Ion District In Midtown

[BeerNut]

Can't tell if RMC plans to go forward with the CBA or just going through the motions.

 

https://linktr.ee/hcedd

 

[Highrise Tower]

Ion garage building permit and info about Greentown Labs.

 

 

[Fortune]

$33,517,144.00 seems like a nice price tag for a renovation. Maybe the renovation of the old Fiesta will be nicer than I was expecting. 

[hindesky]

Opened on Nov. 16th 1939

Edited November 21, 2020 by hindesky

[hindesky]

[cspwal]

You can see the old facade starting to emerge in the new pictures

[H-Town Man]

On 11/21/2020 at 1:27 PM, Fortune said:

$33,517,144.00 seems like a nice price tag for a renovation. Maybe the renovation of the old Fiesta will be nicer than I was expecting. 

 

Yes, at $670/SF, that is pretty substantial. They could build a Fiesta from scratch for maybe a third of that. If they were just filling it with offices and some exterior cosmetics, that would cost maybe $100/SF.

[CREguy13]

4 hours ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Yes, at $670/SF, that is pretty substantial. They could build a Fiesta from scratch for maybe a third of that. If they were just filling it with offices and some exterior cosmetics, that would cost maybe $100/SF.

It's listed as 50,000 SF above, but the existing structure is 40,000 SF, so I wonder if they're adding on to this building?  $670/SF is extraordinarily high and far exceeds Greentown's original budget they mentioned publicly so I'm thinking something has changed... hopefully demand has been so strong it's made them rethink their original expansion plans.

[HNathoo]

We’ve got lighting! 

[kennyc05]

Yep saw that the other night!

[hindesky]

[midtowndweller]

Drove by and there are these lights on the northeastern side of the building. Not sure if they’ll be covered or if they’re part of the final aesthetic of the building. If they will continually go around the building this will look beautiful at night.

[X.R.]

On 11/21/2020 at 1:27 PM, Fortune said:

$33,517,144.00 seems like a nice price tag for a renovation. Maybe the renovation of the old Fiesta will be nicer than I was expecting. 

 

Are we sure this isn't a clerical error? They maybe meant to say $335,171.44? Some smaller apartment building are cheaper than 33 million, aren't they? If its 33 million, they have to be adding a substantial amount of space somehow to the Fiesta. 

[H-Town Man]

2 hours ago, X.R. said:

 

Are we sure this isn't a clerical error? They maybe meant to say $335,171.44? Some smaller apartment building are cheaper than 33 million, aren't they? If its 33 million, they have to be adding a substantial amount of space somehow to the Fiesta. 

 

I doubt they would have been given a price tag that had cents, these things are rounded to the nearest dollar. I imagine they will be renovating this the way Radom renovated those warehouse buildings off Shepherd in the Heights. You won't even know it was ever a grocery store.

 

[MarathonMan]

$33 million on a project for which construction hasn’t started and with a completion date five months away.  That’s a tight timeline!

[clutchcity94]

How amazing would it be if Elon buys out all of the existing pre-leases at the Ion and turns the entire building into Tesla’s new headquarters! Smack dab in the middle of the energy capital of the world.

 

Would take some major balls, but I can see Elon doing something like that now that he has moved to Texas officially.

[Andrew Ewert]

On 12/13/2020 at 1:10 PM, clutchcity94 said:

How amazing would it be if Elon buys out all of the existing pre-leases at the Ion and turns the entire building into Tesla’s new headquarters! Smack dab in the middle of the energy capital of the world.

 

Would take some major balls, but I can see Elon doing something like that now that he has moved to Texas officially.

no thanks...

[wilcal]

Microsoft signed as "major tenant"

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Microsoft-signs-on-as-major-tenant-at-the-15811801.php

[j_cuevas713]

36 minutes ago, wilcal said:

Microsoft signed as "major tenant"

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Microsoft-signs-on-as-major-tenant-at-the-15811801.php

Huge!

[H-Town Man]

1 hour ago, wilcal said:

Microsoft signed as "major tenant"

 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Microsoft-signs-on-as-major-tenant-at-the-15811801.php

 

Can someone fill in us non-subscribers? How much space are they leasing? What type/purpose of office?

 

[Yoda]

9 minutes ago, H-Town Man said:

 

Can someone fill in us non-subscribers? How much space are they leasing? What type/purpose of office?

 

If you're using Google Chrome, right click the link and the click "Open Link in Incognito Window".

 

Microsoft signs on as ‘major tenant’ at the Ion

In another win for Houston’s technology sector, Microsoft has leased space in The Ion, the former Sears building in Midtown that Rice University is redeveloping into a collaborative hub for innovation.

