Cool.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Houston First head Michael Heckman on Thursday unveiled plans for a $2 billion overhaul of the George R. Brown Convention Center, a project they said would “transform” the city’s downtown and east side while boosting Houston’s conventions business, entertainment industry and broader economy.
The project, which has been in development since 2023, calls for the convention center to be expanded and modernized to aid the city in the competition for events such as the World Cup, coming to the city in 2026, and the Republican National Convention, coming in 2028. Whitmire and Heckman argued that a reanimated convention center district would have a sweeping impact beyond the immediate area.
“Jobs, jobs and jobs. Guests. Land values. Revenue to the city, to use for affordable housing,” Whitmire said in an interview earlier this week. “It’ll impact every facet of Houston governance, and our quality of life issues. It’s a rebirth in downtown.”
Heckman, president and CEO of Houston First, the city’s marketing organization, said the effects of such revitalization will be felt across the region.
“World-class cities have to have a strong downtown, a thriving downtown,” Heckman said. “People want to come out of their home. They want amenities. They want walkability. So we look at this as a renaissance for downtown, not simply a convention product.”
The first phase of the project calls for the construction of a 700,000-square-foot GRB Houston South building, which would include two exhibition halls, ground-level retail and restaurants, and what is billed as the largest ballroom in Texas. It would also provide access to the Toyota Center via a 100,000-square-foot pedestrian plaza, which would extend the existing Avenida Plaza and connect to Discovery Green.
The expansion is scheduled to open in May 2028, shortly before Houston hosts the Republican National Convention for the first time since 1992. In the interim, Heckman said, the existing GRB will remain open for business and no interruptions are expected.
Subsequent phases of convention district overhaul, which is scheduled for completion in 2038, will focus on connecting downtown to Houston’s east side through public spaces.
See here for the Houston First press release. The funding mechanism for this is a bill passed in 2023 by then-Sen. Whitmire that gave the city and Houston First a share of downtown hotel tax revenues. I assume that some form of construction is already underway – the article only gave a completion date, so I’m guessing it has begun. I’m not sure how the “connecting downtown to the east side” thing is going to work with the whole I-45 expansion, but they have something in mind. The renderings look cool, and whatever we’ll have in place for the World Cup next year should be useful. Hope it all stays on schedule. CultureMap has more.