JPMorgan Chase Tower At 600 Travis St.

[Avossos]

1 hour ago, CREguy13 said:

I actually walked by here today and some of the tape read 'rebar'.  Hines and Cerberus may be in the early stages of their redevelopment of the plaza and ground level.  These holes are being drilled on Travis/Texas side.  They might be extending the first floor out on both these sides to add restaurant space for lease.  These sidewalks are pretty wide especially on Travis. 

 

I believe I've heard of this so called "restaurant" thing before. interesting concept... Where people get together and potentially consume food in a social setting...

 

Hines is ahead of its time!!

 

jokes jokes

[Naviguessor]

Wait. So, you’d gather with people?  To eat...food?  Prepared by others?  Ridiculous. 

[H-Town Man]

7 hours ago, CREguy13 said:

I actually walked by here today and some of the tape read 'rebar'.  Hines and Cerberus may be in the early stages of their redevelopment of the plaza and ground level.  These holes are being drilled on Travis/Texas side.  They might be extending the first floor out on both these sides to add restaurant space for lease.  These sidewalks are pretty wide especially on Travis. 

 

What is downtown like right now? Is anyone walking around? 

 

[HoustonMidtown]

6 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

What is downtown like right now? Is anyone walking around? 

 

 

Not many - this was 4:00pm on Thursday

 

Untitled by Houston Midtown, on Flickr

Untitled by Houston Midtown, on Flickr

Edited April 17, 2020 by HoustonMidtown

[H-Town Man]

Wow. I figure the residents are at least out getting exercise, like every other neighborhood in America, but that's probably more on the north end.

[Highrise Tower]

Permit issued.

 

[cspwal]

57 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

Wow. I figure the residents are at least out getting exercise, like every other neighborhood in America, but that's probably more on the north end.

At least from what I've seen, there's a lot of people out on bikes.  The downtown 5-lane streets are amazing to bike on when there are no cars.  The Columbia Tap trail is always busy with people as well, about half biking and half walking

[JLWM8609]

14 hours ago, Naviguessor said:

Wait. So, you’d gather with people?  To eat...food?  Prepared by others?  Ridiculous. 

 

Yes. It was popular during the old times, before the beer plague hit us. Wonderful times they were!

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

On 4/16/2020 at 4:42 PM, Avossos said:

 

. Where people get together and potentially consume food in a social setting...

 

 

Do you remember? Pepperidge Farm remembers...

 

it seems like another lifetime ago... LOL

[Highrise Tower]

[jermh]

Scaffolding on both Travis & Capitol now.

[hindesky]

[Highrise Tower]

 

 

[cloud713]

So is it gfr/extending the ground floor out or did we figure out what they’re doing? Seems a little narrow for restaurant space, but I’m just sure what just inside the current walls, so maybe they could bump into there?

[CREguy13]

They haven't released the plans yet, but I imagine they are coming soon since construction has been underway for about a month now.  Judging by the scaffolding around the entire building, they're likely removing the paneling on the first floor. 

 

I don't think it makes sense for restaurant/retail on the Travis street side as that's where the tunnel connection and escalator are.  I'm wondering if they get creative and take the successes from Capitol Tower to open up Travis, so you have much more natural light/direct access to the tunnel from the street level. 

 

I do think that you have restaurant/retail space on both Texas and Milam street.  Texas side engages Texas Tower's active ground-level and Milam engages Jones Hall which Chase Tower was originally designed to complement.  My hope is the Plaza area will be re-imagined to support/serve as gateway to Theater District and be activated for building tenants/Jones Hall private events similar to what the new Lynn Wyatt Square aims to do for Alley Theater.  

 

I've heard rumors the price tag is between $20-30m so I'm optimistic this will exceed expectations with Hines involved.  They are working to rebrand this area of downtown as the 'North District' so this renovation must fit the legacy they are building.

[H-Town Man]

4 hours ago, CREguy13 said:

They haven't released the plans yet, but I imagine they are coming soon since construction has been underway for about a month now.  Judging by the scaffolding around the entire building, they're likely removing the paneling on the first floor. 

 

I don't think it makes sense for restaurant/retail on the Travis street side as that's where the tunnel connection and escalator are.  I'm wondering if they get creative and take the successes from Capitol Tower to open up Travis, so you have much more natural light/direct access to the tunnel from the street level. 

