Here Are 3 Major Buildings Brookfield Wants to Revamp

Things have slowed down in Houston’s office market. But that’s caused Brookfield to accelerate some plans, says EVP Paul Frazier.

Brookfield has its eye on a wide swath of renovations, first and foremost updating Allen Center. Paul tells us it’s in the early stages of designing a $50M revamp there that’ll kick off this time next year. (It’ll upgrade green space, which is the largest private green space in the CBD and larger than the green space in New York’s Rockefeller. Other areas of focus will be the lobbies and building entrances.) Brookfield’s also contemplating improvements to 1600 Smith’s lobby/common areas, Paul says—it’s close to hiring an architect, and will probably launch work next year. It’s also eyeing a major renovation of the Downtown Club at the Met, which hasn’t gotten a refresh in 15 years, and Brookfield’s adding a fitness center into 1201 Louisiana soon, including locker and bike rooms.

Paul says there are a number of things that could cause anxiety Downtown. Shell’s acquisition of BG Group and Noble’s of Rosetta Resources could put almost 500k SF of high-quality space on the Downtown sublease market (in BG Group Place and Heritage Plaza, pictured), but neither has announced how its M&A will impact its real estate. As oil prices remain low (we’re up from the trough, but keep bouncing along the $60/barrel mark), more energy M&A may still be on the horizon. And Paul says companies (whether they’re in energy or not) are expecting the market to get more tenant-friendly and are thus delaying decisions when they can.

But Paul doesn’t believe Downtown will face anything like its worst two downturns (‘80s oil bust and Enron’s collapse) and sees quite a few things to be excited about. Some deals can’t wait, and Paul says activity has picked up and he has leases actively working on Brookfield’s office buildings. So far, Downtown occupancy has stayed pretty steady, largely because there’s so little development. The move to residential Downtown has been impressive; almost 5,000 units are either completed or under construction, and Paul says it’ll spark retail around it, something the submarket needs to really take off as a 24/7 environment. He thinks the George R. Brown plans are fantastic, and thinks the Hotel Alessandra (rendered here) and Marriott Marquis will be beautiful and fill a need. (But he says we’ll still need more full-service upscale hotels Downtown.)

One deal hasn’t yet fallen into the positive or negative category—Paul (and the rest of Houston) is watching 800 Bell to see what’ll happen there. He thinks the City redeveloping it into a justice center could be a win for everyone, especially if it saves taxpayer dollars, but integrating the municipal courts system could be dicey. Elements such as density and parking have some concerned about the compatibility of this use with the surrounding neighborhood. (It’s very important that we retain good quality of life Downtown, Paul says.) To be a success, City officials need to be sensitive to potential problems and do the right kind of development, he says. Pictured is Ziegler Cooper’s proposed renovation of 800 Bell’s grand plaza, which it designed before the City announced its possible interest in the building.