned the Kingwood land. I think the Woodlands wasn't part of Mitchell Energy, just another George Mitchell project.

 

Much of the Camp Strake land is in the flood plain, and not very useful. The City of Conroe will probably end up with 300+ acres to expand the sewer plant.

 

"The Foster Lumber Company originally owned a portion of the tract of land that was later developed into the community of Kingwood. The Foster Family had owned the land since around 1892.^[5] On December 28, 1967, the land was sold to the joint venture between King Ranch and the Friendswood Development Company, an Exxon subsidiary.^[6] Exxon's Friendswood Development Company hired John Bruton Jr. to serve as the Operations Manager in which he was responsible for the planning, development, engineering, and construction of Kingwood"

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingwood,_Houston#cite_note-Kingwood.2C_Texas_Summary-6

 

the woodlands development didn't split from mitchell energy until late in the game.  mitchell energy was mitchell energy & development.  the development part of mitchel energy

became the woodlands development company.  http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dom05

[boounce]

I think the King Ranch owned the Kingwood land. I think the Woodlands wasn't part of Mitchell Energy, just another George Mitchell project.

 

Much of the Camp Strake land is in the flood plain, and not very useful. The City of Conroe will probably end up with 300+ acres to expand the sewer plant.

 

They got a variance to build it up (or at least part of it):

 

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/boy-scouts-to-begin-evaluating-possible-camp-strake-buyers/article_83b68a37-ce55-566c-9ab0-5a4b7a4ef55d.html

[Houston19514]

heard a rumor that that of the boy scouts' five offers for camp strake in conroe, just north of 1488, that two of the offers are from shell and chevron.  minor league baseball has been publicly reported as having made an offer as well.  although shell and chevron have popped up in rumors about a woodlands tower, downtown towers, and i think something was in the paper about shell expanding at a current location, they must be reviewing many options.  a second large energy company just north of the woodlands would make the woodlands town center "bookended" and the center of a growing new city center.

 

has anyone else heard the same?

 

Those Shell and Chevron rumors seem pretty unlikely. 

 

Chevron has made a huge commitment to its downtown campus. Very unlikely to be moving anywhere.

 

Shell has recently extended its downtown leases and is expanding its footprint in the energy corridor.  Also very unlikely to be going anywhere.

[bachanon]

I've followed the same stories regarding Shell and Chevron; I was surprised by the rumor.

[cloud713]

could someone please specify what block this is going on? i know its the "old YMCA block", but not sure which one that is.

i just looked at the map. i see where the new YMCA is but im not sure if thats the same block. i was hoping the new tower would be able to be connected into the ring skywalk, but it doesnt appear as though thats possible unless they were to build it on top of the parking garage. i had been thinking how neat it would be to have the three towers clustered together with two more ring skybridges, one halfway up the buildings, and another at the top of the buildings, to better interconnect the buildings so workers didnt have to take the elevator all the way down to ground level and then back up to get around "campus".

Edited June 28, 2013 by cloud713

[The Pragmatist]

could someone please specify what block this is going on? i know its the "old YMCA block", but not sure which one that is.

i just looked at the map. i see where the new YMCA is but im not sure if thats the same block. i was hoping the new tower would be able to be connected into the ring skywalk, but it doesnt appear as though thats possible unless they were to build it on top of the parking garage. i had been thinking how neat it would be to have the three towers clustered together with two more ring skybridges, one halfway up the buildings, and another at the top of the buildings, to better interconnect the buildings so workers didnt have to take the elevator all the way down to ground level and then back up to get around "campus".

 

Here's a Google Street view of the block.

 

http://goo.gl/maps/6SYq2

 

Of course, that has the old YMCA building still up on it.  Obviously, it has since been cleared.

Edited June 28, 2013 by The Pragmatist

[cloud713]

Here's a Google Street view of the block.

 

http://goo.gl/maps/6SYq2

 

Of course, that has the old YMCA building still up on it.  Obviously, it has since been cleared.

 

oh ok thanks. so its the "1600 Louisiana" block/empty lot right beside the 1500 tower? i guess i could see why they would need to be making renovations to the lower floors of 1500 then if the new tower is linking into the building from the side opposite the circle skybridge. i wonder if they are going to keep the theme and go with another circle skybridge?

[LarryDierker]

zoom out from aerial and the Y disappears.