“Having Microsoft as a major tenant is a huge step forward in realizing the vision for The Ion as a dynamic hub bringing together key elements of innovation in Houston,” Rice President David Leebron said in a press release.

Microsoft will occupy space on the building’s fifth floor, said Rice Management Co. announced Thursday afternoon.

In addition to becoming a tenant, Microsoft will play a role in professional and workforce development through community and start-up initiatives to be housed at the Ion. Microsoft will host executive forums and virtual symposiums, said Rice Management, which manages Rice University’s $6.5 billion endowment fund.

 

City leaders have long touted the importance of growing Houston’s technology sector.

“Over the last several years, Microsoft has made it clear it is committed to Houston,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a press release. “With the work Microsoft is already doing with the City and The Ion to support entrepreneurs, workforce development and energy transition, it is only fitting its new home should be in our City's hub for innovation. This news is an exciting next step in our partnership with Microsoft as we continue to grow Houston's innovation ecosystem and become a leader in the global energy transition.”

 

Over the summer, Rice announced its first tenant for the building: Chevron Technology Ventures, an arm of the oil and gas giant that scouts and funds energy-related tech startups. The company will occupy space on the third floor.

The Ion is designed to anchor a 16-acre “innovation district” in the Midtown area that focuses on bringing together entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, corporations and academics, and the community at large when it opens next year.

The 288,000 square-foot building at 4201 Main will include shared workspace, prototyping and maker resources, event space, classrooms and communal areas with shared amenities.

[Moore713]

28 minutes ago, Yoda said:

If you're using Google Chrome, right click the link and the click "Open Link in Incognito Window".

 

Microsoft signs on as ‘major tenant’ at the Ion

In another win for Houston’s technology sector, Microsoft has leased space in The Ion, the former Sears building in Midtown that Rice University is redeveloping into a collaborative hub for innovation.

“Having Microsoft as a major tenant is a huge step forward in realizing the vision for The Ion as a dynamic hub bringing together key elements of innovation in Houston,” Rice President David Leebron said in a press release.

Microsoft will occupy space on the building’s fifth floor, said Rice Management Co. announced Thursday afternoon.

In addition to becoming a tenant, Microsoft will play a role in professional and workforce development through community and start-up initiatives to be housed at the Ion. Microsoft will host executive forums and virtual symposiums, said Rice Management, which manages Rice University’s $6.5 billion endowment fund.

 

City leaders have long touted the importance of growing Houston’s technology sector.

“Over the last several years, Microsoft has made it clear it is committed to Houston,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a press release. “With the work Microsoft is already doing with the City and The Ion to support entrepreneurs, workforce development and energy transition, it is only fitting its new home should be in our City's hub for innovation. This news is an exciting next step in our partnership with Microsoft as we continue to grow Houston's innovation ecosystem and become a leader in the global energy transition.”

 

Over the summer, Rice announced its first tenant for the building: Chevron Technology Ventures, an arm of the oil and gas giant that scouts and funds energy-related tech startups. The company will occupy space on the third floor.

The Ion is designed to anchor a 16-acre “innovation district” in the Midtown area that focuses on bringing together entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, corporations and academics, and the community at large when it opens next year.

The 288,000 square-foot building at 4201 Main will include shared workspace, prototyping and maker resources, event space, classrooms and communal areas with shared amenities.

Here hoping how well this place is filling up encourage them to immediately move to the next phase. .   In 5 years that entire area going to look completely different.. where there is business ,services follow  , were there services , residential follows( even more so ). 

 

Given we know  that the areas around it are already marked for development.. the only  logical course is to continue  development along main pass the bridge.

 

Was driving past that old wendys yesterday and thought " just buy out that shop next to it and you have enough sq  for mid size highrise... access to the highway, access to the rail line. 

 

[TheSirDingle]

Found the HBJ report on this, it has square footage and a lot of extra data.

Link: https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2020/12/17/microsoft-inks-lease-in-the-ion.html

 

Square Footage:

Quote

Microsoft will occupy about 25,000 square feet, but the company does not disclose headcount by location, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed.

Considering this building is 288k Square Foot, this is pretty significant. 

 

Outlines the type of employees to work here:

Quote

The Microsoft employees working at The Ion will be "Azure engineers with deep expertise in cloud computing, data/AI, product development, and subject matter experts from the energy industry," Ravi Krishnaswamy, corporate vice president of Azure Global Industry at Microsoft, wrote in a LinkedIn post about the announcement.

 

Purpose for Lease:

Quote

"Their primary purpose is to work with customers, partners and startups to support and accelerate the energy industry’s transformation and Microsoft’s commitment to sustainability," Krishnaswamy continued. "We will do this by helping them optimize how they use Azure and its many services, partnering with them to develop new data and AI models and listening to their unique problems and challenges to inform new, industry specific platforms and services."

