Arena Place

Last updated
Arena Place ArenaplaceHoustonTX.JPG
Arena Place

Arena Place is a complex including two office towers and a theater located in Sharpstown, Southwest Management District, Houston, Texas. [1] It was built in Sharpstown Commercial Park. [2]

Contents

The complex, located on Highway 59 and (Southwest Freeway), includes One & Two Arena Place, two 19-story towers each with about 390,000 square feet (36,000 m2) of space, the Arena Theatre, a live performance theater with a 2,850 seats, and two nine story parking garages with a total of 2,200 spaces. [3] Due to the facility's circular shape, all of its seats are no further than 65 feet (20 m) from the stage. Because of the presence of the garages, the theater has on-site parking. [4] The complex has a two-story, [5] 6,000 square feet (560 m2) office tower penthouse. [6] The complex is located near PlazAmericas (formerly Sharpstown Mall). [5] The concession stands are located inside the theater. [7] The complex, which has Class A office space, is located in proximity to the 610 Loop, Beltway 8, and the Westpark Tollway. [8]

History

The Arena Theatre now owned by a partnership which owns the office buildings, was built in 1965. [3] Bob Hope, a comedian, was an investor in the original Arena Theatre. [4] The towers, colored black, were developed in the early 1980s by Melvin Lane Powers. Powers built a personal penthouse on top of one of the towers and received a lot of attention for this. [3] The penthouse, located in Arena Tower I, had a helicopter pad and a private swimming pool on the rooftop. [5] Robert Williamson of the firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler said that the Powers case was "pretty celebrated" and that the complex was "very storied." Williamson described Powers as a "very flamboyant developer." [3] The complex was the most well-known development established by Powers. [9]

Powers filed for bankruptcy. Afterwards, in 1986, Powers attempted to claim Arena Tower I, the north side tower, as his personal residence to prevent foreclosure. Bank of America repossessed the building and evicted Powers. Lawrence Wong, a real estate developer, acquired tower one from Bank of America in 1989. In 1990 he acquired the second tower from the Midland Bank of England. Laura A. Stromberg of the Houston Business Journal said that when Wong purchased the buildings, they were "substantially vacant." At the time a 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) block of space in tower one was vacant. [5]

In 1997 Arena Tower I was 88% leased and Arena Tower II was 73% leased. During that year Houston Cellular was the main tenant in Arena Tower I, and the building was named after the company. Other tenants in the Arena Towers included Houston Allstate, LTD Financial Services, and Prudential. During that year Logan Brown, a senior vice president of Grubb & Ellis, a real estate firm, said that the buildings were worth $30 million. Brown also said that they were "in poor condition" and needed updating. In 1997 Stromberg said that, according to real estate sources, the towers were reportedly under a contract of sale to Texas Commercial Properties Inc. Stromberg said that the sale would be the largest transaction of Class B office space in 13 years. [5]

For many years the Arena Theatre was operated by H'Town Arena, a tenant. In December 2004 the Arena Group and two limited partners bought the entire Arena Place complex from Lennar Partners for about $24.5 million. At the same time Transwestern Commercial Services replaced PM Realty Group as the agency that manages and provides leases for the property. H'Town Arena had stopped leasing in the theater days before the sale occurred, and as a result the theater stopped operating. As of 2004 the Class B office space in the complex was about 70% occupied, and the tenants included several large call centers. [3]

In September 2006 the limited partners sold their stake, which was 50 percent, to Boxer Property. Since the acquisition occurred, all of the buildings underwent renovations. As of 2007 the office towers had an occupancy rate of around 70 percent. As of that year most of its tenants were professional groups and included 25 law firms, medical users, radio stations, and television stations. As of the same year Westwood College occupied several floors in the complex. By that year $5 million in capital investments had been made to the towers. [4] A total of $6 million was invested into the renovation of the towers. [7] As part of a $1 million renovation, the Arena Theater was scheduled to re-open on November 9, 2007. Arena Theatre Inc. became the new tenant of the theater. [4] As part of the renovation the theater received new carpeting, new lighting and sound systems, repaired seats, modernized toilet facilities, and a video system. The ceiling was altered absorb sound instead of reflecting sound. [7] The operators also planned to hold events in the office tower penthouse. [6] In 2009 Affiliated Computer Services announced that it was going to add 120 job positions to its call center in Arena Tower II; after hiring was scheduled to be complete, the company planned to have 400 employees in its Arena Place operation. [10] As of 2016, Xerox Business Services (after acquiring ACS in late 2009) is currently managing a 400-seat call center for CVS Pharmacy in Arena Tower II. [11]

Tenants

The College of Health Care Professions' Southwest Houston, TX Campus is located at One Arena Place, 7322 Southwest Freeway, Suite 110, Houston, Texas USA. [12]

The China Airlines Houston Mini Office (Chinese: T: 休士頓營業所, S: 休士顿营业所, P: Xiūshìdùn Yíngyèsuǒ [13] ) is located in Suite 204 of Two Arena Place. [14]

Westwood College's Houston South Campus was located in One Arena Place. [15] 713radio.net

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downtown Houston</span> Neighborhood in Harris County, Texas, United States

Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The 1.84-square-mile (4.8 km2) district, enclosed by the aforementioned highways, contains the original townsite of Houston at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou, a point known as Allen's Landing. Downtown has been the city's preeminent commercial district since its founding in 1836.