[infinite_jim]

That magnolia in the street view is still there. I can pretty much guess that the same design theme will carry over based on the sidewalk repairs being made around the base of 1400 Smith and 1500 Louisiana. About 6-9 months ago they completed the exterior infill paneling where 1500 Louisiana previously connected to the old YMCA. From the looks of the assembly the new design will probably not have a single storey sky walk and more likely the architect will move the mass of the tower's podium base to align along Smith St. to make the interior lobby a seamless double storey transition and this is above where the tunnel access is too but there's no telling where the mass of the tower will end up or how they will connect or improve the drop off/smoker park into the new design.

[barracuda]

From the Chronicle: Chevron to build downtown tower at 1600 Louisiana. Confirmed 50 stories and 1.7 million sq. ft. HQ will remain in California. 

 

['Stonian]

Extremely Confident!! 

 

http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2013/07/chevron-to-build-downtown-tower/#comment-26927

 

BAM!!

['Stonian]

Barracuda beat me by seconds LOL.., & only because I kept getting an error while trying to post. (Maybe others were attempting to post as well)

 

Houston's officially in boomtown mode!  

[Purdueenginerd]

Woo. Looks taller than the 1600 Smith Street High Rise (continental airlines building). If rendering is correct, that puts it more than 730 feet. 

[TowerSpotter]

man I love how tall it is but think they could have kind a had a better design.

[ig2ba]

The rendering shows it to be SIGNIFICANTLY taller than the 1400 Smith building, which is also 50 stories (sorta 51 stories), and that one is 691 feet. I'm curious if it will actually be a lot taller or it is just the drawing which is incorrect.

['Stonian]

1.7 million sqft would make it the largest office building in Houston if that's only including rentable office space (and not parking garage, common space, etc)

[Houston19514]

Wow!  Sweet!

[wxman]

HOLLA!!!!! Hells yeah!!!

[H-Town Man]

At least we don't have to worry about anyone driving off the road staring at it. That is one underwhelming design for something that big and expensive.

[lockmat]

Hbj reports there still has to be a final investment decision first, which I'm sure is a slam dunk

Http://m.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/07/03/chevron-plans-new-houston-building.html?r=full

[Triton]

Can't wait to see all these projects take off in the next few years! This one especially!

['Stonian]

The design is kinda plain, but I clearly expected something sleek and very similar to 1400 and 1500 Smith, so I guess that's why I'm not really disappointed.

 

"50-Stories", now when was the last time we could say that in Houston!?

[Hugh Stone]

Just going by the rendering, the floor count of the tower maybe 50 stories. But it looks like it is sitting on top of a 7 story garage or lobby and the top floor looks twice as high as the other floors. This tower might actually look like a 59-60 floor building.

Edited July 3, 2013 by Hugh Stone

[nativehoustonion]

How sweet!

 

[scarface]

Such a bland, tasteless, typical boxy Houston building. But still good news.

[nativehoustonion]

It appears to be about 750 feet tall due the esplanade on the button of the building.

[TowerSpotter]

I counted 50 stories not counting the bottom part

[Nix]

Today Chevron announced plans to construct an office building downtown to accommodate its business growth and expanding workforce in the Houston area.

 

The 50-story, 1.7 million-square-foot building will be located at 1600 Louisiana at Pease. Together with Chevron U.S.A.’s existing properties at 1500 Louisiana and 1400 Smith, the buildings will comprise an expanded urban campus with indoor and outdoor common areas, enhanced dining facilities, a fitness center, training and conference facilities, and additional parking.

 

Groundbreaking will follow final investment decision for the project – expected in the second quarter of 2014 – and phased occupancy is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016 and end in 2017.

 

Houston-area supervisors will be engaged to determine staffing needs, and announcements about who is moving and when will follow final investment decision.

 

There are no plans to move Chevron Corporation’s headquarters to Houston. Also, there are no plans to sell or vacate our Bellaire or Briarpark properties at this time, though Chevron intends to consolidate its leased spaces into the downtown campus by the time of its completion in 2017.

 

This announcement underscores Chevron’s long-term commitment to Houston and its role as the epicenter of the global energy industry. Houston plays a vital and growing role in Chevron’s global business, and the expanded urban campus will provide a first-rate work environment for its workforce and help us remain the employer of choice.

 

To learn more, visit the Houston Urban Campus website.

Greg Vesey

Houston Leadership Committee Chair

[arndthwrld82]

Great news!!! Should be a great addition to the skyline from the west and south!

