Greenway Plaza is a business district located along Interstate 69 ( U.S. Highway 59) within the Interstate 610 loop in southwestern

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, west of Downtown and east of Uptown. The district is located immediately west of

Upper Kirby Upper Kirby is a commercial district in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after Kirby Drive, so indirectly takes its name from John Henry Kirby. Upper Kirby contains many businesses, including restaurants. Upper Kirby is east of the Gre ...

, north of West University Place, and south of

River Oaks River Oaks is a residential community located in the center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and between Downtown and Uptown, the community spans .Archive Established in the 1920s by brothers Will Hogg and Michael H ...

. First envisioned in the late 1960s by local developer Kenneth L. Schnitzer, Greenway Plaza has evolved into one of

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

's largest employment centers, with over of office space on a campus. Noted for its expansive green spaces and consistent

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

architectural style, Greenway Plaza is widely considered a pioneering example of mixed-use development in the United States. The campus's ten office towers are connected by an extensive system of air-conditioned

skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclo ...

s, tunnels, and underground parking garages. Greenway Plaza contains

Lakewood Church Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is one of the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building ...

, a

nondenominational Christian Nondenominational Christianity (or non-denominational Christianity) consists of churches which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligning with a specific Christian d ...

church, which hosts one of the largest congregations in the United States. Lakewood's main campus, a venue originally known as "The Summit" and later "

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

Center," is the former home of the Houston Rockets, a professional basketball team, as well as other sporting teams, concerts, and events. Lakewood Church purchased the property in 2005. The Greenway Plaza development is part of a larger neighborhood, Greenway/Upper Kirby, which covers a area roughly enclosed by

Westheimer Road Westheimer Road () is an arterial east–west road in Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Bagby Street in Downtown and terminates at the Westpark Tollway on the southern edge of George Bush Park, stretching about long. The street was ...

to the north, Bissonnet Street to the south, Uptown Houston to the west, and Shepherd Drive to the east. In 2015, Greenway/Upper Kirby had an estimated population of 21,120 and a population density of .

History

Kenneth L. Schnitzer, the chairperson of the Century Development Corporation,Schadewald, Bill. "Looking back ‘Then and Now’ at 40 years of Houston business." ''

Houston Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor New ...

''. Friday December 24, 2010
1
Retrieved on September 13, 2011. envisioned Greenway Plaza, which became the first mixed-use development in Houston.Crescent Celebrates Greenway Plaza's 40th Anniversary by Honoring Customer Loyalty
" ''Business Wire''. June 9, 2007. Retrieved on January 21, 2009. Century took realtors from outlying towns around Houston and had them buy individual parcels for very inexpensive prices while trying not to attract attention. One homeowner found out about the plan and asked to have the house sold for $350,000. At the time it was a lot of money for a house that was small. The company paid the money so it could secure the tract the house sat on. The grand opening took place in 1973. Schnitzer said that Greenway Plaza would become a "second downtown". Bill Schadewald of the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' said that Greenway Plaza, which housed office towers, retail operations, a basketball arena, a movie theater, and a hotel, "defined the multiuse concept in an original "

Edge City ''Edge city'' is a term that originated in the United States for a concentration of business, shopping, and entertainment outside a traditional downtown or central business district, in what had previously been a suburban residential or rura ...

"". In 1970, the M. W. Kellogg Company had moved its headquarters from New York to Houston. After Kellogg moved its operations into Greenway Plaza, initially Kellogg occupied half of 3 Greenway Plaza and staffed the half with fewer than 600 employees. When the energy industry expanded worldwide, Kellogg occupied all of 3 Greenway Plaza and space in an adjacent building. Kellogg's lease on July 1, 1991 was up for renewal; if Kellogg had renewed the lease, its rent payment would have increased. Instead Kellogg decided to swap office space with its parent company, Dresser Industries. Dresser took over a part of Kellogg's lease and renamed 3 Greenway Plaza to the Dresser Tower. After the swap Dresser occupied of space on eight floors, while Kellogg continued to lease six floors in the building. In exchange Kellogg took space formerly held by Dresser at the M. W. Kellogg Tower in the

Cullen Center Cullen Center is a skyscraper complex in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The complex is now managed by Brookfield Properties. Previously Trizec Properties owned all four office buildings. The complex includes the headquarters of the Ho ...

Downtown Houston 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 ...

. The swap satisfied Dresser's need for less space. Around 1996 T Mobile leased space in 2 Greenway Plaza. Circa 2003 the Houston Rockets moved out of what was the Compaq Center, and that building became the

Lakewood Church Central Campus The Lakewood Church Central Campus is the main facility of Lakewood Church, a megachurch in Houston, Texas, five miles southwest of Downtown Houston and next to Greenway Plaza. From 1975 to 2003 the building served as a multi-purpose sports aren ...

