Chevron Skyscraper Proposal At 1600 Louisiana St.

[Marcus Allen]

I ended up getting a chance to get downtown last night. Here's a not so great cell phone picture of the site as of August 13...(Sorry I just really like 1500 Louisiana)

Great shot. Yes, one of my favorites and IMO, a very clever "twin" to its taller brother.

[infinite_jim]

Is Chevron moving employees into the Allen Center II?

There was a temporary Chevron security office on the ground level and quite a few Chevron polo's about during lunch today.

[Houston19514]

Is Chevron moving employees into the Allen Center II?

There was a temporary Chevron security office on the ground level and quite a few Chevron polo's about during lunch today.

 

Yes, they have taken the space formerly occupied by Devon Energy.  I believe Chevron has subleased the space until some time in 2017.

Edited September 24, 2013 by Houston19514

[swtsig]

Yes, they have taken the space formerly occupied by Devon Energy.  I believe Chevron has subleased the space until some time in 2017.

 

correct.

[wxman]

Anybody have any more news on this? I suspect this is one of the most highly anticipated projects in Houston. Hate to bring a thread up from 'page 2' but just curious. When is ground breaking?

[arche_757]

I thought the Chevron shareholders were going to vote on it this quarter and if approved it would break ground late next year?

[Houston19514]

^  There will not be a shareholder vote.  Chevron is continuing the planning.  They are scheduled to make the final investment decision I believe mid-2014 with construction to start 3rd quarter 2014, IIRC.

[arche_757]

Ah.  Well, hopefully they decide to move forwad with this.  And since they own the property I can't imagine they would do anything with it if they don't move forward with the 50+ floor tower.

[Houston19514]

^ Barring a worldwide cataclysmic economic collapse, I think you can pretty much count on this one happening.

[cloud713]

^  There will not be a shareholder vote.  Chevron is continuing the planning.  They are scheduled to make the final investment decision I believe mid-2014 with construction to start 3rd quarter 2014, IIRC.

i thought they were supposed to have the major decisions made by the end of the year, with the tower starting in the 2nd quarter of 2014?

[Urbannizer]

"The final investment decision for the project — designed by HOK, an architectural firm with an office in Houston — is expected in the second quarter of 2014. Groundbreaking will follow the final investment decision, and occupancy is anticipated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the release from Chevron."

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/07/03/chevron-plans-new-houston-building.html

[cloud713]

damn, maybe i was thinking the final DESIGN was supposed to be finalized by the end of the year? thanks for the link.

[cloud713]

.

Edited October 16, 2013 by cloud713

[Houston19514]

damn, maybe i was thinking the final DESIGN was supposed to be finalized by the end of the year? thanks for the link.

 

I think you are confusing this with 609 Main (the Hines project).  Hines has said they plan to finalize their design in the 4th quarter 2013.

[wxman]

Ground breaking: March.

 

http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/market-intelligence/3Q13%20Houston%20Office%20Development%20Update.pdf

[tangledwoods]

 

Ground breaking: March.

Nope, it will not break ground till Q3 or Q4.

[wxman]

Nope, it will not break ground till Q3 or Q4.

 

Not according to the link. It says Mar. 2014.

[arche_757]

Of all the proposed buildings potentially going up around downtown, this is the one I have the least amount of faith in.  Hines got out in front (which they were always in the front with 609), and Skanska is likely not going to spend the millions tearing down the Houston Club building and not build something there.

 

Chevron could go either way?  I understand they are looking to build a suburban campus like Exxon out near Spring Woods/The Woodlands - if that happens perhaps they move from Downtown?  If that does happen, then perhaps they will vacate both fromer Enron buildings?  That would leave 2 40 floor towers virtually empty and place little need for something like Stream to move forward.

[brijonmang]

Chevron could go either way?  I understand they are looking to build a suburban campus like Exxon out near Spring Woods/The Woodlands - if that happens perhaps they move from Downtown?  If that does happen, then perhaps they will vacate both fromer Enron buildings?  That would leave 2 40 floor towers virtually empty and place little need for something like Stream to move forward.

 

What? That is entirely the opposite of what is going on.  Chevron is already committed to their new shiny 50 story building downtown which will start up in about 9 months.  There has even been talk of them occupying the 800 Bell after Exxon leaves.

