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

[Moore713]

Going to have to change the name since it no longer rumored ..lol

 

 

[xsatyr]

Underwhelming but at least it's big.

[KinkaidAlum]

It's rather bland at first glance, but it's going to make an impact on the skyline. 50 stories + a potential 7 story base would put this tower over 700 feet if the rendering is close to accurate.

 

More importantly though, I totally appreciate Chevron's commitment to downtown. 1,700,000 square feet = thousands of workers being added to the downtown workforce. A huge building like this, 100% leased, has the potential to spur nearby development too... 

 

Here's my dream, with Chevron occupying 3 huge towers, it seems like a perfect place to erect a new, high-end, hotel/condo tower. Those folks doing work at Chevron, especially the Bay Area brass, would love to own a few corporate units in, say, a Ritz-Carlton or Mandarin Oriental. And the folks traveling on high end biz travel would book those rooms in a heart beat. So, some developer out there, come give us a sleek, 30+ story modern marvel on the Southern end of downtown near Chevron's campus.

[lockmat]

Everyone should be giving a big thanks to Tangledwoods, King Owl and whothrewpoo for kick starting the rumors. They were all pretty much spot in.

Sadly, someone questioned whothrewpoo too strongly and ran her off. Hopefully she'll come back.

['Stonian]

Strange that the HBJ got the scoop on how many additional employees will be hired for this expansion but Nancy Sarnoff from the Chronicle only posted the press release stating: "Chevron U.S.A. is planning to build a new downtown skyscraper for its growing Houston workforce"

 

FROM THE HBJ ARTICLE: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/07/03/chevron-plans-new-houston-building.html

 

"Chevron Corp., which already has a presence of about 9,000 employees and contractors in Houston, is planning a new downtown office tower to accommodate its expansion in the city, which includes hiring another 1,752 workers."

[lockmat]

Everyone should be giving a big thanks to Tangledwoods, King Owl and whothrewpoo for kick starting the rumors. They were all pretty much spot in.

Sadly, someone questioned whothrewpoo too strongly and ran her off. Hopefully she'll come back.

Jt16 had accurate intel a few weeks ago, too. Thanks!

[Moore713]

Strange that the HBJ got the scoop on how many additional employees will be hired for this expansion but Nancy Sarnoff from the Chronicle only posted the press release stating: "Chevron U.S.A. is planning to build a new downtown skyscraper for its growing Houston workforce"

 

FROM THE HBJ ARTICLE: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/07/03/chevron-plans-new-houston-building.html

 

"Chevron Corp., which already has a presence of about 9,000 employees and contractors in Houston, is planning a new downtown office tower to accommodate its expansion in the city, which includes hiring another 1,752 workers."

 

which is great not just for Down town getting a new building. but the residental market.. the  high level execs will have the new condos places downtown, and the other employees, will be a big boost for areas like midtown, east end,heights ,etc. That is assuming that  most or half will be transfers from  out of town.

[wxman]

So this thing isn't even going to break ground for almost another yeat at least. What's the usual timeline for a building this big to go from surface lot removal to occupancy? 2 years?

['Stonian]

I see Nancy has updated her article with the statement from the Governors office:

 

UPDATE – The tower project is set to reap a nice financial boost from state. Gov. Rick Perry said the Texas Enterprise Fund will contribute $12 million to the Chevron project. The development, he said, will create 1,752 jobs. Those new jobs, according to Chevron spokesman Russell Johnson, will be new hires to support the company’s growth in Houston over the next several years.

The public incentive deal requires Chevron to receive a “local incentive,” as well, the state said. Chevron is in discussions with the city of Houston about the availability of economic development programs for the property, Johnson said, adding: “There are no details to share at this time.”

 

 

Still, Chevron is being very careful not to ruffle any feathers in the San Ramon, CA headquarters.  In the letter to their employees they state:

 

"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.

 

I clearly expect a headquarters move to Houston sometime in 2017!   