. Nancy Sarnoff of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' wrote that the adjacent Greenway Plaza became "sleepy" as a result of this change, and that in 2017 Greenway Plaza had a lack of activity during nighttime periods despite its heavy activity during the day; therefore, according to Sarnoff, Greenway Plaza "feels like downtown Houston did 10 or 20 years ago". In 2004 Crescent attempted to sell a 50% equity position in both Greenway Plaza and Houston Center. During that year, El Paso Corp., a major tenant with in Greenway Plaza, announced that it was vacating the property and moving its personnel to its

headquarters. A ''

'' article stated that El Paso was expected to sublease the space until 2014, when its lease will expire.Dawson, Jennifer.
Crescent trophies on sales block
" ''

''. Friday May 21, 2004. Retrieved on May 10, 2009. In 2005 the internet service provider Internet America had offices in Greenway Plaza. During the afternoon of Monday July 29, 2013,

Cousins Properties Cousins Properties Incorporated is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in office buildings in Atlanta, Charlotte, Austin, Phoenix, Tampa, and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The company has developed notable prope ...

, a company based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, announced that it was buying the entire Greenway Plaza complex and a

Downtown Fort Worth Downtown Fort Worth is the central business district of Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Most of Fort Worth's tallest buildings and skyscrapers are located downtown. Attractions Sundance Square Sundance Square began as an effort by Sid Bass to ...

office tower. Nancy Sarnoff of the ''Houston Chronicle'' stated that Cousins was expected to pay $1.1 billion in cash. By 2017 the owner was Parkway Inc., which planned to renovate Greenway Plaza. In July 2017 T-Mobile announced it was moving to the T-Mobile Tower, formerly the River Oaks Tower. That same month Occidental Petroleum announced it was vacating its space, and it put its space for sale.

Composition

Commercial office buildings

RepublicofChinaEconomicCulturalOfficeHouston

Retail tenants

*12 Greenway Plaza **Suite 102: Amegy BankRetail Directory
." Greenway Plaza. Retrieved on April 24, 2010. *The Hub at Greenway Plaza (formerly The Shops at Greenway) which first opened in 1973Sarnoff, Nancy.
Greenway Plaza ahead of its time while being timeless
" ''

''. Thursday May 26, 2016. Retrieved on May 31, 2016. ** Greenway Coffee ** burger-chan ** The Rice Box ** Feges BBQ ** Nestlé Toll House Cafe ** Antone's ** Alonti Cafe ** Texas Chicken Express ** Lulu's ** Cilantro's ** Michael Saldana Salon *
Flower Delivery Houston
** Greenway Newsstand & Convenience Store ** Energy One Credit Union Prior to January 1, 2008,

Landmark Theatres Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films. Since its founding in 1974, Landmark has grown to 35 theaters with 178 screens in 24 marke ...

operated the Landmark Greenway, an "

arthouse An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily ...

" theater inside 5 Greenway. Landmark's lease expired and the Greenway Plaza did not renew the lease. December 31, 2007 was the final day of operation for the theater. As of 2016 it will be replaced by a fitness area. At one time the building housed Rao's Maremma Ristorante.

Other buildings

Doubletree Hotel DoubleTree by Hilton is an American hotel chain managed by Hilton Worldwide. DoubleTree has been the fastest growing Hilton brand by number of properties since 2007, and by number of rooms from 2007 to 2015. As of December 31, 2019, it has 587 ...

(6 Greenway) – Previously the

Stouffer Hotel Renaissance Hotels is a luxury hotel brand of Marriott International. It was founded in 1981 as Ramada Renaissance, an upscale brand of Ramada, Ramada Inns. In 1989 the brand was relaunched as Renaissance Hotels. It was bought by Marriott Intern ...

and the Renaissance Hotel – Opened 1972 *The Central Plant (7 Greenway) *Tony's Restaurant (13 Greenway) – Established by Tony Vallone, in 2006 it moved from

Uptown Houston Uptown (more commonly called The Galleria Area) is a business district in Houston, located west of Downtown and is centered along Post Oak Boulevard and Westheimer Road ( Farm to Market Road 1093). The Uptown District is roughly bounded by ...

to Greenway and renewed its lease around 2016, staying for another 10-year period *14 Greenway and 15 Greenway – formerly the Plaza Condominiums – Opened 1980 (14 Greenway) and 1981 (15 Greenway) **The condominiums are assigned to schools in the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

: Poe Elementary School, Lanier Middle School, and Lamar High School. It was previously zoned to Will Rogers Elementary School. *

– formerly the Summit and the

Center – Opened 1975

Gallery

Image:GreenwayPlazaTheaterLandmarkHouston.JPG, The

Greenway 3, formerly located in 5 Greenway Plaza

References

External links

Greenway Plaza

Greenway Condominiums
{{Houston, Texas Skyscraper office buildings in Houston 1973 establishments in Texas Commercial buildings completed in 1973 Residential buildings completed in 1973 Mixed-use developments in Texas