Five Houston Center At 1401 McKinney St.

[editor]

We received this news release today:

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Crescent Sells 5 Houston Center

Record Sale Realizes Joint Venture Promoted Interest

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 2005--Crescent Real Estate Equities Company (NYSE:CEI) announced today that it has sold 5 Houston Center on behalf of Crescent 5 Houston Center, L.P., the joint venture which owns the office property. The office property was sold for $166 million, or $286 per square foot, resulting in a merchant building gain to Crescent of approximately $25 million, including a promoted interest earned of approximately $13 million.

John C. Goff, Crescent's vice-chairman and chief executive officer, commented on the sale, "We are very pleased with the sale of 5 Houston Center and realizing our first promoted interest in our office joint venture program. When we modernized our office business and initiated our office joint venture strategy, we told the market that this program would increase our operating return on equity by 300 to 600 basis points, as well as generate significant promoted interest income. The sale of 5 Houston Center produced an overall gain of approximately $25 million to Crescent, including an approximate $13 million promoted interest. The sale was at $286 per square foot, a record for Houston."

Mr. Goff continued, "We had estimated the value of the promoted interest for our existing joint ventures on our third quarter 2005 earnings conference call to be in the range of $90 million to $100 million. We expect to continue harvesting these promoted interest gains for our shareholders in the future."

Crescent completed the development of 5 Houston Center in a 75%/25% joint venture with an affiliate of JPMorgan Asset Management in 2002. Crescent will continue to manage the property for the new owner, Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II, Inc. 5 Houston Center is currently 95.5% occupied.

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Here's some pictures of the building:

[MidtownCoog]

Considering its close proximity to the "Park That Will Change The World", I don't think much will change.

And if they ever spruce up the dump that is Houston Center, that side of DT has a lot of potential.

[RedScare]

"We are very pleased with the sale of 5 Houston Center and realizing our first promoted interest in our office joint venture program. When we modernized our office business and initiated our office joint venture strategy, we told the market that this program would increase our operating return on equity by 300 to 600 basis points, as well as generate significant promoted interest income."

Couldn't they have just said "We are happy that we made a profit on this building"?

[Montrose1100]

So its no longer considered "5 Houston Center" ?

(I mean) apart of the Houston Center Complex anymore?

[Houston19514]

So its no longer considered "5 Houston Center" ?

(I mean) apart of the Houston Center Complex anymore?

I suspect nothing will change. Crescent will stay manage the property, so I'm sure it will still be part of the Houston Center complex.

[lockmat]

I just found Cresents website and learned that all the Houston __ Centers are related. I guess b/c they're all owned by the same property company? Well, how come there isn't a 3 Houston Center? And are they the ones who originally developed these buildings? Or did they just purchase them all?

[ChannelTwoNews]

I just found Cresents website and learned that all the Houston __ Centers are related. I guess b/c they're all owned by the same property company? Well, how come there isn't a 3 Houston Center? And are they the ones who originally developed these buildings? Or did they just purchase them all?

If I'm not mistaken 3 Houston Center was the original name for what's now called Fulbright Tower. When it comes to the original developers, I believe it was Cadillac Fairview who had a large stake in much of the original project. I think there were a few other developers involved (maybe Texas Eastern Transmission) but I'm not certain. Crescent later purchased the project and a surrounding garage or two a number of years later.

[TheNiche]

.

ChannelTwo beat me to it.

Edited October 4, 2007 by TheNiche

[lockmat]

If I'm not mistaken 3 Houston Center was the original name for what's now called Fulbright Tower. When it comes to the original developers, I believe it was Cadillac Fairview who had a large stake in much of the original project. I think there were a few other developers involved (maybe Texas Eastern Transmission) but I'm not certain. Crescent later purchased the project and a surrounding garage or two a number of years later.

Do you know what the original project included? Was it just one building? Or did they intend to develop this far from the conceptual stage?

[ChannelTwoNews]

Do you know what the original project included? Was it just one building? Or did they intend to develop this far from the conceptual stage?

Check out the first post of this thread to see a rendering of the original plan for Houston Center. I recall reading in one of the Houston Architectural Guides that if it were followed to plan, there would've been a people-mover system operating through the complex and supposedly one of the transit points would've located in the cross-bracing of the wide portion of 2 Houston Center over San Jacinto Street.

