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Hines breaks ground on 53-acre Levit Green life sciences district near TMC By Jeff Jeffrey – Reporter, Houston Business Journal Oct 5, 2021 Houston-based Hines has broken ground on a 53-acre development that promises to put Houston on the map as a life sciences hub on par with San Francisco, San Diego and the famed Life Sciences Corridor in Boston. Hines, with financial support from investment management firm Harrison Street and 2MLN Real Estate Interests, have begun construction work on Levit Green. The development will be near the interchange of Highway 288 and Holcombe Boulevard/Old Spanish Trail, just east of the Texas Medical Center. The first phase of the project focuses on a five-story, 270,000-square-foot building that is custom-designed to house life sciences research and development projects. The first building of the mixed-use development is scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2022, with initial occupancy planned for December 2022. “Breaking ground at Levit Green marks a pivotal moment for Houston as a burgeoning life science cluster,” said John Mooz, senior managing director at Hines. “Our carefully built team of national life science leasing, design and capital experts has put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into Building I’s planning and design. We are confident that our team will deliver one of the highest-quality commercial laboratory assets in the world. We are excited to begin the first of several top-tier projects at Levit Green that are important to the life sciences sector.” Levit Green 1, as the first building is known, will be the first of nine buildings planned for the site under Hines’ master plan for Levit Green. The first building will be equipped with 100% redundant emergency power, enhanced structural vibration attenuation, augmented mechanical systems, 33-foot structural bay depths and floorplates exceeding 56,000 square feet. Additionally, the building's amenities will include a 5,800-square-foot fitness center and outdoor garden, 7,000-square-foot conference center, 3,500 square feet of café and restaurant space, and ample on-site parking. The ground floor will also have more than 25,000 square feet of lab incubator space, which will provide entrepreneurs and early-stage life science companies with laboratory and office space. Chicago-based JLL (NYSE: JLL) has been tapped to oversee leasing for building one. Hines has declined to comment on the cost of the first phase of development. The master plan for Levit Green includes several lakes in the heart of the district, with each building designed to embrace the planned waterfronts. For example, the restaurant and cafe space in the first building will connect to outside dining space, where researchers and technicians can gather for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine as they kick around ideas next to the water. Hines began the initial talks in 2016 with 2ML Real Estate Interests, formerly known as The Grocers Supply Co. Inc., to acquire the site of some Grocers Supply warehouse and distribution facilities for Levit Green. In fact, Levit Green takes its name from the family behind 2ML Real Estate Interests. But after Hines took over the property, much of the work has focused on ensuring the design was right. Hines tapped St. Louis-based architecture, engineering and planning firm HOK, which has extensive experience designing properties for scientific research firms. For nearly two years, Hines sent teams to life sciences clusters across the country to see what kinds of facilities and amenities competing cities offered, Mooz said in February. The developer also drew on the company’s experience designing and building “complicated” laboratory environments around the world, which include a research center for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, petrochemical labs and research facilities for clinical clients, among others. The Levit Green project comes at a time when the life sciences sector has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise lagging commercial real estate market nationally. In Houston, where the office market has stumbled along for years amid vacancy rates in excess of 20%, a number of developers have been making plays in the life sciences space to find opportunities. Houston-based Medistar Corp. is developing a 30-story high-rise, dubbed Horizon Tower, near the Texas Medical Center in partnership with Texas A&M University. The 485,000-square-foot, 17-story office project is being built atop a 13-story parking structure at 6929 Main St. and will be part of the Texas A&M Innovation Plaza. It's slated to deliver in early 2023. Cushman & Wakefield was hired to provide agency leasing services for Horizon Tower. Additionally, the Texas Medical Center recently announced that construction of its 37-acre TMC3 medical research campus is well underway. As of Aug. 31, nearly 118 million pounds of concrete had been poured at the TMC3 site, according to figures from Houston-based Vaughn Construction, the general contractor selected for the TMC3 project. Construction has also started on the roughly 271,000-square-foot communal hub of TMC3, called the TMC3 Collaborative Building.

Somebody's ears were burning... Drove by on way home and the crane base was there. Are we going to get a crane in the sky before a single article?