Uptown is a business district in Houston, located 6.2 miles (10.0 km) west of Downtown and is centered along Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road. The Uptown District is roughly bounded by Woodway Drive to the north, I-610 to the east, Richmond Avenue to the south, and Yorktown Street to the west. It covers 1,010 acres (410 ha).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinatown, Houston</span> Neighborhood of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States

Chinatown is a community in Southwest Houston, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chase Tower (Dallas)</span> Skyscraper located in downtown Dallas Texas

Dallas Arts Tower (formerly Chase Tower) is a 225 m (738 ft), 55-story postmodern skyscraper at 2200 Ross Avenue in the City Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. Although it is the fourth tallest skyscraper in the city, if one were to exclude antennas and spires, it would be the third. It is also the 13th tallest building in Texas. The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and was completed in 1987. The building also formerly housed the Dallas Petroleum Club, a business and social club located on the 39th and 40th floors.

The Wells Fargo Plaza, formerly the Allied Bank Plaza and First Interstate Bank Plaza, is a skyscraper located at 1000 Louisiana Street in Downtown Houston, Texas in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenway Plaza</span> Business district of Houston in Texas, United States

Greenway Plaza is a business district located along Interstate 69 within the Interstate 610 loop in southwestern Houston, Texas, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Downtown and 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Uptown. The district is located immediately west of Upper Kirby, north of West University Place, and south of River Oaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial Hermann Health System</span> World renowned hospital in Houston Texas

Memorial Hermann Health System is the largest not-for-profit health system in southeast Texas and consists of 17 hospitals, 8 Cancer Centers, 3 Heart & Vascular Institutes, and 27 sports medicine and rehabilitation centers, in addition to other outpatient and rehabilitation centers. It was formed in the late 1900s when the Memorial and Hermann systems joined. Both the Memorial and Hermann health care systems started in the early 1900s. The administration is housed in the new Memorial Hermann Tower, along with the existing System Services Tower, of the Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PlazAmericas</span> Shopping mall in Texas, United States

PlazAmericas, formerly known as Sharpstown Mall and earlier Sharpstown Center, is a shopping mall located in the Sharpstown development in Greater Sharpstown, Houston, Texas. The mall is located on the northwest corner of Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59 and Bellaire Boulevard. This is the third mall to be built in Houston after Gulfgate Mall opened in 1956 and Meyerland Plaza in 1957, but the first fully air-conditioned mall in Houston. The area includes the Jewelry Exchange Center, a ten-story building. After the mall was renamed PlazAmericas, it took a Latin American theme and catered to Hispanics. The anchor stores are Burlington, SuperNova Furniture, America Cinemas, La Sorella, Gold Factory & Imports, and Clarewood Supermercado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Houston</span>

Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, United States. The area is considered to be from Texas State Highway 6, south of Westpark Tollway to north of U.S. Route 90.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1600 Smith Street</span> Skyscraper in Houston, Texas

1600 Smith Street is a 51-story, 732-foot (223 m) office tower in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It served as the headquarters of Continental Airlines prior to its merger with United Airlines, and at one point also served as the headquarters of ExpressJet Airlines. It is a part of the Cullen Center complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Center</span> Shopping mall in Houston Center

Houston Center is a retail and office complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It is owned by Brookfield Property Partners and Spear Street Capital, LLC, and operated separately by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and Brookfield Property Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulbright Tower</span> Skyscraper in Houston, Texas

The Fulbright Tower is a 52-story office skyscraper originally known as 3 Houston Center. A part of the downtown Houston Center complex, Texas, United States, the tower has 1,247,061 square feet (115,855.8 m2) of Class A office space. The bottom seven levels were designed for four trading floors for commodities like electricity and natural gas. The building at one point was owned by ChevronTexaco. As of 2005, Crescent owns the tower in a joint venture with the affiliates of GE Asset Management and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Norton Rose Fulbright has its Houston office located in the Fulbright Tower, in Suite 5100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakes on Post Oak</span>

Lakes on Post Oak is a commercial complex located in Uptown Houston, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial City, Houston</span> District in Texas, United States

Memorial City is a commercial district in the Memorial area of Houston, Texas, United States. Located along Interstate 10 between Beltway 8 and Bunker Hill Road, the district is anchored by Memorial City Mall, the nation's 38th-largest shopping mall; Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center; CityCentre, a high-density mixed-use development; and Town & Country Village, a shopping center. Large portions of Memorial City are owned by development firm MetroNational, which has developed 265 acres in the area, including the entirety of the mall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brays Oaks, Houston</span> Area in Southwest Houston, Texas, United States

