Greenway Plaza is a master-planned mixed-use development off U.S. Highway 59 in Houston, Texas, United States, five miles (8 kilometers) west of Downtown Houston and three miles (5 kilometers) east of Uptown Houston. Greenway Plaza is Houston's first totally planned business-commercial-residential complex developed by the late Kenneth Schnitzer. Greenway Plaza is owned and operated by subsidiaries of Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. (NYSE: CEI). Most buildings within the Greenway Plaza campus are interconnected by environmentally-controlled bridges, and/or tunnels and covered walkways. The late civil engineer Jack Boyd Buckley also worked on the Greenway Plaza design.
The complex, composed of 10 commercial buildings, has more than 4,200,000 sq ft (390,000 m2) of space.[1] Within the complex is the Renaissance Hotel Houston, the Houston City Club, and Tony's - one of Houston's premiere restaurants. The commercial buildings in the complex range from 11 to 31 stories.
Greenway Plaza is located next to the City owned arena occupied by the Lakewood Church. This arena was formerly called "The Summit" and later "Compaq Center" and hosted the Houston Rockets, a professional basketball team, as well as other sporting teams, concerts, and events. Privately owned residential condominiums are also located near Greenway Plaza, just west of Timmons Lane. The Greenway condominiums consist of two 30-story buildings (14 & 15 Greenway Plaza) located at the southwest periphery of the development.
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Kenneth L. Schnitzer, the chairperson of the Century Development Corporation,[2] envisioned Greenway Plaza, which became the first mixed-use development in Houston.[3]
Century took realtors from outlying towns around Houston and had them buy individual parcels for very inexpensive prices while trying not to attract attention. One homeowner found out about the plan and asked to have the house sold for $350,000. At the time it was a lot of money for a house that was small. The company paid the money so it could secure the tract the house sat on. The grand opening took place in 1973. Schnitzer said that Greenway Plaza would become a "second downtown."[2] Bill Schadewald of the Houston Press said that Greenway Plaza, which housed office towers, retail operations, a basketball arena, a movie theater, and a hotel, "defined the multiuse concept in an original “Edge City.”"[2]
In 1970 the M. W. Kellogg company had moved its headquarters from New York to Houston. After Kellogg moved its operations into Greenway Plaza, initially Kellogg occupied half of 3 Greenway Plaza and staffed the half with fewer than 600 employees. When the energy industry expanded worldwide, Kellogg occupied all of 3 Greenway Plaza and space in an adjacent building. Kellogg's lease on July 1, 1991 was up for renewal; if Kellogg had renewed the lease, its rent payment would have increased. Instead Kellogg decided to swap office space with its parent company, Dresser Industries. Dresser took over a part of Kellogg's lease and renamed 3 Greenway Plaza to the Dresser Tower. After the swap Dresser occupied 163,000 sq ft (15,100 m2) of space on eight floors, while Kellogg continued to lease six floors in the building. In exchange Kellogg took space formerly held by Dresser at the M. W. Kellogg Tower in the Cullen Center in Downtown Houston. The swap satisfied Dresser's need for less space.[4]
In 2004 Crescent attempted to sell a 50% equity position in both Greenway Plaza and Houston Center. During that year, El Paso Corp., a major tenant with 912,000 sq ft (84,700 m2) in Greenway Plaza, announced that it was vacating the property and moving its personnel to its Downtown Houston headquarters. A Houston Business Journal article stated that El Paso was expected to sublease the space until 2014, when its lease will expire.[1]
In 2005 the internet service provider Internet America had offices in Greenway Plaza.[5]
Prior to January 1, 2008, Landmark Theatres operated the Landmark Greenway, an "arthouse" theater inside 5 Greenway. Landmark's leased expired and the Greenway Plaza did not renew the lease. December 31, 2007 was the final day of operation for the theater.[24]