Hines Breaks Ground on 609 Main at Texas Project

One of the largest “spec” office building projects in the world recently broke ground in Houston, Texas. Houston-based international real estate company Hines is developing the 48-story, 756-foot skyscraper. The company announced their plan to build the tower, referred to as 609 Main at Texas, in 2011 and has since increased the size of the project. The building will be the 23^rd skyscraper that Hines has built in downtown Houston.

Hines says that construction is expected to take 36 months and delivery is scheduled for February 2017. The property is being developed by the Hines CalPERS Green development fund, a partnership that focuses on developing sustainable office buildings throughout the United States. The building has been pre-registered LEED and the owners expect it to achieve Gold or Platinum certification upon completion. Pickhard Chilton designed the skyscraper and D.E. Harvey has been selected as the general contractor for the project. 

Originally, Hines was planning on starting construction on the project once they had signed a major office tenant. They currently do not have a tenant signed, but the senior vice president of corporate communications for Hines has said that he is very pleased with their progress. Some see the move to build on spec as a big gamble by Hines, but others see it as a sign that the company has a tremendous amount of faith in the Houston economy. Houston led the country in jobs created in 2013, and the city also has very low vacancy rates for downtown office towers.

609 Main at Texas is one of at least eight new office projects proposed or underway in downtown Houston. Together they will add more than 7 million square feet of new or renovated office space.