Houston has 19 million sf of office space under construction, 54% more than a year ago, and its highest level since the booming 1980s, according to local news reports.
Nearly 40% of this new office space is corporately owned, according to the Houston Business Journal, which points specifically to a 3-million-sf campus being built by Exxon Mobil, a 1.1-million-sf campus in Westchase suburb by Phillips 66, and a 515,000-sf building that Southwestern energy is erecting.
New building begets higher land prices. CBRE research estimates that land values throughout the Houston metroplex are increasing strongly. For example, land prices in the Uptown/Galleria area range from $125 to $315 per square foot in the second quarter, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Construction workers are also benefiting from all of this activity. The Associated General Contractors of America says that Houston added more construction jobs that any major metro in the U.S. from August 2013 to August 2014. Houston’s employment in all business sectors has jumped by 10% since 2008, or twice the percentage in San Francisco, according to The Daily Beast.
The Business Journal reports that 10.8 million sf of office space are on schedule to be delivered by year’s end, a sizable jump over the 3.2 million sf delivered in 2013.
Related Stories
Structural Materials | Mar 30, 2015
12 projects earn structural steel industry's top building award
Calatrava's soaring Innovation Science and Technology Building at Florida Polytechnic University is among the 12 projects honored by the American Institute of Steel Construction in the 2015 IDEAS² awards competition.
Cultural Facilities | Mar 30, 2015
Designs released for new entertainment center in Lubbock, Texas
Amenities of the facility include a performance venue that seats 2,220, a smaller one that seats 425, a 6,000-sf multipurpose room, and a bistro café.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 27, 2015
Bathroom fixtures get a starchitect makeover by Bjarke Ingels
This Danish starchitect elevates the toilet paper holder (and other bathroom accessories).
Architects | Mar 27, 2015
Illustrator Federico Babina explores architecture as animals
When you pay attention, the Eiffel Tower really does look like a giraffe.
Transit Facilities | Mar 25, 2015
Kengo Kuma selected to design new Paris Metro station
The new station will serve as a hub to connect Paris' northern suburbs with the core.
Green | Mar 25, 2015
WELL Building Standard introduced in China
The WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features that impact human health and wellbeing, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.
High-rise Construction | Mar 24, 2015
Timber high-rise residential complex will tower over Stockholm waterfront
The four towers, 20 stories each, will be made entirely out of Swedish pine, from frame to façade.
Higher Education | Mar 23, 2015
Hong Kong university building will feature bioclimatic façade
The project's twin-tower design opens the campus up to the neighboring public green space, while maximizing the use of summer winds for natural ventilation.
Religious Facilities | Mar 23, 2015
Is nothing sacred? Seattle church to become a restaurant and ballroom
A Seattle-based real estate developer plans to convert a historic downtown building, which for more than a century has served as a church sanctuary, into a restaurant with ballroom space.
Government Buildings | Mar 23, 2015
SOM leads planning for Egypt’s new $45 billion capital city
To alleviate overcrowding and congestion in Cairo, the Egyptian government is building a new capital from scratch.