 

I do think that you have restaurant/retail space on both Texas and Milam street.  Texas side engages Texas Tower's active ground-level and Milam engages Jones Hall which Chase Tower was originally designed to complement.  My hope is the Plaza area will be re-imagined to support/serve as gateway to Theater District and be activated for building tenants/Jones Hall private events similar to what the new Lynn Wyatt Square aims to do for Alley Theater.  

 

I've heard rumors the price tag is between $20-30m so I'm optimistic this will exceed expectations with Hines involved.  They are working to rebrand this area of downtown as the 'North District' so this renovation must fit the legacy they are building.

 

Great info. Another factor is that Hines has moved its HQ to the new tower across the street, so they are really picking the decor for their own house, not somebody else's. Critical to recruiting talent to a global development firm in the 21st century is a great urban environment, just like 40 years ago it was "have an awesome mall next door" when they moved into Transco.

[jermh]

Per HBJ here:

https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2019/10/28/its-official-hines-pe-firm-buy-houstons-tallest.html

 

Quote

 

Renovations are planned for 600 Travis Street, which is the tallest building in Texas at 75 stories and contains more than 1.7 million square feet with 22,237 square feet of retail space. Improvements will include major updates to the lobby and exterior plaza area; the addition of connected, collaborative workspaces as well as a new conference center; and enhancements to other building common elements, per the release. The plaza's focal point — Joan Miró's "Personage and Birds" sculpture — will remain on-site. St. Louis-based architecture firm HOK is designing the renovations.

 

"Our goal is to enhance 600 Travis’ position as one of the top office buildings in the southwest," John Mooz, senior managing director at Hines, said in the release. "With significantly more activated common space and opportunities, the repositioning will promote greater tenant attraction and retention and will be a testament to Hines’ unmatched ability to maintain an asset’s architectural heritage while fostering a contemporary image for the modern workplace."

 

 

There was an RFP to a few architectural firms for concepts last year, but I hadn't paid attention to which firm was awarded. Looks to be HOK per this article. 

Edited May 14, 2020 by jermh

[Highrise Tower]

 

 

 

[jermh]

I didn't get a picture but, the scaffolding on the Jones Hall side of the building was blown over by wind gust about 4:30-5pm yesterday. Most of it fell on to the ramp to the basement garage, and by 8ish the company that put it up was onsite removing the collapsed scaffolding debris. All but about confirmed my previously irrational fear and not being a fan of walking under it.

Edited May 28, 2020 by jermh
typing is hard.

[H-Town Man]

On 5/23/2020 at 7:22 PM, Highrise Tower said:

 

 

So these are permanent canopies, not just scaffolding?

 

[Naviguessor]

On 5/23/2020 at 7:22 PM, Highrise Tower said:

 

 

 

Certainly look like scaffolding to me. 

[TheSirDingle]

If they are expanding the ground floor, wonder how high and far they're going to do it. Hope it's something akin to the Texas tower retail, that would be a great addition to this part of Downtown. 

Hoping we get some sort of information soon, especially considering it might be a major renovation to the tallest tower in Texas. 

 

It honestly feels like Hines is changing this whole area by itself, it's insane how much they're adding. 

Edited May 28, 2020 by TheSirDingle

[Naviguessor]

Honestly, I don’t think that this is “construction” related. They do this when they do work on the exterior of building to protect the sidewalk below. Maybe they are cleaning, repairing/replacing damaged granite, or doing something more than just washing the windows. 

[Highrise Tower]

 

[wxman]

It's sad that our state's tallest building is also one of the ugliest. There is nothing special about this building at all. Just a tall, gray, bland, box. 

[j_cuevas713]

3 hours ago, wxman said:

It's sad that our state's tallest building is also one of the ugliest. There is nothing special about this building at all. Just a tall, gray, bland, box. 

What? 🤣

[cloud713]

6 hours ago, wxman said:

It's sad that our state's tallest building is also one of the ugliest. There is nothing special about this building at all. Just a tall, gray, bland, box. 