Brays Oaks, formerly known as Fondren Southwest, is an area in Southwest Houston, Texas, United States. The Brays Oaks Management District, also known as the Harris County Improvement District #5, governs the Brays Oaks area as well as other surrounding areas, such as Westbury. The City of Houston also defines the Brays Oaks Super Neighborhood, with separate boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest Management District</span> District in Houston, Texas

Southwest Management District, formerly Greater Sharpstown Management District, is a district in Houston, Texas, United States. The district is split into 6 neighborhoods: Sharpstown, Chinatown, Mahatma Gandhi District/Little India, Westwood, Harwin, and University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Total Plaza</span> Skyscraper in downtown Houston Texas

Total Plaza is a tower in Downtown Houston, Texas, one block from the Allen Center complex. The building, managed by Brookfield Properties, opened in 1971. The 35-story building, designed by the architect Lloyd, Morgan & Jones, was renovated in 1981 and 1996, and features a mirror-finished reflective glass on its exterior. Each floor has about 24,000 sq ft (2,200 m2), with a total of 847,200 sq ft (78,710 m2). The building is named after its major tenant, Total Petrochemicals USA, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies SE. The complex was formerly the headquarters of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO).

The Four Corners Office/Retail Complex is an office complex in Uptown Houston, Texas. The complex, with a total of 395,473 square feet (36,740.6 m2) of office space and 28,290 square feet (2,628 m2) of retail space, sits on 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) of land. The buildings include the 11 story TeleCheck Plaza, the 10 story 5333 Westheimer Road, the 21,120 square feet (1,962 m2) retail tenant building Sage Plaza, the single story 8,800 square feet (820 m2) Savoy Salons, and a 3,892 square feet (361.6 m2) single story Region's Bank with a drive-through. The complex is located at the southwest corner of Westheimer Road and Sage, taking one full square block across the street from The Galleria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sugar Land Town Square</span>

Sugar Land Town Square is a 1,400,000 square feet (130,000 m2), 32 acres (13 ha) office and shopping complex in Sugar Land, Texas, United States. The complex, developed by Planned Community Developers Ltd. (PCD), owned by Sugarland Properties Inc., and located at the intersection of Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 and Texas State Highway 6, includes Sugar Land's City Hall and the corporate headquarters of Minute Maid, CVR Energy and the North American operations of the Cosentino Group. The development, a part of the First Colony development, has office space, condominiums, retail stores, restaurants, and a hotel. Sugar Land Town Square is located 19 miles (31 km) from Downtown Houston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital</span> Houston hospital

Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital, formerly Southwest Memorial Hospital, is a hospital in Sharpstown Section 3, in Southwest Management District, Houston. It is a part of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. The communities it serves include Bellaire, Missouri City, Uptown Houston, and Southwest Houston, including Meyerland and Sharpstown.

References

  1. ↑ "Districts Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine ." Greater Sharpstown Management District. Retrieved on August 15, 2009.
  2. ↑ Sharpstown Commercial Park (PDF, JPG). Harris County Block Book Maps. Volume 93, Page 176. Retrieved on August 11, 2017. Note that this is bounded by Bellaire Boulevard, Fondren Road, and U.S. 59, which means it houses Arena Place.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Dawson, Jennifer. "Group pays $24.5 million for Arena complex with rowdy past." Houston Business Journal . Friday December 10, 2004. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Azevedo, Mary Ann. "Arena Theatre back in show business." Houston Business Journal . Friday October 19, 2007. 1. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Stromberg, Laura A. "Arena Towers find buyer." Houston Business Journal . Friday July 25, 1997. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Azevedo, Mary Ann. "Arena Theatre back in show business." Houston Business Journal . Friday October 19, 2007. 2. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 Hoffman, Ken. "Beloved Arena Theatre gets a second life." Houston Chronicle . April 27, 2009. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.
  8. ↑ "7322 & 7324 Southwest Freeway Arena Place Archived 2009-09-20 at the Wayback Machine ." Boxer Property. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Mossler case was sensational story of murder, intrigue." Houston Chronicle . September 7, 2001. Retrieved on April 24, 2010. "Powers embarked on a career as a real estate developer. His most notable project was the twin 20-story Arena Towers office buildings and adjacent 2,800-seat Arena Theater."
  10. ↑ Gunter, Ford. Upturn in business prompts hiring at Affiliated Computer Services' Houston call center." Houston Business Journal . Friday October 16, 2009. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.
  11. ↑ Williams, TL. Xerox to Acquire Affiliated Computer Services." Xerox . September 28, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  12. ↑ "College of Health Care Professions Houston Southwest Texas Campus". chcp.edu. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "北美洲地區 Archived 2014-12-17 at the Wayback Machine ." China Airlines. Retrieved on April 24, 2010
  14. ↑ "Branch Offices North America Archived 2011-11-28 at the Wayback Machine ." China Airlines. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Houston South Campus Archived May 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine ." Westwood College. Retrieved on April 24, 2010.

29°42′07″N95°31′03″W / 29.7019°N 95.5175°W / 29.7019; -95.5175

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.