That obviously didn't come to fruition and the project was scaled back. See this post from a thread I started on another unbuilt building to see a couple of maps from the early 80's which list the blocks with their respective developers. 2, 3 & 4 Houston Center are Listed.

Edited October 4, 2007 by ChannelTwoNews

[Houston19514]

Texas Eastern was the original owner/developer of Houston Center. They owned all the land all the way to Hwy 59 and donated the land for the GRB to the city. Original plans for Houston Center covered all of that land, I believe, including what became the Hilton Americas, and what is now becoming Discovery Green and One Park Place. The original plans for Houston Center included covering a whole bunch of blocks of streets, with a new "outdoors" a couple levels above street level, sort of like they did above San Jacinto between 1 & 2 HC, but extending for many blocks (at least that's what I was told on an architectural tour of downtown Houston a few years back.)

[houstonmacbro]

So its no longer considered "5 Houston Center" ?

(I mean) apart of the Houston Center Complex anymore?

You mean the complex of black office buildings next to the 'Park' or whatever it's called?

[Nate99]

You mean the complex of black office buildings next to the 'Park' or whatever it's called?

The two black towers that are joined by a four or five story crosswalk over San Jacinto are 1 Houston Center and 2 Houston Center, I can never remember which is which.

Part of the land that the Hilton Americas sits on (the NE corner of Jackson and Polk) was the Redwood Chemical Company that my step-father once owned (sold long before the city acquired the land for the Hilton), it had been on that site for a long time, possibly pre-war.

[TxDave]

Texas Eastern was the original owner/developer of Houston Center. They owned all the land all the way to Hwy 59 and donated the land for the GRB to the city. Original plans for Houston Center covered all of that land, I believe, including what became the Hilton Americas, and what is now becoming Discovery Green and One Park Place. The original plans for Houston Center included covering a whole bunch of blocks of streets, with a new "outdoors" a couple levels above street level, sort of like they did above San Jacinto between 1 & 2 HC, but extending for many blocks (at least that's what I was told on an architectural tour of downtown Houston a few years back.)

Somewhere I have an old postcard showing the original vision for the Houston Center development. It was supposed to be an innovative design with open sidewalks and plazas built over streets for 20+ blocks of east downtown to near the current George R Brown Conventtion Center. The best and only example of this "innovative" concept is in 1 Houston Center and 2 Houston Center and the large street crossovers. The 1970's space age entrances and outdoor plazas give an idea of what could have been - if you have not seen it, I would recommend checking it out.

In the 1980's Houston Center added the Park Shops and the (former?) Chevron Tower. The original concept was not carried through, but instead the new buildings were connected only by skyways. Apparently the idea died or became too expensive, but Houston's innovative idea remains in the original towers.

Edited October 7, 2007 by TxDave

[Subdude]

Somewhere I have an old postcard showing the original vision for the Houston Center development. It was supposed to be an innovative design with open sidewalks and plazas built over streets for 20+ blocks of east downtown to near the current George R Brown Conventtion Center. The best and only example of this "innovative" concept is in 1 Houston Center and 2 Houston Center and the large street crossovers. The 1970's space age entrances and outdoor plazas give an idea of what could have been - if you have not seen it, I would recommend checking it out.

In the 1980's Houston Center added the Park Shops and the (former?) Chevron Tower. The original concept was not carried through, but instead the new buildings were connected only by skyways. Apparently the idea died or became too expensive, but Houston's innovative idea remains in the original towers.

Here you are.

[citykid09]

HEADQUARTERS

Quantum will move to Houston

Oil and gas investment firm Quantum Resources Management will move its headquarters from Denver to Houston with the naming of Alan Smith as president and CEO. He replaced Donald Wolf, who will serve as chairman.

Smith was a managing partner of Quantum

[TheNiche]

How many employees is this?

[ChannelTwoNews]

Bank of Texas plans to double downtown Houston office space - Houston Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

"Bank of Texas currently occupies the entire 10th floor — about 29,000 square feet of space — in 5 Houston Center, which is located at 1401 McKinney St. downtown. The bank has signed a full-floor lease for the 11th floor of the office building, essentially doubling its presence downtown, Houston Region CEO Randall Walker told the Houston Business Journal. The company plans to move into the new space in the latter half of 2024."