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Houston First Corporation/George R. Brown Convention Center
Project Information
- Project Location:
- Houston, TX
- Status:
- Completed
- Structure Type:
- Office Building
References
- Architect:
- WHR Architects
- Client:
- Houston First Corporation
Scope Of Work
Griffin Partners and Houston First Corporation selected Vaughn Construction as construction manager-at-risk for the City of Houston’s downtown convention district improvement project. Vaughn was responsible for three components of the convention district improvements: a new 10-story office building with parking for 1,900 vehicles, renovations to the existing convention center, and a new outdoor plaza.
The office building, Partnership Tower, is now home to Houston First Corporation, the Greater Houston Partnership, and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. The Partnership Tower features office and meeting space, shell space for retail, a ninth-floor terrace showcasing views of downtown, and an adjoining parking garage. It took approximately six months to coordinate building the parking garage which had a METRO light rail running through the project site. We built out tenant space for Houston First Corporation on Levels 2, 6 and 8 of the facility.
Vaughn was also responsible for changing the face of the George R. Brown Convention Center. The renovations consisted of a new 100-foot tall steel and glass façade, two additional balconies, an expanded concourse connecting all existing exhibit halls, and shell space for four new restaurants.
The third, and final, part of the improvement project was the new 123,000 SF Avenida Plaza directly in front of the GRB overlooking Discovery Green. Vaughn converted six lanes of the street in front of the GRB into this pedestrian friendly outdoor space. We broke this project into six phases to maximize construction activities and allow the GRB to hold events, which were scheduled years in advance, without interruption. Our final projects included the main plaza, feature fountain, the wharf that features a dancing water sculpture, and the finishes of the grand entry lobby.
Vaughn is proud to have been a part of this historic project that will forever shape the convention district in downtown Houston.
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