The Allen Center is a skyscraper complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It consists of three buildings, One Allen Center (500 Dallas Street),[1] Two Allen Center (1200 Smith Street),[2] and Three Allen Center (333 Clay Street).[3] The complex has about 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m2) of space.[4]
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The area that became the Allen Center was originally considered to be an eastern portion of the Fourth Ward. The opening of Interstate 45 in the 1950s separated the eastern portion from the rest of the Fourth Ward; that portion became the Allen Center and is now considered to be a part of Downtown Houston.[5][6]
In 1996 TrizecHahn Properties acquired the Allen Center.[7] Trizec defeated 16 other real estate companies so it could purchase the center for an amount reported by Tanya Rutledge of the Houston Business Journal as $270 million.[8]
When Trizec acquired the Allen Center in November 1996, the complex had a 76 percent occupancy rate. By 1997, Trizec had convinced several tenants of the Cullen Center, also owned by Trizec, to relocate to the Allen Center. Paul Layne, a vice president of the office division of Trizec, said that the shifting of tenants would lead to Allen Center having an occupancy rate of 92 percent in 1998.[4]
In 2001, when Enron collapsed, it vacated 800,000 square feet (74,000 m2) of space in the Allen Center and Cullen Center complexes in Downtown Houston.[9]
In 2010 Devon Energy was trying to sublease about 125,000 square feet (11,600 m2) of space that it occupies in the Allen Center complex. Hess Corporation will vacate around 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of space in the complex when a new office tower in the east side of Downtown Houston opens.[10]
| One Allen Center | |
|---|---|
| 1AllenCenterHoustonTX.JPG | |
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 500 Dallas Street, Houston, Texas |
| Coordinates | |
| Completed | 1972 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 452 ft (138 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 34 |
| Floor area | 27,000 square feet (2,500 m2) per floor; approximately 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) total. |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | Brookfield Properties |
| Architect | Wilson Morris Crain and Anderson |
| Structural engineer | Ellisor Engineers Inc. |
One Allen Center is a 452 ft (138m) tall skyscraper. It was completed in 1972 and has 34 floors. It is the 31st tallest building in the city. One Allen Center employs a composite stub-girder steel frame floor system, originally developed in part by Joseph Colaco then of Ellisor Engineers Inc., currently of CBM Engineers, Inc..[11]
Macquarie Bank houses its Houston representative office in Suite 3100 of the building.[12]
Two Allen Center was known as the Citicorp Building in 1989. During that year Exxon had office space there.[13]
Greater Houston Partnership has its offices in Suite 700, on the seventh floor.[14]
| Three Allen Center | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | 333 Clay Street, Houston, Texas |
| Coordinates | |
| Completed | 1983 |
| Height | |
| Roof | 685 ft (209 m) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 50 |
| Design and construction | |
| Management | Brookfield Properties |
| Architect | Lloyd Jones Brewer & Associates |
Three Allen Center is a 685-foot (209 m) tall skyscraper completed in 1983 with 50 floors. It is the 12th-tallest building in the city.
Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. has an office in Suite 4200.[12]
1400 Smith Street was known as Four Allen Center.[15]
In 2006 Brookfield Properties acquired the 1,200,000-square-foot (110,000 m2) Four Allen Center for $120 million. At the same time Brookfield announced that Chevron USA signed a lease for the entire building. Brookfield held 4 Allen Center in a joint partnership with the private equity group The Blackstone Group. As of 2006 the joint venture has 7,400,000 square feet (690,000 m2) of office space in Downtown Houston, making it the largest office owner in the central business district.[16]
Beginning in 2006 Chevron leased the entirety of the building. In June 2011 Chevron bought the building from Brookfield for $340 million.[17]
One Allen Center
Two Allen Center
Three Allen Center
At one point the Consulate-General of Switzerland in Houston resided in Suite 1040 of Two Allen Center;[23] the mission closed in 2006.[24]