Hate following up with no pics.... but drove by again last night and more heavy equipment has been brought on-site and new construction fencing went up around the entire block yesterday. Separately, the Women's Center (1.5 acres) on SE corner of Waugh/W Dallas went under contract a few weeks ago. The amount of investment/ongoing construction that will be happening in this immediate area and Allen Parkway over the next several years will be crazy. Some of the announced and not yet announced retail deals being signed at Autry Park, Regent Square and others are going to make this THEE area, pretty quickly imo. There are some really exciting concepts coming to Autry Park. Ready to watch it unfold... popcorn ready!

Drove by here last night on way home from work. Lot of dirt being moved and appears digging has started. Hopefully a Press Release is forthcoming.

Does anyone know what is happening with the Pavilion? It seems like there's been little to no construction progress there for some time.

My only push back here is the total project cost is significantly higher and these condos appear to be priced at $3m+. I would expect the materials and overall design to remain very high-end if these prices stay relatively the same and they're able to secure their pre-sales goal.

To me one of the most exciting parts to this is The Standard hotel is a partner. Having a Standard in Houston and especially Montrose, would be incredible for the neighborhood. Really interested to learn more and hope this is an active proposal.

This location should do very well. The original McIntyre's is a destination in that part of the Heights/Shady Acres and is packed every weekend.

Harris County bought 1111 Fannin from Triten recently. They want to consolidate several properties to this building. This would be huge for downtown. The County own a lot of buildings/land that would present great development opportunities for more urban infill on northside of CBD. Looking forward to more details. https://therealdeal.com/2021/06/09/harris-county-set-to-buy-downtown-houston-office-building-for-close-to-29m/

I'll withhold judgement until it's complete, but does anyone else feel the glass on the Pavilion building seems really cheap and does not look that great? I run BBP a few times a week and always notice it. I hope I'm wrong, but have never seen it mentioned on this thread and am curious if I'm the not the only one in this camp.

Didn't get a picture but the entire Jones Plaza block has been barricaded up. So excited for this one to start.

This is not the final design.

It's projects like this that have me very excited about the future of Uptown. This building, both Hanovers, all the new highrise condos/MF on Westcreek, Post Oak Blvd's future retail, the Rosewood development + other high end hotels looking in the area, the growing emphasis on walkability, and even the new high-rise luxury senior living project on Garretson. I have to assume this area will have very few rivals nationally, for areas outside a CBD. A lot to be excited about for sure.

Any idea as to why the garage has not started? Where are all the employees of Microsoft, Chevron, Common desk, new retail tenants, etc. going to park in the next several months? Has something changed beyond a garage for this site? I scratch my head every time I drive by here. There's been no movement, yet we they keep announcing more and more tenants.

New Chris Shepherd restaurant coming to Regent Square. From Houstonia magazine: Chris Shepherd to Heat Up Buffalo Bayou Area with New Restaurant The James Beard award-winning chef will take on a global concept. By Timothy Malcolm 3/22/2021 at 10:18am Chris Shepherd. IMAGE: JOHN DAVIDSON GET READY FOR YET ANOTHER Chris Shepherd restaurant in Houston. According to an announcement Monday, Shepherd’s Underbelly Hospitality has signed a lease for a 5,000-square-foot standalone space at Regent Square, the urban development planned for W Dallas Street between College Memorial Park and Waugh Drive, just south of Buffalo Bayou Park. The restaurant will focus on global live-fire cooking, according to the announcement, and will anchor the phase two addition of GID Development Group’s masterplan for this area. This part of the project is scheduled to debut in late 2021; Shepherd’s restaurant will include a rooftop terrace. “While we have more surprises in store, we couldn’t help lead the beginnings of our tenant lineup with Chris Shepherd, a chef who has helped to define the dynamic, culinary landscape of Houston and whose passion for food, the restaurant industry, and his city is unparalleled,” said James Linsley, president of GID Development Group, in a release. A rendering of phase two of Regent Square. IMAGE: GID DEVELOPMENT GROUP “We’re still working through a lot of the details,” Shepherd said in the release, “but the idea of live fire cooking using multiple types of wood really excites me. Regent Square is an ideal location for this restaurant and for Underbelly Hospitality—convenient to Montrose, downtown, River Oaks—and it’s great to be a part of a project with so many like-minded people.” A James Beard award-winning chef, Shepherd has been cooking with live fire a lot over the past year, especially at home in his backyard. He told Houstonia in late 2020 that it was his one of his favorite things to do. “For me, sitting in the backyard on the patio watching football, having a beer or a glass of wine, and tending a fire ... it’s awesome,” Shepherd said in December. But does this mean Central Texas barbecue? “Do I have the endurance to cook brisket ... no,” he said in December. “Quite frankly, I am too afraid of the 14 hours and me not doing it well. But I’m just as much a nerd as everyone else doing this.” Shepherd also confirmed to Houstonia Monday that he will not, in fact, have a pit smoker at the new restaurant. He previously has said that he likes leaving that kind of work to the masters, like his friend and Austin barbecue hero Aaron Franklin, owner of Franklin Barbecue. Shepherd is staying busy lately. His Underbelly Hospitality is opening Wild Oats this summer at the Houston Farmers Market site, while a spinoff of his acclaimed steakhouse—Georgia James Tavern—is scheduled to open this year at Market Square Tower in Downtown Houston.

