Ever since it was established in 1836, Downtown Houston has been the city’s most prominent business district. Nine Fortune 500 corporations have offices downtown, including United Airlines, JPMorgan Chase, and Marathon Oil.
Downtown contains Houston’s civic center with Houston City Hall and Harris County courthouses. But the neighborhood isn’t all business—it’s also a major hub of entertainment and recreation. Whether you’re into professional sports, touring museums, the performing arts, or historic locations, Downtown Houston has it all.
Downtown Houston Office Space | Lease Data & Trends
Downtown Houston has about 35 million square feet of office space, so plenty of options are available for companies of all sizes, from executive office suites to large open spaces for collaborative teams. Our brokers recommend budgeting 150 square feet per employee. The only other submarkets with comparable amount of office space inventory are Galleria and the Energy Corridor.
The average Downtown Houston office space rents for $41 per square foot, well above the Houston metro average of $30 per square foot. This is because 80% of the office space in Downtown Houston is in Class A office buildings. However, the 20% vacancy rate, helps keep prices low compared to other major metro areas such as Washington, D.C. or New York.
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Downtown Houston is 1.84 square miles in size. It rests at the heart of the city of Houston with Northside to the north; Fifth Ward and Sharptown to the east; Third Ward and Midtown to the south; and Sixth Ward and Montrose to the west. Interstate 10, Interstate 45 and Interstate 69 all come together Downtown making getting there a breeze.
More than 100,000 people travel through Downtown every day for their commute, and the neighborhood makes it easy. Those looking for environmentally friendly ways to travel can explore the creative network of pedestrian tunnels and skywalks or trying biking, which is a very popular way to get around when the weather permits. Those looking for faster travel options have plenty of choices as well. Downtown is situated at the center of the light rail system and the metropolitan freeway network; it also houses the headquarters to the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County.
If you’re looking for a chance to meet outside the office for lunch or a meeting, consider one of the many unique options the neighborhood has to offer such as: Brasserie du Parc, Kulture, Conservatory, Rachels Cafe or The Pho Spot. If a visiting business partner needs a place to stay, look up Marriott Marquis Houston, Four Seasons Hotel or JW Marriott Downtown Houston.
Get to Know Downtown Houston
Houston is filled to the brim with urban opportunity but flavored with Southern charm. The entire city of Houston used to be the size of Downtown Houston until two real estate investors from New York bought 6,642 acres of land after the Texas Revolution, and a team of surveyors plotted the land for city expansion. In 1995, the Houston Downtown Management District began working to revitalize the city’s urban core while maintaining its style to make it clean, safe and beautiful.
Downtown Houston offers plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. It houses 15 public parks—linear parks, block parks and plazas. They’re all very different. For example, in Downtown Houston’s historic district, Market Square Park includes three seemingly unrelated features: a 9/11 Memorial, a Greek restaurant and two dog runs. Houston’s Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center are home to the Astros and Rockets, respectively.
Those interested in the performing arts don’t have to go to NYC. Houston is one of the United States’ only five cities that has permanent professional resident companies in opera, ballet, music and theater. Well-known venues include the Wortham Center, the Alley Theater, the Hobby Center and the Bayou Music Center.
