Overview
The Houston Business Journal recently celebrated the city’s top commercial real estate projects at the 2022 Landmark Awards event. Each of the 16 project categories is recognized for excellence in land planning, design, construction, economics, marketing, and management. Entries were judged on their impact on Houston, such as job creation, innovation, best use of land, site plan, development of surrounding neighborhoods, visual plan, amenities, and being environmentally friendly. Of the 45 finalists, 7 were Walter P Moore projects, and 6 of those won their category.
Community Impact
The Ion (pictured above)
Originally built in 1939 as Sears’ flagship store, is now a four-story innovation hub anchoring the South Main Innovation District. The renovated multi-level innovation center and business incubator includes classrooms and workspaces for over 150 startups, areas for lectures, conferences, hack-a-thons, job training, and networking events.
Education
Rice University Sid Richardson Residential College
The new undergraduate residential dormitory consists of a two-story common area plus a five-story building and a 12-story building. The project includes housing for 312 students and three resident assistants plus a magister house. It offers spaces for workshops, study rooms, dining, a multifunction room and a central space for social gatherings on the rooftop terrace.
Historic Renovation
The Ion
In 2017, Rice University’s endowment company bought out the remaining years of Sears’ 99-year lease for the property which Rice Management Company (RMC) owns. Designed to bring Houston’s entrepreneurial, corporate, and academic communities together, The Ion will support businesses at all stages of the innovation life cycle and provide resources for Houstonians seeking to participate in the local innovation economy.
Medical
University of Texas Medical Branch League City Campus Extension
The project expansion gives League City campus a total of 97 beds and was designed to support the growing mainland population over the next decade. The new five-story patient tower features several new departments and amenities, adding 60 new patient beds, lab spaces, new food service and dining, and an adjacent helipad.
Mixed-use
M-K-T
M-K-T is the adaptive reuse of five industrial buildings on 12 acres in the Heights, is now home to office, retail, food, fitness and service tenants. The project was created for visual connections through the large buildings and across the site. Pathways and courtyards were added, creating more storefront opportunities and bringing in more natural light.
Multifamily
Aspire Post Oak
The 40-story Aspire Post Oak, features 383 residential units and 16,800 square feet for future high-end retail and dining. The design team aimed to maximize views to the east and west while minimizing the impact of surrounding buildings. The tower utilizes an efficient design that accommodates a complex stacking of units with smaller floor plans on lower levels and larger floor plans higher up.
