Downtown Theater District Plaza Redo will Include New Restaurant Space

HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – CBRE has been retained to identify operators to lease the 8,547 SF restaurant space that will be built as part of the redevelopment of Jones Plaza in downtown Houston’s Theater District.

Houston First Corp., a governmental corporation which operates the city’s performance halls, convention center and the Hilton Americas convention hotel, is overseeing a $29 million development of Jones Plaza.

The plaza is being renamed Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts. Last year, Wyatt, a native Houstonian, donated $10 million gift for the redevelopment of the one-block park. The plaza is bordered by Texas Avenue, Smith, Louisiana and Capitol.

The public plaza space is surrounded by Theater District’s premier venues – the Alley Theatre, Jones Hall, The Hobby Center, and Wortham Theater Center. It is across the street from one of Houston’s most recognizable office towers – the 56-story TC Energy Center, formerly known as Bank of America Center, a red-granite clad tower with a gabled roof line.

Over the years, Jones Plaza had been ridiculed for its appearance and an upgrade was called for.

“The Lynn Wyatt Square for The Performing Arts will be a gamechanger for the Theater District and the west side of downtown Houston” said Brenda Bazan, president and CEO of Houston First Corp. “We are confident that having CBRE as part of our team will result in selecting the right restaurant operator, which is a key component to reimagining the next chapter of the new greenspace.”

The restaurant will be constructed on the southwest corner of the square near the intersection of Smith and Capitol Street. The Rios Clementi Hale Studios architectural firm designed the two-level restaurant with a 1,241-SF patio and green roof.

Construction is scheduled to begin this summer.

CBRE’s Lacee Jacobs and Laura Harness are the exclusive restaurant leasing agents.

“This restaurant is going to complement the park’s redevelopment vision of becoming a dynamic epi-center for the performing arts,” said Jacobs. “And, we are still early enough in the process for a tenant to make some key decisions on construction and build-out.”

Feb. 6, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020