But a corner is sliced off! /s

[Ross]

10 hours ago, wxman said:

It's sad that our state's tallest building is also one of the ugliest. There is nothing special about this building at all. Just a tall, gray, bland, box. 

I can't believe you criticized something designed by I M Pei. How dare you! Everyone knows that the designers of the late 70's were the best ever, and we've been on a long downhill slide ever since, with nothing of note appearing for 40 years.😆😁🤣😂

[Montrose1100]

I like it a lot in it's simplicity and it's history. So I'll repeat my thoughts anytime someone calls it ugly.

 

Apart from it's height, you could teleport/swap it to the Shinjuku District in Tokyo and no one would bat an eye. Same for 3 Allen Center, and 1 Houston Center. Now that's International Style baby. Or Modernist. Or Late International. Whatever they're kind of synonymous. I'm sure Luminarie could swoop in and correct me .

 

The Late 1970's and Early 1980's were Houston's time to shine in fresh corporate architecture. Our Skyline grew from competing with the likes of New Orleans to surpassing every US city (minus you know who), in the USA in a matter of a few years. We were the Dubai at the time, in the awe of growth and coming of age, and putting ourselves on the map.

 

This Tower really represents that. It was the 8th tallest building in the world when completed. The first 1,000ft or +300m Skyscraper outside of the two US Giants, the birthplace of soaring height and tall buildings - New York City & Chicago. That's a pretty cool accomplishment for a swampy cowboy town on the Gulf Coast. Since 1990 we have slipped out of the top 10 tallest in the world and may never return again. I think it's still in the top 300.

 

In 1982 the Joan Miro sculpture was opened accompanied by the Houston Symphony Orchestra for the architect's 89th Birthday. 

 

Quote

Personnage, oiseaux (Personage, Birds, 1974) shows the classic theme of the human figure before birds in flight as a hybrid representation in which the gestural energy he developed after his last trip to the United States

 

I know the above is quoted on the painting from which the sculpture takes it's entirety from. But to symbolize the flight of mankind, via space shuttle, or through the 20th & 21st century via oil, Houston helped launch "us". Guess the oil/energy portion could tie into the propulsion of the rockets as well. The sculpture and structure it fronts pay homage to that. 

 

Anyways, I'm finished on my soapbox. Learning about this building made me appreciate it more than a height contest on architecture forums a long time ago. Maybe I'm romanticizing it.

 

Do we have any renderings of how they're changing the plaza floor?

 

 

 

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

AFAIK, it;s still the tallest 5 sided building in the world.

 

[H-Town Man]

I think Pei once stated that they were going for a certain effect with this building and it didn't come out the way they wanted it. It does look good when you're sitting on the Pierce Elevated and the evening sun is hitting it, makes the granite kind of sparkle and the windows shimmer. Otherwise yeah, it's just a mass.

 

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

If they were going for 'big grey slab', they nailed it

[Montrose1100]

35 minutes ago, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

If they were going for 'big grey slab', they nailed it

To think what we could have been. Or worse. Considering our Skyline was/is practically nothing but boxes, she fares well.

[jermh]

It looked like they are working down the building, drilling the same holes they did on the ground level from the top via the window washing platforms. I snapped some photos with the telephoto lens from the Rice garage roof last week, but I never really looked to see if they came out. If they suck, I'll get out there today or tomorrow and take some more.

Edited June 9, 2020 by jermh

[jermh]

 

It's a little hard to make out on Flickr, but you can see the same "drilling" going on up top as what's being done on the bottom.

Edited June 11, 2020 by jermh

[Highrise Tower]

 

[samagon]

On 6/8/2020 at 10:55 AM, Tumbleweed_Tx said:

AFAIK, it;s still the tallest 5 sided building in the world.

 

 

how far do they go with these?

 

I now have an irrational desire to make the tallest 243 sided building in the world.

 

them: "but sir, it is only 1 story tall."

 

me: "I know, but it is the tallest 243 sided building in the world, and I demand recognition!"

Edited June 23, 2020 by samagon

[hindesky]

Before and After for the new siding anchors.

[H-Town Man]

12 hours ago, hindesky said:

Before and After for the new siding anchors.

 

Is this just to better secure the siding to the building?

[Caleb]

On 6/28/2020 at 10:57 AM, hindesky said:

Before and After for the new siding anchors.