 

I will say though that I agree that this (International Tower) is probably the least likely to go up of all the proposed downtown buildings.

Edited October 30, 2013 by brijonmang

[Moore713]

Of all the proposed buildings potentially going up around downtown, this is the one I have the least amount of faith in.  Hines got out in front (which they were always in the front with 609), and Skanska is likely not going to spend the millions tearing down the Houston Club building and not build something there.

 

Chevron could go either way?  I understand they are looking to build a suburban campus like Exxon out near Spring Woods/The Woodlands - if that happens perhaps they move from Downtown?  If that does happen, then perhaps they will vacate both fromer Enron buildings?  That would leave 2 40 floor towers virtually empty and place little need for something like Stream to move forward.

What in blue are you yapping about, the last interview they did they keep going on about creating a urban campus ,nothing about being like exxon"Together with Chevron's existing Houston buildings, the new tower will become part of a campus-like environment with indoor and outdoor common areas, dining facilities, a fitness center and training and conference rooms." That is the only mention they ever made about a campus style.

[LTAWACS]

Chevron could go either way? I understand they are looking to build a suburban campus like Exxon out near Spring Woods/The Woodlands - if that happens perhaps they move from Downtown? If that does happen, then perhaps they will vacate both fromer Enron buildings? That would leave 2 40 floor towers virtually empty and place little need for something like Stream to

move forward.

So the rumblings are true, then?

[arche_757]

What in blue are you yapping about, the last interview they did they keep going on about creating a urban campus ,nothing about being like exxon"Together with Chevron's existing Houston buildings, the new tower will become part of a campus-like environment with indoor and outdoor common areas, dining facilities, a fitness center and training and conference rooms." That is the only mention they ever made about a campus style.

 

Well.... I'm "yapping" about what a friend who works for one of the major architectural firms here in town told me about working on a campus for Chevron up near the Exxon campus.  He said that's the next major project planned.  Now, Chevron could be consolidating a campus up there for all of its researchers and training departments etc?  I'm not sure.  Its just a rumor - since I can't actually substantiate it as I'm not sure how many square feet they are building out there (or plan to), or if it is "plan b" or some other idea they are floating around.

 

Chevron's moves are a mystery.  It does seem odd that they would back out of so much square footage downtown - but I can imagine the security concerns for a company like an Exxon or Chevron would perhaps move the needle towards a more controlled campus in a more suburban setting.

[arche_757]

What? That is entirely the opposite of what is going on.  Chevron is already committed to their new shiny 50 story building downtown which will start up in about 9 months.  There has even been talk of them occupying the 800 Bell after Exxon leaves.

 

I will say though that I agree that this (International Tower) is probably the least likely to go up of all the proposed downtown buildings.

 

As stated in the above post - I have a friend who is well connected in a major architectural firm downtown - and what he said is that its a possible big Chevron project out near The Woodlands.

 

Personally I think its probably some sort of training and research facility (though they have a research facility on Buffalo Speedway if I'm remembering correctly).  I doubt they would bother with even paying a firm the money to develop plans for a 55 floor building and then go in the opposite direction.  Besides, they have a nice little cluster of buildings in Downtown and I'd imagine that allows their workers to live anywhere in Houston and not just in The Woodlands or Klein/Spring areas.

 

[arche_757]

Probably should move those last posts to the Chevron Tower thread?

 

Sorry for going off topic...

[wxman]

Of all the proposed buildings potentially going up around downtown, this is the one I have the least amount of faith in.  Hines got out in front (which they were always in the front with 609), and Skanska is likely not going to spend the millions tearing down the Houston Club building and not build something there.

 

Chevron could go either way?  I understand they are looking to build a suburban campus like Exxon out near Spring Woods/The Woodlands - if that happens perhaps they move from Downtown?  If that does happen, then perhaps they will vacate both fromer Enron buildings?  That would leave 2 40 floor towers virtually empty and place little need for something like Stream to move forward.

 

Well first things first: Enron 1 (1600 Smith?) is 50 stories. Enron 2 is 40 stories. 

 

Second, the Chevron spokesperson was on every tv channel in the city doing interviews about how they are excited to see this project rise and that it'll be a premier ubran-style campus downtown.