[Triton]

Funny how it didn't even show up on the list of projects that was just posted yesterday on the forums:

 

http://downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2013-06-26/dt_current_projects_130626_FOR_PRINT.pdf

[barracuda]

Just going by the rendering, the floor count of the tower maybe 50 stories. But it looks like it is sitting on top of a 7 story garage or lobby and the top floor looks twice as high as the other floors. This tower might actually look like a 59-60 floor building.

 

It looks like the base levels may also contain the urban campus..."dining facilities, a fitness center, training and conference facilities, and additional parking." I wonder if they will build a tunnel connection to get between this and the other two buildings. 

[Houston19514]

Today Chevron announced plans to construct an office building downtown to accommodate its business growth and expanding workforce in the Houston area.

 

The 50-story, 1.7 million-square-foot building will be located at 1600 Louisiana at Pease. Together with Chevron U.S.A.’s existing properties at 1500 Louisiana and 1400 Smith, the buildings will comprise an expanded urban campus with indoor and outdoor common areas, enhanced dining facilities, a fitness center, training and conference facilities, and additional parking.

 

Groundbreaking will follow final investment decision for the project – expected in the second quarter of 2014 – and phased occupancy is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016 and end in 2017.

 

Houston-area supervisors will be engaged to determine staffing needs, and announcements about who is moving and when will follow final investment decision.

 

There are no plans to move Chevron Corporation’s headquarters to Houston. Also, there are no plans to sell or vacate our Bellaire or Briarpark properties at this time, though Chevron intends to consolidate its leased spaces into the downtown campus by the time of its completion in 2017.

 

This announcement underscores Chevron’s long-term commitment to Houston and its role as the epicenter of the global energy industry. Houston plays a vital and growing role in Chevron’s global business, and the expanded urban campus will provide a first-rate work environment for its workforce and help us remain the employer of choice.

 

To learn more, visit the Houston Urban Campus website.

Greg Vesey

Houston Leadership Committee Chair

 

The link does not work.

[urban909]

_Awesome!

Edited July 3, 2013 by urban909

[brijonmang]

That is massive!  Agree with others that the design is pretty...eh but considering it's a year away from breaking ground it may leave time for some tweaks? Wishful thinking but it is definitely exciting and the best part is it's already "fully leased".  

[lockmat]

Funny how it didn't even show up on the list of projects that was just posted yesterday on the forums:

http://downtownhouston.org/site_media/uploads/attachments/2013-06-26/dt_current_projects_130626_FOR_PRINT.pdf

They only post information that has been released through the media usually.

[Nix]

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Policy, Government and Public Affairs

Chevron U.S.A. Inc.

1400 Smith Street Houston, TX 77002 www.chevron.com

 

 

 

Chevron Announces Plans to Construct a Downtown Houston Office Building

Company will expand urban campus to accommodate growing Houston workforce

 

 

HOUSTON, July 3, 2013 – Chevron U.S.A. Inc. today announced plans to construct an office building in downtown Houston to accommodate its business growth and expanding workforce in the world’s energy capital.

The 50-story, 1.7 million-square-foot building will be located at 1600 Louisiana Street at Pease. Together with Chevron’s existing properties at 1500 Louisiana and 1400 Smith, the buildings will comprise an urban campus with indoor and outdoor common areas, enhanced dining facilities, a fitness center, training and conference facilities, and additional parking.

“This announcement underscores Chevron’s long-term commitment to Houston and its role as the epicenter of the global energy industry,” said Bereket Haregot, president of Chevron’s Business and Real Estate Services division. “Houston plays a vital and growing role in Chevron’s global business. The new building and expanded urban campus will provide a first-rate work environment for our employees and help us remain the employer of choice.”

The headquarters of Chevron Corporation, the parent company of Chevron U.S.A., will remain in

 

California, where they have been located for more than 130 years.

 

Final investment decision for the project, designed by HOK, is expected in the second quarter of

 

2014. Groundbreaking will follow final investment decision, and occupancy is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Chevron employs approximately 9,000 employees and contractors in Houston, where nine of its businesses are headquartered. In addition to its downtown buildings, the company has locations in Bellaire and the Westchase District. Chevron invests millions in the greater Houston community, including programs that focus on education, economic development and other community needs. The company’s employees also donate thousands of hours annually volunteering to help improve the lives of people throughout the area.

 

-2-

 

Chevron Corporation is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. Chevron Corporation is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron Corporation is available at

www.chevron.com.

 

# # # Contact:   Russell Johnson           --                                  +1 713-372-1841