Historic Medical Towers Building in Texas Medical Center to be Redeveloped as Hotel

HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – The historic Medical Towers building in the Texas Medical Center is being transformed into the 273-room Westin Houston Medical Center hotel.

Pearl Hospitality of Houston is redeveloping the 18-story building, which opened in 1954 at 1709 Dryden Road, between Main and Fannin streets.

The mid-century modernist building, located across the street from Houston Methodist and Texas Children’s Hospital.

The Medical Towers, one of the first medical office buildings in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, was designed by the architectural firm Goleman & Rolfe, with consulting Pritzker prize-winning architect Gordon Bunshaft, of Skidmore, Owens and Merrill. Bunshaft drew inspiration from his famed Lever House in New York to create the Medical Towers, which became another icon of International Style architecture.

Pearl Hospitality recently revitalized the 1910-vintage S.F. Carter Building into the JW Marriott Houston Downtown.

“The underutilized historic building is being repurposed into the beautiful new Westin Houston Medical Center, instead of meeting its fate with a wrecking ball, as have many similar buildings,” said William R. Franks, a member of Pearl Hospitality’s development team. “This ambitious 1954 tower was built at a time when the similarly ambitious vision of the Texas Medical Center was launching. As the area continues to grow and reach new heights, keeping this building as a part of that story adds tremendous value for the city.”

The hotel is slated to open in early 2020.

The 382,000 SF redevelopment cater to more than 15 million visitors annually to the Texas Medical Center and the Museum District. It is on the METRO light rail line, which connects downtown to the Astrodome.

The project team includes: BRR Architects, project architect; Baskervill, interior design architect; MBCM Incorporated, design consultant; Collaborative Engineering Group, project engineer; Henderson Rogers, structural engineer and Texas HRE Construction, general contractor.

Amenities will include: two outdoor terraces overlooking the treetops of Rice University, dramatic outdoor pool terrace, health club, restaurant and bar with outdoor seating and café. The building’s street level with urban landscape will have a pedestrian promenade. Sidewalk cafés, dining terraces and tree-covered sidewalks will accommodate first-to-market restaurants and retail offerings.

“The hotel will deliver exceptional lifestyle-inspired experiences deliberately crafted to serve the unique combination of visitors drawn by Rice University, the Texas Medical Center, and Houston’s nationally recognized Museum District,” said Archit Sanghvi, Vice President of Operations, Pearl Hospitality. “Thoughtfully-designed rooms, meeting spaces and amenities will offer guests unique experiences to empower their well-being.”

The hotel will offer over 10,000 SF of meeting space, including 10 impressive event spaces, allowing brides, corporate event planners, physicians, gala chairs, etc. the ability to create memorable events. A striking 8,000-SF ballroom with pre-function space will accommodate over 600 guests and can be separated into three rooms for more intimate events accommodating up to 200 guests in each room. The hotel will have 26 spacious suites, including the extended stay king suites, king room suites, qouble queen room suites, an 800-SF Junior Presidential suite and a 1,200-SF Presidential Suite. 

“As a partner in bringing attention to Houston’s amazing medical services, we look forward to the restorative plans that will transform the Medical Towers into a world-class destination while maintaining its historical legacy,” said Brenda Bazan, president and CEO of Houston First Corporation, the official destination marketing organization for the city of Houston.

March 28, 2019 Realty News Report Copyright 2019