I think they’re gonna cover this tower in glass. Similar to what was done to the federal building on the other side of downtown 

[Highrise Tower]

Here's the scope of work per TDLR.

Quote

Retrofitting Level 2 and portions of Level 1 of an existing office tower as a conference center; expansion of tower entrance lobby atrium; new landscape architecture at outdoor areas (the plaza) including seating areas and planting areas

 

[CREguy13]

This area of downtown is going to transform at a rapid pace...

 

Hines lands tenant for 250K-SF lease in Houston's tallest office tower with renovations underway

   

 

By Jeff Jeffrey  – Reporter, Houston Business Journal

Jul 13, 2020, 2:23pm CDT

 

Hines has landed a major tenant for Houston's tallest office tower, which the Houston-based firm is in the process of renovating.

An unnamed financial services firm has agreed to lease 250,000 square feet of space in the 75-story office tower at 600 Travis St., which is commonly known as JPMorgan Chase Tower, according to a press release. The lease comes after Hines and an affiliate of New York-based Cerberus Capital Management teamed up to buy 600 Travis and the adjacent building at 601 Travis St., formerly known as JPMorgan Chase Center, in October.

Hines is in the midst of renovating 600 Travis, which will see significant updates to the lobby and exterior plaza; the addition of connected, collaborative workspaces; enhancements to other building common elements; and the addition of a conference center that can accommodate up to 150 people. The renovations were designed by St. Louis-based HOK, according to a news release.

“The planned changes to the building’s ground-floor plane will be some of the most transformative in our firm’s history,” Hines Senior Managing Director John Mooz said in a statement. “For several years, our team has contemplated the unique untapped potential of the building’s large plaza area. The renovation takes strong advantage of that opportunity and that vision resonated with our new tenant.”

Here are some highlights of the renovations:

• The exterior plaza will be converted into an urban garden, featuring increased green space, an expanded canopy and more connections from the outdoors to the building.
• The lobby renovations will see additional retail space added, which will provide new food and beverage options to tenants.
• The renovations will also reimagine the entrance, paying homage to the building’s designer I.M. Pei, who died last year.
• The five-story curtainwall will switch from the existing current chrome and glass grid to a new trapezoidal pyramid, which will add almost 3,000 square feet to the lobby.
• The former Sky Lobby on the 60th floor will be redesigned as an exclusive “Sky Lounge” for tenants. The lounge will provide space for tenant meetings and collaboration.

Hines and Cerberus Capital Management paid an undisclosed sum to purchase 600 and 601 Travis last year in what was reported to be one of the largest property deals of 2019.

The building was valued at $473.5 million as of Jan. 1, 2020, according to Harris County Appraisal District records.

Hines continues to manage the office tower. In the lease with the unnamed financial services firm, Hines and Cerberus were represented by Michael Anderson, Diana Bridger and Margaret Elkins of Cushman & Wakefield as well as Chanse McLeod with Hunton Andrews Kurth.

[nate4l1f3]

How excite! I still wish they would re-clad the exterior but if not new then we’ll probably never see it. 

[nate4l1f3]

 

[jermh]

6 minutes ago, nate4l1f3 said:

 

 

Thanks! I've been curious to see what HOK proposed ever since I found out they won the project. 

[jermh]

Additional renderings here, or at-least non paywalled renderings.

 

https://www.hines.com/news/hines-signs-250-000-sf-lease-at-600-travis

[TheSirDingle]

Seems we now have the *checks notes*, tallest 6 sided building in the world.  

 

This honestly looks great, chase tower always needed some more green around it. Also like the addition of the conference room, and lobby retail. Seems like they're also renovating the sky lobby.  Definitely a great remaster of the big boy. 

[nate4l1f3]

 

[Houston19514]

Looks great!  I'm eager to learn who the new new tenant is.  Hopefully a relocation from out of state.

[Montrose1100]

We get an upside down Pyramide du Lourve, even more steps with hand rails chopping up the plaza, and monkey grass? It's like the destroyed 5555 San Felipe/Marathon Tower sans the trees. Even they had the sense to get rid of it and it's the most suburban skyscraper we have.

 

I say Boo, Boo on Hines, and Boo on this (initially of course).