 

Finally, I'm not going to call you out or call you a liar. If you say you have a friend in a big architecture firm, then by all means, I'm all ears. However, what you say doesn't make any sense so perhaps you can keep us updated?

 

As for the renderings of the Chevron tower, it's not like Chevron spent a ton of money on their rendering. It was one rendering and it's a glass box that looks like it was brushed with water paint. How much thought could possibly go into it? 

Edited October 30, 2013 by wxman

[arche_757]

Look, I'm not saying the Chevron building won't happen - far from it - I'm only saying that I've heard they plan some sort of campus (again not clear on size or square footage) up near The Woodlands.  It may only be 500,000 sq ft for training purposes?  I have no clue.  But if it is supposed to be near the size of Exxon's campus that would indeed preclude any real need for a 1.3 million square foot tower downtown.

 

And by golly you are right -- Chevron probably didn't spend much money on that very schematic looking tower did they?  Which to me means they may have several options to present their board/shareholders/who-ever-is-voting-on-moving-forward.  As we all know a company the size of Chevron isn't going to ONLY present an option for a tower and just leave every other possibility off the boards, are they?

 

Don't be angry with me if Chevron decides to go the route of Exxon.  I'm certainly not the one in charge, and if I was in charge I'd hire someone better than HOK to do the tower.  Lastly, Chevron can say what ever they want to people in and around town.  They may be publicly traded, but they are not the government and as such can do whatever they want, whenever they want to.  They could very well build the tower and a campus - they certainly have the resources.

Edited October 30, 2013 by arche_757

[wxman]

Look, I'm not saying the Chevron building won't happen - far from it - I'm only saying that I've heard they plan some sort of campus (again not clear on size or square footage) up near The Woodlands.  It may only be 500,000 sq ft for training purposes?  I have no clue.  But if it is supposed to be near the size of Exxon's campus that would indeed preclude any real need for a 1.3 million square foot tower downtown.

 

And by golly you are right -- Chevron probably didn't spend much money on that very schematic looking tower did they?  Which to me means they may have several options to present their board/shareholders/who-ever-is-voting-on-moving-forward.  As we all know a company the size of Chevron isn't going to ONLY present an option for a tower and just leave every other possibility off the boards, are they?

 

Don't be angry with me if Chevron decides to go the route of Exxon.  I'm certainly not the one in charge, and if I was in charge I'd hire someone better than HOK to do the tower.  Lastly, Chevron can say what ever they want to people in and around town.  They may be publicly traded, but they are not the government and as such can do whatever they want, whenever they want to.  They could very well build the tower and a campus - they certainly have the resources.

 

They have the resources but not the people to fill a 1.7 million sq. ft. brand new, 50-story tower, plus both Enron buildings PLUS a campus consisting of 20 buildings and 3 million sq. ft. of office space in a suburban campus. Seems silly to have both. Who knows. 

 

I'll take what you say as rumor for now. Perhaps at the end of the day you DO know something the rest of us don't but your credibility is on the line if it all falls apart

[htownproud]

This is a silly conversation.  Chevron tower is being built.  Notably Chevron sent an email to all Houston employees stating that the Bellaire location would not be consolidated downtown.  I suppose it could move that location and Westpark up North, but it would seem odd and against what it is telling/suggesting to its employees.  

[arche_757]

Perhaps at the end of the day you DO know something the rest of us don't but your credibility is on the line if it all falls apart

Usually an opinion or information most reviled is that which you don't want to hear...

 

Like I said - my friend who is with a major architectural firm had a talk with one of his bosses about future projects and Chevron was mentioned.  Just how big, how many square feet, how many workers are involved is unknown to me.  Whether or not this supposed project costs the proposed tower downtown is absolutely unknown to me (I'm merely speculating)?  I really don't know.

 

All I know is that my friend (who I trust - as I've known him for many years, and he never lead me wrong about another big project currently under contruction also up north) said that there is a Chevron project down the pipeline that will be big.

 

This should be moved to a different thread as it has nothing to do with Stream/Essex.

 

And forgive me if I'm not as up to date on the status of the Chevron tower downtown.  I don't live or work in Houston so my knowledge is more specific towards what gets done on the island.  And like any project in my profession - until a dedicated contractor is on board and preliminary site-prep is underway the project is just on paper.

[King Owl]

You can't have the chevron hq too close to the plebeians...