Houston's Future Development
Location: Downtown
- Major players: Central Houston, Downtown Redevelopment Authority, Gensler Architects
- What it is: An anchor of the upcoming 4-mile Innovation District spanning downtown to the Med Center, this start-up incubator will take up the 10th floor of the Amegy Bank building.
- Why it matters: Hundreds of entrepreneurs will cycle through every four months to develop start-ups that could address climate change, advance medicine, and more.
- Why we’re excited: We don’t know what the future of tech looks like, but Houston aims to be a vital part of it between the Launch Pad, Rice’s Ion, and the TMCx.
- Fun fact: Two of America’s top accelerators, MassChallenge and gener8tor, were recruited to anchor the 17,000-square- foot Launch Pad. The Cannon Houston will also run two floors of co-working space at Amegy, a “virtual village” where start-ups can land post-Launch Pad.
- Construction status: Almost finished
- Opening date: Spring 2020
Location: Museum District
- Major players: MFAH, Nancy and Rich Kinder, Steven Holl Architects
- What it is: The third and final gallery building on the museum’s 14-acre, $450 million Sarofim campus
- Why it matters: Two floors of modern and contemporary art featuring never-before-seen collections, plus a restaurant, a 215-seat theater, an atrium, 400 parking spaces, and tunnels to sister buildings
- Why we’re excited: The building’s 7 site-specific commissions include a dragon sculpture by Ai Wei Wei and a tapestry by Trenton Doyle Hancock.
- Fun fact: Come nighttime, vertical glass tubes on the trapezoidal concrete building will glow in patterns.
- Construction status: Underway
- Opening date: Fall 2020
Location: Downtown Theater District
- Major players: Houston First, Rios Clementi Hale Studios Architects
- What it is: A $29 million facelift for Jones Plaza
- Why it matters: The square will anchor the bustling Theater District, host performances on its new lawn, and no longer resemble a toilet.
- Why we’re excited: The dazzling water features, great for selfies
- Fun fact: Wyatt donated $10 million to the project—hence the naming rights.
- Construction status: Starts summer 2020
- Opening date: Summer 2021
Location: Washington Corridor
- Major players: Houston Endowment, PRODUCTORA, Kevin Daly Architects
- What it is: The new headquarters for the foundation, overlooking Spotts Park
- Why it matters: The $20 million, 40,000-square-foot office will be the new center of Houston philanthropy.
- Why we’re excited: The building, inspired by the park and its canopy of oaks, will be among our city’s architectural wonders.
- Fun fact: The winning architects (Mexico City’s PRODUCTORA and LA’s Daly) won out over 120 other teams.
- Construction status: Funding secured
- Opening date: May 2022
Location: Kemah
- Major players: GBF, Kirksey Architecture
- What it is: The green, 30-acre headquarters for the foundation
- Why it matters: Students (and adults) can head here daily to learn about the bay.
- Why we’re excited: A pier, boardwalk, trails, 4-acre shoreline conservation project, outdoor classrooms, and, of course, water access
- Fun fact: The headquarters will be among 25 buildings in America that meet the rigorous Living Building Challenge, with solar panels and cisterns to collect rain for drinking water.
- Construction status: $15 of $25 million raised; first phase underway
- Opening date: TBA
https://www.houstoniamag.com/news-and-city-life/2020/01/houston-future-development?utm_content=117609103&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-397331707027508