Edited July 3, 2013 by HOUSTONIAN (N-ATL)

[ig2ba]

Other things that the building will have (that were not described in the original release):

• Will be a LEED Platinum Building
• "around 4,000 new offices"
• 4 levels of common areas
• Outdoor green space
• Apparently, another skywalk across Bell right next to Louisiana.

[Moore713]

I see Nancy has updated her article with the statement from the Governors office:

 

UPDATE – The tower project is set to reap a nice financial boost from state. Gov. Rick Perry said the Texas Enterprise Fund will contribute $12 million to the Chevron project. The development, he said, will create 1,752 jobs. Those new jobs, according to Chevron spokesman Russell Johnson, will be new hires to support the company’s growth in Houston over the next several years.

The public incentive deal requires Chevron to receive a “local incentive,” as well, the state said. Chevron is in discussions with the city of Houston about the availability of economic development programs for the property, Johnson said, adding: “There are no details to share at this time.”

 

 

Still, Chevron is being very careful not to ruffle any feathers in the San Ramon, CA headquarters.  In the letter to their employees they state:

 

"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.

 

I clearly expect a headquarters move to Houston sometime in 2017!   

was'nt this the same thing exxon did where they deny that they would be moving people for almost a years ?

[ig2ba]

was'nt this the same thing exxon did where they deny that they would be moving people for almost a years ?

 

I'm not sure about all of the reasons for not moving from Bellaire. The two big groups out there either have a reason for remaining separate (the auditing group) or no compelling reason to collaborate with others downtown (the pipeline company). It could go either way.

 

However, the Briarpark facility has a lot of research laboratories, most of which you would not want anywhere near your downtown building. I could see them finding another new surburban low-rise facility before they ever go downtown. In either case, that's only a couple hundred employees anyway.

[infinite_jim]

Does Chevron also own the block with the daycare center across Louisiana St.? Is it part of a masterplan?

Edited July 3, 2013 by infinite_jim

[Moore713]

I'm not sure about all of the reasons for not moving from Bellaire. The two big groups out there either have a reason for remaining separate (the auditing group) or no compelling reason to collaborate with others downtown (the pipeline company). It could go either way.

 

However, the Briarpark facility has a lot of research laboratories, most of which you would not want anywhere near your downtown building. I could see them finding another new surburban low-rise facility before they ever go downtown. In either case, that's only a couple hundred employees anyway.

Thats my motto "till they pour the first slam of contrete its still a maybe in this day and age"

[shasta]

It's amazing how, with few exceptions, downtown is turning into two downtowns. You have the area around Discovery Green that is really aiming to be designed 'around the pedestrian' with new hotels, entertainment, tourism centers, residential, sporting venues etc.and then you have the 'skyline district' which still likes the big boxy glass skyscrapers with little urban connectivity. the only break I see to this is the proposed Hines apartment building near Market Square. Other than that, most of that part of that part of downtown will not be as kind to the pedestrian, especially after hours. They always have the option to drop down into the tunnels.

[jimenez]

... says: . More rumors??? Another one !!

July 3, 2013 at 11:43 am

come on chevron…why not a 100 story tower as Houston needs to have tallest building west of mississippi

——————————-

Don’t worry my friend. I have reliable sources that tell me a 100+ story tower is coming to DTHouston very soon.

[infinite_jim]

It's amazing how, with few exceptions, downtown is turning into two downtowns. You have the area around Discovery Green that is really aiming to be designed 'around the pedestrian' with new hotels, entertainment, tourism centers, residential, sporting venues etc.and then you have the 'skyline district' which still likes the big boxy glass skyscrapers with little urban connectivity. the only break I see to this is the proposed Hines apartment building near Market Square. Other than that, most of that part of that part of downtown will not be as kind to the pedestrian, especially after hours. They always have the option to drop down into the tunnels.

I brought this up in the downtown residential incentives thread (i.e. mirroring the boundary line)and nobody seemed to care about mixed-use in that scale.