Ion's Smart and Resilient Cities Accelerator 

Quote

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft also is an established partner of The Ion and a founding sponsor of The Ion's Smart and Resilient Cities Accelerator. The tech giant "will play a role in professional and workforce development through support of The Ion's various community and startup initiatives," including hosting advancement opportunities and supporting future accelerators for advanced manufacturing, digital skilling and smart and resilient city innovation, Rice Management Co. said.

 

Other Information and Tenants:

Quote

Rice Management Co. confirmed that more than half of The Ion's space is now committed to end users.

A leasing brochure from commercial real estate firm Savills shows the fourth and fifth floors each feature roughly 50,000 square feet dedicated to premium office spaces.

Dallas-based Common Desk will operate 58,000 square feet of flexible coworking space on The Ion's second floor. California-based energy giant Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), which was the first tenant to sign a lease this summer, will have an office on The Ion's third floor, which is for enterprise tenants seeking office space of around 5,000 square feet and up.

   

 

Both Chevron and Microsoft are among the most elite companies on the Fortune 500 list. Chevron is No. 15 this year, and Microsoft is No. 21.

Shop Architects was the design architect for The Ion, while Gensler serves as architect of record and interior architect. Gilbane is the general contractor for the project.

 

Lot of exciting and interesting things happening here. 

[hindesky]

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Microsoft-signs-on-as-major-tenant-at-the-15811801.php

 

In another win for Houston’s technology sector, Microsoft has leased space in the Ion, the former Sears building in Midtown that Rice University is redeveloping into a collaborative hub for innovation.

“Having Microsoft as a major tenant is a huge step forward in realizing the vision for the Ion as a dynamic hub bringing together key elements of innovation in Houston,” Rice President David Leebron said in a press release.

The amount of space Microsoft will on the building’s fifth floor was not disclosed. In addition to becoming a tenant, it will play a role in professional and workforce development through community and start-up initiatives to be housed at the Ion. The Redmond, Wash.-based company will host executive forums and virtual symposiums, according to Rice Management, which manages Rice University’s $6.5 billion endowment fund and is overseeing the development.

 

 

Rice Management would not disclose how much space is being leased, but said that more than 50 percent of The Ion’s space is committed to by tenants such as Microsoft and Chevron Technology Ventures.

Once completed, the facility will host engineers that work with Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform, on data and artificial intelligence and product development, Ravi Krishnaswamy, corporate vice president of Azure Commercial Industry said in a statement. The team will focus on working with customers, partners and startups to help the energy industry’s transition to more sustainable strategies.

In August, Microsoft announced a $1 million investment into social entrepreneurship programs in partnership with the Ion. It will focus support on startups in Houston with a diversity of founders. The company is also supporting initiatives to address health disparity by informing civic and government leaders on air quality.

 

City leaders have long touted the importance of growing Houston’s technology sector.

“Over the last several years, Microsoft has made it clear it is committed to Houston,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a press release. “This news is an exciting next step in our partnership with Microsoft as we continue to grow Houston's innovation ecosystem and become a leader in the global energy transition.”

Rice announced Chevron Technology Ventures, an arm of the oil and gas giant that scouts and funds energy-related tech startups, as its first tenant for the building over the summer. The company will occupy space on the third floor.

 

 

The Ion is designed to anchor a 16-acre “innovation district” in the Midtown area that focuses on bringing together entrepreneurs, incubators, accelerators, corporations and academics, and the community at large when it opens next year.

The 288,000 square-foot building at 4201 Main will include shared workspace, prototyping and maker resources, event space, classrooms and communal areas with shared amenities.

Houston once had a thriving technology scene with Compaq Computer Corp., BMC Software and smaller companies in related industries.

Microsoft’s move is only one example of a recent win for Houston’s tech scene. Earlier this month, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s announced it planned to move it’s headquarters to Houston, which may not result in a lot of new jobs, but it could be a catalyst to bring more companies to the region.

 

There are no current plans to change Microsoft’s existing space in Houston at Town and Country as a result of this expansion.

nancy.sarnoff@chron.com

[corbs315]

15 hours ago, hindesky said:

 

The amount of space Microsoft will on the building’s fifth floor was not disclosed.

 

proofreaders...😒

[Highrise Tower]

On 12/17/2020 at 4:06 PM, H-Town Man said:

 

Can someone fill in us non-subscribers? How much space are they leasing? What type/purpose of office?

 

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

Lots of interior work on the old Fiesta.

[hindesky]

I saw a few workers at the parking garage block, asked one of them when they are going to start working on it, he said  "Enero". I just wonder if it will be a precast or built in place? 

 

[Urbannizer]