Allen Center

The Allen Center is a mixed-use 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] Three Allen Center (333 Clay Street).[3] The complex has about 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m2) of space.[4]

For the community in Ohio, see Allen Center, Ohio.
Complex

History

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]

TrizecHahn Properties acquired the Allen Center in 1996.[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 occupied in the Allen Center complex. Hess Corporation announced it would vacate approximately 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2) of space in the complex when a new office tower in the east side of Downtown Houston opened.[10]

Major renovations to the property were completed in March 2021; these included new lobbies, bike storage, and a suite of rooms designated for breastfeeding mothers.[11]

One Allen Center
One Allen Center
General information
TypeOffice
Location500 Dallas Street, Houston, Texas
Coordinates29.7575°N 95.3704°W / 29.7575; -95.3704
Completed1972 (1972)
OwnerBrookfield Properties
Height
Roof452 ft (138 m)
Technical details
Floor count34
Floor area1,083,759 sq ft (100,684.5 m2)[12]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Wilson Morris Crain and Anderson
Structural engineerEllisor 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.[13]

Macquarie Bank houses its Houston representative office in Suite 3100 of the building.[14]

Houston Public Library (HPL) maintains its Booklink facility there.[15]

Two Allen Center
Main article: Devon Energy Tower (Houston)

Two Allen Center was previously known as the Citicorp Building.

Three Allen Center
Three Allen Center
General information
TypeOffice
Location333 Clay Street, Houston, Texas
Coordinates29.75738°N 95.37183°W / 29.75738; -95.37183
Completed1983 (1983)
ManagementBrookfield Properties
Height
Roof685 ft (209 m)
Technical details
Floor count50
Floor area1,447,729 sq ft (134,498.4 m2)[16]
Design and construction
Architect(s)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.

Tenants

One Allen Center

  • Don Patron Bar and Grill - Lobby
    • Operated a sit-down restaurant and a breakfast and lunch taco bar.[19] The restaurant was active for around 20 years, servicing local office workers and catering corporate office parties. Phaedra Cook of the Houston Press wrote that Don Patron "hasn't been a critical darling of food writers in a long time" but that "it has been an important part of work life for thousands of people who work in" the complex and that "it's been treasured for good Tex-Mex plates and as a convenient spot for business lunches[...]and was great for indulging in an after-work margarita or two, also."[20] In 2016 the management revealed plans to remodel the lobby area of One Allen Center; Don Patron's dining hall was closed by February 29, 2016, and the taco stand is scheduled to close on Friday March 5, 2016. The owners of Don Patron will continue to operate Tejas Grill & Sports Bar.[20]
  • Coastal Water Authority - Suite 2800[21]

Two Allen Center

Three Allen Center

  • The headquarters of Plains All American Pipeline, Suite 1600[23]
  • EOG Resources had space in Allen Center; in 2006 it announced that it was moving to the Heritage Plaza. It planned to move 400 employees there by early 2007. When it occupied portions of Three Allen Center, EOG had 165,000 square feet (15,300 m2) of space occupied scattered throughout Three Allen Center.[24]

At one point the Consulate-General of Switzerland in Houston resided in Suite 1040 of Two Allen Center;[25] the mission closed in 2006.[26]

See also

References
  1. "One Allen Center". Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  2. "Two Allen Center". Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  3. "Three Allen Center". Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  4. Zehr, Leonard. "TrizecHahn nabs U.S. leasing deal Continental Airlines enticed to move head office to downtown Houston from suburbs." The Globe and Mail. September 11, 1997. Report on Business B7. Retrieved from LexisNexis on April 1, 2010.
  5. "Study Area 11 Archived May 30, 2010, at the Wayback Machine." City of Houston. Accessed October 21, 2008.
  6. "Best Event That No One Thought Would Ever Happen." Houston Press. Accessed October 23, 2008
  7. Carlsen, Peter S. and Dale E. Smith. "Houston's CBD resurgence is theme of Legacy Awards." Houston Business Journal. Friday February 21, 1997. Retrieved on December 1, 2009.
  8. Rutledge, Tanya. "Canadian company buying Allen Center." Houston Business Journal. Friday October 4, 1996. Retrieved on March 6, 2010.
  9. Bivins, Ralph. "Survival of the newest / occupancy downtown tumbling, but three towers defy trend." Houston Chronicle. Sunday July 27, 2003. Business 1. Retrieved on November 11, 2009.
  10. Sarnoff, Nancy. "Tenant has a ticket to fly." Houston Chronicle. May 8, 2010. Retrieved on July 12, 2010.
  11. Schuetz, R.A.. "Renovations finished to Allen Center in downtown Houston." Houston Chronicle. March 2, 2020. Retrieved on April 10, 2022.
  12. "One Allen Center | Energy Star".
  13. Colaco, Joseph P. "A Stub-Girder System for High-Rise Buildings." Technical paper presented at the AISC National Engineering Conference, New York. May 1972. Retrieved on January 20, 2009.
  14. "Contact directory United States Archived 2011-02-20 at the Wayback Machine." Macquarie Bank. Retrieved on February 24, 2011. "One Allen Center 500 Dallas, Suite 3100 Houston, TX 77002" and "Suite 4550, 333 Clay Street Houston, TX 77002"
  15. "Booklink". Houston Public Library. Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
  16. "Three Allen | Energy Star".
  17. Yahoo! Finance: Oil States International
  18. Company Overview: Oil States International, The Wall Street Journal
  19. Hall, Nicholas L. "Mexican Breakfast at Don Patron Bar and Grill." Houston Press. Wednedsday February 2, 2011. Retrieved on February 29, 2016.
  20. Cook, Phaedra. "Tex-Mex Stalwart In Allen Center Is Closing On Friday." Houston Press. Monday February 29, 2016. Retrieved on February 29, 2016.
  21. "About CWA Archived 2008-11-18 at the Wayback Machine." Coastal Water Authority. Retrieved on April 25, 2009.
  22. "Houston." Qatar Airways. Retrieved on February 9, 2009.
  23. "Welcome to Plains All American Pipeline!" Plains All American Pipeline. Retrieved on December 8, 2009.
  24. Staff. "EOG Resources to relocate, expand downtown office." Houston Business Journal. Tuesday March 14, 2006. Retrieved on December 8, 2009.
  25. "Visa Desk." Consulate-General of Switzerland in Houston. September 5, 2004. Retrieved on February 9, 2009.
  26. Hodge, Shelby. "MIXERS , ELIXIRS AND IMAX SUMMER SOCIALS / Party animals drink with the dinosaurs." Houston Chronicle. Star 3. June 22, 2006. Retrieved on January 10, 2009. See "Fond farewell" section below.
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