[Houston19514]

Other things that the building will have (that were not described in the original release):

• Will be a LEED Platinum Building
• "around 4,000 new offices"
• 4 levels of common areas
• Outdoor green space
• Apparently, another skywalk across Bell right next to Louisiana.

 

Good catch on that new skywalk.  Make sense -- Chevron recently acquired that additional parking garage.

[ClutchCity]

Here's my dream, with Chevron occupying 3 huge towers, it seems like a perfect place to erect a new, high-end, hotel/condo tower. Those folks doing work at Chevron, especially the Bay Area brass, would love to own a few corporate units in, say, a Ritz-Carlton or Mandarin Oriental. And the folks traveling on high end biz travel would book those rooms in a heart beat. So, some developer out there, come give us a sleek, 30+ story modern marvel on the Southern end of downtown near Chevron's campus.

 

I think Brookfield is in a good position to do a mixed-use project like you're suggesting, with their 1500 Smith Street property. They could have a hotel/condo tower that could serve(and be directly connected to 1400 and 1600 Smith) both the Allen Center Complex and Chevron's campus. Two birds with one stone! Although that would require Brookfield building something! 

 

Don’t worry my friend. I have reliable sources that tell me a 100+ story tower is coming to DTHouston very soon.

 

I hope those sources aren't just some voices in your head! We don't play around with stuff like that here 

 

[Purdueenginerd]

... says: . More rumors??? Another one !!

July 3, 2013 at 11:43 am

come on chevron…why not a 100 story tower as Houston needs to have tallest building west of mississippi

——————————-

Don’t worry my friend. I have reliable sources that tell me a 100+ story tower is coming to DTHouston very soon.

 

[Urbannizer]

Larger rendering:

 

Edited July 3, 2013 by Urbannizer

[ClutchCity]

What the hell is on top of the parking garage?

 

Edit: Looks like a fish tank with people in it

Edited July 3, 2013 by ClutchCity

[nativehoustonion]

It is a outdoor patio for smokers!  LOL!

[VelvetJ]

I'm excited about this, but while the design doesn't hurt my feelings, I am still waiting on that spectacularly exciting design that seems to elude Houston. This is not bad nonetheless.

[nativehoustonion]

It is only a rendering.  Once completed I believe it will appear very sleek.  It seems it may be almost 800 feet high.  It is also bringing more jobs to Houston.  I think Hines is next at 609 Main St.  I have heard that a very tall skyscraper will go up by Minute Maid Park because it is out of HOU airport flight pattern.  With the tax abatements a lot of buildings have already been announced.  I believe a little boom is coming for downtown.  I wonder what Trump is up to?  

[HoustonBoy]

Oh man, I hadn't even thought about trump! Imagine if he brings a hotel skyscraper. That'd be sick.

[Houston19514]

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)

 

There is zero reason to think that number would be just rentable office space.  That is almost certainly the total square footage.

 

JP Morgan Chase Tower has 1.98 million square feet.

 

Wells Fargo Plaza is over 1.8 million

Edited July 3, 2013 by Houston19514

[nativehoustonion]

The Trump Tower in Chicago is beautiful.

 

[Urbannizer]

http://swamplot.com/chevron%E2%80%99s-new-50-story-tower-on-site-of-downtown-y-bigger-boxier-just-as-blue/2013-07-03/

Edited July 3, 2013 by Urbannizer

['Stonian]

There is zero reason to think that number would be just rentable office space.  That is almost certainly the total square footage.

 

JP Morgan Chase Tower has 1.98 million square feet.

 

Wells Fargo Plaza is over 1.8 million

 

My bad, that's why I inserted the disclaimer - I just knew there was no building in Houston above 2 million sqft and just a few over 1.5 million so figured this would be one of the largest ever.

 

Thanks for correcting me.., absolutely no ego here - just enjoying Houston's renaissance!