Understand they have an office in Clear Lake, but to my knowledge it is very small. Certainly not large enough to accommodate the number of jobs they are now hiring for. I could be wrong which is often the case!

This is not an update, but a quick observation. I've long felt that if SpaceX moved its headquarters to Houston (which I honestly believe may happen) that outside of the new Houston spaceport, East River presents the most attractive location. SpaceX posted 30-35 new job postings a few days ago in Houston, largely engineering positions. I'm genuinely curious on what this news means and where they are looking for offices - I'd be shocked if all these positions work from home... Totally separate, but I find it funny Austin received so much press a few weeks ago on just a few job postings and barely any concrete news from the company ha. Meanwhile we have almost 40 open jobs and not a peep 😂

Innovation Map yesterday: "We are excited to see Google expand its presence in Texas and here in Houston," Bob Harvey, president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, says in a Google release. "Google is working closely with Houston companies in energy and healthcare to ensure successful digital transformation in these core industries. At the same time, the company is collaborating with emerging energy 2.0 companies to help usher in the energy transition to a low-carbon future. We believe the future holds more partnership opportunities for Google and the Houston region." Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says the Google office will help lay the groundwork for Houston's evolution as Silicon Bayou, a center of tech innovation. Along those lines, Bill McKeon, CEO of the Texas Medical Center, says the medical complex is working with Google on several initiatives designed to capitalize on his organization's health data and intellectual capital. Does anyone else get the feeling Google may be a major tenant in TMC3? Their logo was displayed in the video as an industry partner, we know the first industry building is being announced soon from the most recent 'State of the TMC', and I believe the above bolded statement is the first public mention from Bill McKeon on the TMC's partnerships with Google. Fingers crossed.

It would also look better with retail/restaurant tenants + signgage.

That would truly be one of the best start-to-finish development stories of all time. The developer needs to be notified immediately.

The good thing is East River is broken out into 4-5 phases, so there will be more opportunity. My only thought on the central focus to the water is that this Buffalo Bayou East extension is meant to be largely recreational. In the above render, it appears they'll have 4 retail sites that face the bayou, but are set back and not right on the water. Maybe this is party due to the fact they want the trails to cater more to runners, walkers, and bikers? It's also very possible there are engineering considerations that we are not aware of, similar to the initial outcry many of us had on Barbara Jordan not being torn down to be multiple towers. Having said all that, I'm still very excited and bullish on this project and the companies it will attract. I think later phases could be dramatically different if the bull case/opportunity becomes more clear after Phase 1. But I certainly agree that this project is one of the few areas of Houston to truly engage water frontage - need to capitalize on this!

Did not get pictures, but the industrial building was being torn down as I drove by this afternoon.

The first image posted above is Phase 1 with Fulbright. Really like the initial drawings of the block West of Fulbright. BIG is providing a natural transition from the park experience/greenspace to the project which appears to be (at least in these drawings) an office building.

I have been to Blue many times, it has a great ambiance and fun atmosphere. I'm excited about this and will definitely frequent this location often. Great news.

Really excited for this project and what it will add to Midtown. Also love seeing they'll have a Green Wall covering at least one side of the parking podium.