[lockmat]

It looks better up close and the bottom levels are smashing

[lockmat]

It is only a rendering. Once completed I believe it will appear very sleek. It seems it may be almost 800 feet high. It is also bringing more jobs to Houston. I think Hines is next at 609 Main St. I have heard that a very tall skyscraper will go up by Minute Maid Park because it is out of HOU airport flight pattern. With the tax abatements a lot of buildings have already been announced. I believe a little boom is coming for downtown. I wonder what Trump is up to?

Cool, did you hear what kind I tower and when?

[infinite_jim]

Anyone else notice how it's shape emulates 1600 Smith by orientating it's mass with it (not to mention incorporating a similar spine-like window extrusion on the north facade). They even preserved some of the views of the KBR-Kellog tower by tucking most of the tower mass into the corner at Smith and Pease. This is certainly no "speed stick" design except in the application of a similar cladding scheme. I'm impressed most of all by it's potential height.

Edited July 3, 2013 by infinite_jim

[Houston?]

It is only a rendering.  Once completed I believe it will appear very sleek.  It seems it may be almost 800 feet high.  It is also bringing more jobs to Houston.  I think Hines is next at 609 Main St.  I have heard that a very tall skyscraper will go up by Minute Maid Park because it is out of HOU airport flight pattern.  With the tax abatements a lot of buildings have already been announced.  I believe a little boom is coming for downtown.  I wonder what Trump is up to?  

 

Source?

[King Owl]

wait -- is that just a big huge box?  Is there ANYTHING interesting about this building, aside from the bottom?  What an architectural failure if it's just a box.  Anybody seen the other side?  Is that the interesting side, by chance?

[editor]

Going to have to change the name since it no longer rumored ..lol

 

Done.

[Jax]

While I'm not crazy about what I've seen of it so far, it'll make a nice impact on the skyline from Midtown and parts of Montrose which is a good thing. I'm looking forward to seeing more renderings from different angles.

[por favor gracias]

It should also have a nice impact coming in from the Gulf Freeway.

[King Owl]

I wonder how the design meeting went at HOK...

 

9am, Main conference room

VP of design of HOK: "I'll bet you're curious why I've gathered you all here today for this meeting.  Well, Chevron has decided to build the largest sq footage building in downtown Houston in the past 30 years.  This will be a historic building that will make its mark on the fabulous Houston skyline.  After much thought, I'm here to present you with the design.

heads to unveil the rendering in the front of the room

Here it is!  After much thought, I've incorporated the exact same glass from the other two Chevron buildings, and we've fashioned it in a perfectly symmetrical BOX. One of our finest designs yet!"

I'll put the bill in the mail to Chevron tomorrow.  Total man hours worked from the HOK side: 1.5."

[Fortune]

Exciting to see a rendering of this building. It will be great to see it rise.

[lockmat]

I wonder how the design meeting went at HOK...

9am, Main conference room

VP of design of HOK: "I'll bet you're curious why I've gathered you all here today for this meeting. Well, Chevron has decided to build the largest sq footage building in downtown Houston in the past 30 years. This will be a historic building that will make its mark on the fabulous Houston skyline. After much thought, I'm here to present you with the design.

heads to unveil the rendering in the front of the room

Here it is! After much thought, I've incorporated the exact same glass from the other two Chevron buildings, and we've fashioned it in a perfectly symmetrical BOX. One of our finest designs yet!"

I'll put the bill in the mail to Chevron tomorrow. Total man hours worked from the HOK side: 1.5."

It's as if firms give Houston their leftover designs.

For a simple building, however, it does seem very nice.

[cloud713]

wait -- is that just a big huge box?  Is there ANYTHING interesting about this building, aside from the bottom?  What an architectural failure if it's just a box.  Anybody seen the other side?  Is that the interesting side, by chance?

 

while i admit i wasnt blown away by the design (but its finally official!!!), look at the rendering and tell me it does 1500 Louisiana or 1400 Smith Street any justice. those buildings look mediocre in that rendering too but they look great in person. i think this tower has potential to turn out much better than what this rendering shows. there also appears to be a recessed section in the tower on the right side (and probably a matching recessed side on the left). i guess we will find out more about the building as more renderings become available, but i wouldnt write it off just yet..

[brijonmang]

while i admit i wasnt blown away by the design (but its finally official!!!), look at the rendering and tell me it does 1500 Louisiana or 1400 Smith Street any justice. those buildings look mediocre in that rendering too but they look great in person. i think this tower has potential to turn out much better than what this rendering shows. there also appears to be a recessed section in the tower on the right side (and probably a matching recessed side on the left). i guess we will find out more about the building as more renderings become available, but i wouldnt write it off just yet..

 

This is how I feel about it with that rendering as well.  It looks very squatty from this angle despite the fact it's probably around 750'.  It is somewhat underwhelming but the existing buildings look very dull compared to reality.  The lower pedestrian levels do look very cool and modern though.  I look forward to seeing more.

[Hugh Stone]

The spot the tower is going to be built in is surrounded by other tall, impressive towers. I think in this case height is the only factor that would make this building really stand out and command it's own presence (at least at a distance). If instead of this tower, Chevron were going to build some revolutionary design, but it wasn't any taller than the buildings that surround it, it would be sort of a waste of a good design. In this case, because of the height, a glass box will work just fine and will only make the Houston downtown skyline more beautiful.

Edited July 4, 2013 by Hugh Stone

[jt16]

So this thing isn't even going to break ground for almost another yeat at least. What's the usual timeline for a building this big to go from surface lot removal to occupancy? 2 years?

For what it's worth it looked like they had fencing on site today on my commute home

[King Owl]

well, if this is "Chevron's answer" to the ExxonMobil campus, then I'd tell them they've missed the mark.  They had a chance to do something really cool with this building that would get people talking, but they squandered it.

[Mister X]

80 postings in less than 12 hours on a single thread at HAIF is talking about it. Get over it already King Owl, we heard you, the first 10 times. The building is cool.  Most people are going to like it.  Chevron can't please everyone, especially the google crowd. They have to keep this modest.  People would be whining all over the world if Chevron built something excessive. Remember they are an evil OIL company and they get enough negative press for excessive spending and keeping gas at $4 per gallon. Just be happy they are going higher than the surrounding buildings and for the impact it will make downtown. Some cities would sacrifice a virgin for this tower. 

 

Don't worry, it will get enough attention.

Edited July 4, 2013 by Mister X

[King Owl]

Mister X - this is the same board that talked for pages upon pages regarding a McDonald's on post oak. So your bar is set too low there.

I'll stop going on and on about it, but I view this as a disappointment.

[lockmat]

80 postings in less than 12 hours on a single thread at HAIF is talking about it. Get over it already King Owl, we heard you, the first 10 times. The building is cool. Most people are going to like it. Chevron can't please everyone, especially the google crowd. They have to keep this modest. People would be whining all over the world if Chevron built something excessive. Remember they are an evil OIL company and they get enough negative press for excessive spending and keeping gas at $4 per gallon. Just be happy they are going higher than the surrounding buildings and for the impact it will make downtown. Some cities would sacrifice a virgin for this tower.

Don't worry, it will get enough attention.

Simmer down, simmer down.

I think they easily could have upgraded the look without receiving excessive criticism. 99% of people in the US will never even know they're building this. A nicer tower would not have received national attention. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Mister X]

Simmer down, simmer down.

I think they easily could have upgraded the look without receiving excessive criticism. 99% of people in the US will never even know they're building this. A nicer tower would not have received national attention. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

Maybe, but not everyone (outside HAIFville) has problems with glass boxes. Some people actually like them. I've always been a fan of streamlined, non-oramented, simple, clean design. It's done a lot in Houston for sure, and thats fine by me. We do it well. 

 

Obviously I'm not alone in this opinion because the downtown Houston skyline has been impressing the world for a very long time now. This building won't hurt Houston at all.

Edited July 4, 2013 by Mister X